Is attracting quality candidates a challenge at your organization? If the answer is yes, you're not alone - a new survey by Glassdoor revealed that 76% of hiring decision makers say attracting quality candidates is their #1 challenge.(1)
Other top barriers or challenges reported include budget constraints, trouble competing in terms of compensation and benefits packages, and knowing where to advertise jobs to attract the right people.
Not to mention that we are facing a particularly unique time of low unemployment. This is compounded with the fact that more employers are feeling that recruiting strategies of the past are no longer as effective. Three in four (76%) hiring decision makers report a concern or challenge in attracting and hiring passive candidates as they have grown wary of contact through networking sites (e.g., LinkedIn) and respond at a much lower rate.
Given all these hurdles, it's key for companies to take a step back and remember what it is that brings employees to your company in the first place.
What it takes to influence candidates to join your company.
Hiring decision makers were asked to select the top influences they believe impact whether or not someone will accept their job offer. Employers are seeing that information about a range of workplace and employment topics are converting candidates to employees. The Glassdoor survey shows that some of the top influences on candidates include information on: salary and compensation, company culture, company reputation, interview experience, company mission and values, and senior leadership.
Employers know what is influencing candidates today. The challenge is finding ways to deliver that information in an effort to attract, hire and retain quality candidates. It calls for an updated approach to recruiting.
The characteristics of a quality candidate.
To help update your approach to recruiting, it helps to think about what makes a quality candidate. Results from the survey told us that nine in ten (88%) hiring decision makers agree that an informed candidate is a quality candidate. Because they know more and self-select for the positions that are right for them, informed candidates make the hiring process a lot easier. The 750 hiring decision makers at companies of all sizes across the U.S. and UK that we surveyed helped illuminate who a quality candidate - an informed candidate - really is. Hiring decision makers that were surveyed report that an informed candidate is:
- Prepared for their interview and ask pertinent questions
- More likely to demonstrate the right experience
- Knowledgeable about the job role
- Knowledgeable about the organization's culture and values
- Prepared so that they have the right expectations about compensation and benefits
The key then is to be a better partner to these candidates and find new and updated ways of delivering information so that when they come to the interview and first day on the job, you've set them up to put their best foot forward.
The benefits of recruiting strategies focused on informed candidates.
How do you know that investing and focusing your recruiting strategies on the informed candidate will work? Research shows that informed candidates generate wins in both the short and long term. Companies believe hiring informed candidates can have a significant impact on recruitment, engagement, and retention - all stages of the talent lifecycle.
For example, the Glassdoor survey shows that the top benefits of interviewing informed candidates (the early stages of the talent lifecycle) include:
- Improved candidate experience
- Reduced time to hire
- Improved hiring manager satisfaction
- Reduced number of interviews per candidate
- Reduced costs for sourcing and recruiting
As if that weren't enough, the hiring decision makers surveyed also shed light onto the benefits of hiring informed candidates. The benefits include:
- Better employee retention
- More productive employees
- More engaged employees
- Better team players
- Improved employee experience
With all those challenges and concerns mentioned above - not enough quality candidates, budget constraints, information sharing on topics like compensation and benefits, and knowing where to advertise - a focused strategy that looks at working to better inform candidates can have multiple dividends like saving valuable time throughout the hiring process, reducing costs, and improving the interview experience. Plus the same focused strategy centered on the informed candidate can reduce turnover, increase productivity, improve business, and increase engagement.
With a community of more than 47 million potential candidates who have access to the latest job listings alongside company reviews, benefits and interview reviews, salary information, and review responses from employers themselves, Glassdoor is the leading destination for candidate attraction. It's a place where candidates gather the information they need to find a job that fits their life - it's the place they come to be more informed.
We're thrilled that these survey results show how Glassdoor can meet the needs of employers in their quest to find more quality candidates, and for candidates to become more informed.
Ready to amp up your recruiting game? There are 3 steps to finding quality, informed candidates:
- Claim your Free Employer Account and update your company information.
- Study custom insights on what's influencing your candidates. For example, you can monitor your company's interview trends.
- Ensure your employer profile features the information informed candidates are searching for when they're researching you, not just when you're looking for them.
