Hiring the right people takes time, the right questions and a healthy dose of curiosity.
~Richard Branson in “Hiring the Right People”
A “hiring-firing” policy does not contribute to organisational success. You need to ensure talent acquisition at your business is all about quality, rather than knee-jerk hiring. With the economy improving and new opportunities for growth, professionals are actively targeting the job market. Employers are also looking out for new recruits.
A recent study conducted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found 24% of employees in private and voluntary sectors and 23% of their public sector counterparts are looking for new roles. But along with this golden opportunity for growth come the biggest hurdles in the form of obstacles to smooth and seamless hiring. Here are the biggest barriers on the path to successful hiring.
Budget Constraints
While the economy is set on a growth path, not everyone is convinced. Many businesses are adopting a wait-and-see approach rather than rushing in as far as hiring is concerned. The British Chambers of Commerce recently reported that startups and entrepreneurial ventures lack credit for expanding and this naturally stands in the way of hiring.
Lack Of Skills
A shortage of skilled candidates has been hampering hiring as well. It has become challenging to find employees with the right blend of creativity and technical skills. Across the job market, there is a high level of competition and this has made for a situation where choosing the best candidate becomes impossible. Shortage of suitably skilled candidates arises from lack of specialist or technical skills mostly, another CIPD study found.
Unsuitable Applicants In Plenty
Employers are receiving applications from many potential recruits. But the hurdle lies in separating the pearls from the oysters. The sheer volume of applications received for a job are daunting and hiring managers have to sift through many unsuitable resumes. In the CIPD Resourcing and Talent Planning survey, carried out in 2015, 73% of employers said they saw a rise in applications from people who were not suited for the role in question. HR professionals are making every effort, but looking for a needle in a haystack can make things tough.
Best Fit For The Job
That is another question that faces hiring managers. Who is the person that is the best fit for the job?
Given that there are so many star performers in recruitment tests, assessment centres and interviews, hiring managers are faced with the hurdle of hiring the right person for the job. Candidates may deliver prepared answers that are polished and impressive, but when push comes to shove, can they succeed in a high-pressure work environment?
Delays In Process
Employers take so long to get to the interview stage many times so employees often choose another job opportunity in the interim period and this can leave the hiring manager with a smaller pool of candidates to choose from. Recruitment costs have gone up because due to the resulting paucity of qualified professionals, hiring and recruitment generalists may have to go back to the drawing board. To prevent this, employers need to be clear about what they are looking for in a candidate and key decision makers should be involved in the process right from the start.
Star Candidate Rejects The Role
After going through a lengthy hiring process, the candidate in question may reject the role. This could be the result of individual dissatisfaction with work duties or compensation or employment terms or an attractive counter-offer from a business rival. Top performers are in huge demand and hiring managers face a lot of competition when it comes to hiring talented professionals.
Fewer Job Applicants
After the recession, there was recovery and unemployment rates fell. This means fewer people are looking for open positions. It also notches up the competition in the job markets across the world. Millennials are a very different worker demographic from the Baby Boomer generation and hiring managers may need to re-tailor their strategy, if they want to land the right candidate.
Last-Minute Recruiting
Need-based hiring is on the rise. Rather than being proactive in searching for the best talent, employers are reactive, only looking for new recruits when the need arises.
With tight deadlines and a competitive labour market, workers are not easy to identify or recruit. Onboarding is another point where employees disappear rather than staying with the organisation, due to better offers elsewhere.
Applicants Have Options
In earlier times, the job market was limited to a few professions. But now, with the advent of globalisation and the digital revolution, technology has advanced at a rapid pace and so have job portals. Applicants today have many more offers and options. They are unlikely to be part of a hiring process which does not offer value for their hard-work or time. Drop-off candidates are on the rise, and active hiring is on a new low, as a result of this.
Managers Lack Clarity
Finding the right source for interviewing and hiring applicants for open positions can be tough. There are domestic and international job portals. Then there are professional networking sites like LinkedIn and forums where workers discuss companies such as Glass Door. Some managers are even utilising their own network, in a bid to find people they can trust. But with the diverse number of options confronting a company looking to hire talent, it’s not surprising that hiring has become a difficult and time-consuming effort.
Conclusion
Talent branding = talent acquisition.
If the hiring process is oriented towards results and positive outcomes, it has to be straightforward and proactive. Another point that is equally important is the communication factor. There should be active communication between the potential recruit and the hiring manager. A great vision without great people is an empty one. So, take steps to overcome these hurdles by expanding the brand value of the company, as this can also attract the right people in a competitive job market.
[This post by Tonmoy first appeared on Mettl’s official blog and has been reproduced with permission.]
