Written By Janice Oh
Navigating the many challenges in permanent recruitment
The competition in searching for top talents continues to increase in Malaysia. Organisations and recruitment firms alike are being more strategic and proactive in their recruitment approaches to find and hire the talents they are looking for.
In today’s recruitment landscape, it is important to stay informed and knowledgeable of the ongoing (and potential) trends and intricacies that could impact recruitment operations, especially in permanent recruitment.
Here are the top challenges in permanent recruitment and ways to thrive against them.
- Mismatch in digital skills – one of the most persistent challenges in recruitment is skills mismatch. The gap between skills employers are looking for and those possessed by professionals can hinder recruitment processes. Many industries are seeing the rise of new or more complex digital skills that cover Industry 4.0 technologies like AI, robotics, and automation.
As recruiters, part of our job is to inform job seekers about these evolving skills so they can come up with proactive measures like continuous learning, reskilling, upskilling, networking, and constantly identifying industry trends that could impact their field of work.
- Talent shortage & competition for talent – the war for talent will continue. Looking for the ideal talent in specialised or niche fields remains a big challenge for recruiters these days, not just in Malaysia but globally. The top 2 reasons for that; are the shortage of skilled professionals and increasing competition against organisations and recruitment firms.
One of the most effective ways to secure talent is by offering competitive compensation, benefits, and employee development opportunities. Maintaining a strong talent pipeline is another way recruiters stay ahead of this challenge. They build strong relationships with candidates, even those who aren’t immediately hired. Other strategies include flexible work arrangements, company culture, and reskilling/upskilling.
- Lack of personalised recruitment experiences – Each candidate is unique. Candidates may share similarities but they also have different needs and preferences. Recruiters’ ability to adapt to individual candidate needs can result in a positive candidate perception of the company and a positive recruitment experience.
Adapting to individual candidate needs can also improve employee retention. Job candidates these days are more mindful of the companies they apply for. A big concern for them is the ability or inability of companies to retain talent. A poor retention rate is a big hit to an employer’s brand, which is important when attracting talent.
- Immigration or work visa regulations – Organisations and recruitment firms engaged in international recruitment must be informed when it comes to their country’s regulations on immigration and work visas for foreign talents. Many countries are investing a lot of resources to attract foreign skilled workers and to enable companies to process employees’ visas. Lack of knowledge or failure to comply with these regulations may hinder international recruitment, which impacts global talent mobility.
- Digital fatigue – it is true that reliance on virtual or online communication continues to increase not just for recruitment. However, many job seekers and recruiters are experiencing digital fatigue or burnout, and are hoping for more physical interactions. Recruitment has grown significantly due to innovation. But, it is important to maintain the human touch in recruitment as it can positively impact candidate experience, inclusion, onboarding, and building relationships.
Organisations and recruitment providers, not just in Malaysia, but throughout the globe will continue to see these challenges. The ability to successfully thrive against these challenges lies in the ability to effectively navigate each.
Author quick BIO:
Janice Oh started as a Senior Recruitment Consultant at Asia Recruit back in 2013 and is now an Associate Director. She has extensive experience and strong knowledge in recruitment across different industries and markets. Her expertise in permanent placement is instrumental to the growth of the company and the development of team members.
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