Over the past 6 months, the employment marketplace has shifted substantially. A recent search of training related positions in the NY metro area on Monster, hotjobs, and Careerbuilder revealed 1,744 open positions.

In the world of staffing the market has shifted 180 degrees. At KnowledgeStaff we find our time more focused on candidate recruitment activities than business prospecting. During the market slowdown our success was determined by identifying a corporation with a hiring need - we had the candidates stockpiled.

When the employment marketplace shifts, several things occur:

• Supply and demand causes salaries to increase; a recent review of our staffing requirements revealed that in the past 4 months salaries have increased by 14%; the current average salary of our active opportunities is $99,277.
• Staffing cycle times accelerate; corporations must streamline their hiring process or risk losing excellent candidates to other interviewing firms that may make offers faster.
• More people will want to see what other opportunities exist in the marketplace. A large number of people currently employed were forced to accept jobs at lower salary levels during the market downturn. In many cases, these people are satisfied with their jobs and the companies that they work for but are testing the marketplace for higher paying positions.
• Corporations will need to be more flexible in the skills and experience they require of potential new hires. Hiring managers will need to focus more on the core skills and competencies of candidates than on specific industry or subject matter expertise.

Take Action Now

Rather than be at the effect of the new hiring reality, there are specific actions that should be taken now to ensure the retention of valued employees and also increase the likelihood of attracting and hiring new high caliber employees:

• Take an inventory of the industry: have your HR department research current salaries paid by other corporations to similar professionals on your staff. You can also contact KnowledgeStaff or other staffing firms that specialize in your industry for current market data.
• Analyze this data and determine if any action is required-this could include having salaries for valued employees increased, having job grades re-evaluated, or shifting budget dollars to attract better employees.
• Consult with the staffing representatives at your firm to review the job hiring process. Eliminate inefficiencies--inefficiencies can include requiring candidates to interview on multiple occasions, difficulty in coordinating interviewer schedules, and time delays during the offer sign-off stage.
• Check in with your current staff to gauge their level of job satisfaction.

2003 - 2006 Ross Squire. Printed with Permission.

About the Author
Ross Squire is the President of KnowledgeStaff. Ross has been involved in the learning and content design and delivery industry for close to twenty years. At various points in his career, Ross has been responsible for overseeing Marketing, Sales, Client Services, Project Direction, and Recruitment operations. Ross is a frequent speaker and author on topics related to career development, instructional technology, and technical writing industries.

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