Recruiting Budget Cut? Alternatives for Recruiting in a Down Economy

Recruiting and retaining top talent is a high priority for most businesses.  

Even in a down economy, employers strive to maintain that competitive edge in their recruiting efforts. Recessionary periods pose particularly difficult challenges for recruiting top talent, simply because of cash-flow deficiencies.

Many companies are suffering right now in terms of cash flow. There is a difference between really robust companies—ones that actually show significant profits—versus those that are really faltering.

Believer it or not, there are companies that actually benefit from difficult economic times because of the services they provide. For instance, consider the ‘Walmarts’ of the world: When economic times are tough and people lose their jobs, and especially if inflation sets in, businesses such as Walmart are likely to show increased revenue and, potentially, increased profits.

Obviously most businesses do not have that type of built-in cushion. Instead, they have to watch their pocketbooks, trim back on expenses and decrease costs, which can affect recruiting and attracting candidates.

In light of all the above, employers may be looking for guidance in order to find answers and create solutions for recruiting in a down economy.

Here are some practical tips or alternatives that don’t have to cost a lot of money: 

1. Work toward an attraction policy—similar to those recruiting-attraction policies—for current employees.  As we know, employee layoffs have been heavy and frequent, which can also make surviving employees feel anxious and skittish. They may start looking for other jobs with companies they perceive as more stable. It’s vitally important to keep the top talent you have, even as much as it is to recruit those people who are deemed important to the growth and recovery that your organization ultimately needs.
2. Remember to reward and recognize employees. For example, take the initiative and delve into untapped areas such as holidays, paid time off, etc. that you can use as boosters. What you want to do is look at those areas within your organization where the costs involved may be realized as a ‘soft-dollar’ cost.
3. Review educational and development opportunities for employees. For instance, you might consider affording employees cross-training opportunities.  Employees appreciate opportunities that allow them to expand their skills so that if/when they want to move up the ladder or make a career adjustment within the organization, they will be ready and marketable.  This is a ‘win-win,’ as well, because you will not have to go outside the organization and spend valuable time and resources to find other qualified candidates.  Google is a perfect example of this model. The culture of Google is one which most employees enjoy, and many do not want to leave so they look for reasons to stay.  In fact, most people in the northern California area, if given the opportunity to work for Google, would not hesitate to take that opportunity.
4. Keep your eye on employee morale. In a down economy, it’s easy enough to say that when people have been laid off, morale is going to be low. This is true, and you can expect morale to dip a bit, but you should be really concerned when low morale starts affecting employee productivity.  When employees are expected to do more with less and with fewer people, and you’re asking them to do this for a long period of time, you can expect them to get tired and feel extremely pressured. So figure out ways to compensate them for this extra effort. This doesn’t necessarily mean monetary awards or bonuses, but something that denotes appreciation and recognition. These expressions mean a lot to employees, and they like to be recognized and acknowledged, especially when they have gone above and beyond for your company. When employers fail in this area, employees end up feeling underappreciated and overlooked.
5. Remember too when employees do feel valued and appreciated, they will refer friends (and customers). Employee referrals can significantly help you save on recruiting costs and expenses. Even if you’re compensating employees with a monetary referral award, that cost is significantly much less than paying a head hunter.

Hopefully, the above can inspire you to think of other creative and innovative ways for reinforcing and sustaining the top talent you already have in place. It’s also important to keep in mind that when your experienced and valued employees become disengaged or start looking for greener pastures, productivity suffers and costs go up. It is never a good time for that to happen, but it’s especially undesirable in this down economy.

In a future HRTools.com Insight, I will review common mistakes to avoid and share other valuable ideas for recruiting in a down economy.

Recessionary periods pose particularly difficult challenges for recruiting top talent, simply because of cash-flow deficiencies.