Harvard Business Review has found out that 80% of total staff turnover is caused by bad hiring decisions. But only a few organisations question whether problems within their own recruiting processes turn away potential talent.
If your recruiting strategy exhibits these elements, it’s time to rethink your approach:
Self-Centered Job Ads
Most job ads speak extensively about the talent, skills and qualifications a candidate must have, but do nothing to sell the job to the applicant. A three page list of essential requirements tells potential candidates that you care more about satisfying a HR checklist than you do about nurturing your staff’s potentials. You’re leaving no sign that you want to attract the best people for the job. Instead of being enamoured with your business’s company culture and the prospect of working for you, potential applicants are likely to run for the hills. Though this may sound unlikely in today’s difficult labour market, do remember that talented candidates always have other options.
Laborious Processes
UK-based research firm Staffing recently revealed that a staggering 47% of job candidates bail on prospective employers because of their frustrating hiring processes. Difficult-to-navigate recruitment portals, onerous communication, bloated application forms and ambiguous job descriptions will have your potential talents moving on to other companies.
No Human Face
You’ll know that you’ve got the balance wrong when you find your business spending thousands on marketing but pennies on recruitment communications. Talented applicants deserve more than an impersonal “your application has been received” letter (the passive voice isn’t welcoming, either). Thank your candidate for applying and let them know that you’re genuinely pleased to receive their application. You can never go wrong with human connections. Give them a direct phone number or email address and actually respond to inquiries. Most of all, tell your applicant what happens next. Candidates who receive clearly-identified recruitment steps and a realistic timetable are more likely to stick around.
Close-Minded Culture
Every organisation has a culture and, whether you intend to or not, it will show through all your operations. That means your recruitment practices also exhibit your culture to potentials who aren’t even part of the team yet. Candidates use the application process as a barometer for the organisation’s working environment. Show inflexibility, and the candidate has every right to assume that he’ll have little independence in the role. Close-mindedness scares the talented and creative so make sure you reassess your business’s culture to ensure that your environment is perfect for the kind of people you want in your team.
People who are growth-oriented want to work in organisations that put their people first. They want their authority figures to be respectable and to show unfailing respect for the work they do. They seek consideration for little hiccups that life throws in the way, such as an office-hours medical appointment or a family bereavement. Let them go through a recruitment process that disengages leadership, favors process over empathy or delegates the recruitment decision to an unconnected third party, and your applicants are not going to champion your business. Before you know it, the best talent will have gone.
Assess your recruitment process to ensure that you’re attracting the best and not scaring them away.