Overcoming Challenges When Hiring the Best Candidate for the Job

Anyone in HR knows about the Great Resignation of 2021. But not everyone realizes that we’re also faced with a new challenge: the so-called “Great Joining.”

Over 3.5 million Filipinos are unemployed, according to the latest report from the Philippine Statistics Authority, which means that millions of Filipinos are currently looking for jobs.

Recruitment during the pandemic has its unique set of challenges. As the flood of applications comes pouring in, hiring teams need to brace themselves for the impact.

This article lists some of the most common challenges HR faces during the recruitment process and cites actionable solutions to overcome them.

Hiring the right talent is crucial for overall productivity and business growth. But the road to recruitment is never an easy one. Let’s uncover the struggles of HR when searching for the right candidate.

When faced with limited options, hiring teams tend to settle for who’s best in a sea of unqualified candidates. However, the simple process of elimination in the wrong talent pool may not always result in finding the qualified person for the role.

Let’s say you found the right candidate in the right talent pool. But here’s the catch: chances are, these applicants may also receive an employment offer from another company.

The challenge now is to retain the candidate so they’ll push through with their application and accept the job offer. Recruiters need to exert extra effort to persuade applicants to choose your company among the other options available.

One of the best ways to engage qualified applicants is to keep the recruitment process smooth and update them during every step. A good candidate experience is one of the factors they’ll consider when evaluating your offer. After all, it reflects how you’ll treat them if they join your company or not.

Employer branding is integral to any business. After all, it should align with your mission and vision as well as the company culture. Brand building takes a lot of effort, and it involves promoting company culture and providing a positive applicant experience.

Recruitment requires swift communication, thorough evaluations, and consistent updates on each part of the process. But sometimes, it’s tough to coordinate all of these tasks at once because recruitment is only one facet of HR.

As much as possible, recruiting teams want to hire ASAP. After all, prolonged vacancies can delay operations and increase costs.

However, hiring the suitable candidate for some positions could take months because of the lack of qualified talents and the length of the application process. The key is to balance speed and accuracy during hiring.

Data is essential in improving the hiring process because it provides valuable insights that help managers and HR make informed decisions.

However, some companies still resort to manual methods (e.g., spreadsheets) during the recruitment process, which leads to slower processing times.

Now that we know the common recruitment problems, how can we resolve them? Let’s take a look.

An efficient hiring process begins by assessing your current situation. Identify the top three essential and non-negotiable characteristics with the hiring manager as this will help you screen applications better.

Get started and ask yourself these questions:

• What are you looking for in a candidate?
• How long should recruitment take?
• What part of the hiring process works? What doesn’t?
• How can you be more efficient?

Write a detailed job description (JD) that include primary duties, required skills, and responsibilities. Establishing clear job requirements can help set expectations and narrow down the best candidate for the role.

A clear JD helps candidates determine exactly what they are applying for. A good JD attracts the right candidates.

Reinvent your recruitment process and think of new ways to assess talent. Harvard Business Review recommends adopting a skills-based approach that focuses on results instead of traditional qualifications. That said, you may want to consider evaluating talent through practical exams or writing tests.

Stakeholders play an integral part during the hiring process. If you’re hiring for the Marketing team, for example, discuss the interview leads from the immediate supervisor to the final interviewer. This will help clearing everyone identified to make time for interviews.

Discuss when and what kind of objective exams should the candidates take. And remember that coordination is key: constant communication ensures cooperation for a smoother hiring process.

Mastery of the right tools goes a long way. An applicant tracking system (ATS) is a must and not a nice to have in today’s digital world. An ATS like Manatal provides visibility to the stakeholders and makes it easier to conduct real-time assessments of the current pipeline.

As mentioned earlier, the application process can influence whether the candidate will accept or reject your job offer. Improve your application experience with the following tips:

• Provide a clear roadmap of the application process
• Conduct research about different applicant needs
• Communicate properly at every step of the hiring process
• Treat each applicant fairly

A strong employer branding will showcase the best side of your brand and attract more qualified candidates. A LinkedIn study supports this and reports that companies with a good employer reputation record up to a 50% decrease in costs per hire.

Strengthen your employer branding and underscore what sets you apart — is it career stretch opportunities or your work culture?

You’ll need to upskill and provide training to your HR to stay abreast of the current changes. A lot of the heavy groundwork for this relies on your recruiter, so give them the proper training to provide the customer/applicant experience you want. A lot can be said of employer branding and company culture through the initial interview. This also helps in closing the job offer stage later on.

The LinkedIn Future of Recruiting report recommends the following action items:

• Briefing and proper interview preparation (e.g., through mock interviews)
• Providing diverse resources related to recruitment
• Emphasizing the importance of hiring the right candidate
• Seeking advice from specialists in other departments
• Establishing rapport with applicants

It’s hard to pinpoint why hiring problems arise. It could happen because of current industry trends, a lack of qualified candidates or budget, and more. But with a well-coordinated and integrated application process, you can make your job easier.

Streamline your hiring process with Manatal, our cloud-based recruitment software designed to save you time and resources. It provides the tools you need to select the best candidates, manage your applicant pool, and hire top talent. To get started, fill out our sign-in form today.

To discover the latest insights in HR and current workplace trends, check out the Sprout blog.