Why is your company experiencing recruitment difficulties? Solutions to reverse the trend

By Maëlys De Santis

Published: 14 March 2025

With an economic market that is constantly changing and competition between companies tougher than ever, recruitment is no longer without its difficulties! Human resources departments need to find the right balance between the skills available and the requirements of the vacancies.

Many sectors are facing a shortage of skilled talent, a phenomenon that has become more acute since the Covid-19 crisis. The labour market has changed profoundly, and candidates' expectations have evolved, particularly in terms of flexibility.

Where does this situation come from? How can companies adapt their recruitment strategies to attract and retain staff in a constantly changing professional landscape? Here are some of the answers. 🧑‍🏫

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A few figures on recruitment difficulties in France

The French employment market is going through a period of turbulence, and the figures speak for themselves. In 2023, 61% of recruitment projects were judged to be complicated by employers, compared with 58% in 2022 (source: BMO Pôle emploi survey via MakeMyCV). That's a chilling figure.

This upward trend highlights the difficulties companies are having in attracting skilled talent.

Analysis of sectors under pressure

Some sectors are particularly hard hit by these recruitment difficulties. Despite the creation of 78,000 salaried jobs in the twelve months to August 2024, temporary work fell by 6.2%, with a loss of around 48,700 positions (source: Le Monde).

We can deduce from this that companies are now favouring permanent contracts and reducing their recourse to temporary work, which is sometimes considered too costly.

Which sectors are most affected?

Unsurprisingly, the hotel and catering sector is one of the hardest hit. In the fourth quarter of 2022, 75% of businesses said they were experiencing recruitment difficulties (source: Dares). This is due to working conditions, which are perceived as restrictive, and the marked seasonal nature of the industry.

During the health crisis, the hotel and catering sector was particularly hard hit. Between February 2020 and February 2021, the workforce fell from 1,309,000 to 1,072,000, a reduction of around 230,000 employees (source: Dish).

Many bars, restaurants and hotels were forced to close for several months between 2020 and 2021. Deprived of jobs, employees and extras were able to reorient themselves and take up employment in another field offering more stimulating working conditions.

Executive employment: constantly rising demand

Recruitment of professional and managerial staff in France remains buoyant, with 340,000 new hires forecast for 2024, up 2% on 2023. This buoyancy is being driven by the IT, engineering-R&D and legal and accounting services sectors, which are undergoing major digital and environmental transformations (source: APEC).

However, 60% of companies say they are finding it difficult to recruit managers. They are faced with a shortage of talent, of course, but also with the rapid evolution of the skills required. The average time taken to fill a managerial post is 12 weeks, rising to 15 weeks in industry (source: APEC).

What are the most common problems for recruiters?

Problem 1: changing candidate expectations

Candidate expectations have changed considerably in recent years. The changes are not uniform across sectors, but certain trends can be seen to be emerging.

Applicants are calling for greater flexibility and more meaningful work. Young people are looking for companies whose values resonate with their convictions. Before making a commitment, they assess the company's image and its involvement in the local community, its social and environmental responsibility (SER), the stance it takes on topical issues, and so on.

Professional development and opportunities for advancement remain priorities for many candidates. This can involve continuous learning and mentoring programmes.

🧘 In addition, well-being at work is becoming increasingly important every year. To improve the experience of its employees, a company can, for example, opt for modern production sites and offices arranged according to need.

Problem 2: mismatch of available skills

Recruiters are also confronted with a mismatch between the skills of candidates and the needs of their company; this is known as the " skills gap".

Despite the widespread use of work-linked training and vocational courses, many applicants have outdated skills. They do not master certain tools, particularly IT tools, which are essential in their sector of activity. However, a comprehensive, well-designed training programme should solve this problem.

Problem 3: Unattractive working conditions

To remedy unattractive working conditions, companies need to take a proactive approach and improve their infrastructure, career development prospects, the variety of projects on offer, and so on.

Today's generation attaches increasing importance to work-life balance. This can be a very effective way of attracting new talent:

flexible working hours
disconnection policies
and wellbeing support programmes.

Problem 4: Competition between companies

French and international companies are competing not only for market share, but also for the best talent. To succeed, they need to continually improve their employer image and offer more attractive remuneration packages and varied incentives. In addition to pay and bonuses, the prospect of a good work/life balance and a pleasant working environment can do wonders for attracting and retaining employees.

The consequences for companies

Impact on productivity and growth

Recruitment difficulties have a direct impact on business productivity. Inadequate staffing levels lead to an increased workload for the remaining employees, which is detrimental to operational efficiency and innovation.

Effects on corporate reputation

Public perception of a company depends in part on its ability to recruit talent. A damaged reputation can deter potential candidates and limit opportunities to collaborate with other companies or partners. 🙅

Healthy competition between employees have positive consequences. Challenge is fertile ground for new ideas.

Come on, we're not leaving you like this! Here are some solutions to counter these recurring HR problems. ✅

How can we overcome recruitment difficulties?

Solution 1: strengthen the employer brand

Employer branding has become a key factor of attractiveness. Candidates are no longer just looking for a competitive salary, but also a stimulating working environment, values aligned with their own and a real work-life balance.

👉 How can this be improved?

Focus on transparency. Broadcasting employee testimonials and recruitment events makes a company seem more human. Candidates might want to join a close-knit team where each individual is invited to find their place.
Highlight social and environmental commitments. Many candidates prefer companies that are committed to CSR initiatives, which is why it is so important to communicate about your actions in favour of sustainable development or diversity.
Develop consistent communication across several channels. An attractive careers site, positive reviews on Glassdoor and LinkedIn, and a strong presence on social networks can reinforce the positive perception of the company.

📌 L'Oréal has banked on a strong employer brand strategy by promoting its commitments to gender equality, well-being at work and cultural diversity. The result? The company regularly features among the preferred employers of young graduates and international talent.

Solution 2: Adapt the work on offer

Flexibility is the key to success. Telecommuting, flexible working hours and four-day weeks are among the criteria most in demand by talent. By implementing these, a company has every chance of standing out from its competitors, many of whom prefer to keep a more traditional organisation.

Competitive benefits can also make all the difference, whether it's extra holiday, transport costs or a training budget. They give new recruits the impression that they count for the company. However, these "little extras" are no substitute for salaries. Constant monitoring of remuneration levels elsewhere remains essential.

📌 In response to recruitment difficulties in the IT sector, some companies such as Doctolib and Alan are offering a hybrid or even 100% teleworking policy in order to attract developers and engineers who are in short supply on the French market.

Solution 3: Invest in training and sandwich courses

Companies sometimes struggle to recruit because applicants lack the right skills. Rather than waiting for the "perfect" profile, investing in training can create a pool of talent tailored to the company's needs.

After recruitment, an in-house training programme can help new recruits to get to grips with their work tools. For example, they could learn how to use a particular piece of software or equipment that is rarely seen in schools.

Before taking on new staff, it's in companies' interests to encourage work-linked training and work placements. By taking on young people, they can anticipate future needs and retain talent from the outset.

In mid-career, it's time to focus on professional retraining . Recruiting profiles from other sectors and offering them appropriate training can prove effective in overcoming the shortage of skilled workers.

📌 The Michelin group has set up a training programme to turn some of its production operators into specialist technicians. This initiative has enabled them to reduce their reliance on external recruitment and enhance internal skills.

Solution 4: Use the right recruitment tools

In a tight employment market, recruitment can no longer be confined to posting vacancies on a job board in the hope that talent will come knocking. ☝️ Companies need to equip themselves with the right recruitment tools to optimise every stage of the process.

ATS: an indispensable ally for managing applications

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) can :

automate the sorting of CVs
organise interviews
and centralise all interactions between human resources and the people to be recruited.

It's a great tool for saving time and ensuring smooth follow-up of applications.

Artificial intelligence for better talent sourcing

Capable of analysing millions of profiles in record time, AI is revolutionising recruitment by helping companies to find the rare pearl more quickly. Software can also assess the compatibility of candidates with a position or even write optimised job descriptions.

Some tools go even further by offering chatbots to interact with candidates and provide instant responses.

📌 LinkedIn Recruiter and HireVue use AI to suggest qualified profiles based on a company's needs.

Tests and assessments to better predict performance

The CV is no longer enough to assess a candidate. More and more companies are using skills tests, behavioural assessments and role-plays to ensure that the profile matches their expectations.

Programmatic recruitment to target the right profiles

Rather than waiting for unsolicited applications, programmatic recruitment uses algorithms to broadcast personalised advertisements on websites, social networks and specialised platforms. The result? More precise targeting and better candidate conversion.

Why adopt these tools?

Save time: AI can automate time-consuming tasks (sorting CVs, monitoring candidates, scheduling interviews) so that human resources can focus on other projects.
Improved quality of recruitment: thanks to more accurate assessment tools, companies have a better chance of finding a candidate who is a perfect match for the position to be filled.
Improved experience for everyone: on the other side of the fence, candidates generally appreciate the rapid interactions offered by AI. They can apply in just a few minutes.

💡 To remember: Companies that integrate these technologies into their recruitment process significantly increase their ability to recruit interesting profiles.