As the numerous consultants we work with will attest, you can’t beat a good 2-by-2.
So here’s one.
It shows the swings of negotiating power between employers and candidates, driven by their relative quantities in the market. It looks particularly at ‘good’ candidates (as identified by whatever measure of employability you choose).
While the recession doubtless trimmed some organizational fat, good people were lost as well as bad (more so as time went by and the cuts bit deeper). So, as the number of good candidates looking for work increased, the general hiring freeze gave them nowhere to go.
As optimism returned to the economy, the first employers to thaw were able to pick the best candidates, encouraging them to open more vacancies.
Eventually, the supply of good people dries up, and employers with peaking workload are forced to compete for the few who remain. We’re already seeing this so-called ‘battle for talent’ in the consulting industry, where candidates are receiving multiple offers and counter-offers.
Inevitably, the economic cycle will throw up another boom or bust and the process will repeat.
Now if only someone could come up with a 2-by-2 which predicts that.
Jay Scott is a consultant on the Interim Team at FreshMinds Talent
