Joshua Siler is CEO of HiringThing, a modern recruiting PaaS that enables seamless hiring with integrated applicant tracking.
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Recruiting's always been a challenge, and organizations frequently turn to recruiting software to automate, streamline and strengthen their strategy. Research from Gartner found that 90% of organizations invest in HR technology to help solve people-driven challenges. In 2021, HR tech spending grew 57%, focusing heavily on recruiting and retention.
As of April 2022, 47% of organizations have positions they can’t fill, and 93% of HR professionals say they have “few or no qualified applicants.” While I can certainly sympathize, I challenge these professionals to see if reevaluating their approach can help. How are they defining qualified? Must a candidate have the requisite three to five years of experience? Shouldn't a candidate with an unorthodox background who is highly adaptable and innovative and comes with a growth mindset also be considered qualified?
Recruiting Software Can Transform Your Hiring, But It Can’t Work Miracles
As the CEO of a company that develops recruitment software, I’m frequently asked for the best practices that will supercharge applicant flow. I always say to remember that while software can transform recruiting, people set the parameters used to screen and sort candidates. People decide how many steps the interview process takes. People create company culture.
Recruiting technology can transform the way you hire, but it needs a solid foundation. It’s moot to invest in recruiting software without reevaluating your hiring strategy. By questioning how you’ve done things and rethinking how you’ll do things going forward, savvy organizations can work with recruiting technology to evolve how they find talent and increase their applicant flow.
Below, I’ll answer 10 questions to help you reevaluate your hiring strategy before you can consider investing in the recruiting technology that can help take your business to the next level.
Ten Questions To Ask When Reevaluating Your Hiring Strategy
1. Do you have a strong employer brand?
Employer branding is your reputation as a place to work. According to Glassdoor, 75% of active job seekers are likely to apply for roles at an organization with strong employer branding. You can start building an employer brand by approaching recruiting with a marketer’s mindset. Who’s your ideal job candidate, what appeals to them, and what channels and collateral can you use to showcase that appeal?
2. What parameters are you using to screen candidates?
The Harvard Business Review found that almost half of the organizations they surveyed chose to have their recruiting technology screen out job candidates whose résumés had employment gaps of six months or longer—effectively eliminating working mothers, immigrants, caregivers, military spouses and anyone taking a break in employment for a variety of very valid reasons. This isn’t the way to build a diverse, quality workforce.
Do you have college-degree requirements for positions that don’t need a degree? Is it necessary for your roles to be able to “carry up to 25 pounds?” Evaluate your candidate requirements and decide whether what you’ve set is essential or arbitrary.
3. Is your language inclusive?
Is the language you’re using inclusive or exclusionary? If candidates don’t feel welcome, they’ll quickly move on. You can find inclusive language guides here and here.
4. Are you practicing salary transparency?
Findings from Gallup show that money is the top motivator for deciding whether someone will apply for jobs or not, with 64% of employees naming salary as "a critical factor in taking a new job." In the past, candidates were discouraged from asking about pay until they accepted an offer, but things have changed. Companies that don’t practice salary transparency risk losing out on qualified candidates.
5. How many steps does your hiring process have?
According to SHRM, research shows that 92% of people will stop filling out a job application if they find barriers in the online process. The old way of thinking was that having applicants jump through hoops would weed out those who didn’t want the job, but today’s applicants have more choices than ever. Remember that an application represents what it’s like to work for your organization. People want to be able to do their jobs well and efficiently. They don’t want to jump through hoops.
6. Do you practice culture fits or culture adds?
Culture-fit interviews had a moment. They may have been well-intentioned but kept companies homogenous, which today’s job seekers don't want. Instead of using a culture fit to see if a candidate fits in at your organization, reframe the culture fit as a culture add. How can a candidate enhance your organization?
7. Do you use a strength-based approach to interviews?
Strength-based interviews focus on what candidates can do, not their deficiencies. Instead of focusing, for example, on a gap in a candidate’s résumé, ask them to list their top five soft skills and explain how those will make them a great addition to your team.
8. How heavily do you rely on networking?
We rely a lot on referrals at my company. I believe good people know good people. However, relying too much on networking can limit what kinds of employees you’re hiring. People often end up networking with individuals in similar positions from similar backgrounds, which can result in a very homogenous referral cycle. Be sure to reach beyond the network of people resembling the people they know.
9. How important is diversity to your organization?
According to findings from Glassdoor, 76% of job seekers want to work at an organization that values diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Yet data shows that 76% of organizations have no DEI goals. If your organization is one with no meaningful DEI goals, it’s time to invest some resources into remedying this oversight.
10. Are you an employee-centric organization?
Job seekers have never had more options than today. Are you the kind of organization where people want to work? Are you paying employees what you should? Do you have tangible benefits? Learning and development initiatives? Are you offering the remote or hybrid work options today’s job seekers crave? What about flexible scheduling? If you’re not a great place to work, no technology will keep workers with you longer than they want.
Once you've properly reevaluated your current hiring process, you can then begin to consider investing in recruiting tech.
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