Applicants with ever higher expectations - how to optimize the recruiting process

Candidate attitudes have changed due to strong demand for skilled workers. "A risky gap is opening up here: On the one hand, companies' recruiting processes take a long time. On the other hand, candidates' impatience is increasing. The best applicants jump ship if the company's feedback takes too long," explains Sven Hennige, Senior Managing Director at Robert Half.

Quality of hiring declines due to excessively long application processes

Companies should take this development seriously and critically examine their recruiting processes. The main reason for the declining willingness to wait longer for a company's feedback is a change in attitude among candidates. This is confirmed by two-thirds of CFOs surveyed (65 %), who state that candidates are becoming more impatient. "Increasingly, candidates are receiving counteroffers from their current employer or have multiple job offers on file. At the same time, the number of application rounds has increased, which drags out the hiring process," says Hennige.

The consequence: If the feedback takes too long, the best applicants decide to accept the offer from their previous employer or from another employer. The company has to fall back on less suitable candidates or, in the worst case, restart the search. Sven Hennige warns: "This means that projects can be implemented too late or not at all. Productivity suffers just as much as the quality of services. And if nothing changes in the complexity and duration of the application processes, it will become increasingly difficult to find and attract suitable specialists."

Source: Robert Half, Labor Market Study 2017, Respondents: CFOs in Switzerland who note that applicants have become more impatient; multiple answers possible

How to optimize the recruiting process

To avoid losing the best candidates to competitors, HR managers should check whether their own recruiting process is in need of improvement and quickly implement the necessary optimizations. Sven Hennige advises assessing applicant selection, the hiring process and the decision for or against a candidate based on the following criteria:

1. Redefine job profile: When advertising a job, you should question from the outset whether the range of applicants matches the requirements in the department. Digitalization leads to changes: Job contents fall away or activities change. Here, it is not enough to recycle old advertisements for new jobs, but the requirements should be determined individually.
2. Shorten Time-to-Hire: It also makes sense to measure your own time-to-hire: How long does it take from the initial job posting until the selected candidates sign a contract? If the time-to-hire is too long, you should streamline the recruiting process. Applicants expect a decision within a few weeks.
3. Simplify the application process: The one-click application, where candidates can apply directly, simplifies the process for applicants at many points. For some jobs, it is also a good idea to initially request only the resume instead of extensive application documents.
4. Communicate transparently with applicants: Do candidates always get a response to their cover letter or interview within a reasonable time? No more than a week should elapse between receipt of the application and the candidate's invitation. If delays do occur, applicants are more likely to accept them if the HR department is in close and regular communication with them.
5. Make the interview process leaner: Check whether the number of interview rounds can be reduced. If the time for selection has come, make your decision for or against a candidate as quickly as possible.

Source: Robert Half