Hiring freezes? Tight budgets? Too much overhead? Use these innovative ideas to control costs, stay optimally staffed, and still get it all done:
Volatility in our economy, hiring freezes, tighter staffing budgets, and rising overhead costs have all prompted organizations in every industry to take a second look at their staffing approach.
One of the simplest ways to reduce staffing costs is to enact a hiring freeze: Simply stop hiring new talent.
Yet this simple answer can have complex effects.
A hiring freeze can have negative effects on your company. As your core staff's workloads increase, so do their stress and burnout levels. Their productivity and engagement drop, and they begin to look elsewhere for work. When they leave, your hiring freeze policy prevents you from supporting your team with new staff, increasing the overall strain and burnout rates.
While the latest economic news may seem worrisome, staffing through a turbulent economy isn't an all-or-nothing proposition. If you're facing a hiring freeze or a hiring slowdown, keep these tips in mind.
Feeling the impact of understaffing or a hiring freeze? The Plus Group can provide qualified temporaries to alleviate overwork, keep employees happy and help you get work done, even when you aren't hiring full-time employees.
Communicate Openly With Candidates in the Pipeline
A hiring freeze leaves your current candidates suspended in uncertainty. How long will the hiring freeze last? Is your company still interested in working with them? Are there alternate arrangements that could work for both sides?
Candidates planning an interview or waiting on a job offer rarely enjoy hearing that a company has opted for a hiring freeze instead. Open, transparent communication helps reduce negative reactions. It builds connections, supporting a relationship that could turn into an employment connection in the future. And it's worth asking whether existing candidates would accept a contract position or other alternative arrangement - your top candidate may say yes.
Devote Your Attention to Your Existing Team
A hiring freeze has one benefit for human resources staff and hiring managers: It frees up time and energy you would otherwise have spent vetting job applicants and choosing among your top candidates.
Put this momentum and energy to work for your team instead:
- Review the existing skills on your core team.
- Examine job descriptions and talk to team members about what their day-to-day jobs demand in the here and now.
- Create a plan to train your team members so that skills overlap to prevent gaps and so team members have an improved understanding of the organization and their role within it.
By taking a good look at your existing team, you gain an up-to-the-minute understanding of their strengths and needs. You can then change how work is assigned and encourage skill development - keeping your team engaged at a time when tough economic news makes it easy to feel as if they should just tap out instead.
Get the Support You Need
When budgets are tight and you need to keep a close eye on overhead, you may scramble for ways to ensure that you're not leaving your team members without needed support in tough times.
Are you getting the support you need as well?
Working with a staffing partner can help ensure you have the support you need. When choosing a staffing partner:
- Look for one who knows your industry. Generalized staffing firms have access to talent, but they may lack the perspective needed to grasp why you need temporary and contract professionals rather than direct hires. They may also not fully see the challenges a new team member will face.
- Look for one who knows the roles you need to fill. Paying temporary or contract professionals from project budgets can help you add needed capabilities to your team - but only if your staffing partner knows where to find the right qualified people.
- Ask how they source, vet, and verify talent. You're looking for ways to save money - not to reduce the quality of your team. Learn how staffing firms connect to available talent before committing to a staffing partner.
Staffing firms specialize in connecting their clients to top talent, no matter the economic conditions they face. When you're feeling the squeeze of tight budgets, their creative problem-solving can help you prevent core staff burnout and get critical projects done.