Most organizations are experiencing recruitment challenges
of some sort in this competitive market for talent. While
limited candidate pools and tight time constraints are what
we hear about most from our clients, there are other factors
impacting their ability to hire the right professionals. The
good news is that proper planning and implementing
simple changes can help to mitigate some of the challenges
and improve the recruitment process.
Before we dig in to easy
adjustments that can be
made, let’s first cover the
common recruitment
challenges we hear from our
clients so you can be sure
you’re not alone in what’s
keeping you up at night. This
insight was gleaned from
Managing Director Jim Lord
and Managing Consultant
Wendy Zang. Each consultant works in all of Helbling’s core
sectors of architecture/engineering/construction, facilities
management, and real estate development. While these
sectors are inter-related, they are surely different from one
another. Furthermore, each individual entity has its own
cultural dynamics and internal environment. Despite these
variances, they do share common recruitment challenges.
Common recruitment challenges we hear about from clients Job postings aren’t attracting the right candidates.
Zang: “Most organizations rely upon job boards and
association websites, which only result in identifying
candidates who are actively
looking. It’s not to say that
these candidates aren’t
talented high-performers. It’s
the fact that there are many
more candidates out there who
are passive to new
opportunities. Sometimes, the
best candidates are not looking
for opportunities, but rather
they have their heads down,
buried in their current work.”
Talent is extremely limited, and they don’t know how to expand their candidate source pool.
Zang: “While all clients are aware of the tight talent pool,
they don’t necessarily know how to expand it and where to
look for candidates who may be considered non-traditional
or ‘out of the box’. They are often unaware of the types of
ExecutiveSearchViewpoint:
TopRecruitmentChallenges&6LessPracticedTipstoImproveHiring
Sami L. Barry
Jim Lord Managing Director, Northeast
Wendy Zang Managing Consultant
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TopRecruitmentChallenges&6LessPracticedTipstoImproveHiring
professionals who may be able to help them solve their
short- and long-term problems.”
Lord: “To elaborate on Wendy’s point, employers are
familiar with recruiting active candidates. However, they
seldom have the bandwidth or skills to approach and attract
passive candidates. It’s a different type of recruitment, and it
demands patience, knowledge, and understanding of a role;
the right hiring manager/recruiter leading the effort; and
persuasion techniques.
Furthermore, employers fail to realize the issue of
confidentiality. To reiterate, job boards attract those
professionals who are actively looking. Those job-seekers
typically don’t have the same confidentiality concerns as
passive candidates, who tend to be deeply concerned
about confidentiality, making them apprehensive to explore
an opportunity.”
Position descriptions don’t tell the whole story, which affects the talent pool and the ability to accurately assess candidates.
Zang: “When it comes to finding and securing new talent,
there can be many stumbling blocks along with way. Issues
can start with a poorly worded job description that doesn’t
accurately convey a position’s responsibilities, or be worded
in a way that isn’t appealing to prospective talent. A
description that simply lists a ‘menu of requirements' can
discourage capable candidates from applying. When a
poorly coded online algorithm is used or a human resources
professional doesn’t understand a role, qualified candidates
can easily slip through the cracks.
A position description should include the role’s objectives
and how it impacts the organization. It should include the
‘must have’ qualifications, as well as ‘would like to haves’.”
Lord: “On the construction and real estate development
side, when creating new positions, firms often have so many
items on their wish lists that the odds of one candidate
meeting all of the requirements are very low. This is what is
sometimes referred to as the ‘purple unicorn'. Managing
those expectations, separating the ‘must haves’ from ‘nice
to haves’, and developing descriptions that are more
applicable to the actual talent pool are things that recruiters
and hiring managers have to do.”
Time constraints affect the initiation, quality, and results of the process.
Zang: “Finding and interviewing people for a new position
can be a full-time responsibility in and of itself. Our clients
have many demands they are juggling, and if they are
looking to fill an open position, they are short-staffed,
making it even harder to find the time necessary to vet
candidates. Most of the HR departments we work with are
equally taxed. Many times, they are searching for candidates
for dozens of positions and having time to really dig in to a
candidate’s strengths and motivations is a challenge. But,
hearing from a prospective employer and then radio silence
for weeks does not leave the best impression.”
Lord: “Appropriate vetting of candidates definitely suffers
when a need is critical. It’s important to realize that time is
actually saved when thorough evaluation is performed.
Once an organization does initiate a process, it’s important
to maintain the momentum. You can’t have a slow-moving
recruitment process because the more motivated
candidates may be entertaining other offers, and they may
end up removing themselves from the search process.”
Not all interviewers have the skills, ability, or knowledge to “sell” their organization and an opportunity appropriately.
Zang: “It’s challenging to keep candidates engaged
throughout the process and get them excited about the
prospect of a new position. Some employers forget that an
interview is a two-way street. The candidate is evaluating
the position and organization as much as they are being
evaluated themselves. They are asking themselves if the
entity is truly a place they want to work. Unorganized
interviews, meetings with grumpy or disgruntled potential
co-workers, not giving candidates your full attention, and/or
expecting candidates to jump through hoops on extremely
short notice just to have an interview do not provide a
positive experience.”
Helbling & Associates is a retained executive search firm specializing exclusively in facilities management, construction, engineering, and real estate development.
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6 less practiced tips to improve hiring Create compelling position descriptions.
The first step to a successful recruitment process is a solid
position description that includes intangible aspects of the
role, positive attributes of the organization, and finally,
“must have” and “would like to have” qualifications. (Men
tend to focus less on meeting all of the qualifications and
more on their abilities, while women will only apply if they
have all of the qualifications listed.)
Expand the talent pool by networking.
Sharing open roles on all of an organization’s social sites is a
must. There’s also no harm in current employees posting
open roles to their own social platforms. Developing an
employee referral program can only support recruitment
efforts.
Understand a candidate’s need for confidentiality.
Add a statement about confidentiality to the position
description and assure candidates that you are committed
to retaining their privacy. Emphasize the importance of
confidentiality with the hiring manager, recruiter, and other
interviewers and ensure you have their commitment to
providing it to candidates.
Show respect to candidates.
While this may seem like common sense, this is an
extremely common complaint of job candidates. Merely
providing clarity on the timeframe and steps of the
recruitment process can put you ahead of other employers.
Even if you don’t have any real update, just touch base to
demonstrate respect.
Make interviews conversational and with the right people.
Keep interviews well organized and give candidates your full
attention. Have questions prepared, and make them
different for multiple interviewers. Make sure candidates are
meeting with the right individuals. Most importantly, make
sure all of those individuals are on the same page regarding
the opportunities and challenges of the role. Finally, get to
know the final candidates. Go beyond the rote questions
and answers and strive to have meaningful conversations.
Have at least two finalist candidates.
Selecting a final candidate can be a challenge, especially in
this candidate-driven market. If possible, having two finalists
is ideal. In other words, plan B. As search consultants, we
always have at least two finalists because candidates and
clients can change their minds at the last minute. People
can be surprising, even when you’ve been thorough which is
why having the second finalist can help you pivot quickly
after a rejection and get your hire made.
Are you having other recruitment challenges that aren’t
mentioned? To identify where your recruitment process is
lagging, work backwards through your recruitment process
to see where the issues begin.
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