Why the Timing for Hiring Top Talent Has Never Been Better

Just a few short months ago, businesses were flourishing. In February, the unemployment rate was as low as 3.5 percent (bls.gov). It was the perfect situation for job seekers. That is known  as an “employees job market.” In many cases, they had multiple options and offers to consider. Employers had to work very hard to attract, recruit and retain top talent. 

Fast forward a few months; job seekers are facing a completely different scenario. The COVID-19 Pandemic has taken us from one of the strongest economies in history to one of the weakest in a record breaking time span. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the current unemployment rate is now 14.7% and reports that this is the largest over-the-month increase in the rate since January 1975. As a result, almost all businesses put a freeze on hiring, and many had to lay people off so they could just survive. 

As a nation, we are now starting to move into phase 1 of getting back to “normal.” This means that now is the time for companies to focus on their strategies to rebuild.

The good news: There has never been a better time to hire top talent! Here are three reasons why.

• Large available talent pool with less competition: Due to the high unemployment rate, it is now once again, an “employer’s job market.” The same top talent that you were so desperate to find just a few months ago, are now beginning to look for work. The talent pool is now very large. And with fewer companies hiring, there is currently a lot less competition to find top talent. Companies that begin hiring now, will have a great advantage over those who wait.

• Technology: It’s 2020 and we have the technology and thanks to the “stay at home” orders, we now know how to utilize it effectively. We have the ability to recruit, onboard, and train new hires “virtually” using various applications like Zoom, Google Meet, and other video meeting platforms as well as recruiting platform technologies like (self promotion) like the XP3 Talent System. We’ve also learned to utilize these technologies to hold team, client and even sales meetings to make our businesses more efficient. 

• We are more agile than ever before: Having to “stay at home” has taught us many lessons we can now leverage to become more agile. We’ve learned that many people can be just as or even more productive working from home. Less time commuting equals increased productivity hours, less stress, decreased transportation costs, and increased work/life balance. All this equals a happier workforce that in return will be more productive! We have learned how to better manage our virtual staff, which leads to a decrease in operating costs and an increase in profitability.  

So what are you waiting for? Get out there and start building your “A” team now! 

To learn more about this, check out my book Hire Train Retain: How to Get the Right People in the Right Roles Doing the Right Things , our free downloads or sign up for a demo of the XP3 Talent System.