This is particularly important for professional services companies, which rely on the knowledge and skills of their employees. Soon, they will need to address the limited availability of candidates, the improvement of passive recruitment techniques, the offer of competition, and the alignment of HR activities with the company's strategy.

Talents’ shortages

It is extremely difficult to find high-quality candidates on the market, but for highly qualified professionals that can be found in the area of professional services, it is even more difficult. Therefore, the speed of talent acquisition processes is crucial. However, efficiency must not be forgotten during the recruitment process. Only maintaining a balance between these two elements will ensure success. How to achieve it? The solution may be building early relationships with potential candidates, making them feel a certain relationship with the company once the offer is made. In other words, it is important to carry out communication with the right people in a timely and appropriate manner. This is supported by tools such as Candidate Relationship Management, which have a significant impact on search, attraction and best talent.

Passive techniques

Given the problem of the shortage of talents in the labour market, it is not surprising that passive recruitment techniques are becoming increasingly popular – they are becoming a necessity. Most potential candidates are not actively seeking work. The best people are employed and do not look for challenges, although research shows that they are open to proposals, especially if they combine attractive salaries, organizational culture and reputation. Moreover, talents acquired in this way are usually more valuable than those obtained by using traditional methods.

How to get into it? It is best to start with a permit program for your current employees. Colleagues and acquaintances in the company are often real gems that already have relationships with other employees when they come to the company. And even if they are not willing to join the company, they can be a source of information about other valuable candidates.

Strategic coherence

In doing so, HR activities must be consistent with the overall strategy of the company. A company needs to search for people or entire teams according to its future needs. Otherwise, there may not be one or two people missing, but there will be more posts filled. In this situation, it is much more difficult to remain calm, to carry out the recruitment process in an informed and rational manner and to focus on quality, as the need for rapid action is too strong.

A good starting point is the human resource planning tools, such as Maconomy People Planner, which not only allow convenient planning but also identify which employees are available to work on the various stages of the project. By integrating with other Maconomy modules, there is the option to view approved and planned projects, so the company can assess future needs.

Deltek Talent Management is also a very helpful tool. It allows, among others, to increase employee involvement, control the level of employment and employee qualifications, and at the same time provides full insight into the state of resources in the company.

For project companies, resource planning – in terms of quality and quantity – is a real problem. And this is an excellent example of the role of consistently building a talent funnel, finding the right candidates in good time, and using passive techniques. With all this in mind, it is much easier to face up to the challenges ahead.