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What the heck is going on in recruitment? And.. What to do about it:

18 October, 2019 by admin

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If you are hiring, it’s likely you are frustrated with attracting the right people to your team. The market is tight no matter what industry and functional area you are hiring in. You can’t seem to get the attention of candidates with the right skill set and your business depends on it. What’s going on?

The talent war is real. Candidates we are reaching out to are constantly telling us they get emails, inmails, calls almost daily with potential opportunities. They are totally inundated. They are also completely under water in their own situation. More than likely, their company is also trying to attract talent to relieve their top performers from working 50-60 hours a week. They don’t have time to talk to every company and recruiter reaching out to them. If an initial outreach by a recruiter isn’t completely compelling, you lose the candidate immediately and it’s REALLY hard to get their attention again.

Once you do get a candidate into the process, you are losing them before you can even extend an offer. If you get to an offer, they are getting counteroffers from their current employer. What is going on?!

Here’s what’s going on and ideas on how to change how you go about attracting talent:
  1. First one is easy, and we already said it- candidates are getting tapped on daily for opportunities. A lot of times, they are for roles that, on the surface, don’t sound compelling enough to invest time learning about.

    What to do: Your first communication with a potential candidate needs to be a marketing piece on your company and the opportunity within the role. Talk about the immediate business challenge, why they need this person and how they will impact the business longer term. If you simply state, “we are looking for an Accounting Manager to join the organization,” or “we need a Director of Operations to streamline process,” you can just go ahead and imagine the candidate clicking DELETE! Sell your company, sell the opportunity. There is always a way to communicate the role as an exciting role no matter where it falls in the organization.
  2. Your greatest asset and greatest risk in recruiting top talent is the internet. Social media, Glassdoor, Comparably, CrystalKnows, etc are a click away for candidates to see what others are saying about you and your company. Whether you like it or not, or reviews are accurate or not, it’s information at the tip of the potential candidate’s finger that could make or break their interest.

    What to do: Do not ignore the significance of candidate ability to jump online to learn more about your company. True, many reviews are from disgruntled employees and maybe it’s not the right reflection of your company, but to a candidate, it’s real. Get involved in the conversation online. Respond to all reviews with a positive note back. Create social media campaigns that highlight all the great things about your people and your company. Videos are extra credit! If you implement one way to differentiate your company, it’s branding through social media!
  3. Your interview style is stale. If you walk into an interview room with a list of 15 behavioral based questions, you are doing it wrong. How can you get to know someone with canned questions that only lead to the next canned question (not to mention, a canned answer from well prepared candidates)?

    What to do: Interviews need to be a conversation that flows as if you are sitting across the person at dinner table. To truly get to know someone and their experience, you need to have a conversation. You can still have an interview guide in front of you to make sure you get what you need, but make it a conversation, not a grill session.
  4. Your interview team is killing the deal.

    What to do: Carefully select your interview team and strategically place them in the interview process. The people candidates meet along the way are going to be the people that either generate an accepted offer or cause the candidate to go another direction. You need your most happy, energetic and charismatic employees’ part of the interview process. You aren’t just interviewing the candidate; you are also selling them along the way. It’s a balance you need to take seriously. Sometimes the Hiring Manager is great at their job, but not great at interviewing. They absolutely need to be part of the process but partner them with someone that is comfortable interviewing and perhaps more personable. End each interview with reasons you like working for the company to ensure the last words they hear from each future colleague is positive and what they take away with them.
  5. Time also kills deal. Once you find the right candidate, don’t wait for comparison candidates or put them through unnecessary steps before you offer them the role. You will lose candidates when you can’t streamline your process. You will lose candidates if you make them wait weeks for a decision.

    What to do: Build out your process before you start recruiting. List out the essential interview team members and if they need to meet candidates in person or if a phone call would suffice. Build consensus on what is needed in the role (this is typically the hardest part and most time consuming). Put in best practices such as committing to group feedback sessions within 24 hours of the candidate leaving the interview. Be decisive!

There is no sign of relief in recruitment efforts. If you want to be successful, these are some of the major initiatives you need to implement. Let us help you position your company for success.

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