The name of this blog comes from our mission at INFLUENCE: “To empower people with clarity and confidence.”
Our objective is to provide brief but meaningful topics (under 500 words) that inspire, educate and empower leaders through resources both inside and outside of INFLUENCE. This week’s edition is provided by David Salmons.
A recent survey indicated that 43% of workers in the U.S. have considered switching jobs over the past 6 months, or even quitting work with no new job lined up. With so many employees leaving or ready to leave, hiring efficiency is a must to stabilize staffing shortages.
Not all organizations are willing or able to adjust their hiring processes for efficiency, however. For example, a skilled acquaintance recently mentioned that over the past year he’s typically received no acknowledgement from companies at which he’s applied, even for advertised positions for which he’s well qualified. Within that same time-frame he was interviewed by one functional manager who indicated they wanted to hire him on the spot, yet a month after promises of follow-up, the manager indicated his HR team was still overwhelmed and unresponsive.
The point is that staffing crises exist at all levels, including HR.
Finding ways to benefit both organizations and applicants seems important. Human Resources management writer, Rachel Mucha, offers a few thoughts about this.
First, she says if a company hasn’t explored remote recruiting, they should. By that she means, where possible, scope out job descriptions with at least a part-time remote option because as many as 80% of interviewees are flat out refusing opportunities with no remote option.
Even beyond the benefit of avoiding candidate rejection, the act of making jobs remote opens the door to broader candidate pools and potentially quickens the hiring process.
Tangentially, Mucha points out that making good impressions during the hiring process is critical. Interviewees know it’s an employee’s market. If they don’t get a sense of being valued right from the start, not only will they skip the opportunity, they’ll also share their experiences on social media, reducing second looks – and the candidate pool itself.
How do interviewers create a vibe that grows the pool? Here’s some examples:
- Engage openly and personally instead of relying on clipboard formality.
- Ask respectful and thoughtful questions that show interest in interviewee goals.
- Be clear about what’s offered, and how it may or may not meet interviewee goals.
- Invite questions for clarification.
- Be clear about next steps, honor commitments, and communicate outcomes.
Rachel also notes that adapting to generational preferences can open doors faster. For example, Gen Z’s find it natural to apply for jobs by smartphone, and they’re tuned for quick contact through text or Instant Message. Recruiting software such as Workable leverages these preferences through texting features that allow candidates to communicate via text directly through the platform, tracking responses on the candidate timeline.
As 95% of all text messages are read within 90 seconds, a 60x faster response time than email, it’s easy to see that engaging through text can add efficiency and value.
In conclusion, adjusting hiring processes may benefit both organizations and applicants. Among possibilities, this includes exploring remote recruiting, creating a valued vibe during the interview, and adapting to generational communication preferences.