Forecasting Your Staffing Needs For The Near Future

As the president of my recruiting firm, I see manyemployees hopping around, what will you have to do
human resources professionals needing to fill a vacantto keep your current employees happy? You time is
position spending hour after hour looking on sites likegoing to be spent on attracting and retaining strategies,
monster and careerbuilder, hunting and pecking for thatadditional perks programs, increased paperwork,
elusive needle in a haystack.training...you name it.
While that can be rewarding and inexpensive, itThe time to plan is now.
certainly does require much more time and effort, asIf you don't already have a great relationship with at
well as a good neck and back massage. Moreleast one recruiting company you can trust, it's time to
importantly it takes away from administering benefitsstart researching. Your recruiting and staffing partner
and nurturing and developing current employees.can not only take those worries off your plate, but
Today, you might be able to spare the time and costssince this is their area of expertise, they are your best
of doing this work yourself. In the very near future,resource for knowing people in your industry, looking
however, the market is changing with baby boomersfor a new opportunity. The saying goes, "The best
retiring, which started in 2005, is predicted to peak injobs are often unadvertised." That holds true for the
2011, and slowing sometime around 2020.best potential candidates too.
What this will affect:Plan on an appropriate budget for your needs by
- More positions to fill, especially highly trained, skilledtalking to your recruiting and staffing partner who can
and knowledgeable human capital;help you make a decision based on their costs, your
- Higher turnover as employees leave for othercompany strategies and determine the big picture.
opportunities that were not available before;Working with a recruiting and staffing partner doesn't
- Your company's ability to grow, increase earningshave to cost a fortune if planned in advance and the
and sales, and push quickly into new marketrelationship is a good reliable one.
opportunities.Lastly, try looking at smaller, niche job boards that have
"...nearly one-in-five employers report it typically takespre-screened candidates in your industry. Chances are,
them two months or longer to fill their open positionsit will take much less time to get interviews in the
and 40 percent say they currently have open positionshopper than searching endlessly through those
for which they can't find qualified candidates."well-known but time-consuming behemoths. You can
-CareerBuilder.com's "2008 Job Forecast," conductedspend more time at the masseuse for your enjoyment,
by Harris Interactiverather than working out the kinks.
Consider this: with the increased vacant positions and