10 Key Trends to Making Recruiting Seamless When Talent Supply Exceeds Demand

Oleeo recently hosted a workshop at the Innovation Circus event focused on Making Recruiting Seamless When Talent Supply Exceeds Demand. We crunched the feedback from leading recruiters who participated in this interactive session and found 10 key trends to help plan ahead for the eventual revival of post-pandemic recruitment.

1. Interviewing has been tough to manage in the virtual world, the gradual return to face to face will make processes a lot more seamless: The return of face to face will make it easier to make panel decisions and fit into the schedules of hiring managers without family life distractions! Many hiring managers have not been as proactive with interviews resulting in 2-3 week delays, risking higher chances of increased decline or renege rates. 
2. Technology has never been more important: The digital world highlighted the need for more innovation to facilitate new ways of hiring especially for mission-critical roles. Ahead of the promised revival, there is more interest in building better strategies to accommodate all types of candidate interest to match the hybrid virtual & physical worlds.
3. Hiring managers need to be more involved in defining what makes a candidate great: Too much is manual when it comes to hiring managers choosing candidates where automation could take the lead of if recruiting leaders had a clear understanding of what to score an application on to create a better shortlist.In some cases, hiring managers do not see themselves as part of the recruiting process and are over reliant on agencies as quick wins - both for temporary or permanent staff. Manual processes are a big detractor. 
4. Time and speed have never been more vital: Drop-offs are more common when applications are too complex. Additionally, candidates are increasingly lost to competitors due to delays in processes in a very competitive environment meaning time to hire has never been so paramount. Volumes can be crazy - hundreds of people for one post and everyone wants feedback, Quality over quantity is hard to achieve but can be configured with a focused workflow!
5. There is a pressing need for better keep warm tactics and faster feedback to not lose candidates: In many roles, candidates are dropping out quickly between application and interview stages.  More automation is needed to screen for candidates on skills & competencies. This will reduce back and forth and improve hiring manager experiences to find the right candidate easier. It also means the candidate never feels dis-engaged with the opportunity to learn from feedback as they progress or exit the application journey.Notify candidates about their application’s status as much as you can. Also look at ways to ensure that the right message is delivered at the right time is by reporting accurately - especially if using a talent pool. Ensure you are tracking the process to avoid miscommunication to candidates.
6. Employer Value Propositions (EVP) need to stand out: Employer branding has never been so critical, especially for businesses restarting after long standstills. Expectations should be managed, particularly for unfavourable characteristics such as low salaries variable by geography. Information sharing can also be difficult and EVPs must ensure that they are able to speak to and reach candidates in any environment, with interview coordination that is not overly complex. Realistic pictures work brilliantly in painting a picture of what you could enjoy working for an organisation for example.
7. Not everyone needs to make adjustments: For some, the revival is actually just business as usual! From PPE to enabling remote working things have already been set in place. However unquestionably processes have been hit by the switch to virtual life - for some, it is disheartening to not hear back without chasing where others simply miss the comfort of an office environment!
8. D&I is hard to track: With a wider focus on D&I nowadays, recruitment reporting is critical. Participants noted that questions around this were previously not mandatory and have since been made part of the application form. The lack of data can make it hard to break stereotypes, especially in STEM. Focusing on this has seen more recruiters seeking new ways to balance genders more and encourage growth in early careers too. Solutions include  reporting to track gender and ethnicity, targeting groups in schools/colleges to help champion industry progress and raise awareness and building a strong EVP around inclusiveness and displaying pictures / videos on the career page to encourage diverse applications.
9. Expect Candidates to be more savvy: Knowing how tough competition is, candidates are less casual and do more research to find ideal roles. However, the heavy uncertainty of the pandemic in some sectors means many candidates are not necessarily job hunting. There will be a lot more direct sourcing trying to convince these people to join firms. Leadership buy-into do this is essential, recognising that candidate experience is just as important as revenue generation.
10. Onboard smarter: Delegates remarked how onboarding processes that are not automated have been an issue. This manual way of working is long and offer letters don't get delivered on time and as a result, candidates accept a job somewhere else - employers risk losing top candidates at this part of the process.