Hello and welcome to the March edition of Wave News.
We step into spring on the back of dipping (but not free-falling) jobs and applications figures, as uncovered in the WaveTrackR February 2022 Recruitment Trends Report. It appears to be a stabilising of activity following months of soaring jobs and falling applications.
As March is both Women’s History Month and the host of International Women’s Day, Wave celebrated by looking at how far we’ve come and how far we have yet to go to close the gender gap in the workplace. We are making progress but it is painfully slow so we also suggested ways in which we can help to accelerate gender equality in the workplace.
Gender bias is just one of the biases we need to tackle to ensure a truly inclusive and diverse workplace. What is key is that recruiting diversely is just the first step – for a truly diverse and inclusive workforce, D&I has to be ingrained into company culture and come from management and boardroom level in order to enable diverse decision making from the very top and so there is visible diversity. We look at what recruiters can directly do as part of the recruitment process and how they can advise their clients on how to create a diverse and inclusive workplace.
It’s been a tumultuous month, with rising costs in almost every area of our lives only worsening with the Ukranian crisis. It’s therefore unsurprising that when Bank of England boss Andrew Bailey told workers that, in order to prevent further inflation rises, they shouldn’t ask for a pay rise, there was outrage. Quite apart from the appalling lack of judgment here, he also didn’t seem to take into consideration how current market forces are pushing salaries up yet real wage growth is decreasing. The combination of rising inflation, skills shortages, the struggle to hire pushing up wages, and a rising cost of materials in many industries is a real problem for employers. We look at why record job-to-job figures may be pushing up salaries and dog into the current non-financial candidate drivers.
When it comes to your recruitment website, user experience (UX) is vital as a negative user experience could result in lost opportunities and a tarnishing of your brand. UX should never be an afterthought but should be at the forefront of the minds of all involved a website project, at every stage. We explain what UX is, how it differs depending on the user, and how you can help ensure the UX on your website is always positive.
As part of ensuring a positive UX, it’s essential that every page on your website ‘thinks’ like a homepage. When a user lands on a page – whatever page that may be – they need to know who you are, what you do, where they are on the website, where they should be going next, and how to navigate to that point. In other words, every single page needs to have a homepage mindset.
In our round-up of the best of the rest from the world of recruitment, you can read about why job post timing is crucial in a competitive market, how rising inflation is causing a spike in the number of people considering changing jobs, what to do to counter a counteroffer, further evidence that salary transparency is crucial in the war for talented candidates, and tips on avoids being ghosted by candidates.
Enjoy!
What’s New…
It all starts with a great ad – MO Recruitment Supplier Showcase >
The importance of a cleverly crafted, well-optimised job ad that is posted at the right time and in the right place cannot be overstated. Join Dave Jenkins’ talk on the 23rd of March on the MO Recruitment Supplier Showcase.
WaveTrackR February 2022 Recruitment Trends Report reveals falling jobs and applications >
The extraordinary growth we have seen in jobs over the past 10 months seems to be finally, gradually, abating. WaveTrackR’s February 2022 Recruitment Trends Report showed that both jobs and applications dipped, with jobs at their lowest levels since July 2021. We look at the industries continuing to experience strong activity, those that are struggling to fill vacancies, and those that have had an influx of applications without similar jobs numbers.
International Women’s Day 2022 – how recruiters and employers can #BreakTheBias >
A year ago today we published an article that examined the affect the pandemic had on gender equality in the workplace, reporting on the many ways that women were impacted to a disproportionate degree. One year on, as we celebrate International Women’s Day 2022, we look at what’s changed, what’s not and what we can do to accelerate that change for the benefit of all.
Why company culture needs to change for D&I policies to truly take effect >
D&I can’t end with a diverse recruitment process. Although a crucial first step, that focus on ensuring a sound diverse and inclusive recruitment process needs to be mirrored in company culture. Improving D&I in the workplace can’t only centre on changing diversity percentages, there has to be a fundamental change in the culture of a company to one that embraces and celebrates diverse backgrounds and thoughts. It won’t happen overnight but there are several ways that employers can start to bring about change.
Why record high job-to-job figures may be pushing up salaries >
Workers moving from job to job are at a record high whilst, simultaneously, salaries are on the increase. We look at how the two are related, what this means for economic recovery, had why recruiters need to take a multi-faceted approach to attracting talent.
What is UX and why is it vital for recruitment websites? >
The success of a recruitment website hinges on UX. We detail what it is, the factors involved in creating a positive UX, why testing is crucial to understanding what works and what doesn’t, and why understanding client and candidate motivations will allow you to guide the design of a website that fulfils their needs and therefore furthers the goals of your website.
Why every page on your recruitment website should have a homepage mindset >
Every page of your website should be designed for a user who has no knowledge of your business as any page could be a point of entry. You need to give them context, clear navigation and brand recognition. They should gain the same clear idea of who you are, what you do and what you offer whatever page they land on. We give you tips on how to ensure every page has a homepage mindset.
What we are reading…
Why job post timing is crucial in a competitive market >
In a candidate-short market, scheduling your job posts for when candidates are at their most active is more important than ever. In an article for UK Recruiter, I reveal the best day to post based on when candidates are applying and what the average time to apply is.
More than a third of workers in the UK consider changing jobs to combat the rising cost of living >
A new report from Totaljobs has found that soaring costs of living are having a marked effect on the jobs market. Spiralling inflation and increased cost of living is causing over one third of UK workers to consider changing jobs and essential workers are twice as likely to have handed in their notice and move into a different sector because they were offered more money.
Can you ‘counter’ the counteroffer? >
How do you counter a counteroffer? In this pithy article, Greg Savage explains how the secret is to take the candidate to the resignation discussion in the early stages, explore the likely response, and get them to turn the counteroffer down before they have even got one!
Be Clear: Reed uncover the power of salary transparency >
In yet more evidence that salary transparency on job ads is essential, research commissioned by Reed has uncovered a host of data that reflects just that, including the fact that 78% of job seekers are less likely to apply for a job vacancy that does not display a salary.
How to not get ghosted by top talent >
Have you been ghosted by a candidate recently? This article offers possible reasons for it and – crucially – how to prevent it from happening.
