It was interesting to see the recent research from Morgan McKinley showing that the number of new job vacancies in financial services fell by 65% in December (‘War not over - nature of conflict has changed’, Recruiter, 21 January).

It is not just the financial sector which is affected. An influx of applicants is occurring across the board to all sectors and HR
departments may be overwhelmed with the volume of candidates for the few vacancies they have.

In this climate, the current battle is for businesses to ensure that they have the right tools and processes in place to be able to identify
the high performers they need, to fill the few vital roles they are still recruiting for.

This key talent will help the organisation to weather the storm and to transition to fast growth when the upturn comes. Equally, it is
important to ensure that once the high performers have been selected and are on board, good peoplemanagement processes will
be needed to nurture and keep them engaged. You need to retain them in the face of external approaches as they will be a natural target for acquisition by other organisations seeking the best talent.

The challenge for organisations now is to develop good candidate relationship management, even if there are no current vacancies. Employers should use the application process to promote their employment brand and the latest generation of e-recruitment allows
organisations to build relationships with candidates before they apply. Then, when they are ready to hire as the economy recovers,
they can revisit who are the best candidates for the positions available.

By creating a good impression now, organisations will put themselves in better stead for the future and be able to stay one step ahead in the ‘war for talent’.

Richard Doherty, vicepresident
UK operations,
Jobpartners