Like other industries, the recruitment advertising sector is impacted by the global pandemic. Having to deal with increased uncertainty, recruiters need to play a different ballgame to reach out to job seekers and interact with them. With questions about budget allocations, job seeker interest or costs fluctuations left unanswered during these uncertain times, recruiters need to be more reactive and creative to attract top talent.
Recruiting is proving to be especially challenging if you are looking for warehouse workers. Safety measures have changed how we live, work, and consume, and the warehouse industry is under unprecedented pressure to... deliver. Online sales are booming, and consumers still expect impeccable service. Warehouse workers are in extremely high demand, making any effort to recruit them a costly exercise.
What exactly is happening in this industry? How are recruiters dealing with these new parameters? What can you learn from them as you optimize your recruitment strategy? In this article, we will get into:
- The huge increase of warehouse job openings and its consequences
- Current challenges recruiters are facing as they hire warehouse workers
- 3 things to keep in mind as you connect with job seekers
A Dramatic Shift, in Numbers
Package pileup. Shipageddon. These are some of the terms that experts use to describe what is currently happening in the warehouse industry. After a record-breaking 2020 holiday seasons that saw major retailers and e-commerce businesses each hire 100,000+ seasonal workers, it was clear that the disruptions caused by the pandemic were slowly becoming the new normal. 2020 had many twists and turns, but when the cost to find warehouse workers jumped by 383% during the holiday shopping season, many recruiters pushed the panic button.
Meanwhile, job seekers interest remained steady, with many warehouse professionals dealing with a new challenge: having too many options. From the beginning of 2020 to the start of the summer, open positions for warehouse workers grew by 167%. If numbers decreased after the summer, they were back to their highest level at the start of 2021.
In a context of high competition, recruiters looking to optimize costs should focus on shortening the recruitment process. How? By learning more about what job seekers were really looking for. What lessons did professionals looking to hire warehouse workers learn?
The 3 Main Priorities for Job Seekers
Analyzing millions of job postings over the last few years to identify trends and most efficient strategies, three main priorities emerged for job seekers: safety, compensation, and simplicity.
- Safety:
Showing COVID-19 consciousness is a winning strategy. If warehouse workers obviously need to be reassured about safety measures as they need to be physically at the workplace, every job seeker has questions about what their work environment will be like during a global pandemic. Address it.
- Compensation:
When competition is high, going straight to the point does pay off. You may not have to give numbers but communicating about great compensation shows that you have confidence in what you have to offer. It makes you stand out.
- Simplicity:
Less is more. When candidates are solicited by a lot of companies, the ones offering the most convenience are favored. From a clear job posting to a smooth application process supported by technology with easy apply features, make it easy for them to get to you.
The current situation in the warehouse industry can offer recruiters real insights to craft the optimal experience and better understand job seekers. We partnered up with Wonolo, an on-demand staffing platform that connects job seekers and businesses, and Joveo, the global leader in programmatic job advertising, to create a complete report about the fierce competition for warehouse workers. You’ll be able to learn about successful job titles, costs, jobs inventory fluctuations and solutions recruiters are using to stay cost-effective and engaging.
