Mid-March Update for TA leaders

Hi there,

Spring is around the corner in Vancouver, Canada and the cherry blossoms are coming. From speaking to so many folks, I know we’re all working really hard in our daily jobs (professionally and personally). But wherever you are—don’t forget to take a breather and enjoy the sun!

Ready for the mid-March update? Let’s jump in.

🗞️ Headlines 

• Bank of Canada (BOC) keeps key interest rate unchanged at 5%. Inflation is down to 2%. Next decision is in April. Economists predict the U.S. Federal Reserve will also hold rates steady in March.
  

• U.S. unemployment rate rises to two-year high of 3.9%. North of the border, Canada’s unemployment rate reaches 5.8%. However, jobs were added across hourly and high volume sectors like: healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, warehousing, and retail.
  

• Interesting…PTO requests reaches 4-year high globally this January. I can’t say I’m surprised. With increasing global layoffs, folks are burnt out and overworked. The need to retain talent is high.. let’s check in on your colleagues and employees.
  

• Hotels are offering more money to employees to solve hiring shortages in the U.S. More than 82% of 408 hotel employers across the states are experiencing a staffing shortage. Will be interesting to see if it helps to hire and retain talent. I’d imagine it does.

You’ll notice we are adding U.S. news to get a better understanding of what’s going on in North America. Let me know what you think.

✅ TA Tips 

In the last edition, I talked about the difference between recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) and staffing agencies. Staffing agencies are more one-and-done for specific positions, and RPOs integrates with your hiring managers to streamline the entire recruitment process.

This week, I’ll expand on why and when RPOs can be a game-changer for your hiring managers.

With layoffs across all industries, RPOs have become a safe way for TA leaders to recruit, hire, and train quality candidates cost-effectively. This is especially true in hourly and high-volume recruitment as teams need more help throughout the entire recruitment process.

Combined with a worker shortage, RPOs have become a game-changer for small start-ups to established organizations.

• For medium-sized businesses: If your recruitment budget is expected to reduce or stagnate, RPOs can be a cost-effective alternative for your hiring managers as RPOs can help reduce recruitment costs by 30% to 60%. This works whether you need candidates in specialized experience or high-volume candidates. 

• For enterprise-sized businesses: If your business is feeling pressure to grow and see profits, RPOs can also be a cost-effective way to streamline your hiring process at scale, as RPOs can scale up or down. If you have at least 50 open jobs, RPOs can ensure consistent, high quality candidates throughout the entire year. 

We’ll end here for today. If you want to discuss RPOs or hourly recruitment in general, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn. If you enjoy reading these editions, please share The Hourly Minute with a colleague.