An Ipsos survey from November 2020 reported 25% of US workers are planning to leave their jobs post-pandemic. Add that to the hiring rush we expect with many businesses fully re-opening in September and we have a hiring crisis. Many companies are already seeing evidence of the hiring crisis and they simply aren’t able to recruit hourly workers.
“The pandemic taught us hourly workers are essential and they should be treated as such. The applicant experience reflects the employment experience. If you have a poor hiring process, candidates aren’t going to want to work for you, and they can and will go elsewhere.”
— Quincy Valencia,
VP of Product Innovation at VMS
This is true for all workers, not just hourly employees. Your hiring process is a direct reflection of your overall culture and employee experience. What can you do to streamline and optimize your hiring process so you get the quality candidates you need?
Three things you need to do if you’re struggling to hire
- Check your external reputation. Make sure you’re fully aware of your online and offline reputation. What do your online reviews say about the company? Check Glassdoor, check Facebook, check Google, check any other sources that are relevant to your industry. You need to know exactly what people are saying about the company online. And if the reviews aren’t great, you need to have a reputation management plan in place but that’s another topic for another day. What’s your offline reputation? What do people in your communities say about the organization? What’s the general consensus?
- Check your internal reputation. How do your employees feel about their work and more importantly, their managers? What do they say about the people they work with and for? I knew a man who was interviewing at a non-profit several years ago. They had one of their employees give him a tour of the building and at one point, the employee whispered, “Don’t take this job! Leadership is terrible. All of us are looking for new jobs right now.” Needless to say, he didn’t accept their job offer. Your situation is probably not that extreme, but it’s important to know the internal reputation of the company.
- Examine your hiring process. Review your hiring process for issues and opportunities. Where can you streamline the process and create a better experience for applicants? Consider the ease of applying via mobile, check where you are requesting duplicate information, make sure you have timely responses to all applications, make sure your job descriptions accurately describe the culture and include salary/hourly information.
If you’re already struggling to hire and you’re not sure why, consider a consultant. Hire a neutral third party who can bring expertise and clarity to your situation. Hiring is only going to get more challenging as we head into Q3. Make the investment and get ahead of the situation now.