There is a growing disconnect in the world of talent acquisition these days.
Though many business leaders track quantifiable metrics to measure efficiency in recruiting, the rest of the hiring process is rarely managed as closely. In fact, few organizations distinguish between recruiting and hiring.
With the lion’s share of energy focused on finding quality candidates and getting them in front of hiring managers, efficiency in the hiring process (screening and onboarding) has gone to the wayside.
For organizations struggling to retain talent, this can be a problem. Studies show that 22 percent of turnover in the U.S. occurs in the first 45 days of employment. New hires expect to hit the ground running. But if a hiring organization can’t get them up to speed in a timely manner, they risk losing those employees.
And considering the average cost of turnover is around 20 percent of an employee’s salary, failure to manage hiring effectively can be costly.
In order to keep employees excited about their career with your company — rather than distracted by a lack of (or poor) process — may be time to give hiring some love. Here are some considerations to get you started:
Recruiters are expected to get quality candidates in the door as quickly and efficiently as possible, and they’re held accountable for it. Beginning with sourcing and ending with the offer letter, their performance is measured closely with metrics like cost of hire and time to fill.
On the other hand, the hiring process is rarely managed with the same level of business rigor (or any rigor at all).
Once an offer is made, and HR takes the reins and begins the hiring process, the candidate goes from meeting key players in the company to waiting indeterminate periods of time for a formal offer, new-hire paperwork, and orientation and training information.
Not only is the abrupt change confusing, it also has a negative impact on candidate experience — can seriously affect your employer brand. Research shows that almost 80 percent of candidates would share bad experiences in the job-search process with others, including friends and family. Additionally, 17 percent would post something negative on social media.
And while it’s difficult to keep track of every detail in the recruiting and hiring process, candidates aren’t particularly forgiving. Last year alone, 56 percent of employers reported that a candidate rejected their job offer.
After all the time and energy spent on recruiting a candidate, it would be a shame to lose them due to poor process. But unless you can bridge the gap between recruiting and hiring — and establish tools for measuring performance — attracting and retaining talent will continue to be a challenge.
The key to good hiring is maintaining the momentum built during recruiting, and offering candidates a streamlined process. In fact, studies show that new employees who go through a structured hiring program are 58% more likely to be with the organization after three years.
By measuring and managing performance, organizations can improve hiring and reduce new hire turnover considerably. One method is to track the time it takes to complete each stage of the hiring process with time-to-hire metrics.
Using time to hire data, organizations can more readily identify various areas for improvement in recruiting and hiring. That’s because time-to-hire metrics can be used to measure the efficacy of their hiring process at the lowest level, while adding a layer of accountability for successful hand-off from recruiter to HR to hiring manager.
Of the many factors that influence time-to-hire data at an organizational level, consistency in your recruiting and hiring processes ranks near the top. This also happens to be one of the biggest challenges for hiring organizations. That’s because, without the proper tools, standardizing the hiring process often requires a lot of heavy lifting.
To that end, as applicant tracking technology developed rapidly to meet the needs of recruiters, demand for HR-focused hiring solutions is on now the rise. Tool sets are emerging that pick up where recruiting workflows end, automating and standardizing each stage of the hiring process.
While solution offerings vary, products like TalentWise offer tools for moving candidates through selection, screening and onboarding efficiently and effectively. These tools reduce the time HR professionals spend the more time-consuming hiring tasks, so they can focus on getting employees up to speed rather than processing paperwork.
Of course, a standardized recruiting and hiring process is only one piece of the puzzle. How are you gauging the success of your recruiting and hiring process?
