Retailers’ holiday hiring plans challenged by shifts in the candidate pool
With retailers facing a smaller and increasingly younger candidate pool heading in the holidays, Urban Outfitters is keeping seasonal hiring moving by re-engaging the talent it already knows.
That’s according to a report from talent acquisition platform ICIMS, which found that application volume for typical high-volume roles, such as sales associates and cashiers, ended September at 18% below baseline. ICIMS frontline and retail data points to a candidate pool that is becoming harder to convert into hires as retailers enter their busiest hiring period
Applicants per opening also reached their lowest point of the year (29). With fewer candidates entering the funnel, retailers have less room to lose qualified applicants to slow communication or inefficient hiring processes, advised ICIMS.
“With seasonal demand approaching, retailers cannot afford avoidable bottlenecks that add more time to the hiring process,” the report stated.
In other findings, candidates ages 18 to 24 made up 40% of retail applicants in September, up from 37% a year ago. Every age group 45 and older lost share.
"Holiday hiring never stops being a hot topic, but the candidates behind it have changed," said Trent Cotton, head of talent insights, ICIMS. "Gen Z is now leading the pool, and recruiting strategies built for a different generation will not hold up this season. Employers will need to adjust their processes for faster communication, clearer disclosure and an application built for how this generation applies."
Lifestyle retailer Urban Outfitters, an ICIMS customer, is responding to a tighter seasonal candidate pool by making better use of talent it already knows. The retailer uses ICIMS to identify former employees and past applicants who may be qualified for open roles, giving hiring teams another source of candidates when new applicant flow is low.
"Start with the talent you already know,” said Danny Rojas, senior principal of product and market insights, ICIMS. “Reengage last year's seasonal workforce, revisit qualified candidates already in your pipeline and ask your existing employees for referrals. There is a lot to do in a very short window, and starting every search from scratch only makes it harder."
READ MORE: Early indicators suggest seasonal hiring will be down from last year
