61b3052efa56ff779dbc7be23dd6734b98Roles are reversing in the employment space. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, eight million Americans are looking for jobs, but newly released results from the Glassdoor Recruiting Outlook Survey reveal talent shortage is the No. 1 hiring challenge today.

The survey of 515 hiring decision makers, conducted online by Harris Poll last Fall, shows that 26 percent of respondents see the situation worsening in the next 12 months as the U.S. economy picks up.

In addition, more than half of hiring decision makers said “passive recruiting” — candidates contacted by recruiters versus candidates who apply directly via a company’s career website –has been less effective in attracting qualified candidates over the past year.

So what can you do? If you want to stay ahead of this trend and make sure your company is keeping the great hires you’ve made and continuing to attract top talent, follow these tips:

To Avoid Attrition, Be Transparent

transparencyEmployee attrition is a notable concern, as 36 percent of hiring managers surveyed by Glassdoor believe voluntary employee exits will increase during 2015. It gets worse for midsize companies, as more than half (56 percent) of those in this category expect the rate to increase this year.

To avoid losing the valuable hires you’ve made, work with your HR team and C-suite to make sure people are satisfied with their jobs at your company. More important, make sure management is  transparent about the pros and cons of working there.

The Glassdoor Recruiting Outlook survey revealed 69 percent of hiring decision makers believe candidates’ perceptions of a company improve after seeing an employer respond to a review—so read your reviews and be as clear as possible about what you’re doing to make your company a better place to work.

Glassdoor customers agree, this really works.

“As job seekers have access to more information about companies than ever before, there is an increasing amount of responsibility to create a successful employment experience. As an employer, we strive to share our story on sites like Glassdoor about what makes our company an attractive place to work alongside our latest job openings.” said Mel Kohr, Director of Talent Sourcing at Nestlé Purina.

“Our recruiting team doesn’t just focus on attracting candidates with our job openings, we also focus on making sure our employer brand comes across clearly so candidates get a better picture of what it’s really like to work at our company. In turn, this allows us to accomplish our goals of finding the right person for the right job to ensure long-term success at Nestlé Purina.”

Be Personal With Passive Candidates

Passive candidates aren’t the low hanging fruit they were a few years ago–52 percent of hiring decision makers said passive recruiting has become less effective and that’s even more true at large (69 percent) and midsize (70 percent) companies.

Simply put, candidates are tired of emails from networking sites like LinkedIn and Dice and candidates are less responsive to recruiter emails and phone calls. To get ahead of the pack, elevate your game and be personal. Don’t send a generic email to a person you’re interested in reaching for a particular job. Be genuine and direct in sharing insights on why you think that person would be good for the role and include highlights about the position and company.

Get Mobile Optimized

In the next 12-24 months, hiring decision makers expect an average of 26 percent of job applicants will come through mobile devices, meaning if your careers page and application process are not mobile optimized, you’ll miss out on a significant number of candidates.

Use this information to get your leaders onboard with updating and mobile optimizing your career pages. If management know the numbers, they’re more likely to get you the technical support you need to turn your career page into your top recruiting channel.

Track Your Success 

Since 20 percent of respondents say they are unable to track factors that influence candidates to apply, find ways to make sure you know what’s working and what isn’t. Check out your company and interview reviews on Glassdoor, what’s getting better, what’s getting worse and how has it changed over time? For example, where are your candidates looking for your company?

A company like Groupon looks at its site visitation across various recruiting platforms and has found job seeker traffic is 11 X higher on Glassdoor vs. the ‘#1 networking community,’ LinkedIn.

Seven years after the Great Recession of 2008 created a buyers’ market in talent, the pendulum is now swinging the other way. Be a company on the forefront of this and set yourself up to succeed in a market where your candidate is now the buyer.

unnamedSusan Underwood is the Talent Acquisition Manager at Glassdoor, the world’s most transparent jobs and career marketplace. In her role, Susan operates in the highly competitive San Francisco Bay Area for top talent, using the unique resources Glassdoor offers its customers to recruit talent through sophisticated employer branding strategies.

Follow Susan on Twitter @susanmunderwood or connect with her on LinkedIn.