Hiring for Senior-Level Positions During an Economic Downturn

The Great Resignation, the Great Reconsideration, the Great Reset.  Call it what you will – just don’t make the mistake of thinking your talent acquisition strategies will go unaffected, even as the economy falters.  

In the face of a looming economic downturn, resignations continue to roil the marketplace, and the ranks of upper management are not being spared.  While many tend to lay the blame for this mass exodus at the feet of millennials, recent data is showing us that the workforce’s most seasoned professionals are submitting their resignation notices at an equally alarming rate.  

This has created a challenging dynamic for today’s HR managers and talent acquisition teams, having to source talent from a rapidly aging workforce where the number of resignations from experienced management professionals that command better compensation is on the rise.

Unlike the rank-and-file worker, talent acquisition strategies that focus on sourcing senior-level workers present us with a few challenges.

Organizational Impact of Turnover at the Senior Level

Senior-level managers play a crucial role in the DNA of the modern organization, especially when the economy turns south.  For starters, they’re heavily relied upon for workforce stability.  They’re often successful in their roles because of outstanding leadership skills and their ability to make exceptional judgment calls that are aligned with the organization’s vision.  

But there are reports showing that the rate of senior-level professionals leaving their jobs has been growing much faster this year.  Talent acquisition professionals and HR managers are bracing for the impending impact of this dynamic: Resignations at the senior level often precipitates quits at lower levels.  Essentially, the departure of a senior manager can cause a ripple effect that disrupts the entire workforce of an organization.

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Talent Acquisition & Senior Level Employees 

Traditional talent acquisition strategies and bigger compensation packages are no longer enough to attract the workforce’s most seasoned management professionals.  Today, this process merits a more hands-on approach that we’ll describe below. By following these strategies, your organization will be in a stronger position to source senior talent from an expansive pool of candidates no matter what kind of economic environment we’re working in.

First, Appoint a Strategic HR Leader

As the economy threatens to slide further into a recession, organizations that have already established a guiding force to usher their recruitment efforts through these troubled waters will have the best chance of winning the talent war.

Your organization needs to appoint a dedicated professional to get a pulse on what skills and talent are needed to strengthen your organization during a recession and one who clearly understands the pain points of hiring the wrong talent. 

If the size of your organization makes hiring a full-time HR leader cost prohibitive, consider the option of a Fractional Chief Human Resources Officer. 

Define the Role | Clearly Profile the Ideal Prospect

This process begins with one question:  what issue has this position been created to address?

Remember, a senior manager represents a higher level of management.  At this level, senior managers will be required to overcome a unique set of challenges, such as marshaling the efforts of a workgroup that may include employees and lower-level managers.  Properly defining this role means more than simply listing job responsibilities; it means clearly identifying the soft skills like relationship building and a higher level of emotional intelligence that a senior manager needs to have if they’re expected to be successful in their new role whether our economy is on the skids or not.

Talk to employees at your organization who are currently performing in a similar capacity to find out what their most valuable skills are.  Also, talk to whomever the appointee will be reporting to so that you can gain a clear understanding of expectations.

Embrace Modern HR Technology & Talent Acquisition Systems

Innovations in HR technology and developments in artificial intelligence (AI) have ushered in a new era of talent acquisition systems that are playing a huge role in automating traditional hiring processes and dramatically enhancing the candidate experience - the latter of which has never been more important.

For example, when was the last time you evaluated your HR tech?  Are your organization's website and application process mobile friendly?  In 2019, half of all job applications were submitted on a mobile device.  In 2021, that number jumped to nearly 70%.  

Nothing alienates the best talent more than outdated tech.  

We can’t put it any simpler than this: organizations that aren’t proactively evaluating modern applicant tracking systems (ATS), and related HR technologies are going to continue losing the talent war to the companies that do.  Today, nearly every Fortune 500 company has an ATS at the center of their talent sourcing efforts, and HR professionals believe that having access to a powerful ATS is the key to hiring talent faster.  

Technology equates to speed, and with the best candidates being scooped up in as little as 10 days, the technology at your disposal can be the difference between hiring the best talent and losing talent to faster, more tech-savvy competitors.

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Target Passive Job Seekers to Fill Senior Roles

About 70% of the global workforce is made up of candidates who aren’t actively searching for a job but would be receptive to hearing offers (a.k.a., passive job seekers.)  Your talent recruitment efforts can be effective in sourcing passive candidates by standing out wherever those candidates are spending their time online (Facebook, LinkedIn, professional association sites, etc.)  

• LinkedIn is still considered a great source for recruiting senior-level talent, and you can even take advantage of subscriptions the site offers to help you source passive candidates.
• Establish a company page on Facebook as a launch point for building your brand and encourage employees to get involved.  You can use Facebook to post company achievements and milestones, and post job opportunities. 

Once you establish an online presence to trumpet your brand, work on building momentum by encouraging employees to invite friends and colleagues to join.

In other words, your talent acquisition process needs to include outreach efforts.  This is an area where talent acquisition teams can be very resourceful in finding senior-level talent in a souring economy.  The interesting thing to know about recruiting senior-level management professionals is that a majority of them would prefer to be discovered rather than have to search for their next opportunity. 

Engage Often with a Personalized Touch

Personalized outreach and personalized communication are mega-crucial when recruiting talent at the senior level.  Remember, the best candidates are likely to receive inquiries from competing recruiters.  Fortunately, much of it will be vague and won’t merit a response.  Personalized communication helps you achieve something else valuable: candidates love to feel like they are being deliberately targeted.  Be mindful of the language in the “message templates” your technology uses, and be sure you are including important details like the correct spelling of their first names and include information that persuades them to believe they were chosen over others.  

When candidates feel that you’re selectively reaching out to them, it dramatically increases the chances of getting a response.

You’ll probably discover that many senior management professionals are often quite content where they’re currently employed, but keep connecting with them – share company news, ask about their career goals…you are building a relationship over time – a crucial step in attracting passive candidates.

Build an Engaging Benefits Package

When comparing two offers, the benefits package is often the determining factor – make sure yours is competitive.  Benefits packages are growing increasingly more dynamic in terms of the incentives being offered.  With the risk of depression among employees now more than 70% higher than it was before the pandemic, we have a renewed focus on our mental health and physical well-being.  Your benefits package needs to reflect that. 

Offering creative benefits like health club reimbursement and mental health coverage are very enticing benefits to a passive job seeker.  Even pet insurance is being offered now to show employees a willingness to help care for their extended lives.

Screening | Making the Offer

Making a bad decision at the senior management level carries tremendous liability.  Not only can it be a very costly hiring mistake, but it can also be a source of great embarrassment to your company.  Degree fraud is very real, so vet candidates thoroughly to verify credentials.  

Also, social media sweeps are becoming more and more essential for vetting senior-level talent.  Tweets and Facebook posts can be extraordinarily revealing in terms of their ability to offer very candid insights about a candidate’s genuine character.

Once you’ve found your candidate, don’t wait!  Make your offer within 48 hours, if possible.  Remember, the longer you drag your feet hiring talent, the more time you give competitors to make a sweeter offer.

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Manatal – The Leading Talent Acquisition Software

To succeed in locating and hiring the best senior level talent in any economic environment your organization must be willing to abandon the same tired, time-consuming processes and be willing to embrace new innovations in HR technology that can harness the power of modern automation.  

Hopefully, the information we’ve presented can persuade your organization to invest in the technology that will allow you to compete for the job market’s best senior-level talent.

Organizations across the globe often need to look no further than Manatal.

As the leading developer of modern talent acquisition systems, Manatal’s ATS platform has helped organizations across the globe achieve new levels of success in process automation that have helped them reduce hiring timelines and greatly enhance the online experience it can offer candidates.  

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Right now, Manatal is offering a 14-day free trial of its ATS platform to ensure that your organization’s search for senior-level talent will leave little room for error.  Make sure you invest in the technology that gives your recruiters the best chance to succeed in doing what they do best – hiring talented workers.