Yes, It Is Still An Employee’s Market

With the manpower shortage not expecting to cease soon, it is pertinent that recruiters start tapping on new technologies to boost their hiring efforts.

Employees still have the upper hand when it comes to finding a job, according to a recent Employer survey conducted by CareerBuilder Singapore. It was noted that 93 per cent of employers in Singapore are intending to hire in the next year. Among those hiring, 72 per cent would be recruiting employees for new positions. This positive hiring outlook however, is still plagued by a shortage of manpower.
 
Still the same ol’ crowd who are not biting
 
It is unsurprising that positions in the sales and operations jobs, at 37 per cent and 25 per centrespectively, are still the most difficult to fill. This was followed closely by administration roles at 21 per cent, and engineering and customer service openings.

Even though employers understand that they are competing for talents, nearly half of them attributed this to the lack of skilled talents. However, there are actually more reasons than meets the eye. This can range from lack of the employer’s branding, to recruiters using the wrong tools in attracting candidates.
 
Wages are increasing across the board
 
Apart from employees having their pick of jobs, they are also enjoying an increase in starting wages. This is likely a result of employers offering as a way to attract more candidates. Predictably, this is most likely for the Services industry (35 per cent), as compared to Non-Services hirers (11 per cent).
 
So far we’ve been talking about potential hires, but what about current employees? Well, they can expect a piece of the increment pie too! Over three in four employers (76 per cent) said that they intend to increase the salaries of their current employees. This figure stands at 77 per cent among employers in the Services industry and 65 per cent among employers in Non-Services industries.
 
Apart from offering monetary incentives, how else can organisations improve their hiring strategies?
 
Organisations often suffer from a lack of resources in talent recruitment due to insufficient personnel manning their HR departments. This however, can be mitigated with HR tools and solutions. Companies who have done so are increasingly seeing the benefits of utilising technology in their hiring efforts. These advantages include acquiring the largest pool of potential hires from which they can choose.
 
Amidst the multitude of hiring tools, it comes as no surprise that online job boards are most commonly used by hirers. More than two-third of employers (68 per cent) recognise online job boards as effective recruitment platforms, which is an increase from 53 per cent in 2013.Social media recruitment is also gaining popularity, with 25 per cent of hirers turning to social media for their talent search.
 
Cloud-based HR software: Time to make the best use of it
 
Although manually tapping on various recruitment platforms boost employment efforts, it is also time-consuming due to the multiple processes involved. Thus, cloud-based recruitment software or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) technologies is important to elevate efficiency levels. Most SaaS technologies offer a mix of functions such as the distribution of job postings across multiple platforms and the ability to perform automated Candidate Relationship Management (CRM). Its cloud-based feature also means that SaaS technologies can be accessed by hirers anytime, and on any device connected to the internet.
 
While SaaS recruitment technologies are being increasingly tapped on for their efficiency globally, the survey found out that only one per cent of organisations here are making use of it for their talent search in Singapore. With the manpower shortage not expecting to cease soon, it is pertinent that recruiters start tapping on new technologies to boost their hiring efforts.