Malta’s job market has changed dramatically due to the influx of companies we have had in recent years. As a result, amid strong economic growth and surging business confidence, recruiting the right professionals has become increasingly complex and competitive. The demand for attracting and retaining talent has not slowed down, on the contrary it is still there and in full force.

Part of the challenge is not only to recruit the best talent for the potential employer but also to retain the employees. No organisation wants a large percentage of turnover as this costs time and also money. Although a higher salary may have some influence on overall job satisfaction it still may not prevent the organisation from losing employees to competitors.

While salary is important, it is not the only thing that is considered, there are other factors like career progression and flexibility employees also review when making a decision. The work-life balance element to a proposed package is becoming more competitive as many employees are seeking the flexibility aspect to their job, with some choosing to change their career path for a slightly lower wage in order to have this requirement fulfilled.

Talent is the backbone of any organisation, which means recruitment decisions are far too important to be left to chance

Due to the high demand of talent required and the changing market on the island, the logical solution is to broaden our horizon and branch out, tapping into a wider pool of international talent.

As a recruiter, the main focus is to attract candidates with the right skills, technical knowledge and experience. Many candidates think about their long-term career development and the work-life balance element the position they are applying for may lead to. The recruiter’s job is to identify the right ‘fit’ for that particular candidate and company.

To be able to analyse the ‘key needs’ for both parties it is important to meet with the organisation’s HR team or the hiring managers to understand what the company stands for and what their driving force is. To determine the right requisite, it is of utmost importance that what the candidate and the company are seeking is understood in order to be able to manage the expectation of both parties, and ultimately selecting the right fit for both candidate and organisation.

There seems to be a talent shortage in certain sectors, with businesses reaching out and seeking assistance from recruitment agencies more than ever before. The advantage of using such a service is that it makes the recruitment process a much smoother one with the agency pre-screening all CVs and interviewing the potential candidates before referring them to the business for review. That makes for an easier recruitment operation for any organisation.

In the case of international candidates, a phone interview would need to take place and, should both parties wish to proceed further, many candidates are willing to come to Malta for a face to face interview. If this is not possible due to distance or monetary reasons, companies would be happy to proceed with a further in-depth interview over a video call. Most organisations have also started offering ‘relocation packages’ which makes the employment package more attractive and easier for potential candidates to be able to relocate.

Talent is the backbone of any organisation, which means recruitment decisions are far too important to be left to chance.

Cheryl Vassallo is recruitment consultant at VacancyCentre.