Why Lack of Recruiting Transparency is Drying Up Your Talent Pools

8/13/2019 Why Lack of Recruiting Transparency is Drying Up Your Talent Pools

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WHY LACK OF RECRUITING

TRANSPARENCY IS DRYING UPYOUR TALENT POOLSA PEOPLEFLUENT WHITE PAPER


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First impressions truly do make a difference; when candidates research

an employer or apply for a position, its an important opportunity for

that employer to make a positive connection. What happens during the

recruiting process determines how an employee views the company,

the job and their role in the organization and sets the tone of the entire

employment relationship.

Getting recruiting right can have long-reaching impact on employee

engagement, productivity and retention. Conversely, a negative experiencecan be costly to the bottom line and impact an organizations potential to

recruit and retain the talent they need.

According to the latest survey results from The Candidate Experience

Awards (CandEs), a research organization dedicated to improving the

candidate experience, more than half of candidates are likely to tell their

inner circle of friends about their experiences nding, researching, and

interviewing, for a job whether it is positive or negative.1A growing and

signicant number are willing to go further and share their positive and

negative experiences with everyone via blogs, Facebook and sites likeGlassdoor.2

Workplace transparency exists whether organizations embrace it or not.

This is why establishing open and transparent communication during the

recruiting phase is critical, and ensures both that the organization acquires

the talent it needs and that it aligns with business goals.

But many organizations intentionally or inadvertently mislead candidates

during the hiring process. Whether its exaggerating the opportunity or

downplaying organizational shortcomings, there are consequences to not

being transparent during the recruiting phase. Challenges ranging fromdisengaged employees and disruption to poorly performing company

culture, low productivity and high turnover may have many vectors, but a

lack of openness with candidates is a potential point of weakness or even

failure the key to longevity is the front end.

1 The Talent Board, The Candidate Experience 2012, 2 Ibid

What happens

during the

recruiting

processdetermines how

an employee

views the

company, the

job and their

role in the

organization

and sets

the tone of

the entire

employment

relationship

Why Lack of Recruiting Transparency is Drying Up Your Talent Pools 2

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Open and transparent communication improves the candidate experience

and is a precursor to a positive employment experience. Improving

communication upfront can increase employee satisfaction and productivity

over the long-term and for candidates not selected, it raises the likelihood

that they will apply for future positions or share a positive experience with

others.

Workplace transparency is the new normal because todays job seeker

is researching prospective employers on the major search engines orsoliciting feedback from Facebook friends, the Twitter community or

other niche sites. With increased access and accessibility to information,

candidates are learning more than ever about an organization before

interviewing or joining a new company, sometimes even more so than the

employers learn about the candidates.

The Benet of Transparent Recruiting Processes

During the recruiting phase candidates want accurate information

about the company culture, the people theyll be working with, what

the job entails and how performance will be evaluated and rewarded.

Organizations transparent about the hiring process, job requirements, how

performance is managed and evaluated, and the rewards for meeting or

exceeding business goals can deliver a better candidate experience and

work environment that aligns with expectations.

From the job description to the actual interview process, there are multiple

opportunities to increase transparency and provide a better candidate

and employment experience. Being clear on expectations, including howperformance is evaluated, can create more satised employees who are

motivated to perform and highly committed to business success. But again,

success starts on the front end with the recruiting experience, which should

be consistent with what employees are hired to do and nd when they are

on the job.

Increasing transparency meets the need of candidates, employees and

contract workers who want more involvement and accountability when it

comes to their careers. For example, research indicates employees want

the opportunity to participate in performance feedback loops, do their own

investigative research about companies they consider working for, and be

more involved in directing their own career path. Contract workers also

Being clear on

expectations,

including how

performance

is evaluated,

can create

more satisfied

employees who

are motivated

to performand highly

committed

to business

success


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look at the relationship as indicator to how theyd be treated as a full-time employee should they

choose to convert from exible status.

Recruiting talent is costly and resource intensive. Getting it right minimizes expenses, including

the need to retrain talent due to turnover. Organizations that set strategy and expectations during

the recruiting and onboarding stages can create a more connected, engaged and high performing

workforce.

Steps to Create a Transparent Recruiting Process

Operating in a more-transparent manner requires openness, communication and accountability all

built around a conscious process rather than ad hoc decisions about what is and isnt appropriate.

Consider the following seven steps to build a transparent recruiting process:

Experience your process as a candidate.

To succeed in candidate experience, you have to think like a candidate. Go through your own

recruiting and onboarding processes to learn where there are opportunities for improvement. For

example, are candidates informed when their resume is received and its status? Or is their application

spiraling into the proverbial black hole, where no status or notication is ever given? Is the wait time

between initial contact and interview scheduling too long? Keeping candidates informed and taking

steps to provide acknowledgement and closure can create a positive impression and deliver a better

candidate experience.

3

3 The Talent Board, The Candidate Experience 2012

6%I am an

advocate

for the

company

9.1%I follow the

company21.1%I was/am a

customer of the

company

16.8 %

I have friends/

family with the

company 47%No relationship

with the

company


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Have well-dened job descriptions.

Presenting job information in an exciting, compelling manner is important to get talent in the door,

but if its not based on real job requirements, the organization wont get or keep the talent it needs

and employees may feel duped. According to research from the Society for Human Resource

Management (SHRM), 63 percent of employees surveyed rated opportunities to use their skills and

abilities at work as the most important contributor to job satisfaction.4Conduct a thorough job analysis

with all internal parties involved (HR, recruiters, hiring managers and current employees with similar

roles) to understand the position requirements, the skills needed and how they contribute to overallsuccess. An accurate job description helps candidates understand the specic job responsibilities,

ensures they have the appropriate skills to succeed, and minimize surprises once hired.

Be more immersive in telling employment brand stories.

Employees want more than salary and benets from their employer, which is why many pre-hire

conversations cover workplace culture, job scope, and how the organization invests in developing its

talent. Dangling a carrot such as a promise of automatic promotion following 90-days employment or

after achieving a specic milestone can have a negative effect if the organization is unable to deliver.

Rather than commit to future yet potentially unrealistic possibilities, tell real stories that demonstrate

the types of opportunities available such as how other employees traveled a similar career path and

how the organization helped advanced their development or role.

Establish a formal onboarding program.

The time from onboarding to job prociency is one of the most important metrics in retaining talent for

the majority of organizations, indicating the importance of quickly getting new hires contributing to the

organization.5Transparency in the onboarding phase should include communicating expectations to

new hires and how their role contributes to overall business success. Employees should understand

what they need to do, the resources available, including peers and mentors, to help navigate the early

months, and what milestones theyre expected to achieve at the start of the relationship.

Incorporate performance feedback into the regular routine of business.

Ongoing and regular performance feedback helps employees understand what they are doing

well, where there is opportunity to improve, and the available development opportunities to help

them advance professionally and personally. A system that documents performance supports more

productive performance conversations and gives organizations visibility into top performers, available

skills and where they need to develop talent. Incorporating 360-degree feedback processes gives

employees a voice and demonstrates that their opinion matters.

4 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 2012 Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement, (http://www.shrm.org/legalissues/

stateandlocalresources/stateandlocalstatutesandregulations/documents/12-0537%202012_jobsatisfaction_fnl_online.pdfretrieved 07 28/13)

5 Ventana Research, Workforce Analytics Benchmarck, 2011 (http://www.ventanaresearch.com/wam/ retrieved 07 28 13)

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http://www.shrm.org/legalissues/stateandlocalresources/stateandlocalstatutesandregulations/documents/12-0537%25202012_jobsatisfaction_fnl_online.pdfhttp://www.shrm.org/legalissues/stateandlocalresources/stateandlocalstatutesandregulations/documents/12-0537%25202012_jobsatisfaction_fnl_online.pdfhttp://www.ventanaresearch.com/wam/http://www.ventanaresearch.com/wam/http://www.shrm.org/legalissues/stateandlocalresources/stateandlocalstatutesandregulations/documents/12-0537%25202012_jobsatisfaction_fnl_online.pdfhttp://www.shrm.org/legalissues/stateandlocalresources/stateandlocalstatutesandregulations/documents/12-0537%25202012_jobsatisfaction_fnl_online.pdf


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Increase transparency around compensation.

Compensation is an important element in the decision process and an opportunity for increased

transparency. Technology solutions improve the ability to plan and budget salaries and job positions,

ensure consistency and fairness, and empower managers to pay competitively for top performance

while adhering to corporate guidelines and budgets. Recruiters have a role to play here as well, and

need to consider a candidates salary expectation and how it aligns with their budget. If a candidates

minimum is far above the employers budget, being more transparent upfront can avoid them feeling

mislead or undervalued and protect the employment brand. To increase transparency and helprecruiters have more accurate compensation conversations, consider sharing nancials to increase

understanding of what it takes to run the business and drive competitive advantage.

Provide social and collaborative learning and development opportunities.

While employees may be hired for one role, shifting business priorities necessitate the need to cross-

train and develop new skills and capabilities. Informal learning via social collaboration technologies

benets employees and the organization, giving them daily opportunities to share and learn from one

another, which ultimately contributes to a more rewarding work experience. The organization gains

Were you informed via the career site or a recruiter that you would be surveyed about your

job seeking experience BEFORE you actually applied to a position?

10.3%

YES72.7%

NO

6 The Talent Board, The Candidate Experience 2012

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access to the skills it needs and demonstrates that they value their workforce by investing in self-

paced training and development opportunities.

Bridging the gap between recruiting and performance and succession

Talent management solutions help organizations gain visibility into talent and support consistent

practices and in organizations adopting a transparency-rst workplace culture for their recruitment

efforts, they provide a platform for addressing many facets of the transparency issue. Managing

a more disparate, exible workforce is possible with social collaboration technologies, enabling

managers and employees to share feedback, conduct performance reviews, participate in informal

knowledge-sharing sessions and drive ongoing improvement in performance.

Analytic capabilities give organizations insight into how to retain talent and that theyre developing

the right individuals. For example, having insight into compensation and incentives supports effective

pay for performance methods and helps organizations ensure compensation conversations arent

misleading and that the compensation budget has sufcient funding.

Being honest with candidates about what the job entails and their role in business success increasesthe likelihood of loyalty, engagement and commitment. Transparent processes can minimize the ight

risk of top talent and ensure the organization retains its talent to support innovation and advance

business goals.

Whether its inadvertent or intentional, bait-and-switch tactics can seriously damage the employee

relationship. Building transparency into the recruiting process and being honest with candidates about

the work environment and how employees are recognized for their contributions can eliminate the

risk of talent pools drying up as a result of misleading or false information. By aligning the recruiting

process with the actual candidate experience and investing in the front end, organizations can not

only attract qualied talent pools, but retain the talent it worked so hard to recruit.

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About Peoplefluent

Peoplefluent is the leading provider of talent management solutions designed to support the entireworkforce. We provide the mobile enablement, social collaboration, information visualization and thedomain expertise required to empower strategic decision making and true employee engagement.Our talent management software enables organizations to unlock each individuals potential byremoving the boundaries that limit the performance and productivity of your workforce. With themost comprehensive talent suite in the industry including solutions for talent management, workforce

compliance and diversity, contingent workforce management, analytics and workforce planning,Peoplefluent offers a solution to optimize every step of the talent lifecycle.Our solutions have helped over 5,100 organizations in 214 countries and territories successfullyachieve their talent aspirations. Today, 80% of the Fortune 100 relies on Peoplefluent solutions aspart of their talent management delivery strategy.

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Why Lack of Recruiting Transparency is Drying Up Your Talent Pools