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5 ways to solve shortages in your team quickly

Published 19th Dec 2022

In the current candidate-short and candidate-led market businesses are faced with, it can be a challenging process trying to recruit new talent into your organisation.

However, we have seen that challenge become even greater for hiring managers who are on the lookout for new team members to start urgently.

If you have been faced with shortages in your team – regardless of the industry or sector your business is in – we have some top tips for you regarding how to fill those vacancies, with the best possible people, and in a short space of time.

Make a note of the following five points about how to solve shortages in your team quickly.

  • Advertise your jobs in all the relevant places

This might sound like an obvious one, but you’d be surprised how many organisations aren’t advertising their jobs in as many places as they can. 

For example, writing a few job adverts and posting them on a couple of job boards simply will not suffice. You need to ensure your job adverts are engaging, accurate and entice the applicants to want to find out more. Remember – job adverts are an advertisement, not a full job description!

When you’re happy with your job ads, make sure you post them on your website, Indeed, LinkedIn, job boards, and post about them on all your company social media channels. If any of your employees have large networks on LinkedIn, ask them to share the job ads themselves – the more people you reach, the quicker you are going to fill your staff shortages.

  • Make sure pay and benefits are competitive

Again, this may sound like a no-brainer, but given the lack of candidates in the current market and your need to fill job roles fast – pay and benefits are even more important than usual. Have a look at industry averages and what your competitors are offering for similar roles so you can benchmark how much you should be offering in terms of salary.

When it comes to benefits, be mindful of what your employees will want. If all you are offering is a company pension scheme and dress down Fridays, we have a newsflash for you: it’s almost 2023. Candidates want hybrid and remote working options, flexibility, more annual leave than they’re used to and mental health support. 

If your pay and benefits are better than what your competitors are offering, we can almost guarantee you’ll have an instant advantage.

  • Referrals are priceless

Referrals make up more hires than most people are aware of. Whether it’s a referral from an employee, a candidate, a client, an ex-colleague, a friend or a family member, there are various ways and means to getting referrals if you’re trying to solve talent shortages in a short space of time.

This is why you need to ask anyone and everyone you can if they know anyone suitable. Post about it on LinkedIn, ask your employees and colleagues to spread the word, message your friends and family members – contact anyone you know who might know someone interested. You could also consider contacting people you have recently placed in a role or current candidates for referrals. The more people you reach, the more likely you are to be put in touch with people who are suitable for the roles you’re trying to fill.

  • Consider Interim Solutions

If you’re looking for people to fill your roles who are readily available to hit the ground running, it’s probably time to consider interim solutions. Although they can be more costly in the short-term, it’s about weighing up your options – what will the cost be if you don’t fill these roles? Will your employees suffer from burnout due to the additional workload they’re taking on, and will your clients or customers see a difference in your products or service, too?

If so, interim solutions are the perfect option. Interim staff know how to get stuck into a role from day one, looking at your business objectives and current processes, and how they can fill in the gaps. Don’t hesitate to reassess your current hiring goals – if you’ve been looking for permanent employees but the candidates are few and far between, it may be time to consider your options.

  • Work with a specialist recruitment agency 

Whether you’ve worked with recruitment agencies before or not, if you’re looking to fill roles fast, working with experts is probably your best answer.

Not only do they have access to a large network of active and passive candidates who could be the perfect fit for your roles, but they also have the time and capability to focus on finding the best talent for your business in as little time as possible.

Recruitment can be a time-consuming process, and through working with a recruitment partner, the responsibility is taken off you and put into the hands of specialists who know your market. It saves time and money, and most importantly – it’ll give you access to the best people.

Get in touch

If you’d like guidance on how to solve your talent shortages quickly and attract the top talent, get in touch with the McCarthy team – we’ll be happy to help.

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