Recruitment Woes

Over the past couple of months I have been deeply involved in recruitment for my department. As our City continues to experience turnover, I anticipate the trend will continue throughout the year. After speaking to colleagues and co-workers, I'm definitely not alone.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of March 2022, unemployment has reached 3.6%, comparable to the pre-pandemic all-time low. We're currently in shallow waters in this hiring pool with no apparent end to the issue in sight.

In hindsight, the best time to have hired was in the midst of the pandemic when unemployment peaked at 14.7%. Organizations more optimistic about the recovery quickly began recruitment and likely poached some great talent at a discount to their bottom line. Others more slow to respond are now trying to figure out how to recruit quality talent in the current labor market. So here we are…what do we do from here?

The following are things that I have been doing and have found some success. I am no Human Resources expert, so please don't take my word as gospel, but some of these tips might help. To begin with, make sure the job description in your job flier is up-to-date and compelling to potential candidates. For example, I don't think anyone would be attracted to working as a parking attendant in a toll booth for hours on end. However, if the job description advertised the parking attendant position a fast paced environment with the opportunity to make a customer's day as the first and last person they see at their destination, the position may feel a little more attractive.

In my most recent recruitment, I started spending a little extra money on recruitment services. I figured I was making an investment in the future of my department. Don't take the power of recruitment services lightly. Advertise job openings on Indeed and LinkedIn. Both sites offer advertising packages and get your open position in front of prospective candidates' eyes. Advertise job openings with professional organizations as well. In my most recent Code Enforcement recruitment, leveraging CACEO, a prominent Code Enforcement association, helped yield some seriously competitive candidates in such a slim job market. If you're looking to fill an entry level position, search for job fairs in your area. High School and College students fresh into the labor market may find a position in the parking profession attractive as a way to earn money while going to school. If your organization has a social media presence or is willing to pay extra on recruitment ad services on social media, you can capture a massive pool of hopefuls.

Recruiting for entry level positions can be a bit tricky as they experience a high level of turnover and at times feels like a revolving door of staff. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, if the position you're recruiting for is considered a below average compensation position (average annual wage of $53,490), your organization will experience a higher separation rate than higher paying organizations. In the Leisure and Hospitality industry for example, experienced a quitting rate of 55.4% in the year of 2019. That number was eye-popping. More than half the industry's low-wage workforce quit in one year!

In my recruitment for Code Enforcement, I wanted to conduct a compensation market analysis, but my HR department declined my proposal. I had to get a bit creative and did some investigating of my own. The website Glassdoor was a great resource to start. One of their search tools contains crowdsourced salary data. It's not the most accurate tool, but it yields a general number to help approximate salaries. Considering I work for a government agency, I used the website transparentcalifornia.com to see how comparable our Code Enforcement division's salary is relative to adjacent counties and cities. I was lucky enough to find our compensation was competitive, which I'm sure was a major reason why our recruitments were successful. If your recruitments don't yield optimal results, it may be worth discussing salary increases for the position to keep it competitive with the market.

At the very least, I hope my experience shows some comfort in knowing you're not alone in your recruitment challenges. Slowly chip away at the problem. Each solution may even present a new set of challenges, but be persistent. Manage expectations from your manager, and try not to overwork yourself. Good luck out there!