Why Are Your Candidates Running Towards Other Job Offers?
“While the selection of the right candidate is a “process,” you do not need to overburden the process to gather the information you need to make an informed decision.“
Emmily Hunter, Lead Recruiter
I recently attended Jobvite’s virtual Recruiter National Live 2021 conference presented by Terry Terhark which was surprisingly very enlightening. There seems to be a shortlist of topics that the industry focuses on and when you have been in recruitment for over a decade that tends to be the “same ole story” type of vibe. In many ways, history repeats itself however, to me, what keeps things fascinating is data. This conference had some of the top market research companies in the industry providing eye-opening data reports, to say the least.
As recruiters, we tend to have a pulse or “gut feeling” when it comes to the market. We are out hearing it, seeing it, feeling it, and living it however sometimes we are just not equipped with the data to validate it. Some of the most fascinating market research was the impact COVID has created in workplace culture and the recruitment process. These are two areas I can attest to and see on a day-to-day basis.
We are all aware by now of the effects COVID has had on jobs. In 2020, within 60 days from the start of COVID, the unemployment rate went from 3.5% to nearly 15% creating an immediate and ever-changing impact on jobs. But what some people may or may not realize is that COVID has caused many workers to reassess their career priorities. Candidates are placing a premium on workplace culture over salary, despite the larger than expected uptick in inflation.
So what are the numbers telling us about the workplace? 52% of men and 68% of women said they would look for a new job if they are not allowed to continue to work remotely. Women prefer remote work at a higher rate than men. While we know some career paths do not allow for remote work, you may be at risk if your employees were once remote and now you are asking them to come back to the office. Many of the candidates I speak with are seeking a “hybrid model”. This model is usually 2-3 days in the office and the remainder working from home. 41% of men prefer hybrid while only 30% of women prefer hybrid and 2% of candidates across the board preferred a full-time in the office. To say the least, COVID has changed things. While it is becoming more hybrid and remote-friendly, if your organization has the ability to be remote/hybrid and it’s not, you are at risk of losing talent. I found these findings validating because some of the jobs I have approached candidates with are an advancement opportunity in their career or even a high salary range. One of the most common questions I receive back when reaching out to candidates is, “Is this position remote?”. Before I would have said that question used to be, “What is the salary range?” but as the data suggests, times are changing. If your organization is not considering remote or hybrid options but may be open to the option, I would strongly advise you to consider this. If you are unsure how to make that transition or nervous about productivity or hiring someone you have never met, reach out to us and we would be happy to help you!
Now, what are the numbers telling us about the recruitment process? Speed is the name of the game folks. Data shows that 55% of the people in the workforce are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months. We are seeing more people leave the workforce than reenter due to the great resignation impact. This has made the recruitment process a battlefield. Over the last year, I have lost many candidates to other offers. More often than not candidates are engaging with multiple companies at once and have multiple offers at once. While this was not unheard of before COVID, typically I would have the opportunity to present a counter offer. In the current market, there has just not been enough time to get candidates through the interviewing process and to the point of the offer in time to counter other competing offers.
One of my favorite phrases from the conference was “maximize your process for speed”. I find this to be most applicable during the peer and panel interviews process. Below are various tips that will assist you in fast-tracking the candidate to the offer stage. I challenge you to:
- Re-evaluate how many rounds of interviews you are requiring a candidate to participate in. How many interviewers are participating in your interview process?
- Be strategic and assess that each step is purposeful for the candidate and you are gathering the information you need in each step. We have received feedback from candidates that often times they are asked the same questions from each interviewer.
- Consider if there is upfront work that can be done at the beginning of the process to help lean out the interviewing process.
- Incorporate specific pre-screening questions, video interviewing, assessments, and block interview time on your calendar in advance.
- Conduct references earlier in the process.
While the selection of the right candidate is a “process,” you do not need to overburden the process to gather the information you need to make an informed decision.
If you have made it this far in the post, I’m glad you’re still here and hope you found this information helpful and tangible. While COVID has made some lasting impressions on the world, we can choose to see them through a different lens and embrace the positives. Did you find that your employees liked being remote? Do you have a better work/life balance with working some days from home? Are there opportunities for your employees to adapt a hybrid model work schedule? If the answer is yes, then great because it is to your advantage in a competitive market. If the answer is no, then how can we help? Let us help you see if there are any areas of opportunity for this by conducting employee engagement surveys or identifying productivity KPIs so that your employees can work from home. Fine-tuning your process can feel overwhelming and daunting especially when it feels like time is already against you. We are anticipating these market conditions to be around for at least one more year and now more than ever is the time to maximize your process for speed, and we can help! If you find that you are consistently losing candidates to competing offers, reach out to us here at SDHR consulting.
References
Terhark, Terry. “Recruiter National Live 2021.” Jobvite. Virtual, December 7, 2021. https://events1.social27.com/jobvite2021/authreturnUrl=%2Fjobvite2021%2Fagenda%2Fplayer%2F148340
