Believe it or not, recruitment can be just as stressful for businesses as it is for prospective employees. It can be a long and tiresome process, after all. Companies usually have to sift through hundreds of applications and conduct several rounds of interviews before finding their ace.
Both the company and the applicants typically face a handful of hurdles that stress them out and slow them down. While every company has a different hiring process, here are the problems that most encounter along the way and how you can address them.
1. Not Finding The Right Candidate
Stand-out candidates are often few and far between. Attracting the right candidates is a difficult task when you are trying to find gems in a pool of unqualified people. Often, you have no choice but to hire someone who isn’t fully suited for the role.
If you find yourself in this position, it’s time to ask why good candidates are shying away from your job posting. Could your job description be more clear or look tidier? The less specific a job posting is, the more it can confuse potential prospects. How can applicants be excited to work for you if they feel uneasy just hitting the ‘Apply’ button? Make sure you are posting the job in the appropriate channels and utilizing effective talent-sourcing solutions or experts. Failing to take these measures leaves businesses vulnerable to attracting a large pool of unqualified candidates.
2. Ineffective Recruiting Process
One of the biggest challenges faced by hiring managers is creating an effective recruitment process. It is a complex process that involve planning for the hiring, sourcing, screening, selection and onboarding. For a company to thrive and get the cream of the crop, it must have an effective and efficient recruiting process.
It goes without saying that hiring fast is crucial in today’s world. A lot of companies are actively searching for new employees, and they want to hire them as quickly as possible. That’s because a vacant position means revenue loss and critical work delays. However, if your hiring and approval processes are laborious, taking weeks or even months, the desired candidates may accept job offers from other companies, further wasting precious time and resources.
Your hiring teams should be equipped to communicate properly and make the evaluation process as quick as possible. Moreover, all the steps involved should be planned and concise. It is key to hiring process improvements to keep talking with one another. Many hiring managers are also too busy and are juggling filling a role on top of their regular tasks, so make sure they have the time and technology they need to do the job well.
3. Not Engaging With Applicants
Good candidates, especially the ones who have in-demand skills, are often already receiving several offers and calls for interviews. This can make it harder for your own request for an interview to stand out. Today’s recruiters need to work harder to engage, attract and persuade candidates to choose their company over others. Consider hiring an advocate or partnering with a recruiting firm that can strongly communicate with candidates on your behalf and help your company stand out.
An advocate or recruiting firm should be doing more than finding a candidate for you to interview; great ones will get the candidate excited about the prospect of working for your company. They’ll highlight all of the amazing things about your business and put on the table the important differentiators.
4. Poor Candidate Experience
A positive candidate experience not only enhances your brand’s value but also encourages other people to apply to your company. Everybody knows first impressions are important—and we rarely get a second go at them. Just like companies judge their applicants, the applicants also judge your work environment and overall company. If they don’t like what they see or how they’re treated, they will likely go elsewhere. But a good candidate experience can skyrocket the chances of that applicant turning into an employee. Giving each applicant a good experience will also help bolster your brand’s reputation, which can lead to other suitable candidates applying for your job.
Standing out from the crowd for good candidates can seem challenging in the current climate. But by focusing your attention on finding the right candidates quickly and effectively, engaging well with applicants and giving them a good experience, you can refine your recruiting processes and grab great talent before the competition.