Best Practices for Recruiters During a Hiring Freeze

Did you know that over 26% of employers in the UK planned to halt their hiring activities in the past year (2023)? As the economy starts to get uncertain, it’s no surprise that some companies would push a hiring freeze button to reduce costs and maintain their cash flow. Hiring freezes can present a challenging situation for recruiters. With limited resources and a freeze on bringing in new talent, how can recruiters effectively navigate this situation? Let’s explore the answers below.

What Is a Hiring Freeze?

A hiring freeze is a situation where a company stops hiring new employees or creating new positions for a set period of time. By freezing new hires, your company can avoid laying off its current staff members. But in doing so, it could affect the existing employees, who may have to take on additional responsibilities or work longer hours to compensate for the unfilled roles.

What Recruiters Should Do During a Hiring Freeze

1. Focus on branding, networking, and expanding your reach

Even during a hiring freeze, it’s still important to maintain and strengthen your company's brand. It’s a good idea to use this time to showcase your employer brand through social media, online platforms, or networking. This is also the right time to attend virtual industry events, join professional groups online, and build connections with other recruiters.

2. Reduce recruiting and internal costs by reviewing your tech stack

A hiring freeze allows you to re-evaluate your current systems and tools and see which one is essential and which one is redundant or outdated. You may not need certain sourcing or screening tools when you are not actively hiring. Instead, you can invest in tools that improve your productivity and collaboration, such as an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) or a Human Resource Management System (HRMS). Manatal’s ATS offers flexible and affordable pricing plans compared to other tools, which makes it a perfect fit for small businesses.

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3. Keep your talent pipeline warm

Just because hiring is on hold doesn't mean you should neglect your talent pipeline. Keep it warm by engaging and nurturing relationships with passive candidates. You can use email, phone, social media, or video calls to share relevant content or provide feedback. Also, create talent pools based on different criteria, such as skills, experience, location, or industry, and segment your candidates accordingly to help you get ready to hit the ground running when the hiring freeze is lifted.

4. Evolve your recruiting skills

Use the downtime to continuously improve your skills as a recruiter. Take advantage of online courses, webinars, and workshops to stay updated on the latest recruiting trends, techniques, and best practices.

5. Build up your client pipeline

While hiring may be limited within your current client base, it doesn't mean you can't pursue new opportunities. Always set your eyes out to build connections and find clients. Go online and research the hiring needs in different industries. Reach out to new prospects using the cold email strategies and follow up with them.

6. Focus on upskilling existing staff

Consider a hiring freeze as an opportunity to invest in your current employees. Upskilling your existing staff employees can help improve the performance, productivity, and competitiveness of your company. So, start by identifying the skill gaps and training needs then provide your employees with online training resources and mentorship programs, and encourage continuous learning among them. And don’t forget to measure and evaluate their progress after the upskilling program.

When does a company need to impose a hiring freeze?

Companies may initiate a hiring freeze for various reasons, such as:

• Economic downturns or market fluctuations: A company may experience a decline in demand for its products or services due to a recession, a pandemic, or a competitive threat.
• Budgetary constraints or liquidity issues: It could be a cash flow problem due to delayed payments from customers, increased costs of raw materials, or unexpected expenses.
• Organizational restructuring or anticipated industry changes: You may undergo a merger, an acquisition, a divestiture, or a strategic shift that affects its organizational structure, culture, or vision.
• Overstaffing or redundancies: There could be a moment where you might hire too many employees, or have duplicated or obsolete roles that do not add value to the business.

Can You Still Hire During a Hiring Freeze?

The main purpose of a hiring freeze is to reduce costs and preserve cash flows, so it’s safe to say that hiring is not possible during the period. However, some companies may still hire for roles that are critical for the operation. For example, a healthcare company may still hire nurses or doctors during a hiring freeze, while a tech company may still hire software engineers or cybersecurity experts.

When to End a Hiring Freeze

There is no definitive answer to when a company should end a hiring freeze and resume hiring, as it depends on various factors such as the company’s financial situation, market conditions, and business goals. However, there are some possible indicators that a company may be ready to lift the hiring freeze.

• The first pointer is when a company has achieved its cost-saving targets and has sufficient cash flow to support its operations. If your company has successfully navigated through a difficult period and is now on track with its financial plans, It could be a sign that it's ready to resume hiring activities.
• Another factor is when the company has a clear and realistic growth strategy that calls for additional talent to execute it. If you need to expand, then it might be time to end the hiring freeze to bring in the necessary roles to drive and support your growth.
• A hiring freeze could be lifted when a company has analyzed its current and future needs and has a clearly defined plan for filling its vital roles.
• A company can also end a hiring freeze when it has evaluated the feedback and satisfaction of its employees and has taken steps to address the issues or concerns, such as providing the employees with recognition, rewards, training, or career development opportunities.

Conclusion

A hiring freeze may seem like a roadblock for recruiters, but remember that it’s not the end of your role or your contributions to the organization. Even if the recruitment is on hold, you still have important tasks to focus on and can use this time wisely to enhance your skills and strategies. Just remain resilient, adaptable, and committed to your role, as there is always valuable work to be done during a hiring freeze.