The time is now: The case for recruiting during a recession

Eleven years ago this very month was the nadir of the Great Recession. Fast forward to the present-day, and Bank of America has declared the ‘recession is already here’ due to the inexorable public health and economic crises engendered by COVID-19.

In a prescient presentation, Matt Charney, Chief Content Officer at Allegis Global Solutions, covered the topic of ‘Recruiting During a Recession’ at Hiring Success ‘19. Although we were in boom times during his talk, Charney stressed to the audience that, in regards to a downturn in the economy, ‘it’s not a matter of if, but when.’ 

Now, with a recession facing the global economy head-on for an indeterminable timeframe, the time is now for talent acquisition leaders and recruiting professionals to take stock of their workflows and learn emerging best practices. From Charney’s presentation, he itemized three tenets of ‘Recession-Proof Recruiting:’

1. Make your hiring managers happy: focus on the experience and satisfaction of the hiring process for the people you work for to ensure buy-in during trying times.
2. Work smarter: analyze and refresh your recruiting tech stack – is your job advertising spend and applicant tracking system providing you the best ROI possible?
3. Monitor the competition: how are they tailoring their job descriptions for the current times and what new jobs are they posting?

The shoe string budget approach:

Contrary to popular belief, TA doesn’t have to be a cost center—especially during periods of slow economic growth or recession. In fact, there are several things hiring teams can do to actively recruit regardless of the condition of the market.

In the latest episode of the Hiring Success Podcast, Denise Moulton, VP of HR & Talent Research at Bersin, Deloitte Counseling enumerates a handful of ways that talent teams can source skilled workers without committing to large-scale, financially burdensome initiatives.