Podcast 3 How to improve your hiring processes - listen to hiring tips Viewpoint careers advice blog

Podcast 3 How to improve your hiring processes - listen to hiring tips Now, more than ever, one of the top challenges for business leaders is attracting the right people with the right skills.  As a result competition for the best talent is high â€" so what can employers do to ensure that those interested in joining their organisations have the best experience possible? In the UK, Hays has recently surveyed  over 14,000 people to find out what applicants want at each stage of the hiring process. The report found that some of the biggest deal breakers that deter applicants can be addressed employers, but only if theyre prepared to invest where it matters most. To do this, they must be aware the experience they are offering their candidates and learn what their issues are along the journey. Although this research was conducted in the UK, the findings and associated recommendations are all globally relevant. Podcast notes: So, before we dive into the details, I wondered whether you could explain the different stages a candidate experiences when applying for a new job? Sure. The key parts of the process we have identified are Search, Apply, Decide and Join. Search: Is the information candidates find when researching employers and reading job specs Apply: Is the experience that applicants have when they apply for jobs Decide: Is the experience the applicant has of the interview process Join: Is the stage including induction and on-boarding process prior to and after joining the hiring organisation As you rightly said in the intro, our UK business has recently conducted some research into what applicants want and expect to see at each stage of the  process. And what we’ve identified is a huge gap between an employer’s perception of the quality of the applicant experience they provide, and the reality experienced by those applicants. And, through the research, we’ve identified a number of ‘deal breakers’ within each stage of the applicant journey, which are quite simply, putting candidates off. In terms of the ‘Search’ stage, what do candidates expect to find when researching a potential employer? Well, as we all know, candidates now have more access to knowledge about the organisation, much more power and they are researching employers. Of course they are looking on their website and looking at what their job adverts are like. But they are also looking at a lot more as well. They’re looking at brand values, financial information, obviously information pertaining to themselves, what are the development opportunities, and if the employer is genuinely committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. And also they want an authentic experience of that organisation, they want the organisation to be as transparent as possible. And increasingly they are trying to identify what the culture of that organisation is like. I urge that employers, need to be more far more strategic than they are today when they look at feedback employees are making about them. These have a huge bearing on the application process, for instance in our survey we found that 61% of applicants have been discouraged to apply for a job after reading a negative online review about that organisation, this review could be made by an employee, and ex-employee or a customer. In terms of authenticity, candidates also expect that the job spec itself, or the job ad shouldn’t lead to mismatched expectations. Of course the employer is going to try and sell the opportunity, but they should also be clear and in what it is they are going to be offering. Read more:  4 job advert clichés every hiring manager should be wary of What are the most common things putting candidates off, once they have done their research and decided to apply for a job? I think the key here is candidates want a quick and easy application process and I don’t think that’s different to 20 or 30 years ago. And we found that 71% of candidates say they would abandon an online application if it took more than 15 minutes to complete. Yet, 40% of employers say their application process takes longer than that. I accept that some employers deliberately make it quite difficult to apply for a job because they are trying to put off people that are not 100% committed to that organisation or that job. But I also ask them to consider if they are missing out on applicants that would actually be very good otherwise. Is there anything else that typically frustrates your average applicant during this stage? Our research identifies that when a career website simply doesn’t meet the expectations of candidates -this can lead to further disengagement. For example, applicants want to be able to set up job alerts with job boards or employer sites and create their own profile. They want to easily navigate the careers site of a prospective employer. Making changes to one’s website can be expensive, and quite a lengthy process, but it something that we advocate and one of the services we offer at Hays where we will help build a career site for employers. Do applicant frustrations tend to end as soon as they’ve hit submit on their application? Sadly not in a lot of cases. I think the main frustration, it’s a combination of two things, but it’s the pace at which the organisation responds to the applicant and it’s the lack of information that the applicant gets. They almost feel like they have fallen into a ‘black hole’. We urge employers to act quickly to an applicant, acknowledging that they have received the CV or the application. But also letting the applicant know when they can expect to hear back from the employer. So, once a candidate has applied and has been invited to interview, what are the main deal breakers you think they face at the Interview stage and how can employers rectify these? This is where we really get down to the personal interaction between people. In terms of the interview process, candidates typically get frustrated by: An unstructured and disjointed interview process Not feeling welcome when they interview Not being able to use the interview as a means to gauge whether or not this is the right company for them a common failing of people doing interviews is that they do all the talking a instead of all the listening A lack of communication in terms of the next steps of the hiring process Post-interview, a lack of feedback on their performance and suitability To me, the person doing the interview has got to be very good at interviewing, and a tip for employers, make sure that you give training, not on how to be interviewed but of course how to interview. I also think that small things can make a big difference, introducing that candidate to other employees, take them on a tour of the working environment. After all if they do join you they are going to be working in that environment with those people, hopefully for a considerable amount of time. And, it might sound basic, but don’t forget that first impressions really do count, so ensure your reception staff are fully briefed when interviews are scheduled in. Read more:  First time interviewing a candidate? Avoid these mistakes Now, once the candidate has been offered the job, and they decide to join the company, is there anything employers can do to ensure that their first day goes smoothly and that they feel welcomed? Sometimes it comes to the small things. This doesn’t apply to every employee, but most have a PC on their desk or a laptop, and it’s a simple thing as to make sure that they can get logged in on the first day. I think assigning a point of contact, even before the first day, that period between accepting the job and before they start. Make sure that they have got a point of contact to go to, because it could be anything about parking, any clarifications about the contract and so on. I think also organising a team meeting before that first day, particularly with their direct reports, that could be in a social environment or a work environment. And then once they’ve started organising an induction plan, it shouldn’t be too long, depending on the role it could be one day, it could be one week, but I wouldn’t suggest having anything more than one month. Sending a welcome pack before they start, and after they start, make sure they have regular 1-2-1s with their new boss, to be able to answer any questions. Again in our experience we do see a significant amount of people leave organisations very quickly after joining, and much of that is due to the on-boarding process that they received. For those who are struggling to determine which exact issues theyre facing in their hiring process, what steps would you recommend they take to identify them? Firstly, start thinking of your prospective employees as customers. They are competing, in most cases, with other employers for that talent. Very rarely now does someone applying for a job only apply for one job, they’ve often got multiple choice of which organisation to join. So, that customer and the individual representing the employer should treat that person as a customer, and persuade that person to join them, if they are suitable. Secondly, don’t just rely on your own judgements about the applicant journey. Get other people and trusted employees to test what it is like. How long is the application process? Does it feel good? Is it easy to navigate job purchases and so on. Lastly I think, make sure that you are continually asking for feedback from both successful and unsuccessful applicants, don’t be afraid to ask them how they found the application process. Because ultimately we believe that the hiring of people is not constant in terms of change. The whole process will evolve over time. Any employer who thinks they have an absolutely fantastic hiring process, can still make things better. This is a question we will be asking all of our podcast guests, what do you think are the top three qualities that make a good leader? Firstly, you have got to have the ability to identify the right people, whether that’s inside or outside of your organisation and promoting them into the right positions accordingly. Building that team around you is key. Secondly, be brave in your decision making. I think, often too many leaders fail because they don’t make enough decisions and they dont make the tough decisions its all about being brave. Thirdly, lead from the front, remember that everything you do as a leader will reflect on how your team perform. Are you looking for more advice? Listen to our previous Leadership Insights podcast episodes and read our leadership blogs: Get ahead of the game if you want to snap up the best talent How can you compete for the best contractors? Find the best candidates with this telephone interview technique How will job searching change in 2018 and beyond? Did you enjoy this podcast? Subscribe to the Hays Worldwide Leadership Insights podcast on SoundCloud and download it on Apple Podcasts.