There’s no doubt about it – our economy is on the way up. As a result, this year is going to see many more new vacancies, giving job seekers increased choice.

Although this is welcome news - especially for people who may have lost jobs through redundancy - it certainly sets a challenge for employers who need to employ more people to support their growing businesses.

There is already a surplus of jobs in the East if England, with IT among sectors seeing a huge skills shortage. We at Pure are seeing this situation intensify, leading to a job seeker ‘drought’.

Pure is always on hand as recruitment experts to give our clients advice on tackling challenges on the market. And we’re sharing these with you here

1.    Research salaries

Benchmarking salaries is crucial if you want to offer competitive remuneration. It’s a job seekers’ market, so they’re now in a position to be selective. By doing research before recruitment begins, you’ll have a much better chance of finding the right people because you’ve set wages at the appropriate level. You also need to consider regional differences, and expectations of people relocating from more expensive locations. Check out Compare My Salary - Pure’s live peer-to-peer salary comparison website and benchmarking tool.

2.    Unlock your training budget

If the recession forced you to take money away from training and development, now’s the time to re-invest. Help your employees bolster skills to fill those gaps. This can also help you retain good staff who might otherwise be tempted by opportunities to develop their skills.

3.     Offer relocation packages

If you’re struggling to fill vacancies within your region, why not look beyond your usual boundaries? There could be lots of passive job seekers in different counties who are thinking of starting afresh elsewhere. But to catch their attention you need to offer them something special. Helping to cover relocation costs and provide advice on housing and other issues could attract good quality candidates from further afield.

4.    Forecasting the future

How is your business growing? What functions will you need support for? Accountant, IT, HR, Marketing? All of these areas are essential to support developing organisations. So, forecast your needs and start to recruit as early as possible.

5.    Provide extra benefits

Are interviewees asking for better benefits? By enhancing packages you could attract more candidates who value their talent, and who want to work for an employer who looks after them in return. So, can you offer extras such as private medical cover, gym membership, a car allowance, flexi-hours, time off for charity work, free breakfast and yoga classes?

6.    Polish up your reputation

These days, job seekers can afford to research an employer’s background before accepting interview and job offers. Do you need to ramp your corporate social responsibility policy? Are you pushing out positive news stories to the press and via social media? And always communicate with current employees – they’re your ambassadors in the community.

As you can see, there’s a lot you can do as an employer to tackle the skills shortage. Our main bit of advice is: Don’t wait to plan your recruitment strategy, otherwise you could find yourself trying to fill vacancies for months to come. Call one of our offices for advice.