It’s a turbulent time for many right now, and companies are grappling with an increasingly unpredictable and complex labour market.

While some are experiencing growth and are continuing to hire at scale, others are being forced to cut their costs through staff layoffs.

Yet, while it’s been difficult to escape these stories of redundancies in recent weeks, businesses will always need top-quality talent and savvy recruitment teams understand the situation is far more nuanced than the media would have us believe.

They know it’s not easy to find the perfect person for each position and view their recruitment as a strategic asset, as valuable as their sales pipeline or intellectual property.

They therefore recognise the need to keep building their pipeline and to continuously recruit, and here’s why.

Your team are always considering their futures

Even the most motivated and engaged employee in your team will be open to the right opportunity should it present itself. If it’s not within your organisation, then there’s every chance they’ll leave to find it.

Having a strong pipeline of talent to replace them should they leave allows for a smooth transition.

Recruiting uncovers new opportunities

By continuously engaging with prospective candidates and building your talent pipeline, you might identify the perfect person who can plug a skills gap or take your team to the next level.

Similarly, by having these conversations with prospective candidates as you build your pipeline, you’ll get an understanding of they’re doing at the current company and this information may prove useful to the way your teams and business operate in the future.

You could need people quickly

Given the levels of change we’ve experienced in recent years, what has become apparent is that these uncertainties often come in waves.

As such, if you’re scaling back your recruitment activity altogether now in an effort to cut costs, you could find that when you’re in a position to hire again, you’re starting from the bottom of the pack.

Remaining active in the talent market, engaging with talent regularly and adding to your pipeline should help when it comes to your hiring efforts when you hit a period of stability and growth.

Being active gives you a competitive edge

If you hire someone impressive, it’s one less person your competitor is able to make. Sometimes, when you’re on the cusp of needing to hire more people, it can be a strategic move to bring them in to avoid them ending up at a competitor.