Yes, it’s not easy. The scarcity on the labor market: everyone has to deal with it. And the simple answers to that are slowly becoming quite exhausted. That was also the central voice on Thursday, May 19, during a well-attended edition of Werf& Live , where the central question remained: how do you deal with the shortage? And then it turns out that there are quite a few different ideas about it, each of which could be part of the solution.
As Remon Dijksterhuis , recruiter at TechCaps, says: ‘Nowadays we look more at what people find interesting, instead of at: what suits a vacancy? If you start the conversation and the connection in this way, so that you may be able to make an offer to someone in the future, you can still remain interesting.’ By van Dinten , client director at Steam, also recommends staying close to the target group if you want to be successful. ‘You have to know all facets of them. Not just the standard stuff, but much deeper than that.’
Also applies to sourcing
Really delving into someone also applies if you want to actively approach candidates, according to ‘ sourcing geek ‘ Milou Verhoeks ( Cooble ). ‘Overloading people with messages is of course not the solution. But what we do, mega-creative with reminders, and very data-driven, really different than usual, I think that is certainly the solution.’ Which leads to recognition for someone like Lotte Langemeyer (BRANDMENNEN). ‘It is becoming increasingly important to tell the target group why they should come and work somewhere.’
‘Recruitment already starts in primary schools.’
At the Amsterdam OLVG, recruiter Luuk Vogel notices this in everyday practice. ‘We really have to distinguish ourselves from other hospitals in the region. We like to make a difference based on our culture.’ But good recruitment starts much earlier, emphasizes Martijn Smit (Croonwolter&dros). ‘It already starts in primary schools. We first have to get across how much fun it is to work in technology.’
Upskill and reskill
Getting people in early, then retaining them for a long time and training them further is also what Thérèse Doppenberg , head of HR at Kwikfit, lawyers. ‘Our response to the shortage is that we mainly try to retain employees. For example, through our own academy , where we offer them technical training, but also leadership training. My dream is that we allow employees to grow in such a way that we only have vacancies for BBL employees, ie younger employees, who we then train ourselves.’
‘My dream is that we allow employees to grow in such a way that we only have vacancies for BBL students.’
It all comes together in the vision of Jeroen Mossinkoff (RecruitmentBuilders), who calls for looking broader than just the vacancy itself . ‘That also means: do we dare to enter into that discussion and propose that English-speaking candidate? Do we dare to offer a course, talk about reskilling and upskilling ? Of course, we’ve been saying that for years, but it has only become more urgent recently.’
Video: Stephan Bolderman (Motion Content Company)