Hiring managers are under pressure to fill vacancies like never before. Job openings in the U.S. remain stubbornly high: the figure stood at 11.3million as of February 2022, close to the record of 11.4 million set in December, according to dataOpens a new window from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Â
Recruiters are using everything in their arsenal to lure new workers to their companies, from increased pay and enhanced perks to flexible hours and permission to work remotely.Â
HR teams are even speeding up their hiring processes to avoid missing out on top talent. Earlier this month, leaked internal documents revealedOpens a new window that Google was making sweeping changes to its notoriously long recruitment process to keep it competitive, with some candidates being allowed to skip stages to speed their journey up.Â
It’s easy to see why this is happening: a studyOpens a new window by Robert Half Talent Solutions found that 57% of job seekers lose interest in a job if the hiring process takes too long, with almost four in 10 identifying “too long†as being between seven and 14 days.Â
However, firms that rush recruitment face the real risk of bringing someone ill-matched to the company onboard. After all, employees don’t just need the right experience and skills for the role — they need to share the company’s ethos and fit with its culture if they’re going to bring value. Yet screening candidates for these qualities might be overlooked if firms are too hasty to fill vacancies.
Technology Rises to the Occasion
Fortunately, checking that a candidate will be a good cultural fit and making the hiring process quick and efficient can go hand in hand, thanks to new technologies, which are being deployed to supplement traditional interview stages.
For example, for those who want to get ahead of the issue before hiring even starts, Supertalent is a platform that matches job seekers with companies based on shared values. Firms create a profile that outlines their workplace culture and philosophy that candidates can compare to their own, so both sides can evaluate how well suited they might be.Â
Alternatively, rather than rely on a candidate’s self-assessment, recruiters can introduce psychometric or situation-based tests into the hiring process to discover how new hires would react in certain circumstances or to what extent they identify with particular values.Â
These can be completed online and done at home by the candidate at a time that suits them best to make them as convenient as possible. Hiring managers will receive the results as soon as the tests are completed and can factor them into their decision-making alongside evaluations from interviews.
Vetting potential new hires used to be a slow and analog process that was often to blame for dragging out the hiring process, but the advent of HR tech means that’s no longer the case. Checks can be carried out online quickly and efficiently, with the candidate kept fully up to date throughout the process.Â
While many background checks, such as those that check for a criminal record or history of bankruptcy, might be a legal requirement for employers to undertake, there are many others that should be considered and which will give a good impression as to whether or not a candidate might be a good fit for the firm.
For instance, social media checks will scour the internet to see whether the potential hire has ever engaged in offensive behavior or activity online and could therefore pose a reputational risk to your company.Â
While these amounted to less than 1% of all automated checks carried out on candidates globally last year, as Veremark’s annual employee screening reportOpens a new window found, it’s quite common for HR teams to run their own manual checks. However, relying on expert tech platforms for this service is highly advisable if you want to stay on the right side of the law, considering the tight legal framework around conducting such checks, which also changes from country to country.Â
These platforms are also, unsurprisingly, much quicker: for example, Ferretly deploys artificial intelligence to help it analyze years worth of posts and images in seconds.
Similarly, adverse media checks will search through archives both online and offline to determine whether a candidate has ever attracted negative news coverage in a personal or professional capacity.
References, which, among other things, can give an invaluable insight into a candidate’s previous behavior and attitude to work, are already a routine part of hiring. However, using tech to source digital reference checks has a number of benefits, such as boosting the response rate by making the experience more convenient for the referee.Â
Of course, the hiring process can also be a great opportunity for employers to showcase their company culture to potential recruits too. The candidate will already be forming their opinion about what the firm is like as they progress through the interview stages: a view which will influence their ultimate decision on whether to accept the role if they are offered it.
Employers can show that they respect their staff by maintaining good communication with candidates throughout the recruitment process, keeping them updated on their application,s and offering feedback.
See More: Rehumanizing the Workplace in 2021 With an Employee-First Culture
Leverage Tech To Identify Cultural Fit
Hiring the wrong person for a job can be a costly mistake: according to one surveyOpens a new window by CareerBuilder, companies lose an average of $14,900 on each bad hire. And the cultural fit is a hugely important aspect to consider, particularly when it comes to retention.Â
With the Great Resignation showing no signs of slowing, tech can help employers fight the temptation to overlook this crucial consideration.
How are you leveraging technology to identify whether a new hire is a good cultural fit? Share with us on FacebookOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , and LinkedInOpens a new window .