Staff shortages threaten multiple industries. Employers have even been "caught off guard" by staff shortages that have already emerged or will emerge in the very near future, research shows. The economy is picking up and you can suddenly feel it: we're dealing with a tight labor market.
More than half of employers struggle to recruit suitable staff, according to the aforementioned research by payroll processor ADP, consultancy Berenschot and Performa Publishing. For 2018, which is less than half a year away, almost two-thirds of the more than a thousand personnel managers surveyed expect to face problems, the research shows. In 2016, 36 percent of employers had problems filling vacancies. A year earlier, that was less than a quarter.
The race for the best candidate
For young professionals and recent graduates, it's nice to be pulled from all sides and to suddenly have so much to choose from, but a tight labor market is simultaneously an enormous challenge for 'the other side': recruiters, labor market specialists, employment branding managers and HR directors. How do you entice candidates to come work at YOUR company when there's so much to choose from? Just like in real life, everything in recruitment is becoming increasingly digital. A job board or vacancy website is one of many touchpoints where applicants or job seekers come into contact with their new employer. A careers website is also such a touchpoint.
What Coolblue does well
Coolblue scores far above average on all customer experience themes in both the first impression and exploration phases, and has by far the highest overall rating. Coolblue is also ranked first by most respondents (40%), followed by number 8 Rabobank (38%). Respondents particularly appreciate the cheerful, positive appearance of Coolblue's careers website. Examples include imagery of real Coolblue employees, the language use, choosing the name 'Dream Job Generator' for the search engine, and the openness with which vacancies are described.
Coolblue makes a strong first impression and manages to position itself as an attractive employer for potential employees almost immediately, receiving the highest score on all themes. On Look & Feel, Coolblue shares its win with number 3 Deloitte, mainly because Deloitte provides good overview and is very clear.
The very best careers website: Learning from market leaders
In times of tight labor markets, an excellent application experience on your careers website is essential. Coolblue offers what job seekers and recent graduates consider the best application experience in this research. What can organizations with careers websites learn from Coolblue? And from ABN Amro, and from Deloitte? And from all other websites in the research that score very well on certain elements in WUA's research model? A complete research report including customized recommendations, screenshot analyses, qualitative applicant experiences and full benchmark scores, best cases and best practices from all 16 parties is available upon request.
