Recruitment Becomes Harder, We Make It Easier

Failing to find suitable candidates for open roles is a recurring issue these days. Employers unanimously say: finding staff is difficult. Vacancies remain unfilled, team members work extra hours and the workload increases. The labour market is tighter than ever and organisations are hitting limits. In this article, you'll learn how to recognise this challenge, why it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit staff, and what structural solutions you can employ.

Why finding staff is difficult

On one hand, you experience that filling vacancies is a frustrating process. You post a vacancy, invest in ads and wait for responses. But the responses you receive are rarely suitable. You often hear: “we can't find suitable candidates,” or even worse: “vacancies remain open without any result in sight.” That frustration is understandable.

A key reason is demography: ageing and reduced inflow of young workers are simply making fewer people available in the market. At the same time, technological transformation is accelerating in many fields. You are increasingly looking for specialist profiles, while the pool of relevant candidates is small. 

The impact of open vacancies

When vacancies remain open, it has direct and indirect consequences. The organisation suffers due to lower capacity and higher workload. Colleagues have to take on extra tasks, leading to stress, errors, and turnover. Also, important roles are often lacking in the process, complicating projects and slowing innovation. 

Financially, it results in extra expenses, interim staff, overtime, and hiring through agencies. All short-term solutions but costly in the long term. This also affects the recruitment and selection process. Candidates interpret long procedures and a lack of action as a sign that the company is unattractive.

Why filling vacancies falters

In addition to the limited labour market, other factors influence recruitment. Many organisations have a fragmented recruitment process. There is no oversight, multiple vacancies are opened simultaneously without central coordination, and consistent policy is lacking. As a result, vacancies are not optimally positioned, inflow remains low, and there are far too many failed applications.

Lack of data also plays a role. Without insight into the effectiveness of your recruitment, such as which channels work, which texts yield conversion and which job titles score, you remain in the dark. In that case, every new vacancy takes longer than necessary, and candidates drop off along the way.

The solution? Strategic response to scarcity

The solution lies in a strategic approach. Opt for a mix of solutions that makes it easier to find staff, but also futureproof your organisation. Consider recruiting with forward-thinking methods. Invest in active sourcing, referral programmes, and employer branding. Create vacancies that stand out. Also use labour market dashboards and recruitment data. Gain insight into trends, lead times and candidate pipelines. This way you can adjust where necessary and predict what awaits you with future staff.

Centralise your recruitment and hiring

By consolidating vacancies within a single sourcing or recruitment partner, you prevent fragmentation and inconsistent results. With Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Managed Service Provider (MSP) or Total Talent Management, you bring all roles (both internal and external) together in one organised system. This allows you to fill vacancies faster and with the right quality.

A smooth process, quick follow-up, personal approach attracts candidates and retains them. This prevents candidates from dropping out and applying to the next employer.

Use practical tools and partners

By collaborating with parties such as HeadFirst, you can directly benefit from recruitment expertise, sourcing power and scale. At HeadFirst, we set up recruitment as a service, with smart data-driven dashboards and active sourcing teams. As a result, finding staff is effortless and you retain time and resources for other important processes. 

Focus on the long term

The tight playing field requires forward-thinking professionals. You can't just respond to a current staff shortage, but you also want to anticipate future demand. You do this by filling pipelines and, for instance, attracting interns and trainees. Organise talent days, guest lectures or bootcamps. Become visible and sought-after. This helps in recruiting future employees before you really need them.

The urgency for you as an organisation

How long can you keep delaying it? Every vacancy that remains open costs money and opportunities. The more vacancies remain unfilled, the worse the morale, capacity and reputation. Without a plan, you end up in a negative spiral. With conscious policy, you focus on growth.

Make sure you, together with your management, get a grip on your recruitment. One consistent procedure, clear KPIs, clear letters and candidate journeys. With a conscious policy, you ensure that your recruitment process is streamlined, allowing you to fill vacancies quickly and with the right quality.

Finding staff need not be difficult

You may be struggling to fill vacancies and find suitable candidates. Fortunately, this challenge is completely solvable with the right approach. Recruitment is not a game of chance, but a strategic process that requires data, the right channels and professional engagement. It is not about isolated actions, but a consistent approach where external and internal talent perfectly come together. 

At HeadFirst, we ensure that recruitment is not a time-consuming activity, but a streamlined process. Start planning and discover how to find candidates for critical positions, how to permanently close your vacancies, give your team peace and let the energy flow again. With an experienced partner by your side, "vacancies remain unfilled" becomes a thing of the past. Because with professional recruitment, you can find the right candidates, with a recruitment process that works.