Perfecting your talent acquisition strategy is a work-in-progress for most employers, often leading to more questions for HR.
Here are some of the answers to 5 of the most commonly asked questions about your hiring strategy.
How can I attract more qualified candidates to my job posts?
Attracting more quality applicants to your open jobs is an issue which perplexes most employers and the solution is complex. Consider the following before you post your next vacancy:-
- Today’s job seekers check your business out online, just as they would review a potential holiday on Trip Advisor. What are candidates and employees saying about you on social media? Paying attention to your brand and creating a positive employee experience and culture are vital to attract the top talent to your job posts.
- Understanding job search habits of candidates is also essential to maximise the number of quality candidates applying to your vacancies. A new report from Indeed suggests that Monday at 1pm is the peak time for job applications in the UK. Your recruitment metrics will confirm the most popular time for candidates to apply to your own vacancies - including the most qualified.
- Make your jobs permanent and flexible. Job security is the number one priority for jobseekers, but flexible working is also favoured by over half of all candidates. Changing your job posts to reflect those two trends can expand your talent pool. Lack of security is a major factor for people changing jobs. Recent research shows that prior to Brexit 70% of employees felt secure in their jobs, a figure which dropped to 58% after the referendum.
- Narrow parameters also deter talent from applying to your open jobs. Are those ‘must have’ qualifications essential to job performance? Try removing the filters in your applicant tracking software to broaden your candidate reach.
Why do candidates leave my pipeline halfway through the hiring process?
Views of your job posts are high but your applicant numbers are steadily declining the further they progress along your recruitment funnel. A number of factors affect your ability to hang on to the talent in your pipeline. Complicated application processes, a problematic candidate experience and an absence of engagement or communication after CVs are submitted will encourage candidates to give up and turn to an employer who pays attention to talent. Our previous article 8 Ways To Reduce Your Candidate Drop-Off Rates provides more advice on how to tackle this issue.
How can I reduce the number of candidate no-shows?
The average time to hire is four weeks but top talent is only on the market for 10 days. A slow hiring process and failure to update candidates on the progress of their application suggests a lack of interest on HR's part and result in more candidates going AWOL or accepting an alternative job offer before their interview. Set expectations at the beginning of your hiring process and deliver on them. Automate personalised updates and reminders through your recruitment software and allow candidates to self-schedule their interviews. For more insight download our infographic 12 Tips To Prevent Candidate No-Shows.
Why are my job offers being rejected?
Two thirds of today’s candidates accept a job offer and still look for other jobs. Assuming your salary, benefits and location are all realistic for your vacancy, additional factors leading to a rejected job offer may include:-
- A disastrous performance at interview (on the part of the employer) will all but guarantee your candidate rejects your job offer. 42% of hiring managers have had no interview training and 41% are not good interviewers.
- An interview which bears no resemblance to the employer brand or job description will also raise big questions in your candidate’s mind over whether or not they want to work for your company. Only one third of hiring managers are engaged in the hiring process which may contribute to this issue.
- You took too long in making the job offer. In the meantime, you ideal candidate accepted an alternative offer from your competitor. It is often that simple.
- You may have encountered a ‘job hoarder’. To reduce the potential for candidates reneging on your job offer, stay in regular contact in the period before job offer acceptance and the start date of your new employee. Onboarding should begin from the date of that acceptance.
Why don’t my new hires stay?
Two out of every five hires are ‘failed hires’ according to REC and 90% of all businesses are concerned about retention. A haphazard recruitment process, which relies on the same talent pool, poor onboarding and a long time to hire are all guaranteed to increase your chances of a bad hire. But perhaps one of the major causes is the fact that three quarters of all hiring decisions are based on the interview. A talent acquisition strategy that relies on ‘intuition’ only perpetuates your retention problems. Support your hiring decisions with the data in your recruitment analytics to minimise your chances of a bad hire.
Resolve the problems in your talent acquisition strategy with recruitment software used by some of the world’s largest organisations. Contact us today to find out why.
You might also like to read:-
Why Employee Referrals Should Be Your Top Source of Hire
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