The Great Resignation is becoming more prevalent, as skilled workers leave their jobs in pursuit of greater autonomy over their schedules and work environments. In order to stay ahead during these shifting times, companies must re-evaluate their business strategies.
The present circumstances have emphasized the necessity for more substantial changes beyond examining work settings and incentives. It is evident that companies must rethink their approaches to acquiring talented individuals. For a significant period, traditional recruitment methods have been inadequate and unfair, but The Great Resignation has heightened the sense of urgency around this matter. The most recent Deloitte Human Capital Trends Survey discovered that 81% of those surveyed stated that their organization’s hiring approaches were average or below average.
As the Head of Sales at Works, a global talent network dedicated to matching the world’s most competent engineers with roles in the most innovative technology companies, I have conducted a multitude of interviews and consulted with several thousand engineering managers. Through this engagement, I have come to recognize the recruitment method’s current inadequacies and have created multiple solutions for progress.
This article delves into two of the most prevalent difficulties of contemporary recruitment and hiring approaches and suggests ways that industries can reconsider these methods to enhance employee satisfaction. Given the intensifying competition for technical skills, it is critical for businesses to draw in and retain the most fitting applicants for available positions.
Randomly Selecting Suppliers
In a bid to receive payment promptly, recruitment squads frequently prioritize speed over precision while forwarding a list of potential candidates to hiring managers. This involves a cursory examination of a set of keywords and a brief discussion with the candidate about these terms before labeling them as an appropriate choice for the job.
The hurried approach to acquiring talent has multiple associated problems, but that is not all. Incidental prejudice is widespread in job listings, and this can lead to exceptional individuals being disregarded before even applying. For instance, job postings frequently require a college degree as necessary, although it is becoming increasingly evident that formal education is not essential to a career as a computer software engineer. According to StackOverflow’s 2022 Developers Survey, only 9.7 percent of working developers consider a college degree to be ‘crucially important’ for success in the field. This prerequisite alone rules out a significant number of talented individuals who, for whatever reason, did not attend a four-year institution.
Employers frequently set a minimum requisite number of years of experience in job ads, despite research suggesting that this requirement doesn’t add much value to the screening process. Furthermore, research shows that qualified women, who are incapable of matching the stipulated criteria for certain roles, are less likely to apply than qualified men which contributes to the lack of diversity in the tech sector. LinkedIn’s research indicates that when women don’t meet all the prerequisites for a role, they are 16% less likely to submit an application. This is not limited to women alone- as per the University of Oxford’s 2022 research, candidates from underrepresented groups had to submit 60% more applications than white candidates in order to obtain a favorable response from potential employers.
Recruiting through referrals has its share of difficulties. Recruiters may provide monetary incentives to stimulate individuals within an organization’s professional circle to suggest suitable candidates for available positions. Nevertheless, data suggests that women and individuals of colour are less likely than white males to receive these referrals. This implies that potential candidates who are highly skilled may be overlooked before the recruitment procedure even commences.
Insufficient Assessment
After conversing with engineering department leaders, it was evident that the talent acquisition and recruitment procedure is excessively prolonged. In LinkedIn’s latest survey, it was disclosed that the engineering sector had the lengthiest median wait for hiring, which totalled to 49 days.
Conducting numerous interviews can lead to delays for both the interviewers and potential candidates. Even though individuals who can employ the terms stated in a job description during an interview may be favored, it is not always indicative of their competence to perform well in the assigned role. Merely possessing a fitting job title does not guarantee a successful outcome.
How can we improve this?
Employers can enhance their talent acquisition and recruitment procedures by adopting a range of diverse strategies.
- Examining the language used in job advertisements to guarantee inclusivity and hospitality is vital. To achieve this objective, the required qualifications such as academic degrees and years of experience might need to be revised.
- Secondly, implement blind recruitment methods wherever feasible, such as eradicating any information from a CV that could be utilized to unfairly discriminate against a potential candidate.
- Here at Works, we leverage standardised testing to diminish bias. Rather than depending on subjective human assessment, we utilize AI-powered techniques to screen potential candidates. The critical element in selecting the perfect candidate for one’s team is examining their comprehensive grasp of the subject matter. Therefore, we merge our exclusive, stack-specific coding challenges developed by our talent community with programming activities tailored to evaluate this.
The present method of hiring won’t be efficient in the future.
Staying receptive to altering our recruitment and selection methodologies is imperative to keep up with the swiftly-transforming technology sectors. In this way, we can guarantee that suitable opportunities are matched with the correct talent. Striving to transcend conventional techniques is vital to accomplishing triumph in this realm.
