Boris Johnson’s election as UK prime minister in July now makes three PMs who have had to grapple with the difficulties of Brexit. With the October deadline looming, it would be natural to assume that the longer this national crisis languishes in stalemate, the more UK businesses will react to the uncertainty with retrenchment. However, according to recent data and analyses by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), employers are actually scrambling to recruit in a shrinking candidate pool partly diminished by the departure of many EU workers:

In the period since June 2016, the combination of strong labour demand, low unemployment and a dramatic 95% fall in EU nationals joining the UK workforce between Q1 2018 and Q1 2016, has put significant pressure on recruitment. Recent data noted that 44% of employers experienced greater difficulty in recruitment during 2018, as another 34% faced a similar challenge in retaining staff.

The prevalence of hard-to-fill vacancies has continued on an upward trajectory. As at Autumn 2018, 70% of employers with vacancies said that at least some of those were proving hard-to-fill, compared to 51% in Spring 2017.

In this situation, one temptation for recruiters might be to lower expectations and settle for applicants they normally wouldn’t entertain as viable candidates. The question then becomes whether settling in this way solves the problem of filling vacancies, or if it further exacerbates poor retention rates and disruption in workflow and productivity. Next-best candidates will be less likely to succeed in the positions they are offered, whether it’s due to inadequate culture fit, a lack of required skills, or a disinterest in the organization’s mission.

As an HR consultant with years of experience working with UK clients, I humbly submit that, now more than ever, UK recruiters need to practice patience in hiring, even if doing so causes some short-term delay in filling a critical position. Hasty hiring decisions too often lead to greater delays in the end; it costs far more to invest time and money into a new hire, only to have to repeat the process a month or two later.

There are ways to expedite the search without compromising quality. In this competitive hiring market, one criterion recruiters should emphasize over other attributes—more than even skills and experience—is culture enhancement. Organizations are finding more and more that new hires who not only integrate well within a workplace culture but who can also add value to it will have a greater ability to adapt, learn, engage, and, most importantly, create opportunities for the business. CVs only tell a fraction of this story; the rest requires an intentional interview process that considers the ways in which a candidate communicates, interacts, problem-solves, and accommodates. I avoid the term “culture fit,” because I’m not merely talking about getting along with the group or following the existing protocols; I’m talking more about the abilities of individuals to flourish in organizations that benefit from their specific character traits and cognitive abilities, particularly candidates who can respond to unique challenges with new ideas relevant to the company mission.

Behavioral interviewing, as a result, becomes a critical part of the vetting process. Consider areas of opportunity in your organization, and pose those challenges to your candidates: How would they deal with the current situations your business faces? What would they suggest? How could they personally effect positive change to overcome these obstacles? By the end of the process, well-suited candidates will also discover a meaningful place for their specific talents, making  your organization stand out among others that might be competing for their employment.