The high-level stress and demands in meeting hiring goals and sourcing quality passive talent in the wake of ‘The Great Resignation’ have given rise to the phrase, ‘recruiter burnout.’ Organisational psychologists – with their focus on the HR industry – are realising that the volatile labour market, long-term workforce uncertainty and the nature of hiring are key factors in adding significant contextual pressure to an already challenging job description.
Recruiting managers and Talent Acquisition agents are under the gun. Their candidate sourcing strategy and objectives leave them nowhere to hide. (A recruiter’s job is to recruit). The reality that a business’s bottom line and future growth plan are largely dependent on its hires places huge pressure on recruiters and often ratchets up exhaustion levels as they slog it out on their ATS (Applicant Tracking System) hamster wheels.
The Great Resignation – a term coined by Anthony Klotz, a management professor – also referred to as the Big Quit or the Great Reshuffle, has created unprecedented and complex challenges. This global economic phenomenon saw employees voluntarily resigning ‘en masse’ during the Covid pandemic in search of better opportunities.
The subsequent ripple effect has led to a shortage of qualified and available candidates, intensified competition for top talent (especially in the tech and pharma industries), resistance to a return to in-office work and a shift in priorities and job requirements; the ‘perfect storm’ for feeding recruiter burnout.
3 Recruiter burnout ‘villains’
The difficulty in sourcing quality candidates and the connected work-related pressures faced by HR managers in the current hiring climate place a heavy burden on any Talent Acquisition professional, making recruiter burnout a serious reality.
The basic contributors in this dynamic industry context are:
- Unique workload: The flipside economic narrative to the Great Resignation saw multiple industries retrenching and laying off staff. Recruiting teams are now faced with the responsibility of managing multiple job openings and candidates simultaneously. With the sheer volume of potential active candidates and sourcing niche passive talent thrown in, it can be overwhelming to sift through resumes and identify the most promising candidates.
- Unique pressure: High expectations and tight deadlines from management (and candidates) to fill job openings quickly and efficiently – as well as streamline a long-term hiring pipeline – contribute to workplace-related stress and anxiety. The economic ‘tightening of one’s belt’ has left HR teams spread thinly on the ground.
- Unique challenges: The competition for top talent is fierce. In the current job market where the passive talent pool candidates have their pick of employers, recruiters need to be proactive in their outreach and offer compelling reasons (beyond remuneration) for candidates to choose their organisation.
1 ‘Hero’ solution to address recruiter burnout
Working within an economic climate that is directing the current landscape of candidate sourcing is forcing employers to rethink their talent acquisition strategy and streamline their hiring processes.
The obvious goal for a recruiting manager encompasses the following objectives:
- Source the most promising active and passive talent
- Hire the right person for the job at the right time
- Retain the candidate by outlining a long-term employee growth journey
- Ensure that a potential candidate’s work will contribute to company goals and that they will have the potential to grow within the company.
This is a tall order.
To mitigate recruiter burnout, there are plenty of webinars and articles out there advocating a successful work-life balance and prioritisation of self-care – from yoga or meditation to Zumba classes or signing up for a watercolour tutorial.
These personal management goals are all well and good, but they are not likely to change the in-office, real-time expectations and will unfortunately not remove the piles of resumes on your desk or clear your email backlog of candidate applications.
This is where a Talent Acquisition Partner – such as Starcircle – can step in to save the day; assisting you with the latest in cutting-edge AI technology and skilled human insights that give you access to:
- More efficient ways to find quality candidates and tap into a pool of undiscovered talent
- Alternative routes to source talent
- Effective and flexible pipelining that feeds into your current ATS
- A combination of talent-enabled sourcing, talent analytics and search algorithms; helping you to land precise and targeted candidates
- Weekly data reports and insights
Partnering with a Talent Acquisition specialist allows you to broaden your view of the available talent and candidate sourcing pool. After making a placement, our data reporting details the top competitors for the role so that when you are ready to hire, an adaptive pipeline of suitable and quality candidates is already waiting for you. (It’s all about working smarter, not harder).
‘Just breathe’ with Starcircle by your side
In a new economic climate, a new approach to candidate sourcing is necessary. ‘Turbocharging’ your hiring funnel with a powerful and strategic data-infused custom talent acquisition solution is clearly the antidote to recruiter burnout.
Our Starcircle innovative approach is informed by data, accelerated by technology and guided by human expertise; transforming your recruitment strategy and allowing you to own the talent pipeline. Our time-saving software solutions give you access to a curated pool of passive talent and are easily integrated into your current recruitment process. (You will even have time to make it to your yoga class.)
