Global TA Day: Fishing For Hires In The Turnover Tsunami?

Focus on the candidate experience to stand out

Competition for great talent has never been more fierce. With nearly 2 million more job openings available today than before the pandemic, job seekers have more choices than ever.

Meanwhile, a massive wave of resignations, worker turnover and labor shortages threatens to exclude many sectors from the bounties of a rebounding economy. To attract top-tier candidates, companies must upgrade their recruitment processes or risk suffering the fate job seekers have long feared—ghosted and desperate.  

This Global Talent Acquisition Day, organizations and their recruiting teams should be reflecting: How can we appeal to in-demand talent in such a cutthroat environment? Raising wages is an obvious solution, and many are doing just that. But higher salaries alone don’t solve the problems that led candidates to leave jobs in the first place, such as lack of flexibility and poor working conditions. Research from the University of Chicago shows 40% of those currently working remotely at least part-time would change jobs if ordered back into the office full time. To respond to these concerns, organizations should reconsider their talent strategy from top to bottom.

Where to start? The candidate experience, which encompasses every recruitment step from job postings to employee onboarding, is a good jumping-off point. Whereas, once candidates may have endured a labyrinth of interviews and assessments simply to get their foot in the door, many now see bureaucratic processes as a preview for a disappointing employee experience. Just as we have long advised job seekers to focus on making a strong first impression, it’s time for employers to follow suit.

With a tight labor market likely to persist into 2022, all eyes are on HR. The task of overhauling the candidate experience provides HR teams with an unparalleled opportunity to advance recruitment and people operations as a competitive differentiator and, considering the opportunity cost of missing or poorly filled roles, a revenue driver.

Beginning this Talent Acquisition Day, here are the questions recruiters, hiring managers, and HR leaders should be routinely asking themselves to identify how they can improve the candidate experience and update their recruitment practices for the new future of work:

Hiring was one of the first office functions to migrate to a “hybrid” environment. Candidates first jumped through various virtual hoops, from job boards to online forms, hoping to progress to in-person interviews. For their part, HR tracked every candidate through spreadsheets and emails, leading to delays, miscommunication and frustration. HR teams should adopt more digital solutions to reduce friction, automate workflows and collect valuable data. Those that stick to manual processes will fall behind in the race for the best talent compared to their faster, tech-enabled competitors.

But it’s not as simple as copying yesterday’s practices over to digital platforms. Managers should vet every step in the candidate experience for accessibility and inclusivity, which will help boost the position’s appeal to a broader range of candidates and geographies. To make a good introduction, for example, HR teams should rethink the language in their job postings, ditching the grandiose wish lists. Instead, help candidates see themselves in the role by providing clear requirements based on bottom-line responsibilities.

Similarly, in a world where most meetings occur on Zoom, candidates will have little patience for a drawn-out interview process. Companies can demonstrate their agility by offering swift or even self-scheduling for candidates. And by the end of the first interview—or, better yet, screening call—candidates should know what their next steps are. Throughout the process, simplicity, transparency and empathy are key.

Many professionals have been working remotely or in hybrid arrangements for more than a year. Studies show most workers rue the return of the daily commute. Not every job can be done remotely, but flexibility on this front can provide an edge in hiring if employers communicate policies and expectations from the start. Even if that’s not always possible, given the still-evolving coronavirus situation, managers can still provide an outline for how and when the organization will update its policies.

With “presenteeism” becoming irrelevant, the same principle applies to performance management. The most competitive candidates aren’t just looking for more pay or flexibility; they want growth opportunities. Recent data shows that 80% of employees considering leaving their jobs are concerned about their career advancement. Therefore, processes and structures supporting growth and skill-building should be proactively articulated during the candidate experience.

Culture and company identity matter more than ever. “Always-on” expectations have left many workers burned out, and others are seeking jobs more aligned with their values. Or perhaps, after more than a year of social distancing, employees want to feel a sense of belonging. Organizations should treat their brand and culture as differentiators.

Dispersed setups can pose challenges to team building, but there are ways to showcase company culture and values to prospective employees in remote settings. Even basic steps, like including language on the company’s mission and values in job descriptions, can leave an impression. Remote interviewers should ensure they make time for small talk and off-script questions to give a digitally-driven process a more human feel. The most forward-looking HR teams are creating custom branded candidate experience portals, with digital resources, interactive features and even recorded video introductions.

If the past two years are any guide, the hiring picture could change dramatically overnight. But companies that take steps to streamline and digitize the candidate experience will continue to attract the best talent regardless of the economy. And if they empower candidates and managers with visibility and flexibility, HR will be ready to lead organizations through whatever may come next.