As many people around the world continue to leave their current positions to seek better pay, better benefits, and better working policy options - they are also losing patience with the vast difference in hiring processes. In this blog, we discuss some factors that could help make your hiring processes more efficient for your employees and potential candidates.
Spiralling inflation along with increased cost of living is causing over one third (37%) of UK workers to consider changing roles, as a new report from TotalJobs recently announced - raising concerns about current wages not rising fast enough along with inflation.
The rising cost of living has been driving more than a third of people to consider changing their jobs this year. This research has also identified that essential workers are twice as likely to have handed in their notice in recent months, moving to a completely different sector as they've been offered more money. 48% of respondents have also stated that they would be willing to change sectors in order to pursue better pay - the same figure for non-essential workers. Job seekers know that they're in high demand and they want to see employers recognising their value.
Creating a hiring process that is a positive experience for both candidates and hiring managers can help to foster a great relationship from the very start. If you ask yourself the following, you can ensure that your hiring experience isn't going to lose you future talent.
Is your hiring process time efficient?
Deciding whether a candidate is a good fit for your company can take a little time, but during this time, you could lose candidates to companies that have much faster hiring times. The average time for a hiring process (starting from the first application to signing official contracts) can last up to 43 days, sometimes even longer. However, studies show that 62% of working professionals say that they lose interest two weeks after an initial interview, especially when they don't hear back - this can result in losing the top talent to one of your biggest competitors.
To try and prevent this from happening, you need to look for ways to help speed up the hiring process, eliminating wasted time. For example, if candidates are required to complete assessments, try combining them with your company's application tracking system.
Try to administer assessments that are aligned to the capabilities that are required for success in the targeted role at the time of candidates submitting their applications, instead of leaving it for a later date to send out.
Do you promote your company culture to candidates?
Deciding to work with a candidate is a two-way street, and informing candidates about the company and the role is just as important as learning about the skills they can provide. Communicating to job seekers your company's commitment to not only filling these job openings, but also aligning people with these jobs that they can thrive in.
To help job seekers know if your company is a good fit for them, you need to make sure that each step of your hiring process reflects your company culture. For example, using situational judgement tests that ask candidates to reflect on situations that they could potentially face in the job and indicate what they would do in response.
You can even use a virtual assessment centre - this could require candidates to take part in a three to four hour session, which includes different exercises in addressing business challenges and strategic decision making which will help to paint a realistic picture of the role.
These factors all serve the purpose of assessing candidates' capabilities to perform the job, whilst also providing them with an insight into how life is in the role and working for your organisation. Although this is a beneficial method, it can add to the already lengthy hiring timeline, so choose your hiring process wisely.
Can you provide up-front value?
Most people no longer want a job to simply pay their bills. Instead, they want to be able to work at a company that's willing to help them learn and grow, personally as well as professionally.
In LinkedIn's 2022 Workplace Learning Report, they found that companies that excel at internal mobility are able to keep their employees around for an average of 5.4 years, nearly twice as long as companies that don't. With the ongoing growth, it's essential to candidates that they know you're willing to invest in their development up front.
One way you can put this across to candidates, is to give them a chance to learn some relevant skills that they may not already have. The key is giving candidates something for their time, other than the possibility of a job offer. Give them value that they can take wherever they go.
Can you communicate effectively?
Providing honest feedback is a relatively easy way for employers to bring a unique value to candidates in the interview process, and it will hopefully become a hiring norm in the future.
Carefully structuring your feedback is important. The further a candidate advances in your hiring process, the more likely they are to expect specific and personalised feedback. This can help the candidates approach their job search much more strategically and help them to discover whether they would like to explore more job opportunities with you, given the opportunity.
On the other hand, unsuccessful candidates who don't receive feedback are more likely to have an unpleasant image of the company due to this. If employers are able to demonstrate investment in candidates' success, it will make you stand out from the rest and can help to build future relationships, retaining a great talent pool.
This also applies to other recruitment agencies. Here at Talented Recruitment Group, communication is essential for us, our clients, and candidates. We are aware of the stressful and time-consuming nature of job searching, therefore we lead with strong communication from day one. We ensure candidates and clients are updated frequently, with clear and transparent communication throughout the process. By engaging in this way, we help candidates and clients grow and develop to achieve their long-term objectives.
(We have discussed our approach in a previous blog that you can read here.)
As inflation rises and layoffs continue, job seekers are the ones in control. To fill these job openings, it's crucial that companies make a great impression with every candidate. It starts with a carefully mapped out, time efficient interview process to help with your candidates experience.
Candidate experience is extremely important during an efficient hiring process as it helps to develop a great employer brand, along with attracting the best talent. While it may require more devoted attention and assessments, make sure to consider the factors we have discussed. These quick fixes have the potential to shorten the hiring duration whilst also generating a better candidate experience and results.