The research findings were published today (18 March) by job advertising platform Indeed.
The disconnect between employers and jobseekers comes down to the nuances in how both groups define quality, according to Ellie Clutton, practice manager at recruitment firm Robert Half.
She told HR magazine: “For employers currently, ['quality'] is largely going to be defined as a person who meets the full criteria for the role in question, which in itself can often be over-ambitious. However, for candidates, what they see as a high-quality job isn’t defined by just the role requirements or the salary, it’s far more multi-faceted than that."
For the jobseekers Indeed's team surveyed, a lack of pay transparency (33%) was the main barrier to applying to jobs, followed by unrealistic role requirements (28%) and an emphasis on formal qualifications (18%).
Clutton continued: “However, for HR teams, the core focus with attraction strategies now should be on ascertaining what workers want, and ensuring that is fully conveyed in job adverts. For highly skilled professions where there are growing skills shortages, attracting the level of quality that businesses need is only going to become more difficult.”
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HR leaders should also focus more on recruiting for potential, stressed Dan Lucy, director of HR research and consulting at employment research and consultancy firm, the Institute for Employment Studies.
Speaking to HR magazine, he said: “Closing the gap means looking more creatively at the development and deployment of existing staff, as well as a greater focus on recruiting for potential, accessing overlooked sources of talent, and designing jobs to be more flexible.
“In the medium term, HR should be thinking about how it can avoid this challenge in the future by making a concerted effort to translate current and likely future business objectives into people requirements.”
In order to help combat jobseekers’ difficulty in finding roles, 38% of employers reported that they were refining job descriptions, and 37% were adjusting salary and benefits.
Although Indeed’s research reported that skills-first hiring showed promising results, it is rarely used: under a third (30%) of UK employers currently have a defined skills-first hiring strategy in place, according to Indeed's data.
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Michael Stull, managing director of workforce solutions company ManpowerGroup, emphasised the importance of employers adopting a skills-based approach to hiring as well as using AI.
Stull told HR magazine: “HR leaders and senior decision-makers need to manage this disconnect by encouraging their organisations to adopt a skills-based approach to talent management, which opens up a wider pool of qualified people.
“As AI becomes more embedded into our day to day lives, we must enthuse people in the hiring process to ensure that we connect and adapt to the change – seeking the human edge over machine learning and computing capabilities”
The current wider job market may also be contributing to this disconnect, Habiba Khatoon, director of the Midlands branch of recruitment firm Robert Walters, stated.
Khatoon told HR magazine: “Something that is magnified by the current climate of uncertainty in the hiring market. With high living costs, inflation, and increased interest rates, employers face considerable financial constraints.
“The impact of governmental policies, such as minimum wage and National Insurance hikes, has made cost efficiency a priority for many. Consequently, hiring has become more conservative, with some roles being condensed into fewer positions. Employers expect more from candidates while offering them less in return.”