Even a few years back, the recession led to huge layoff with most organizations, however big or small chose to scale down their operations. There was an overflow of new applicants and most employers received thousands of biodatas for a single post. People were in dire need of a job and as a result, they agreed to work at a much lesser pay and everyone wondered why wasn’t anyone getting good jobs? But the situation has now reversed and the employers are disappointed that they are not able to get through enough adept workers.
Experts opine that the economy of a nation doesn’t have much to do with the process of hiring. They suggest that instead of depending on the luck factor, the companies should rather focus on preparing a structured approach on the basis of the best practices. Some of the measures could include bringing back trained recruiters who are experienced in hiring and can ask all the relevant questions. According to an expert, companies should refrain from wasting their time and money in chasing thousands of candidates and rather filter down the number for finding the most suited candidate.
What is the role of fortune in hiring candidates?
There is not enough attention given to people who are in need of jobs. This is an important aspect since about 7.1 percent of individuals are jobless and need one and this is quite huge considering the rate of unemployment to be 3.7 percent. This means only half the population in need of a job have actually bagged one.
Many jobs are overcrowded with people who are already working for some other concern. And this is perhaps what the employers also want: someone who is already experienced in a similar kind of job. The employers can try to spend more amount in the recruiting process, particularly when increasing the pay can fetch them better candidates.
There is hardly any employer who introspects whether what they are doing is right or not. In a survey, it was found that only 30 percent of employers have tried to figure out or showed concern about whether their hiring process is effective in fetching the right candidates. Most employers are concerned about filling up a vacancy without shelling out many funds.
What are the various aspects that can lead to better employees?
Experts say that past achievements and experience is definitely one of the most plausible predictors of one’s future behavior. But the employers hardly ask such kinds of questions and even when they do, it remains at a superficial level only. A lot of time is spent in interviewing candidates in an unstructured way. Some people think that it has become very hard to find the right candidates but unless you are armed with the right questions, you will never be able to predict anything from them.
Is interviewing a subjective procedure?
Interviewing need not be a subjective affair always unless an individual is asking questions that no one else is asking. For instance, if five different people are interviewing a candidate by asking various kinds of questions, then they will arrive at widely varied conclusions about the same person. There is no way you can train someone to ask questions and the best way to do is by asking pertinent questions. Candidates are more or less aware of the kinds of questions that will be shot to them and as a result, they prepare themselves quite nicely. There are people who know the real art of interviewing and they generally start off by asking what a candidate has done before and ask questions on that only. They are able to do this as they have spoken to a lot of people about you and are aware of the various projects that you have been a part of. So, they are able to arrive at the truth effortlessly.
Another problem is that many companies are outsourced the recruitment process and many recruiters do not have the necessary knowledge and expertise on whom to hire and there is no way to understand whether they are doing a good job or not.
Is the hiring manager the right person in conducting an effective search for candidates?
Hiring managers do not receive any feedback on their work whatsoever. They keep on wondering what are the qualities required to fill in a position and everyone just keeps on adding to it leading to writing a job description that becomes difficult to fill. At last, it appears like a Christmas tree overloaded with embellishments. And even if a manager is fortunate enough to come across such a candidate, it will become impossible to satisfy him for all those attributes.
Another mistake on part of the hiring manager is that they often overlook people who they already know with respect to their skills and expertise. This makes the hiring process all the more complicated. Often, promoting employees within the organization helps in saving time and leads to effective results. This is because a present employee is already aware of the nitty-gritty of the organization and when they are pushed forward, they show the zeal to work. Career advancement is one of the top priorities of the employees and when they are not able to receive it within the concern, they are not left with much choice but simply leave.
Is it time to reconsider the value of human capital?
There are a lot of companies, particularly large corporations that are attempting to raise the value of their employees by investing in them. There is a lot of incredibly expensive endeavor for offering developmental opportunities to the employees. The rotational assignments, for example, explains this. Companies often move an employee with his whole family to abroad so that he understands and learns something essential about that country. It is impossible to produce something much fruitful in that span because half the time is wasted in understanding what’s happening and the company has to bear all these costs.
On average, it takes about three years for a new hire for getting into speed. But when an employee is promoted from within, he takes 7 years in making the money that an external hire can make in 3 years. So, from the perspective of the company, promoting someone from within actually saves a lot of money. The worst thing you can do for your company is hiring someone who is not adept for the job rather than leaving the position unfilled.
These days, a lot of jobs are filled without publishing the vacancies anywhere. It means that the chances are all in favor of the employers and they can also accommodate some out if the box ideas like working from home, flexible work shifts and such others. The trick here is to simply stave off ideas that do not work and focus on the qualities that are absolutely necessary.
