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
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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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