A sloth’s pace is slow…
Nearly two years ago we talked about how it’s not 2018 anymore, and hiring practices can’t be what they were then. Now I’ll say — it’s not early 2022 anymore, either. Moving quickly with potential employees is even more critical, so avoid being a hiring sloth!
What’s the point of this, you ask? In the original post, it was imperative, because of the abundance of jobs available to an individual job seeker, that companies be quick and responsive when an application comes through a hiring manager’s desk. Employers needed to jump at the chance to talk with a job seeker, because their “shelf life” of availability would be short. Almost two years later, a report from Hireology digs in on this even more.
“The Modern Worker” report focuses on the skilled worker in 2023: their trends, characteristics, aptitudes for applying, etc. I’d argue, though, that the information is indicative of applicants overall – whether skilled labor or other.
Couple this data with SHRM’s report that employers are extending their hiring time (“Employers Across Industries are Taking Longer to Hire”), and you can see some interesting things that bring trouble to the hiring process. Let’s dig in!
First thing to understand is that people are interested in, and want, to work. They’re ready for it. Yes, there’s a worker shortage, but it isn’t because of lack of interest (there’s a list of reasons that we can get into another time). As stated in Hireology’s report, it seems as though applicants on average are applying to 11 different positions at one time. This just shows that the opportunities are in their favor, still!
Quickness is Key, Still.
If you read the report further, some interesting stats come out. 31% of job seekers expect to be interviewed within 48 hours. 55% of applicants say that interviews should happen within three days. And trouble with ghosting? Almost half of the survey respondents said that if an employer doesn’t follow these timelines, they’re apt to ghost because the employer didn’t meet these timing expectations. Why not, since they have a several more applications out there!
And yet, SHRM’s article points out that employers are taking longer in their hiring process. The data presented here is that the hiring process takes a minimum of 25 days. How do these things match up?!
Employers should really take note of this. Review internal hiring processes – and do it again if it was done even one or two years ago. Expectations have changed. They’ve sped up even more. How is it that HR and recruiters are able to increase the speed of the wheel in your organization? Do the hiring teams understand the timeframe they’re up against?
Increasing the speed to hire is more than just getting a talent pool from applicants. It includes developing talent from within – what training programs are available to develop the talent a company already has, is just one example. Then, the entry positions can be filled with outside applicants. All of this begins to bring about a culture of leveling-up, which is yet another attractive attribute to showcase when bringing applicants into the fold.
The workforce is demanding that employers meet their timeline standards. Applicants expect near instant feedback. As employers, let’s not be on the opposite side of what they want. Answer their call – quickly!