Organizations across any industry are faced with bottlenecks in the talent acquisition process, often resulting in lost productivity and business opportunity as the search for the perfect candidate doesn’t always bear fruit.
Quite surprisingly, many of the obstacles to hiring the best talent in a timely manner are caused by the often strained relationship between hiring managers and recruiters. Even though focused on the same goal, their relationships are typically marked by miscommunication and the inability to work closely together, leading to major obstacles in the hiring process. In fact, up to 77% of hiring managers think recruiters are not screening candidates properly, while 51% of recruiters believe hiring managers do not adequately communicate what they are looking for in a candidate, according to a survey of 600 recruiters and 375 hiring managers by talent acquisition software provider iCIMS Hire Expectations Institute
Whether it’s miscommunication among those involved in the hiring process, inadequate candidates or a poor compensation strategy, there are several causes for bottlenecks in the talent sourcing process. Below, 13 members of Forbes Human Resources Council discuss some of the most common roadblocks and how to overcome them.
1. Being Unprepared For Talent
Being unprepared is a common bottleneck that occurs in the talent acquisition process. Typically, when an organization finds top talent, they are not prepared to hire immediately due to an undefined process and no sense of urgency. This can be avoided by planning out the acquisition process with hiring managers and informing the candidates of timelines.
2. Indecisive Or Overly Critical Hiring Managers
A top bottleneck would be a hiring manager who is indecisive or worse, too critical. HR must become a true business partner to correct these holdups. If they are indecisive, give them confidence in the process and help them through the weeds to identify top talent. If they are too critical, be frank about the loss of time and productivity that comes with searching for a purple unicorn candidate that doesn’t exist.
3. Candidates Turning Down The Job
Often a company will get to the end of a recruiting process and offer a candidate a job, only to find that the candidate has turned down the position. A good recruiter is deliberate about making sure there are no surprises at the end of the process and that the response is always yes. Asking questions, setting up that conversation early and responding to the hesitation is key.
Hiring managers often want, or think they need the perfect candidate. These “unicorns,” as they’re more recently known, are rare or not what they seem at first blush. The hunt for this mythical candidate can be a bottleneck. Companies need to identify and agree upon the must-haves and the nice-to-haves for a smoother process. And who knows? You might find a unicorn in the making.
4. The Unicorn Hunt
Hiring managers often want, or think they need the perfect candidate. These “unicorns,” as they’re more recently known, are rare or not what they seem at first blush. The hunt for this mythical candidate can be a bottleneck. Companies need to identify and agree upon the must-haves and the nice-to-haves for a smoother process. And who knows? You might find a unicorn in the making.
5. Misdirection
Misdirection. Yes, I wrote misdirection, not miscommunication. Talent acquisition impacts the company culture and employees. Sometimes, it is office politics in play which create a “hurry up and wait” wheel. Ask the CEO/COO how and why the position is achieving strategic and business objectives. Once clarified, office politics are negated. Hence, you will have a solid recruitment process.
6. The Infamous Flood Of Applicants
Unqualified applicants bog recruiters down, especially if you’re handling a significant requisition load. As part of an intake process with the hiring manager, get super-clear about what they need. Ensure these requirements are explicit on the posting, and use applicant tracking system knock-out questions against these. This will improve your candidate quality, allowing you to spend less time dispositioning.
7. Reference Checks
Waiting for responses from a candidate’s references can cause a frustrating bottleneck in the interview process. Avoid the wait by giving references multiple ways to contact you with their response. Inform them that it is okay to email you or leave a voicemail if you are not available. In addition, ask the candidate to follow up with any references you have not heard back from with 24 hours.
8. Disconnect Between Job Description And Job Duties
Job descriptions tell why a job exists and the duties to accomplish the why. The actual duties performed may have changed over time and the job description has not been updated. A bottleneck occurs when recruitment is done before validating the job description. Solution: Before recruiting, meet with the hiring manager and the current employee to clarify what the duties are and the KSAs (knowledge, skills, abilities) needed.
9. Too Many People Involved
A typical bottleneck that often occurs falls in the interview process. Too many people involved in a process can delay the process and cause the candidate to build reservations. Make your process as simple as possible. Identify the key folks that should be involved and be clear with your candidate upon first contact. You will gain trust once you are clear and set realistic expectations.
10. Perceived Bottlenecks
Sometimes it’s just a matter of perception. Even the most efficient process will be perceived as “taking forever” if the business wants the position filled with the best candidate and in one day. To help alleviate this, do as much pre-work as possible BEFORE the position is officially open. Get the job description, market data, interview team, etc. ahead of time. Communicate early, then go!
11. Focusing Too Much On The Paper In Front Of You
Many hiring managers and recruiters spend far too much time reviewing a potential candidate’s resume. Oftentimes, they screen out potentially great employees because candidates don’t fit a certain description or don’t have certain experience. Sometimes your best performers are those right out of school or new to the industry. An open mind is key to identifying and hiring a stellar workforce.
12. Rigid Compensation Strategy
Inflexible salary bands may limit access to strong candidates. Slow approval process may lose a candidate to another firm. To minimize, manage compensation data before and during process. Set market expectation for skills requested. Besides salary reports, talk to recruiters on current salaries and collect data from every applicant. Before the final selection, start compensation ROI conversation.
13. Generic Job Descriptions
A generic job description can cause major problems in reaching candidates with the required skill set. Employers who only stress such qualifications as “detail-oriented” or “good communication skills” instead of focusing on must-have requirements that are essential to the role will see an influx of unqualified applicants, while candidates who are truly qualified won’t be enticed to apply.
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