By Neil Costa
According to the October and November jobs reports, overall job gains have slowed compared to the massive job growth in September. Yet, the employers’ open positions remained steady in September, which some people have dubbed the “great mismatch”—indicating an economy where open positions and job seekers are plentiful—yet the right talent is unavailable.
In some instances, this is true. But in others, large quantities of unfilled jobs are a sign that employers are testing a bizarre yet calculated strategy: keeping jobs open deliberately.
An unusual strategy for an unusual labor economy
Ever apply for a job and learn they’re exploring other options, only to watch that exact position remain open and unfilled for months?
Many U.S. employers are not in a rush to promote and advertise jobs and then fill them rapidly, which could indicate a purposeful strategy. In an uncertain economy, a company sees direct bottom line benefits if a job stays vacant. This organization will then track ahead of budget plans by leaving positions open and slow-rolling the hiring. This creative move allows organizations to feign active hiring and growth while enjoying cost savings on the back end. This move may help the C-suite hit quarterly goals without the negative perception of removing jobs from their career sites.
Keeping jobs open in a tight labor market
As noted, perhaps the most enticing motivations driving an employer to keep a job open are financial advantages. Not filling a position reduces salary and benefits, office, and equipment expenditures. This maximizes short-term profits, thus boosting short-term financial gains, shareholder value, and investor confidence. In the new year, a company may also be looking to boost shareholder confidence and come off financially strong right off the bat. They could also be taking a wait-and-see approach to hiring as it assesses market conditions, business trends, and other external factors to come.
Besides financial incentives, labor-related factors could also drive an organization to keep a role vacant.
For instance, open jobs empower mobility by allowing a company to shift workers quickly amid changing business needs or promote great workers already on the payroll. However, business leaders should take caution if purposely keeping jobs open, hoping their current staff can absorb the workload of unfilled positions. Typically, this approach is a trap unless you make critical process improvements to boost productivity. Otherwise, employee burnout may run rampant.
Negative impact of understaffing
While there are plenty of good reasons to leave a position open, the long-term impact of this practice can be neglected—for example, burnout and disengagement.
If employee morale and engagement dip, companies will face employee retention issues and the cost of attrition outweighs the cost of hiring in many cases. Plus, this prolonged understaffing can lead to a poor workplace culture, low-quality service and an increasingly unhappy customer base, and stunt company growth and innovation. Additionally, this leads to a negative candidate experience created for prospective employees interested in open roles only to experience delays in the recruiting process or a lack of communication altogether. This is bad for an organization’s reputation as an employer and may severely impede the flow of candidates you wish you could have hired.
What to do if you’re struggling to fill positions
Amid labor shortages across multiple industries, some companies may need help finding the right talent for their open positions. For companies grappling with the great mismatch, it’s time to hire creatively. Luckily, two simple tactics can help.
First, companies can get creative with hiring by moving beyond traditional job sites like LinkedIn, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter. While these sites can still be extremely effective, organizations often use a “set and forget” approach to managing their recruitment advertising on these sites, which can dampen the effectiveness of the campaign. There is a treasure trove of talent hiding out on consumer media platforms like YouTube, Reddit, and TikTok. Targeting individuals where they scroll, swipe, and double tap will widen the available talent pool to passive job seekers—not just active. Leveraging these sites can not only help build your employer brand where people spend their time, but also allow employers to target key geographies, specific types of content, and spark engagement with candidates early in the process.
Employers should also consider what skills they are missing. There are likely promising professionals they can bring on board, but they need to tap into new segments of the labor market by considering skills available versus traditional methods of sourcing candidates. Forward-thinking organizations will more proactively search for talent in historically undervalued parts of the workforce. For example, more programs will aim to create safe environments and support workers with disabilities, diverse backgrounds, and older workers considering “flextirement.” In addition, some organizations are embracing second-chance hiring for workers with criminal records. This can give businesses an advantage as they are fishing in unique, and often untapped, pools of talent.
New year, new hiring strategy
The great mismatch trend will persist as employment and job gains fluctuate into the new year due to a mercurial economy. Regardless of your company’s situation, whether you keep positions open purposely as a way to wait out the uncertainty or you actually can’t find the right talent, there are always new ideas to consider. Now is an excellent time to reevaluate and improve your hiring strategy. Wise businesses will take advantage of this fresh start by combining new efforts to target talent in creative ways along with becoming more efficient with traditional job search sites.
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