Open Up to Stand Out
For a company to grow and evolve, there is a crucial component that must be at the core of recruiting. Any guesses? And no… it’s not religiously stalking LinkedIn to try and locate the most appropriate candidate that suits your company. Although, let’s be honest, we have all been there before. In all seriousness, it’s transparency. You know, the cool buzzword we see on all your “core values” pages, that (truth be told) is more aspirational than reality.
Transparency will be the thing that transforms your candidate experience and recruiting process.
Lack of transparency has finally reached a level that is noteworthy to both candidates and recruiters. Unfortunately, we have learned the hard way that no news means no news… or worse, “no”, without the clarification and closure of a real answer. And I mean… that’s just inexcusably craptastic when everyone and their mother has a phone glued to their hands.
We know this is a problem when 96% of job searchers reported that it is vital to work for a company that incorporates transparency. I can say with 100% certainty say that at PSC, we would never want to unwillingly put candidates in a waiting game expecting answers to move forward. Because we all know one thing to be true:
Not hearing back for more than 3 days means bad news, even when we ALL KNOW it takes way more than 3 days to fill a job.
I think it’s important to acknowledge the barriers we have. I mean, it is not like we have complete control over the candidate experience, right?
Our barrier to transparency
The truth is: We do not solely own the hiring process.
Despite a recent post on Twitter, TA is not able to source, select, interview, and hire the role without the hiring manager. Plus, this is not even the hiring manager’s full-time job. This is definitely “other duties as assigned” terrain.
Often times, we are waiting. Waiting for hiring managers to make decisions while they do their actual job. Because of this, we keeping candidates in the dark, even after the offer has been put together because hires are not yet finalized. It is simpler to go back to the candidate pool and select the next candidate in line, versus apologizing for moving too fast and attempting to re-connect
Let’s talk about why a lack of transparency within the recruitment process has become so prominent and acceptable. It is due to the large gap of time between the posting of the job, the selecting a slate of candidates, interviewing those people, re-interviewing those people, and then making that offer.
Overcoming our barriers to open up!
So, what can we do to implement transparency within the recruitment process? It starts with creating a sense of understanding the hiring process and what each of us can do to help make it more transparent. Because workplace transparency does work! It can help increase productivity and employee happiness and can decrease turnover rates. In fact, 92% of employees say transparent goals improve their performance. Most hiring processes reveal very little about what it is like to work for that company: what a day-to-day looks like, expectations, and job duties. It is also very common for the expectations set during the interview process to not line up with the realities of the job, which can create turnover problems.
Because we don’t believe in problems without solutions at PSC, here are some ideas to get more transparent in the hiring process:
1. Put your expectations into writing. Putting expectations into writing will uncover and allow you to fix any contradictions between stated expectations and the realities of the job.
2. Make sure to be transparent about people and culture: do not hold back! Make sure to ask candidates about their work ethic and experience. Get to know them and see if you mesh well and interact positively together. This helps to visualize if they could fit in with the rest of the team.
3. Make sure you, as a leader, can represent who/what you want and the company’s needs. Being open about workplace culture and environment, expectations, and principles will help candidates self-select and make you a top choice for candidates who share your same vision
4. Make sure you clearly communicate what your company’s mission is and what that looks like over the course of the company’s lifetime or a candidate’s potential career. Make sure the candidate fits in with the mission statement of your company.
5. Confirm on both ends that the candidate and company are looking for the same things in terms of growth and goals and expansion.
And because ideas are always flowing here:
Be transparent about the interview process, how long it will take typically, and what to expect. This will make sure you leave no room for interpretation.
Make sure you clearly communicate what your company’s mission is and what that looks like over the course of the company’s lifetime or a candidate’s potential career.
Always close the loop with grace. If you immediately know you are not going to hire this person, be cordial and as brief as possible. You never want to burn bridges.
Keep the Candidates actively updated throughout the interview process, so they do not feel “ghosted” or left in the dark.