Perfecting your talent acquisition strategy can be a challenge in a fluid jobs market. These five tips will help to transform your hiring success right now:
Adopt Netflix’s standard for online applications: A new study from Indeed into online application processes found that around a third of job seekers won’t spend more than 15 minutes on a job application. The more repetitive and drawn out your application process, the less likely your business is to attract quality candidates to your job posts. The study showed that the simplest application came from Netflix with just five screening questions and a total one-minute time to apply for vacancies at all levels. Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Salesforce (the top ranked place to work by Indeed) also recorded fast times. Investing in recruitment software with a rapid application process and the option for an easy ‘registration of interest’ will help to improve the number of qualified candidates in your pipeline.
Boost productivity and applications with flexible working. Working from home is on the rise and the number of people working flexible hours or remotely is expected to reach 60 percent in the next decade. In the short-term, flexible working during the Olympics may boost productivity and engagement for employees. 57 percent of people believe they are more productive working remotely. A talent acquisition strategy which allows for flexible working will attract more candidates to your job posts.
Close the pay gap. Average pay rises hovered around 2 percent in 2015 with the exception of some CEOs who enjoyed pay rises of 10 percent, according to the High Pay Centre. London’s FTSE 100 CEOs are paid on average 129 times more than their staff, a situation which is exacerbated by the fact that only a quarter of FTSE 100 firms pay the living wage. Employer brand is the key to attracting people with the skills your business needs. Transparency in pay and the need for a fair culture is vital to make that happen.
Make background checks your essential recruiting tool. The importance of background checks has been reinforced again following a report from HireRight that nearly two thirds of job applications submitted in the first six months of this year contained errors. Don’t omit this vital part of the hiring process because you’re convinced your candidate is perfect. Fines for the employment of illegal workers have increased and the cost of a bad hire can severely damage your employer brand. Formal reference checks should begin as soon as your job offer is accepted. One third of applicants provide incorrect information about their career history, while just under a third (32 percent) included inaccurate details related to qualifications. The financial services sector in particular reported significantly high levels of errors, affecting 71 percent of all applications submitted in February 2016 alone. Incorporate HR software which automates fundamental elements of background checks to ensure all relevant information relating to your candidate is collected.
Don’t rush to cut hiring. The latest CIPD Labour Market Outlook survey suggests that post-Brexit hiring intentions have fallen slightly but three quarters of companies still have no intention of changing their hiring plans. The skills shortage also remains a very real concern for employers with a reported two vacancies for each job seeker according to jobsite Adzuna. Streamline your hiring process with HR technology that identifies the source of most successful hires and recruit people with sought after skills.
