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HR Insights
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Industry Insights
Evan Cave
28 November 2025
Economic uncertainty reshapes how candidates evaluate new opportunities, and how companies must compete to attract them. Hiring managers who rely on traditional job postings or standard offers often struggle to engage qualified talent in cautious markets. To understand what actually works today, we interviewed supply chain, operations, and logistics leaders who have successfully adapted their hiring strategies, talent acquisition approaches, and recruitment messaging to volatile conditions.
Their responses reveal a clear shift: companies winning in this environment prioritize transparency over corporate speak, purpose over perks, and flexibility over rigid structures. Organizations must balance near-term protection with long-term talent investment, moving to skill-based hiring models and redesigning value propositions to attract untapped talent. From guaranteed contracts to reverse interviews, these leaders share precise, real-world tactics proven effective when traditional recruitment strategies break down.
Below, you’ll find insights from founders, CEOs, operators, and hiring experts across supply chain, operations, and logistics.
To attract top talent in times of great economic uncertainty, we've been forced to stress role stability and developmental possibilities in our recruitment efforts. It may come as a surprise, but employer branding has been one of the most effective techniques for demonstrating our company's ability to endure and thrive long-term, as well as create strong connections with talent who value security combined with learning and improvement opportunities.
We've focused on tailored suggestions, such as non-financial benefits remote work flexibility, wellness programs or clear advancement routes. This not only resonates with skeptical workers but also emphasizes the company as a great place to work with, resulting in much more engagement with passive candidates and extended acceptance rates.
Geremy Yamamoto, Founder, Eazy House Sale
I stopped using the generic job descriptions. Now I just talk about the hands-on training and where their career could go. When I mention real projects, like installing eco-friendly heat pumps, people get interested. Even those not looking for a job respond when I show how their work would actually improve local homes. A real conversation works way better than any corporate speak.
Lara Woodham, Director, Rowlen Boiler Services
When it comes to the hiring process during economic crisis upheaval, adjustment from asking what distinguishes your job to promoting it once again is the best practice. Strong employer brand, work flexibility, and long-term chances are all competitive benefits likely unmatched by competitors throughout day trading hours. Multinational corporations are not playing at a high level; they are selecting principally vs. infinitely. For instance, they employ 70% of candidates who prove their routine adaptability are considered the best.
In such an environment, certain tactics surprisingly have efficiently yielded results. Job marketing and offers should feature flexibility and work-life balance - most candidates want to work remotely or in a hybrid office and choose when to work. They also appreciate being able to schedule their hours and focusing on their well-being.
Personalized outreach to passive talent has reaped results. Sincerely explaining why this role would be good for the candidate increases trust more than generic messages. Structuring the offer in unusual ways like including a professional development budget or active mental health support also gets hesitant candidates to work.
Keith Sant, Founder & CEO, Kind House Buyers
The recruitment process is now more competitive and time-consuming than ever, and in order to stand out, we figured that we have to show that what we offer is meaningful work besides the salary. We focus on actual ownership of projects and opportunities to develop employee skills. In my experience, engineers are more responsive to projects where they can showcase their skills and contribute to a bigger goal than receiving small pay raises.
Offering flexible schedules and investing in their growth worked better than expected for attracting passive talent. Candidates are more open to a role when they know they can keep personal time and improve their skills while contributing to important work. We make it concrete by showing things like 15 hours a quarter for learning or letting them choose which projects to lead and that clarity has helped us hire in under three weeks for roles that used to stay open for months.
Matthew Tran, Engineer and Founder, Birchbury
With the economic landscape shifting, we have increasingly focused on the value we offer through career growth and job stability. Our hiring strategy centers on transparent conversations about how roles fit within a broader career trajectory. This approach provides potential employees with a clear understanding of their future growth opportunities, which is especially appealing to passive candidates.
Offering flexible work arrangements to improve work-life balance is an effective tactic that has gained traction. By providing this flexibility, we have attracted individuals seeking better personal and professional integration. This shift has proven to be a strong draw for candidates seeking more control over their work schedules. It is a simple yet impactful change that aligns with evolving workplace preferences.
Christopher Pappas, Founder, eLearning Industry Inc
We've implemented a "Reverse Interview" approach where prospective candidates have the opportunity to interview our current team members, giving them transparent insights into our company culture and work environment. This has proven surprisingly effective in today's cautious market as it builds trust and allows candidates to make more informed decisions about joining our organization. Additionally, we've enhanced this approach with virtual office tours that enable remote candidates to experience our workspace without travel constraints. These combined strategies have significantly improved our candidate engagement and helped us secure top talent even during periods of economic uncertainty.
Volen Vulkov, Co-founder, Enhancv
Our organization depends on both transparent operations and missions that align with our purpose. The current market uncertainty leads top candidates to choose positions which enable them to create meaningful contributions. Our approach to job description communication now includes specific details about both individual responsibilities and their connection to women's health initiatives. The clear understanding of our mission has brought in candidates who possess both exceptional abilities and intense dedication.
Our approach to candidate selection involves bringing top candidates into actual problem-solving discussions at the beginning of the recruitment process. The interview process now presents candidates with specific business challenges which they need to solve. The approach enables candidates to understand the actual work responsibilities while we gain better understanding of their problem-solving abilities. The approach has converted casual interest into dedicated partnership between candidates and our organization during this period of hiring caution.
Hans Graubard, COO & Cofounder, Happy V
We abandoned our focus on stability to pursue purpose as our new leadership approach. People who want to make their time count in a cautious market seek more than secure employment. The practice of transforming job descriptions into mission-oriented statements instead of using standard HR templates proved successful. The renewable tech client received new job descriptions which presented specific challenges for their quarter-by-quarter progress. The number of applications increased while the quality of candidates improved.
The organization should provide flexible work options when other companies restrict their employees' flexibility. The UX designer chose to reject larger job offers because our company allowed her to work from home and join the product team at an early stage. The hiring market demands clear information instead of quick promotions.
Vincent Carrié, CEO, Purple Media
The uncertain economic landscape means that there's little margin for error when it comes to onboarding new talent, but the growing employer market means that recruiters have access to a talent pool that's unprecedented in scale. Because of this, artificial intelligence tools are helping to transform the ability of companies to screen higher volumes of candidates fairly without causing strong applicants to slip through the net.
One of the most advantageous new AI tactics that can be deployed, given the current market and economic climate, can be found in video interview tools, whereby artificial intelligence agents can assess candidates and report on their suitability to recruiters.
This helps recruitment teams to pick up on those all-important visual cues to assess the suitability of candidates and their soft skills while also avoiding committing significant amounts of time to recruiting for specific roles. Because of this, more candidates can be assessed in standardized environments to discover the most appropriate prospects for vacancies.
Matthew Crook, General Manager, PeopleHR
Hiring during economic slowdowns means ditching the whole "job req" mentality and flipping the script into a value mission pitch. The trick is to use the candidate's own LinkedIn profile as your actual job description. If someone scaled a supply chain to 50 SKUs across 3 facilities, write that into the role summary. Then add one twist they haven't done yet, like "build a circular strategy from salvage to resale." If they see themselves inside the role before you've even spoken, they'll reply. It costs $0 and takes 15 minutes.
Comp offers don't need to be inflated, but they do need to be asymmetric. Equity structures with time cliffs are boring. Better yet: milestone-triggered option grants (e.g., +5,000 options for each 10% margin increase, $1M in rev, or launch cycle closed). That way, your value creation logic mirrors their upside logic. In cautious cycles, certainty doesn't drive moves, conviction does. So tailor the role like it's built for one person. Because if they're great, it basically is.
Nathan Arbitman, Chief Commercial Officer, OnePlanet Solar Recycling
I've changed my recruitment approach to emphasize on job security and long term development at a time when uncertainty is high. Candidates today want to understand that what they do matters, and their technical abilities will continue to grow with the organization. So I emphasize how we support their future careers through continuous education and training; certification opportunities; and development of new skills. The way I present our hiring process is a collaborative experience, where we support each employee's ongoing learning and skill building. When a candidate can clearly see that employee development is a core element of our business model, their commitment to us is strong from day one.
One surprising tactic that has been very effective for me is using our alumni to help recruit. Our alumni often refer other qualified professionals they know that they believe in, because they had such positive experiences themselves as students. Alumni referrals have a 40% higher retention rate than non-alumni hires, and they also cut down on the cost of recruiting by approximately 25%. This creates a foundation of authenticity where potential employees can see the actual growth of people within the organization prior to becoming part of it.
Yad Senapathy, Founder & CEO, Project Management Training Institute (PMTI)
Amid uncertainty, authenticity became our most persuasive recruitment strategy. Rather than overpromising security, we offered purpose, learning, and belonging openly. Candidates appreciated realistic clarity paired with respect for their growth and contribution. That openness replaced transactional thinking with partnership grounded in shared goals. Sincerity continues to attract individuals motivated by meaning over temporary stability.
We prioritised storytelling when marketing roles across digital platforms. Every posting described how the position contributed to collective sustainability and innovation. This human-centred framing connected with applicants seeking contribution, not only compensation. It also positioned us as value-driven employer amid widespread scepticism. True differentiation arises when purpose communicates louder than promises.
Lord Robert Newborough, Owner, Rhug Organic Farm & Rhug Ltd
People are looking for job security right now. They aren't going to take a leap if they aren't sure we'll still be in business in six months or a year. For especially important roles, we actually use guaranteed contracts. In some cases, we've offered 4-year guaranteed deals. As long as they aren't fired for cause, they'll get paid even if we fold. This is something we can really only do for high-level leadership positions, but it's been useful.
Jonathan Palley, CEO, QR Codes Unlimited
Hiring in unpredictable markets demands more than filling open roles, it requires earning trust, communicating purpose, and creating opportunities that resonate with cautious but high-quality talent. The strategies shared by supply chain, operations, and business leaders reveal clear patterns in what actually works today.
Candidates prioritize job security, growth paths, and meaningful learning opportunities over one-time incentives or corporate promises.
Hybrid schedules, remote options, personalized work hours, and adaptable role structures consistently outperform rigid workplace policies.
Real conversations, realistic previews of the work, and transparent explanations of company health drive much higher engagement, especially with passive talent.
Mission-aligned work, ownership of projects, and impact-focused messaging attract stronger, values-driven candidates.
Tailoring messages to an individual’s actual background, achievements, and career goals consistently converts passive candidates more effectively than mass recruiting tactics.
Guaranteed contracts, milestone-based incentives, and development stipends can win candidates even when salaries or budgets are tight.
Reverse interviews, virtual tours, challenge-based interviews, and alumni involvement help candidates feel confident in their decision and dramatically improve close rates.
If you need help hiring during uncertainty, partner with our supply chain recruiters to find proven, high-performing talent.
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