Hiring is a fine art. We may think we have it down and then realize the process may be broken. People want to show their business in the best light possible, all while sorting through multiple candidates and juggling day-to-day business. Thankfully, there are ways to ensure we’re doing it better. Due to increasing competition for top candidates and thanks in part to technology, people are getting smarter about hiring. As we enter the latter part of the first quarter, it’s worth looking into some recruiting trends already underway.
A Broader idea of Diversity
“Diversity, the popular phrase of the 1980s, became diversity and inclusion as the movement matured, and today has expanded to diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Here’s why: diversity is being invited to the party, inclusion is being asked to dance, and belonging is dancing like no one’s watching.” - LinkedIn Global Recruiting Trends 2018.
What comes to mind when you think about diversity in the workplace? Most people tend to think of gender, followed by racial or ethnic diversity and age group. It’s crucial to consider in the hiring process because it brings different opinions and perspectives to the table, without which little progress would occur.
According to Culture Amp, “there is a compelling body of evidence that diverse teams outperform homogeneous teams when it comes to problem-solving, risk mitigation, innovation and sales outcomes. If you can put measures in place to hire more diverse teams, then you’re on your way to higher business performance.”
This doesn’t have to mean forgoing a stellar candidate if they don’t happen to jump out as a diverse pick. It simply should serve as a means to look at what unique characteristics people posess that you may overlook otherwise.
One thing that has stifled diversity in the hiring process is the blanket idea of corporate culture. It can create an unconscious bias and hiring managers may interview for similarities rather than recognizing candidates competitive edges.
This doesn’t mean hiring for culture fit is a bad thing. How well employees relate, interact, and work together has a lot to do with the overall environment. Happy employees who feel heard and appreciated at work will feel engaged; therefore performing better and sticking around longer. Fostering a feeling of inclusivity, regardless of individual differences, is one of the main basis of a thriving culture.
New Interview Methods
The traditional hiring process is sticking around for the foreseeable future, but it can be improved. The key is to find ways to access skills that may often be overlooked in a face-to-face interview. Again, the problem is unconscious bias. The brain subconsciously takes in millions of pieces of information at any given time. Consciously, we are limited to 40.
There are obvious benefits to this. People couldn’t possibly function when taking in millions of
pieces of data at a time. During an interview, however, we may be subtly swayed by factors that we aren’t even aware of. Studies show that, based on resume review, people were more apt to choose males for certain roles, even if the women were technically more qualified. Others indicate a “similar to me bias” in which people are naturally drawn to candidates they relate to in some way.
That’s where further evaluation can help. At TruPath, we use TTI Assessments for both internal candidates and those of our clients’ should they opt to utilize them. These are behavioral assessments that are actually very revealing about both a candidate’s learned and innate characteristics. While they are rarely a make or break, they can be very insightful in the on-boarding process or could be used to weigh one candidate over another.
Another option is to use a standardized list of questions in your interviews. This does take a bit away from a more natural conversation, but it’s a great way to truly gauge everyone on an equal playing field. Do still ask specifics about things that pique your interest on their backgrounds, however. It’s more about having a set of data that you can go back to and look at side-by-side. It’ll likely even make hiring decisions easier on your end.
Virtual Reality or VR is a recent practice that puts interviewees in real-world scenarios. Lloyds Banking Group helped pioneer this method by using VR headsets on candidates. Instead of asking them how they’d fare theoretically in a situation, they play it out live. They rolled it out on recent grads during a 2017 recruiting event and plan to use it for junior level candidates going forward.
Viewing Candidates as Consumers
A bad interview experience can lead to a negative perception of a company’s overall brand. A way to alleviate this is by viewing candidates as you would a customer. Per Deloitte, “Candidates can easily spread the word about good or bad experiences with their friends, or even on social media. Millennials, in particular, are likely to see companies as a single whole. Their experiences with hiring will likely color their beliefs as a buyer of a firm’s products and services. A mishandled recruiting effort could well mean one less customer for your business.”
So what are some ways to better ensure a pleasant candidate experience? It starts with communication. If someone is taking the time to apply for a position at your company, it helps to receive some kind of feedback on your end. If this is something as minimal as an automated email it could actually go a long way. Set the expectation up front, “due to a large number of applicants we are unable to respond to every application…” (you probably already use this, or have at least received the message yourself!).
Good communication shouldn’t stop here, however. As candidates move through the process, be sure to keep them in the loop to the best of your ability. Nobody likes to feel left on the hook. Even if there is a stall in the hiring process, let them know. They likely have other opportunities in the works and could be holding out to hear from you.
It’s all about treating candidates as you would a customer you’re trying to woo. Be timely in meeting for interviews, speak to them professionally, essentially, think like a marketer and always be showing your business in the best light possible.
These three topics are not new, but that doesn’t mean we can’t look at them in different ways. Hiring managers and businesses need to think of their hiring process as a constantly evolving thing. The better your hiring process, the better your organization will be for it. At TruPath, we truly believe in a Growth & Learning Mindsets. It’s even one of our TruPrinciples. If there is a way to do a process better and you recognize it, take the initiative to make a change! It’s a competitive market and we all need to do our best to stay on top of these and other growing trends.
Do you have any suggestions that we could add to the list? Please let us know! And if you’re looking for assistance in your hiring process today, or just want to learn a bit more about TruPath, don’t hesitate to contact us. We work with companies all over the country, helping to fill one open position or 500.