Why timing is critical as the competition for talent intensifies

As we move further into the post-pandemic economy, competition to attract the right talent for the right roles is stronger than ever before.

There is much that employers can do to convey the very best version of themselves to potential talent and ensure the strongest chance of attracting skilled candidates.

Boosting salaries or investing in your employee benefits offering will help you to remain competitive in your sector, but only if you get in front of that talent first. You might have the best perks around but that won’t help if your hiring process is slow because candidates itching to start a new role simply won’t wait around to find out.

Having a long hiring process is the one sure-fire way to lose out on that increasingly valuable talent. If your hiring process has remained unchanged since before the pandemic, your chances of recruitment success are minimal and it's time to review it.

Underestimating the current market

Reports of a highly saturated candidate led market have been around for several months. Indeed, there is a clear disconnect between the number of roles and numbers of candidates, giving power to candidates to cherry pick the employers they want to work for, not the other way around.

But despite this talk, not all organisations are grasping how fierce the competition really is. In our experience, candidates are often receiving five or six job offers where they used to only receive one or two. Vacancies in the UK are at the highest level in 50 years, with 24 per cent of workers planning to change jobs within three to six months.

On top of this, employers are desperate to pull out all of the stops to retain their workforce and are often prepared to throw money at the problem in the form of a counteroffer, to tempt employees back from the precipice. More than half of counters are accepted and can happen even after an offer is made.

The best way forward is to assume that a candidate has several offers on the table and act accordingly. If you feel that they could be the right fit, make sure that you communicate to them that you are interested. Now is not the time to be coy. There is no need to reveal your whole hand or give false hope but show some enthusiasm if you feel it. And if you are eager to offer them the job, don’t wait.

Maintain regular contact even through their notice period, send through pre-reads, remind them of the perks, create some excitement and momentum around them joining, you could even organise an informal face to face meeting beforehand to help to cultivate team relationships.

Communication is crucial

A rise in higher-skilled positions and more comprehensive interview processes such as personality tests are a couple of reasons why the hiring process has become longer in some organisations.

But even if you are unable to speed up the application process due to the complexity of the position, being completely transparent and keeping strong lines of communication with your candidate will make a huge difference.

Nearly 25 per cent of candidates lose interest in the company if they get no answer within a week after the interview. Meanwhile, another 46 per cent of candidates lose interest if there is no status update from one to two weeks after the interview.

Having big pauses in communication can seem like a bad sign to a candidate, it may make them question if they are the right fit for a job but also if the job is a good fit for them. Interest will wane.

A long recruitment process may also reflect badly on your company, influencing how candidates believe you treat your team and how employee-centric you are in your approach. If you are slow with communication now, then what’s to say this will change once they are employed?

Giving your candidates an accurate timeline on when they can expect to hear from you and sticking to it will stop many dropping off or applying to other jobs in the meantime. If they really want the role, applicants may not pursue other roles as eagerly until they hear back, but if they have no grasp on when there will be an update, you can rest assured that they will be applying elsewhere.

Feedback has to be within hours, rather than days. Candidates are now spoilt for choice and amid the current client of rising cost of living, who can blame them for not putting all of their eggs in one basket?

Word spreads like wildfire

Writing an application takes time and energy and not replying in a timely manner demonstrates a lack of recognition, respect and care about a candidate’s efforts.

By dragging out your hiring process, not only are you risking losing potential talent but you may also be damaging your reputation in the sector. Bad news infamously spreads quickly and easily. Get back to an applicant quickly and you may never hear about it but take a long time or never reply and they may be sharing this with friends or family, or even someone else considering applying.

Don’t give your competition an easy win, show your interest in your candidates or at least convey that you appreciate their time and interest in joining your company.

Partner with someone you trust

Having a longer recruitment process may not be a conscious decision, rather a result of a lack of capacity to respond to applications. This where a recruitment partner really reveals its value.

By partnering with an agency like Robertson Bell, you are gaining a whole team of people who are experts in the field and have the time to give your hiring process the attention it deserves. Not only do you have more hands on deck to speed up the task, but these consultants know the market inside out. They will be able to give you informed advice based on their experience and their own tried and tested techniques.

One thing is for sure, resting on your laurels will not be the way to entice the best candidates. Ensuring that your hiring process is as water-tight and efficient as it can possibly be will be crucial to preventing valuable talent from slipping through your fingers.

If you are eager to improve your hiring process and attract new talent, we are experts in navigating the jobs market and helping you to secure the best candidate around – get in touch with our team today: https://www.robertsonbell.co.uk/