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The Return of Hiring Freezes?

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THE RETURN OF HIRING FREEZES?

Sluggish recruiting and hiring delays are creeping back, but most firms aren't
calling them freezes. 


Home
 1. Insights
 2. This Week In Leadership

FOR MORE EXPERT INSIGHTS

Barry Bregman

Senior Client Partner, Global Financial Officers Practice

Jacob Zabkowicz

Vice President & General Manager, RPO, Global

Bradford Marion

Global Sector Leader, Automotive

David Vied

Global Sector Leader,
Medical Devices and Diagnostics

More than a few executives have watched the news about labor shortages and the
Great Resignation and wondered how long this all would last. Now, at least some
of them know. 

On the heels of the busiest hiring year on record, hiring pauses are
suddenly erupting across some business sectors. Just a month ago, such a
development would have seemed unfathomable: while 11.5 million openings kept
recruiters and HR departments scrambling, workers job-hopped across the labor
market. 

But in some industries, the tide has suddenly turned. “It would be crazy to
think that the hiring momentum will continue,” says Barry Bregman, senior client
partner in the Global Financial Officers practice at Korn Ferry. He says that
the past year’s hiring market was the most active one he’s seen in forty years:
“A slowdown is inevitable.” 

Firms are still avidly hiring for some roles, particularly in clinical
healthcare and certain tech areas, such as data science. Some companies, still
short-staffed from a cycle that began during the pandemic, have been playing
catch-up for one to two years. 

But businesses are under an increasingly large pile of socioeconomic pressures:
sky-high inflation and interest rates, plus an economy teetering on the edge of
a possible recession—all while geopolitical stability is shaky. That equation
heavily impacts some industries’ hiring plans, experts say. Many companies are
currently evaluating both the broader markets and their own financial
situations, while others are tap dancing to replace talent lost over the last
two years. It’s a weird moment. “They may not need to do formal freezes, because
they also have a backlog of openings,” says Bergman. 

Call it what you will—perhaps a “hiring frost” or “recalibration.” “We’re
hearing a lot of companies questioning whether they’ll hire at the same growth
rate and trajectory,” says Jacob Zabkowicz, general manager of global RPO at
Korn Ferry. In his field, attrition—which drove much of the frenzied volume
of onboarding by companies hiring two to five times more heads annually—is
decelerating. “It’s still going to be super busy this year, and
all-hands-on-deck, but it won’t be as manic. Last year was just ‘go and do.’” 

Some industries, such as automotive, have already slowed. Auto production lines
have been shutting down as needed, largely due to the unavailability of
semiconductors and other components. This has driven regular rounds of
layoffs. Bradford Marion, global sector leader for automotive at Korn Ferry,
says much of it is attributable to supply chain issues. “I don’t think it’s a
bad thing,” he says. “Automotive companies have gotten very good at adjusting
their cost structures to meet business conditions.”

Rather than uttering the word “freeze,” experts say, many companies are adding
extra layers of circumspection, scrutiny, and review—to both open positions and
candidates for them. Firms are weary of messaging whiplash. “They don’t want to
announce a freeze when three weeks ago they couldn’t fill jobs,” says
David Vied, global sector leader for Korn Ferry’s Medical Devices and
Diagnostics practice. He says that clients are rejiggering the priority levels
of open jobs; in particular, they are questioning roles that have been open for
extended periods. “If you haven’t found someone you like in twelve months,” he
asks, “do you really need that role?”

Read more This Week in Leadership articles

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