Tag Archive: Recruiting Software

  1. Get Ready to Hire in a High Unemployment Market

    It’s hard to believe, but way back in the early days of 2020, one of the biggest challenges that companies faced was sourcing candidates. They simply couldn’t get enough people to apply for jobs. Fast forward to today, and everything has changed.

    As the COVID-19 pandemic crept across countries and around the world, unemployment rates began to tick higher and higher. Industry experts, journalists, and the like began to draw comparisons to other economic downturns. While today’s circumstances are different, the Great Depression and Great Recession offer some context, evidence that this too shall pass. And pass it will. 

    On the other side of crisis, employment will likely look very different – and not only from a work environment perspective. Yes, many workers will remain remote, while others will continue to wear masks and gloves to work. Most jarring, though, will be the 40 million Americans (and millions more globally) looking for work. As states reopen and hiring freezes lift, companies will be flooded with more applicants than they’ve ever seen before. 

    Most recruiting teams, save for those who worked through the last recession, have no experience hiring in this type of market. Here’s how to prepare: 

    Think digital

    Imagine what shelter in place and the remote work infrastructure would have looked like 20 years ago. There’s no way the early 2000’s could have supported 50% of jobs being done from home. One thing that’s made the current situation slightly easier to navigate is the availability of online tools.

    Many of us were already connected digitally, even while sitting next to each other in an office. Social distancing challenged companies to tie up loose ends so that entire functions, like recruiting, could be done 100% digitally. 

    With companies like Twitter announcing “work from home forever” policies, there’s a real possibility that office work becomes a thing of the past. If that’s the case, everything from interviewing to onboarding will need to be done remotely.

    The tools you need to interview, assess, and hire candidates digitally are already available, but a piecemeal solution is never a long-term solution. Starting now, hiring needs to become a digital experience to meet the needs of recruiters, hiring teams, and candidates who are separated by distance and may never physically meet during the hiring process. Or after.

    Lean on technology

    As the economy began to recover from the Great Recession, it wasn’t uncommon to see 100 applicants or more per opening, and recruiting teams faced the surge mostly unprepared.

    What we have today that we didn’t have then is more sophisticated technology that not only increases productivity through automation, but uses AI to deliver customized experiences to candidates, and at the same time, bring highest potential talent to the attention of the recruiting team. This helps recruiters focus on the right candidates at the right time, while also keeping the passive pipeline engaged and informed between touches.

    Where in the past, resumes went overlooked, collecting dust somewhere inside the ATS, today’s technology is designed to seal the cracks, streamline the process, and connect people both in and outside the company.

    People who need work will flock to open positions, including positions they may not have considered before. Equip your teams with technology so they can remain effective with an increased workload, and so that candidates aren’t left in the dark with a poor impression of your company.

    Show your human side

    Fortunately, we’ve already seen that being remote and connecting digitally doesn’t have to feel cold and distant. In fact, by working from home and seeing people in their “natural habitat” with dogs and kids and Zoom mishaps, we’ve had opportunities to show empathy and connect more closely with one another.

    The same is true with candidates. Candidate experience became a priority when the talent market was tight, but the same rules apply in “loose” market: Treat candidate interactions with care and compassion, whether you’re looking at 100 candidates or 10. 

    Your ability to weave people and technology together into a seamless digital hiring experience will differentiate your company in the coming months. At Outmatch, our data already shows an uptick in hiring activity, and one of the biggest differences between this economic downturn and others is that recovery can start as soon as state-by-state restrictions are lifted. Which means the opportunity to re-staff and get back into growth mode might be only moments away.

    You were blindsided by crisis. But you can be ready for the hiring surge. Learn how digital hiring can help.

  2. How Crisis Has Shifted Hiring in 4 Big Industries

    After years of growth and low unemployment rates, there’s no question that the COVID-19 pandemic changed the hiring landscape almost overnight. By mid-April, the number of unemployed reached 22 million, wiping out a decade of gains in just four weeks.

    At the same time, the crisis created a boom in certain pockets of the economy, including essential businesses and businesses that had (or were able to quickly pivot to) an online model.

    Since the crisis began, our data shows a spike in the number of companies using video interviewing software. This tells us two things: that hiring is still happening, and that video is key in supporting the shift to a digital model, one that may stick around long after the outbreak ends.

    Leading the shift to digital hiring are these four industries:

    1. HR and staffing
    2. Manufacturing
    3. Health and medial
    4. Retail

    Graph of video interview adoption by industryOther early adopters include baking and financial services, education, sports, and IT. Here’s a look at what’s happening in the top 4 industries: 

    HR and staffing

    It seems only logical that HR and staffing would be among the first to adopt video interviewing, as they represent a cross-section of industries. Outside of specialized staffing where demand has fallen, companies continue to rely on these services during the pandemic.

    While the staffing industry has shown it’s ability adapt to a digital model, there’s concern about hiring managers, who are in uncharted territory. As Human Resource Executive magazine points out, “Managers typically receive training in the basics, but now, we’re in a whole new world. How do we help them through the nuances of video interviewing, virtually onboarding new hires, building a virtual team?” 

    Getting the right tools in place makes this transition easier, especially as hiring slows in some industries and picks up in others. And should remote work become more popular on the other side, the organizations that took the time to prepare will be well-positioned when the hiring resurgence happens. 

    Manufacturing

    In manufacturing, supply chain disruptions have some companies ramping up production to meet increased demand. Similar to HR and staffing, manufacturing touches multiple sectors, including many on the frontlines.

    Reports USA Today, GE Healthcare is hiring additional manufacturing employees to help meet the need for personal protective equipment like face masks as well as ventilators, CT machines, ultrasound devices, mobile X-ray systems and patient monitors. The same is true of cleaning supply manufacturers and others creating newly necessary items.

    The only problem is, as MarketWatch shares, “In the manufacturing industry, many employers are actually struggling to fill openings because the positions have become more technically sophisticated than they were in past decades.” 

    Here’s where the right recruiting technology solutions can help these organizations source, screen, and assess potential candidates, working to make sure reqs are filled with the right people, even when in-person interviews aren’t an option.

    Health and medical

    Since the U.S. declared a public health emergency at the end of January, health and medical organizations have been working around the clock to find workers to take care of patients.

    The Office of Personnel Management even implemented new guidelines as part of its COVID-19 Excepted Service Hiring Authority initiative to expedite the hiring process. States like California have changed the rules to “free up more doctors and nurses,” contacting those already retired and relying on the support of advanced students.

    The health and medical arena are also in the midst of digital disruption, as telehealth becomes increasingly useful. 

    Between the need for qualified talent and a call to move patient interactions online, video is apt to serve a larger number of organizations in the coming days, weeks, and months. No surprise that a quick Indeed.com search for “healthcare” in the U.S. yielded close to 65,000 openings, ranging from medical assistants to patient care specialists. 

    Retail

    Though retail as a whole isn’t doing too well, with temporary and permanent closures across the country, there are pockets of hiring going on. Most of this activity is taking place in grocery and hardware stores, both of which are considered essential in most states, including the hardest-hit like New York and New Jersey. 

    Convenience store chain 7-Eleven is hiring 20,000 for positions across the U.S. The parent company of Safeway and Acme is looking to hire 30,000 new associates. In March, Kroger was planning to hire 10,000 new workers but ended up hiring more than double that. Tractor Supply Co. and Ace Hardware are following suit, while online retailers like Amazon continue adding to their workforce, hiring 100,000 in March and another 75,000 in April.

    Even for temporary roles, high-volume scenarios necessitate a structured approach to hiring, one that makes it possible to interview multiple candidates in a short time frame. 

    When the pandemic ends…

    It will have changed recruiting and talent selection as we know it. If you’re considering making digital hiring part of your strategy, you’re in good company. No matter what industry you’re in, digital hiring will provide a way for you to continue operating in crisis, or support you on the road to recovery.

    Learn more about the benefits of digital hiring, or use our digital hiring solutions free for 60 days.

  3. How to Get the Most Bang from Your Pre-Hire Assessment

    Pre-hire assessments come in different shapes and sizes, and there’s more than one way to use them – which makes versatility one of this technology’s most intriguing benefits. Post implementation, organizations often discover exciting use cases and additional value from a tool that’s historically been a one-trick pony.

    For some organizations, using a pre-hire assessment means testing for job-critical soft skills and cognitive abilities before investing in a new hire. For others, the assessment is used to provide a bias-free understanding of a potential hire’s culture fit, which job in the company they’ll be best at, or how their personality and work style will contribute to the team. 

    How and when you use your pre-hire assessment is up to your organization’s talent acquisition strategy, but to ensure you get every drop of value from your chosen solution, here are a few things to keep in mind:

    Choose an assessment that’s easy

    The last thing you want is a promising solution that could have been great – if only people had used it. 

    To help grease the wheels for adoption and change management, choose an assessment with a simple and intuitive UI. This is important for reporting and analytics, too. Modern assessments have come a long way, so look for one that empowers your teams to make quick and intelligent decisions, without needing to be specially trained or have an I-O psychologist nearby to interpret the findings.

    The assessment experience should be equally friendly for candidates. Many newer assessments can be completed in 10 minutes or less, using images, optimized test design, and even games to keep candidates engaged while collecting valuable information about their potential for success and ideal career path.

    Connect with a video interviewing tool

    Most companies are already using some type of assessment, and adoption of video interviewing software is on the rise.

    Together, these tools make a perfect team, with assessments providing much-needed data and objectivity, and video interviewing adding a human layer that allows candidates to express their uniqueness and be seen as a person, not just a score. According to Deloitte Insights, “Video interviewing can reduce pre-hire assessment questions from 200 to just five and raises the possibility of one-interview hires.” That’s a heck of an endorsement!

    The best thing you can do is integrate these tools into a seamless workflow for candidates. Just as important, you want results to be seamless for hiring teams. Rather than seeing assessments and video interviews as separate data points, find an integrated solution that can aggregate information into a comprehensive candidate profile.

    Stay agile with AI

    How can assessments predict success when jobs and skills and companies are constantly changing?

    If you’re going to use an assessment to match the right person to the right role at the right time, then you need the right profile – one that’s been proven to work in organizations like yours, or a custom profile. Or, you might be using an assessment to measure culture fit, something that’s less job-specific. Either way, precision is key, and you need a solution that can use data from successful hires to create the perfect profile for your needs.

    This is how machine learning works in the world of assessments, taking in continuous streams of information, analyzing the data, and improving on its performance. This approach ensures the assessment is an accurate predictor of success, even in super-agile environments. No matter how your business pivots, an AI-powered assessment will keep pace. 

    Integrate post-hire

    Assessments are deeply rooted in the talent acquisition space. Hence the name “pre-hire assessment.”

    But, the best way to get more bang for your buck is to use this talent acquisition tool outside of TA. Take hi-po identification, for example. Gartner tells us that “high-potential employees exert 21% more effort than others, and have a 75% chance of succeeding at roles that are critical to business performance and the future leadership pipeline.” The problem is, without a way to identify hi-po’s in your company, you won’t be able to tap into or develop their potential. 

    From talent discovery and internal mobility to career pathing, development, and succession planning, assessments help in every instance – if you leverage them. So, break out of your comfort zone and forget what assessments are ‘supposed to do.” Instead, imagine what they can do. 

    Explore what’s new in assessments

    With more companies using assessments than not, it’s fair to say they’ve become a talent acquisition staple, adding important structure and rigor to the hiring process.

    That doesn’t mean you can’t get creative and have a little fun with assessments, too. There’s a wave of next-gen assessments on the market offering flexibility, engaging experiences, and analytics that didn’t exist before – without sacrificing the predictability organizations have come to know and respect about these solutions.

    Finding the right use for your needs requires careful thought and consideration, paired with a healthy dose of experimentation. When it comes to getting your biggest bang, it’s up to you to push the limits!

  4. How to Improve Candidate Experience in a Tight Talent Market

    Engaging top candidates today isn’t easy. Blame Millennials or Gen Z if you like, but the fact is, the candidate market is completely different than is was 10 years ago. All of us (yes, you included) now have incredibly high standards for the experience we have when doing something, be it streaming TV or applying for a job.

    Whether your candidates are ‘digital natives’ or ‘digital immigrants,’ everyone in today’s workforce expects and appreciates a simple, personalized hiring experience. If you want to be a competitive employer, you need to give them that.

    Your next challenge is to find a way to get the data you need for sharp, unbiased decision-making without sacrificing the experience. Do that, and you create a win-win for everyone. Here’s how:

    Tell a good story

    You can’t expect candidates – who enjoy rich, vibrant experiences online and nearly everywhere they go – to raise their hand for a less-than-exciting job opportunity. Generalities, like saying, “This is a great place to work!” won’t cut it anymore. (Did it ever?) To get candidates to click APPLY, you must first give them a taste of your company, the job, and the team they might be working with. Do this by telling stories.

    First, craft a narrative about your company’s history, vision, or culture, and weave it into every experience through the hiring process. Then, look for ways to spotlight company wins and employee success stories. A video about an employee’s growth within the company, a great relationship with a client, or a community outreach event are just a few ideas. Whatever it is that makes your company interesting or unique, that’s the story you should tell.

    Make it feel easy

    Because everything is on-demand, the days of applying and waiting are nearing their end. Candidates need to be nurtured, gratified, and kindly escorted from one step in the process to the next. Your job is to make the job of applying for a job easier than ever.

    That means all the great storytelling videos you create should be accessible and easy to find up-front. After than, think about how to architect a seamless workflow that will keep candidates engaged and moving forward – such as, auto-launching an assessment at the end of the application, or providing the option to schedule a video interview immediately after the assessment.

    It goes without saying that everything should be mobile-optimized. And, the more flexibility you give candidates to complete steps when it’s convenient for them, the better.

    Improve your interviews

    Interviews are your chance to get to know candidates on a deeper, more personal level. They’re also a chance for candidates to get to know YOU. So make sure your interviews give back to the candidate as much as they take – which can be easy to forget when using technology.

    For example, if you use pre-recorded video interviews, you can help make the experience feel two-way by having real employees on screen, introducing themselves before asking an interview question. This way, candidates will have ‘met’ a handful of team members in your company, and will be able to put faces to names.

    Ask the right questions

    Candidates can tell the difference when hiring managers are prepared with questions, and when they’re winging it. By providing on-demand interview guides with questions that are tailored to the candidate and job, you ensure the interview is a good experience for busy managers and potential hires.

    Ideally, you want interview guides to be structured and align with your company’s core values, and at the same time, be relevant and personalized to the candidate. Asking the right questions leads great job-related conversations, and makes the most of everyone’s time.

    Add a personal touch

    If you’ve implemented a good hiring workflow, then you’re nurturing candidates throughout the process. It’s important to have built-in touch points to let candidates know they’ve successful completed a step and what’s coming next. Much of this can be automated. But, you don’t want your process to be completely robotic.

    Make sure at least some of your candidate outreach or follow up comes from a real recruiter or hiring manager. Savvy candidates know the difference and will appreciate a little undivided attention. Your goal should be to automate the mundane, repetitive tasks so that hiring teams have more time to personally connect with candidates.

    To learn more about innovative recruitment…

    See how Verisk, a Forbes’ Best Employer, is attracting and engaging top college grads.

  5. How to Assess a Candidate’s Skills before an Interview

    According to new LinkedIn research, 69% of professionals believe that skills are more important than a college degree when looking for a job, and 76% wish there was a way for hiring managers to verify their skills so they could stand out amongst other candidates.

    Recruiting teams share the same wish – to see a more complete picture of a candidate, beyond the resume. But how?

    Pre-hire assessments add an additional layer of intelligence to help solve the visibility problem in hiring. Using assessments, candidates can show off their skills, and recruiters can be sure match the right people to the right roles, every time.

    Aberdeen research from a few years ago found that 2/3 of companies use pre-hire assessments. And that number has surely grown. At most companies, “pre-hire assessments are a fundamental part of the hiring strategy.” Without them, assessing the skills and strengths of your candidate pool would be slow and subjective, at best.

    What to assess?

    Pre-hire assessments come in many forms. There are hard skills assessments, like LinkedIn launched earlier this year, that measure software or coding skills, for example.

    Then there are soft skills assessments, which are becoming increasingly important as 80% of professionals say soft skills are critical to company success. According to LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends report, soft skills like creativity, persuasion, and collaboration are in high demand – but, less than half of companies have a formal process in place to measure them.

    There are also cognitive assessments that measure skills like logical reasoning or reading comprehension, similar to a college entrance exam. Abstract reasoning is a popular cognitive assessment because it measures an individual’s ability to learn, which can help you gauge their trajectory or long-term contribution to your company.

    Finally, there are culture fit assessments that measure values and motivations in comparison with the company’s CulturalDNA. Does a potential hire value collaboration above precision? Are they more motivated to drive results or delight customers? There’s no wrong answer, but knowing these aspects will help ensure happy, successful hires.

    With different assessments to illuminate different skills sets, you’ll begin to see candidates as real, multi-dimensional people – much more than bullet points on a page. It’s a quick and objective way to assess candidates for job fit, culture fit, and career potential so you immediately know who should move on the interview stage.

    Ah, the clarity!

    Most assessments can be completed in under 20 minutes, depending on the skill or type of job you’re assessing for. Once completed, your team will have data you can use to rank or shortlist candidates, as well as insight on hidden strengths and career potential that you wouldn’t have gotten from a resume, a phone call, or even an in-person interview.

    Using assessments, you’ll see your entire hiring process become more streamlined, with improved decision making every step of the way. Recruiters can focus on pursing the most promising candidates, and because results can be shared, hiring teams are aligned and able to collaborate on decisions like never before.

    Some assessments (like ours!) even generate an interview guide based on the candidate’s potential weaknesses and areas for improvement. That way, interviewers know exactly what to ask and can learn the most about a candidate in a limited amount of time.

    Best of all, candidates’ skills can finally shine through. Today, 52% of professionals say they feel their skills have been overlooked in the hiring process in the past. We’re on a mission to change that – so job seekers can get the jobs they deserve, and employers like you never miss a great candidate again!

    START YOUR JOURNEY WITH ASSESSMENTS TODAY

  6. 4 Tips for Onboarding Interns

    Successful internship programs bring tremendous value to companies. For starters, a robust internship program helps build a strong pipeline for entry-level positions. When both the company and the students are familiar with each other, this makes for a smoother and potentially quicker hiring process. And in the end, don’t you want your recruiters to spend less time and money on entry-level positions, and have more focus on harder-to-fill positions?

    Why a Positive Internship Experience is Critical

    Ensuring that interns have a positive experience in their internship will determine the likelihood of both sides pursuing a full-time employment relationship once they move on. A negative experience could mean they walk away from your company after their internship period is up, or even worse, they may choose to leave before the end of the agreement. News of a negative experience travels quickly on campus, putting a serious dent in your ability to hire from a specific program or an entire school.  It’s also important to consider the cost of time in locating and training a new set of interns. Full-time employment relationship once they move on. A negative experience could mean they walk away from your company after their internship period is up, or even worse, they may choose to leave before the end of the agreement. News of a negative experience travels quickly on campus, putting a serious dent in your ability to hire from a specific program or an entire school.  It’s also important to consider the cost of time in locating and training a new set of interns.

    4 Tips for Onboarding Interns

    Companies are missing the boat when treating interns as only a temporary, less experienced member of their team. Interns should experience an organized onboarding plan, increasing chances for a positive internship experience and a successful internship program.  Here are 4 tips to get you started:

    1.    Include Interns in the Same Orientation as Full-Time Employees

    What do the first few days look like for your new hires? Is there a day filled with videos, meetings, paperwork, etc?  Are there any trips to company offices in other locations?

    Make a list of everything in an orientation that interns can be included in. Let interns sit through as much as possible with new hires and they’ll learn much more about the company and feel part of the company culture from the beginning.

    1.    Assign Interns a Buddy

    Starting an internship can be overwhelming and intimidating. It takes time to get assimilated into the culture, but having a “buddy” to help with the transition could help make it much smoother.

    The buddy or mentor shouldn’t be their internship supervisor. Instead, pick another employee who works within their department or function. The responsibility shouldn’t be too much of a burden for whoever is assigned to mentor the intern. One hour focus meetings over lunch or elsewhere give the intern a chance to learn, ask questions, and gain a friend.

    1.    Have a Clear Vision of the Internship

    What do you want interns to be able to do in the first 30, 60, 90, and even 180 days after their internship starts? Granted, most internships don’t last 180 days, but mapping out how they’ll grow and how the job would expand if they stayed on that long just might keep them around.

    With each goal, map out items they need to learn and experience to meet those goals. Explain to your intern how these goals and experiences will help their career in the long run and they’ll be more likely to buy in.

    1.    Conduct Monthly Performance Reviews

    While your full-time employees will come to expect performance reviews either every 6 months or annually, interns need feedback, praise, and constructive criticism much more often. Plan their monthly objectives and goals and then meet to discuss progress every month.

    When possible, praise your interns on their work and progress. We all like hearing positive sentiments about ourselves and interns are no different. People tend to gravitate and spend energy on what they’re good at and you want your college talent to start to think of your company as an ideal landing spot after graduation.

    Is your talent acquisition team ready for the Fall College Recruitment Season? Our blog has covered multiple articles on college hiring and internships, so make sure to stop by and read through!  Let us know what you think about this blog and others by tweeting us at @goWepow.

     

    Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

  7. How 4 Companies Use SnapChat to Recruit Millennials

    If your organization has plans to hire a great number of millennials, we’re guessing Snapchat has come up in conversation at least once or twice. The app’s popularity and usage are only rising, as there are now over 100 million daily active users on Snapchat.  And as they always do, recruiters have taken notice and are debating if the platform is right for their hiring efforts.

    Before we jump into some great live Snapchat recruiting examples and strategies, we know that you might not be up to snuff on the basics of the social channel. If that sounds like you, then you shouldn’t feel embarrassed, as even some casual users of the app aren’t exactly sure what they’re doing.  Before reading on, make sure to education yourself on Snapchat with this great guide from TIME.

    How 4 Companies Use SnapChat to Recruit Millennials:

    1. Snapchat Snap-chat-recruit
    We’re kicking off our list of Snapchat recruiting strategies with examples from the experts themselves…Snapchat.

    While Snapchat is based in Los Angeles, they’ve been known to poach talent from mega-startups in the Bay Area.  A few of the companies they’ve targeted recently and in the past are Uber, Airbnb, and Pinterest.

    Using their geolocation filter, Snapchat sent out a filter that said “This place driving you mad?” with a graphic that depicts cars driving through a map that is shaped like the Snapchat logo.  This filter could be used by anyone in that geolocation, which at the very least, sparks conversation and potentially recruiting leads.

    See other examples of Snapchat’s sneaky use of their own app to recruit Uber, Airbnb, and Pinterest employees.

    2. GrubHub GrubHub-recruit

    GrubHub thought of a fun way to use Snapchat to gain interest in their internship program and lock down a summer intern!

    They used Snapchat Stories to post a six-image slideshow to explain how interns could apply.  They used a shortened google link to share how folks can apply and asked interested students to snap them their best doodle.

    3. AOL 

    AOL was looking for a new way to promote diversity and their company culture while also attracting more millennial women to apply to their open positions. They utilized Snapchat’s Discover section to run one 10-second video that promoted #BuiltbyGirls, a program that invests in women-led startups. The other video gave viewers an inside look at what it’s like to work at AOL. AOL-snapchat-hed-2016

    The week-long campaign increased the application intent by 18 percent and increased their views on posting by 40 percent on Glassdoor.com. Read more about how Snapchat campaigns improved AOL’s brand awareness here. 

    4. JPMorgan

    Taking a page out of Snapchat’s book, JPMorgan created their own geofilters to be used at high school and university events in the UK and US.  The thought behind their strategy is to show students that you don’t have to go down a traditional route to find employment at a bank.  They highlight different roles and jobs that one might not even think of when looking at the banking industry.  Doing this on a platform that millennials trust makes this even more powerful for JPMorgan.

    Those are some of the many examples of companies using Snapchat’s platform to reach millennials.  Before jumping into Snapchat, we suggest carefully planning out a strategy and fully understanding how it all works. As you’re well aware, social media ad’s are costly, but if executed properly it could give your recruitment strategy the extra boost it needs to bring in those top millennials.

     

  8. 5 Ways Recruiters Fail When Communicating With Candidates

    “Communication works for those who work at it.” – John Powell

    Communication isn’t as easy as we’re programmed to believe. We are in the digital age so it should be right?  We’ve got a million ways to send messages and we can reach people instantly. The problem recruiters face is communicating to thousands of candidates, at different stages in the hiring process.

    This is where the “work” comes into play.

    Recruiters must continuously think about the process, technology, and systems to make communication smooth for their candidates.  It’s not easy, but with effort and thought around the interview process, it can be improved. We have listed some communication failures below in hopes that you avoid them moving forward.

    Here are 5 ways recruiters fail when communicating with candidates:

    1.  Poor  Careers Website:  The careers site counts as communication, right?  This is where recruiters can get a head start with candidates and offer some clues to the process and insight into the company.  When links are broken and there’s a lack of information candidates get turned away.
    1. Lack of Follow-up:  You can’t expect a recruiter to message back every single candidate, but an ATS system will keep all candidates informed about their status.  The worst thing that can happen is when thousands of candidates don’t hear back from a company at all. This can leave a negative reputation for the recruiter and most importantly the employer brand.
    1. Lack of Transparency:  Letting candidates know exactly how long the interview process will take and when they should hear back after interviews are critical. Giving candidates this kind of insight keeps them from worrying when it has been a few days, but also keeps them from annoying the recruiter with follow-up messages on their end.  While your company may not be able to give candidates a complete look into everything at the company, be transparent about the hiring process where possible.
    1. Failure to Communicate Company Culture, Perks, and Job Details:  It’s the recruiter and interviewing team’s job to entice candidates to want to join the company.  If you fail to communicate or give the wrong impression of the company culture, then can go wrong.  For starters, your candidate may just not want the job, or worse, they may accept a position expecting one thing, but experiencing another.  Having them quit from the position within 90-180 days is costly and time-consuming, and adds work to everyone’s plate.  
    1. Failure to Communicate With Rejected Candidates:  After interviewing a candidate 2 or 3 times, they do deserve some level of unique response from the company.  Failing to do this just seems a bit impersonal and can leave a bad taste in their month.  Recruiters may not need to explain all of the details, but give them a hint as to why you went in another direction.  You want them to remain interested in your company for future openings, and a lack of communication at the end of the process could cost you that opportunity.

    What are some other ways you’ve witnessed recruiters fail to communicate?  How have you taken steps to improve your own communication? Tweet us your answer at @goWePow .

  9. How 6 Organizations Solved Common Recruiting Pain Points

    Welcome to part 1 of a 7 part blog series that is meant to introduce you to WePow’s new eBook, 6 Ways Organizations Use Video Interviewing.

    When we began writing up ideas for our next eBook, we started focusing in on all of the recruiter pain points that we see and hear…and there’s many of them!  While technology like video interviewing has greatly improved the process and eliminated many of the pain points for recruiters, we figured that simply telling you that wouldn’t be enough.   

    For that reason, we’ve matched up the most common recruiting pain points with actual case studies from WePow customers in our brand new eBook.  You’ll find case studies from companies like Lenovo, Abercrombie & Fitch, Tech Data, and more.  

    Some of the recruiter pain points and topics included in the eBook are:

    1. Improving a slow hiring process, specifically the screening stage
    2. Gaining more clarity on how a candidate will perform in real-life scenarios
    3. Weak employer branding won’t attract quality candidates
    4. How to use recruiting technology outside of the hiring process to benefit the company
    5. Reducing the cost of interviewing
    6. University recruiting is too time-consuming and impossible to reach all students

    We hope you’ll hang here for this blog post series and take a look at our new eBook here.

    ebook-preview-500