COVID-19's Impact on Agencies' Ability to Hire

COVID-19 has thrown the hiring and employment landscape for a loop in 2020. Some obvious outcomes like more companies going fully remote, some much less obvious, even counter-intuitive outcomes. Understanding how this new normal in the world of hiring will impact your company’s ability to grow is critical, despite whether you are currently hiring or have no plans to. We are all one big contract signed or one “here’s my 2 week notice” away from having to go out and hire. 

Agencies widely adopting a remote culture has made hiring much more difficult

There are people out there who will tell you “we have record unemployment, hiring is easy right now” and “hiring remotely is easier than in your location because the pool is so much larger.” I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but so many companies going remote has made hiring great experienced people much much more difficult. 

The key phrase there is “great experienced people.” If your bar for previously experienced talent isn’t all that high, then you are in luck because there is a ton of talent out there that is smart, hardworking with lots of potential BUT don’t know much about a specific role. Let’s use a Digital Strategist as an example. You can hire great people who you will need to invest a ton of time into training to become a Strategist. If you have the time to train extensively, this is a great market for you! 

Most agencies are not in that position. You are likely a company of less than 50 people, you don’t have a Head of Learning and Development or a formal training program and you need people who can execute now. Bad news: the market for top level experienced talent has become much more competitive. You only needed to stand out from the other agencies in your city before 2020. Now you need to stand out from every other agency in the country. Differentiating yourself as an awesome place to work has become a lot harder.

“You only needed to stand out from the other agencies in your city before 2020. Now you need to stand out from every other agency in the country”

The top 10% of talented Digital Strategists (the people we are all chasing, the real difference makers) have what seems like endless opportunities now. They can evaluate options from coast to coast and internationally if they choose to. The point here; getting a great AND experienced game-changer to click on and apply for your job posting has become infinitely more difficult because there are so many more options. 

The solutions are straight forward:

1. Invest the time and energy into building an exceptional employer branding strategy
2. Find a recruiting partner you can trust to deliver the talent you need and deliver it quickly

Whether you choose to work with a recruiting partner (NOT a staffing agency by the way) or take on the challenge in-house, it is important to understand the competitive landscape. Check out the careers pages that the biggest HubSpot partners have produced. Check out their benefits summaries, their culture content, their employee testimonials, etc… That is what you are up against. Not to mention their brand recognition. 

Finding a recruiting partner that is obsessed with quality, value, client experience and delivery the very best experienced people can become your secret weapon. Don’t hesitate to use it!