Recruiting the right talent is crucial for business success, but it’s not easy. As companies grow and market economies shift, recruitment challenges increase. From talent shortages to changing compliance regulations, businesses are increasingly pressured to attract, hire, and retain the right people quickly and efficiently.
At NES Advantage, we’ve supported businesses globally in solving their workforce challenges through strategic recruitment solutions, such as MSP and RPO. Below, we have identified the 8 most pressing recruitment challenges facing businesses today and how you can overcome them with expert guidance and the right partner by your side.
1. Speed of Hiring
One of the biggest hurdles in recruitment is the intense pressure to fill positions quickly. Whether it's because the business is expanding or a key role has suddenly become vacant, there's always a sense of urgency. However, hurrying through the hiring process often results in hasty decisions and bringing on board employees who may not be the best fit, which can be costly for companies in terms of time and resources. This issue is prevalent in sectors like technology and healthcare, where demand for skilled professionals is high. According to a report by the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), the average cost per hire is $4,700. Still, bad hires can cost up to five times as much due to turnover, reduced productivity, and impacts on team morale.
Recruitment Tip: Implement a streamlined recruitment process with clearly defined stages and timelines. Use dedicated recruitment technology, such as applicant tracking systems (ATS) and AI-powered tools, to automate tasks and accelerate individual candidate evaluations. Partnering with a Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) provider can also help ensure quick, quality hires without burdening your internal team. An RPO, such as NES Advantage, can develop a strong talent pipeline of pre-qualified candidates to reduce time-to-hire.
2. Risk of Non-Compliance
Ensuring compliance with employment laws and regulations is a significant challenge for businesses, mainly when operating in multiple regions or countries. Failing to adhere to local labour laws, including diversity and inclusion requirements, or mishandling employment contracts can result in legal penalties, damage to reputation, and loss of trust.
Recruitment Tip: Work with a specialised recruitment provider to ensure full compliance with employment laws. These companies will have legal and compliance experts who stay current with relevant regulations. At NES Advantage, we have an expert team of consultants with in-depth knowledge of local and international employment compliance, reducing your company’s risk of fines or lawsuits. We also recommend implementing regular training for HR staff on compliance issues and utilising automated compliance checking tools in your recruitment system to ensure job postings and hiring practices meet the necessary requirements.
3. High Costs Associated with Multiple Recruitment Suppliers
Using multiple recruitment agencies across different departments, regions, or countries can lead to fragmented processes, inflated costs, and inconsistent results. These inefficiencies drain resources and can cause communication breakdowns and missed opportunities for better hires.
Recruitment Tip: Consolidating recruitment through a single RPO provider can reduce costs and improve talent acquisition efficiency. Implementing RPO essentially means all your recruitment processes are under one umbrella; this centralised approach eliminates the need for multiple agencies. Our unified recruitment strategy provides businesses complete visibility over their hiring expenses and optimises processes, reducing cost per hire by 25-40%.
4. Attracting the Best Talent
In a competitive job market, such as energy, manufacturing, and engineering, where niche skills are highly sought after, finding the best talent can be difficult. If your recruitment processes are not optimised or your employer brand isn’t strong, attracting high-level candidates can feel like an uphill battle, especially if they have multiple job offers at their disposal. Gartner’s global Voice of the Candidate Survey found that 47% of candidates who had recently accepted a job opportunity were still open to further offers.
Recruitment Tip: Building a compelling employer brand and improving your Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is essential to standing out in a crowded marketplace. A strong employer brand that showcases your company culture, values, and unique selling points can boost applications, helping you attract the right talent. Additionally, using social professional networks and creating job ads optimised for clarity and inclusivity can appeal to a broader and more diverse pool of applicants. At NES Advantage, we use advanced analytics and market insights to help businesses refine their EVP, illustrating their strengths and workplace culture. We attract high-calibre candidates who perfectly fit your business by positioning your company as an employer of choice.
5. Engaging Qualified Candidates
Identifying talent is just the beginning. Keeping candidates engaged throughout the entire recruitment lifecycle is equally important. With businesses constantly competing against one another, top candidates are likely to have multiple job offers, and delays or poor communication can cause them to lose interest or accept other opportunities. According to a study by Resource Solutions, nearly 44% of businesses don’t reply to candidates within four weeks of receiving their application. Companies must form a strong bond with prospective employees to tackle this, ensuring their hiring journey is as smooth as possible. Engaging passive candidates – those not actively looking for jobs – is also essential, as they comprise 70% of today’s workforce. Job descriptions and application processes should contain all the relevant information without being long and cumbersome, as this could deter even the most interested candidates.
Recruitment Tip: Create a positive candidate experience with clear communication and timely updates. Detailed information about the role, team, and company culture can also help keep candidates excited about the opportunity. You can also proactively engage with passive talent through targeted outreach and relationship building on platforms like LinkedIn.
If you would like support with candidate engagement, our RPO solutions provide continuous communication and support from initial contact to onboarding. We ensure prospects remain engaged and excited about the opportunity, reducing the chances of drop-offs.
6. Prioritising Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I)
Companies with diverse teams are proven to perform better financially, yet many businesses struggle to implement effective DE&I initiatives in recruitment. Despite understanding the value of DE&I, practical implementation remains elusive, especially in traditionally less diverse industries. It is important to note that creating a diverse and inclusive workforce is not just based on moral grounds; it is a business advantage, with DE&I companies more likely to outperform competitors by 35%.
Recruitment Tip: Develop a comprehensive DE&I strategy that includes diverse sourcing channels, bias-free job descriptions, and inclusive interview practices. Use blind resume screening techniques and diverse interview panels to mitigate unconscious bias. At NES Advantage, we help businesses prioritise DE&I from the ground up. We deploy data-driven approaches to eliminate bias in recruitment and ensure diverse representation in candidate pools. With our global reach, we can tap into vast talent sources, helping businesses build a workforce that reflects different perspectives to foster growth and innovation.
7. Demonstrating an Effective Employer Brand and EVP
As touched on previously, a weak or inconsistent employer brand can deter top candidates from applying to your company. Job seekers are more discerning than ever, evaluating companies based on their reputation, values, and workplace culture—75% of job seekers consider a company’s reputation before applying. Finding and attracting the right talent can be challenging if your employer brand is unclear, leading to increased turnover and recruitment costs.
Recruitment Tip: Conduct regular employee surveys and exit interviews to understand what employees value most about working for your business. Use these insights to refine your EVP and brand messaging. You can develop and promote your employer brand through consistent messaging across social media, website, and other platforms. NES Advantage works closely with businesses to build and enhance employer branding strategies, ensuring alignment between the company’s values and its recruitment practices. In a survey conducted by Glassdoor and Brandon Hall Group, organisations that invest in employer branding are three times more likely to make a quality hire than those that don’t.
8. Keeping Up with Recruitment Technology and AI
The rapid advancement of recruitment technologies, from AI screening tools to data-driven CRM platforms, leaves many businesses playing catch-up. Adopting and learning new technology can be overwhelming, especially for small in-house HR and talent acquisition teams, so it’s essential to know how to implement it effectively.
Recruitment Tip: Start with small-scale pilots of new technologies to assess their impact before full-scale implementation. When ready, invest in scalable technology solutions that match your business needs and partner with a recruitment provider well-versed in modern tools. By utilising the expertise of a recruitment solutions provider, you can access the latest recruitment technologies without needing heavy upfront investment. We can guide you through the integration of recruitment technology, ensuring your hiring processes are efficient, compliant, and future-proof.
Ready to Overcome Your Hiring Challenges with NES Advantage?
At NES Advantage, we help businesses of all sizes overcome these recruitment challenges by offering tailored RPO services that enable you to build high-performing teams efficiently and cost-effectively. Our RPO solutions ensure we can manage your entire workforce under a single operation, with our expertise spanning Oil and Gas, Construction, Renewables, Life Science, and Chemicals industries. Whether you’re dealing with a skills gap or need help with compliance issues, our expertise ensures your recruitment strategy remains at the forefront of a competitive market.
To learn more about our recruitment solutions, download our 'Evaluating RPO' whitepaper or contact us today!
