The ramifications for employers are simple.

In growth sectors, there will never have been so much competition for candidates, which makes vacancies harder to fill and drives up salaries.

It will mean if you don't pay your staff competitively, salary may be a key factor in drawing them away, particularly as headhunting will become more attractive as an approach to target passive and embedded prospects. If you don't want to lose your key people, work to keep them now.

It will mean the experience your recruitment process provides will have more of a part to play, when the candidate you like has the potential of multiple offers on the table at the same time.

It will mean if you are hanging on for *that perfect candidate* you are less and less likely to fill your job, as other companies become willing to make the compromises you haven't.

What can you do?

- audit your current roles to make sure your compensation and benefits reflect both the market and how your people contribute

- ensure you have a plan for when your key people move on

- ensure when you are recruiting that you have audited your requirements, that they are representative of what you actually need, not what you think you want

- ensure you can access all candidates suitably - active, passive and embedded

- ensure your recruitment process works to the critical path, with no unnecessary bloat

- work closely with agency suppliers you trust. Enable them to work qualitatively, rather than opening the gates to more suppliers. Give them the commitment you ask from them.

- when you confirm you have the right candidate, move fast and pay the highest you can afford - now is not the time to mess about with low ball offers

It's true you may lose out on the best candidates, but if you haven't got the fundamentals right in how you employ, retain and attract staff, there will be little point complaining about any difficulties you face.