Staffing Challenges? – 3 Easy Strategies for Improving Your Hiring Success Rates
Current Hiring Issues
Over the past few years, hiring has become a much more challenging task. Many of our partners have struggled to find and sustain positions that used to be easier to fill. As with many challenges, there are multiple contributing factors that play a role… An easy chat GPT request responded with the following…
The current job market is experiencing challenges in hiring due to a combination of factors. One of the primary reasons is the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused significant disruptions in the workforce. Many businesses have closed or scaled back their operations, leading to layoffs and reduced hiring. Additionally, the pandemic has created a shift in the way people work, with many preferring remote work options. As a result, companies are struggling to find qualified candidates who are willing to work in person. Another factor contributing to hiring difficulties is the current unemployment benefits system. Some people may be reluctant to return to work due to the availability of unemployment benefits, which provide financial support for those who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic. Finally, the current labor market has been characterized by a skills gap, with many employers struggling to find candidates with the necessary skills and qualifications to fill their job openings. These factors have made it challenging for employers to hire, leading to longer hiring times and increased competition for top talent.
These are the most common factors often attributed to the current challenges, but we wanted to dig deeper into why this was happening and identify some potential solutions.
The truth is many of these challenges were beginning to happen pre – Covid and there are a couple of strategies that employers and staffing agencies can use to help increase the success rate. We wanted to look at it from a less global perspective and quickly identify what employers can do to make it easier.
Employer Expectations
Don’t get it wrong, employers should have high expectations of their employees, and future employees, and we are not suggesting otherwise. However, it is where they identify the qualifications that matter. For example, the number one requirement we are asked about for medical front desk positions is experience in that specialty, or in healthcare.
Where you are inclined to think experience and education are always a good thing, in a lot of instances, it isn’t. Bad experience is worse than no experience, and candidates that have the right attitude and skill set often get overlooked by a lack of experience. Additionally, those candidates are often the most grateful and loyal once they get in the door. One solution would be to identify the skill set known to be needed for that position and develop interview questions and tasks to test candidates to open up the potential pool. Most job sites now allow you to send customized assessments and questions to help vet candidates.
It is impossible to truly know someone, even after multiple interviews, so the more you can be creative in how to identify skills and attitudes. For example, if we are looking for an emphasis on attention to detail, we always kind of casually add to the end of the ad to respond back with a couple of sentences about why they would want the position.
Guess how many people respond? About 7%… The thing is that 7% paid attention to the details and followed instructions. So, we immediately eliminated 93% of candidates regardless of experience/education, etc… and identified a pool of people we would then fill the position with the skills needed.
There are many positions where education and experience are prerequisites and should be emphasized appropriately, however, for positions where they are not, we recommend employers loosen certain requirements and allow for other candidates to have a chance to show what they are capable of. It may seem more time-consuming initially, but if you account for the turnover and multiple interviews, it is time well spent. We have seen a lot of positive results and believe strongly this will increase your chance of finding a great fit.
Internal Review of Tasks/Policies/Procedures
We always look at hiring a new position as an opportunity to review the position and see if we need to make any changes. The classic argument is always “People vs. System”, and the question asked is if we rely on a person to cover mistakes and complete tasks on their own, or do we have a system in place that allows people to come in and easily learn and complete tasks?
Employers may not want to always admit it, but often, the “system” is not in place to set up new employees for success. This is generally true at all positions and all levels but is often overlooked. It is worth the time commitment to review how the tasks needed to make sure new hires are coming into an organized environment.
It is a good way to keep self-auditing your practice or organization to make sure tasks are not overly burdensome or identifies new ways to complete items more efficiently.
Compensation
Is the saying you get what you pay for true in hiring? Like it or not, demand dictates cost. Many positions’ costs have grown over the past few years, and it is worth reviewing to see if your compensation is competitive in regard to the quality of the candidate and position you are looking for. It is delicate and can be tricky because you don’t want to overpay or start someone at their comp ceiling. However, you may find you are just too low for the current market and need to adjust accordingly. We would recommend doing more research than just a quick Google search because those are often inaccurate. Call a staffing agency, ask other professionals (OR CALL US!!) to make sure you fully understand what other places are paying. Finding the right fit is often worth the cost, even if it is slightly higher than you anticipated.