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What is a Hiring Freeze, and How to Respond to One as a Hiring Manager

Man in snow parka surrounded by snow against a pale ice blue background What is a Hiring Freeze, and How to Respond to One as a Hiring Manager

When economic uncertainty strikes, leaders’ top priorities are to protect their people, their clients, and their business. It’s feasible to scale back and hire on a limited budget when things feel unsteady, but many employers choose to place a short-term hold on filling non-essential positions, commonly known as a hiring freeze. This approach is one to look to if you are considering ways to avoid staff reductions or layoffs until things feel more settled.

There are many reasons that can lead to a pause in hiring, including a downturn in the market, stagnant revenue, industry turmoil, and difficulties in managing rising operational costs. Teams in need of support during this time can feel like they’re frozen themselves, so it’s essential for hiring managers to consider options for how to meet demand and avoid staff attrition (and focus on culture and retention) in the meantime.

Let’s explore some ways that hiring managers can adapt to a freeze while sustaining high productivity from your current team.


RELATED: Do You Need an Emergency Hiring Plan?


4 Ways to Respond to a Hiring Freeze as a Hiring Manager

Keep the Lines of Communication Open and Be Transparent

If you have to put a pause on hiring in the middle of connecting with promising candidates (but you don’t want to lose contact), stay in touch! Nurture those relationships by updating them on the current status of hiring for the business or sharing updates when you have them. Invite them to follow you on social media and attend events you’re hosting.

If your industry is experiencing layoffs beyond freezes, take a pause to assess where you are and what feels comfortable for the coming quarters or fiscal periods. Top talent doesn’t wait around, so it’s essential to be smart with how you communicate with them. Ensure that you can fulfill both yours and your prospects’ needs without overpromising and underdelivering.

Assess Your Hiring Strategies to Be Ready When You Need to Be

Set aside time to identify areas where you can improve on your hiring process. Brushing up on hiring trends and data as well as aligning your goals to your company’s present business needs are great ways to focus your efforts during a hiring freeze.

Review your:

  • Hiring timelines and expectations for your industry and typical job titles—are you competitive?
  • Candidate sourcing strategies and resources—are they yielding you the best candidates?
  • Interview tactics—do you need to make your process more candidate-friendly?
  • Job descriptions—are they clear, effective, inclusive, and in line with industry norms?

While you may not be able to utilize your updated methods and materials just yet, you can be prepared to hit the ground running when things thaw out. And have an edge on the competition when you’ve already taken time to get your emergency hiring plan in place.

Retain Your Current Team

Check in with your current staffers about your culture, values, and retention strategies during a hiring freezeemployee satisfaction impacts customer retention, so it’s a win-win investment.

Have you built out an employee reward and recognition plan? If you’re looking for something less formal, can you do a training around languages of appreciation in the workplace? Conduct regular temperature checks on mental health and productivity is essential to retaining the great workers you have now. Now is also the perfect time to check in with yourself to be sure you are being the authentic and empathetic leader to their needs.



Invest in Team Development

Your budget may not currently allow for hiring, but there’s an opportunity here to really pour into your team’s professional development. If resources allow, explore the idea of sponsoring your thought leaders and subject matter experts to participate in panel discussions or an industry conference. Sometimes, registration fees are covered for presenters at events, so it’s a way to showcase them and your business wisely.

If that’s off the table for this year, consider investing in tools like LinkedIn Learning, Udemy, or mental health apps like Calm or Headspace for the team to access and enjoy.

If you’re unable to invest in development right now, think of cost-effective ways to build connection among your team like:

  • Doing a team culture check in to get from doing well to developing an elite team
  • Schedule team BYO lunches and learns—could each person present a short Ted-style talk on a topic of interest
  • Coordinate volunteer opportunities that resonate with your shared values and mission

Creating space for team activities can help increase efficiency, improve collaboration, and foster trust.

We’re Here When You’re Ready to Hire

If you’re a manager who is experiencing a hiring freeze, hang in there! You still have all the tools and resources to contribute to the success of your team and your company. There are effective ways to work with your staffing partner even if you aren’t hiring right now.

Insight Global can help no matter where you are in the hiring process.