Three Ways HR Pros Can Find More Quality Applicants
Securing the best employees to grow your business in a competitive job market
Posted on 07-22-2019, Read Time: - Min
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These days, most small businesses have open positions, and many are struggling to find enough quality applicants to fill them.
According to the 2019 BerniePortal Recruitment Report, this is largely due to inefficient hiring practices. Many organizations’ recruitment processes aren’t built in a way that facilitates getting a lot of candidates quickly, and many are moving too slowly to attract top talent.
Why does recruitment represent such a challenge for small businesses?
One reason is that many of these organizations do not have a fully-staffed HR team – or
Often, this results in a less-than-strategic hiring process. Recruitment efforts can easily get pushed to the backburner as daily responsibilities pile up, and many organizations find themselves with outdated processes and not enough candidates in the pipeline.
However, there are a few easy changes organizations can make to their recruitment practices to get more quality applicants.
According to the 2019 BerniePortal Recruitment Report, this is largely due to inefficient hiring practices. Many organizations’ recruitment processes aren’t built in a way that facilitates getting a lot of candidates quickly, and many are moving too slowly to attract top talent.
Why does recruitment represent such a challenge for small businesses?
One reason is that many of these organizations do not have a fully-staffed HR team – or
Often, this results in a less-than-strategic hiring process. Recruitment efforts can easily get pushed to the backburner as daily responsibilities pile up, and many organizations find themselves with outdated processes and not enough candidates in the pipeline.
However, there are a few easy changes organizations can make to their recruitment practices to get more quality applicants.
Write Job Descriptions That ‘Sell’ the Position and Company
A job posting is an applicant’s very first interaction with your company. Making sure these descriptions are compelling is key to getting more candidates to apply. If your job description is focused exclusively on what you want out of the employee and doesn’t include any information on why the applicant might want to work for your organization, you may be getting passed up by quality applicants looking for the right cultural fit.
While you obviously need to explain what type of skill and personality you’re looking for, the job market is too competitive for job listings that don’t “sell” an applicant on the role or the company.
With unemployment at historic lows, candidates have more leverage than they have had in the past. Applicants are looking for more than just a paycheck – they’re looking for culture, benefits and career growth.
The more of that you can communicate in your job postings, the better. Focus on what makes your business unique, as well as any perks or benefits that make your organization stand out. For hard-to-hire positions, communicate how important the role is to the success of the organization and opportunities for advancement.
While you obviously need to explain what type of skill and personality you’re looking for, the job market is too competitive for job listings that don’t “sell” an applicant on the role or the company.
With unemployment at historic lows, candidates have more leverage than they have had in the past. Applicants are looking for more than just a paycheck – they’re looking for culture, benefits and career growth.
The more of that you can communicate in your job postings, the better. Focus on what makes your business unique, as well as any perks or benefits that make your organization stand out. For hard-to-hire positions, communicate how important the role is to the success of the organization and opportunities for advancement.
Streamline the Application Process
A lot of small businesses are inadvertently deterring candidates from applying due to an application process that’s more complicated than necessary.
Audit how many steps it takes for a candidate to get from your job posting to a submitted application. How many links do they have to click? How much information are they required to submit alongside their resume?
If your process requires them to click through to multiple websites, re-type information already available on their resume, or read through a lot of legal language or policies, quality applicants are skipping your listing.
A multi-step application process may not have deterred candidates ten years ago when unemployment was triple what it is today. But now, job seekers are applying for jobs quickly from their smartphones – they’re uploading resumes and moving on.
If you’ve historically justified a too-complicated process telling yourself that it helps to “weed out” people who aren’t that serious about wanting to work at your organization, just know that these days, you’re missing out on a lot of quality candidates.
One solution identified by the BerniePortal Recruitment Report is to adopt applicant tracking solutions that integrate with job boards. This makes it easier for candidates to apply, which drives the number of applications in the pipeline. It also makes it easy for HR admins to review applicants and share feedback with other hiring managers.
Audit how many steps it takes for a candidate to get from your job posting to a submitted application. How many links do they have to click? How much information are they required to submit alongside their resume?
If your process requires them to click through to multiple websites, re-type information already available on their resume, or read through a lot of legal language or policies, quality applicants are skipping your listing.
A multi-step application process may not have deterred candidates ten years ago when unemployment was triple what it is today. But now, job seekers are applying for jobs quickly from their smartphones – they’re uploading resumes and moving on.
If you’ve historically justified a too-complicated process telling yourself that it helps to “weed out” people who aren’t that serious about wanting to work at your organization, just know that these days, you’re missing out on a lot of quality candidates.
One solution identified by the BerniePortal Recruitment Report is to adopt applicant tracking solutions that integrate with job boards. This makes it easier for candidates to apply, which drives the number of applications in the pipeline. It also makes it easy for HR admins to review applicants and share feedback with other hiring managers.
Respond Faster
Making that process easier for admins and hiring managers is key because one of the most actionable ways to bring in more applicants and fill open positions faster is to simply respond more quickly.
According to the BerniePortal Recruitment Report, the majority of respondents had an average time to hire that extended beyond two weeks. This is despite the fact that quality candidates are typically off the market in days.
To get these applicants in for interviews more quickly, respond to resumes as soon as you can – at least within 24 hours. Using an applicant tracking tool can help with this. By streamlining the administrative tasks associated with recruitment, HR admins can free up valuable time to connect with candidates.
Ultimately, to find quality talent in today’s competitive hiring environment, small businesses need to make their hiring process as quick and as streamlined as possible. The result is more applicants in the pipeline, and better hires, faster.
According to the BerniePortal Recruitment Report, the majority of respondents had an average time to hire that extended beyond two weeks. This is despite the fact that quality candidates are typically off the market in days.
To get these applicants in for interviews more quickly, respond to resumes as soon as you can – at least within 24 hours. Using an applicant tracking tool can help with this. By streamlining the administrative tasks associated with recruitment, HR admins can free up valuable time to connect with candidates.
Ultimately, to find quality talent in today’s competitive hiring environment, small businesses need to make their hiring process as quick and as streamlined as possible. The result is more applicants in the pipeline, and better hires, faster.
Author Bio
| Alex Tolbert is the Founder and CEO of BerniePortal, the all-in-one HRIS for small and mid-sized businesses. He is an industry-recognized expert on HR technology, the benefits industry, small business operations and software development. Connect Alex Tolbert Visit www.bernardhealth.com Follow @BernardHealth Survey: 2019 BerniePortal Recruitment Report |
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