Why the “War On Talent” Isn’t a Bad Thing

Freddy VacaBlog

Unemployment rates remain low and companies in the contingent labor space are often fighting hard for the few candidates available. In many parts of our business this is presented as a bad thing.

While, it’s certainly not ideal, it’s also not the worst thing in the world. There are some benefits to being in a “war on talent.”

Of course, the term war is this context is not appropriate, but it is the term you will see being used often. Essentially, it’s a way of encapsulating exactly what our recruiters are experiencing as they try and convince a candidate to choose us over any other staffing firm.

Here are some ways that I think this “war on talent” is actually a good thing.

Hard Work Pays Off

In order to find the right candidates amongst a smaller field than normal, our recruiters have to work harder and smarter than the rest of the recruiters in our space. This means being creative, thinking outside the box, making those extra phone calls and doing that extra due diligence. Hard work isn’t always fun, but it is rewarding and helps keep you sharp. It’s a sink or swim world in recruiting and those who survive the difficult days are the ones who can really thrive when times are easier.

And when times get even tougher, you’re ready and equipped to handle that too. It’s like a sports team that plays a tough schedule and still comes out on top. That team is more ready for the playoffs than the teams that played an easy schedule and are stunned when they face a tough team for the first time.

Creating Loyalty

Due to the shortage of quality workers available, when you do find one that fits everything you are looking for it becomes extremely important to keep him or her. That’s when your company’s culture, pay, benefits, and other bonuses come into play. Candidates often have more power in these situations, and they know the competition is fierce for their services. But if you can win the fight for their services with the best offer, then you’ve hopefully created a loyal employee. The fact that they aren’t choosing you out of desperation can mean that they’re choosing you because they want to. That’s always a good thing.

Confident Workforce

According to HR Dive, confidence in independent workers is higher than ever, which means that you are working with people who are often happy and content with their situations. A confident worker is most likely a capable one, and when you’re delivering these talented workers to your clients there’s a higher chance of satisfaction for all involved, from the employee to the client to the staffing company. At Pinnacle Group, we strive to make sure that any worker we hire and place at a client fits the culture of the client. In a contingent labor economy with confident and satisfied workers, this becomes easier.

We’d be lying if we said that it is easy to fight in this “war on talent.” But we’ve never been afraid of hard work, that’s how we’ve been able to win the clients we’ve won and reach the level of success we’ve reached with our talent solutions.

The IT staffing and contingent labor world is constantly changing, evolving, and growing. If you’re a talented consultant or recruiter and looking to work with a fast-growing company with an entrepreneurial spirit, I’d love to talk to you. Shoot me an email at Freddy.Vaca@pinnacle1.com with some background information and let’s get going. If you’re interested in learning about the culture at Pinnacle, read this blog post by Kyle Pittenger, SVP of Sales at Pinnacle Group.