Hiring takes twice as long as it did in 2019
This is according to 500 HR leaders in the US and the UK.
Why You Should Care
HR departments are on the frontline in the 'Great Resignation'.
They are struggling to hire quickly because they cannot find the right candidates, according to research by Talent Works.
Find out how better employer branding could help.
While the ‘Great Resignation’ is disrupting the workflows of teams across entire organizations, HR teams are particularly struggling.
HR leaders and their broader teams are burning out by the pressure of having to replace those who have resigned, as well as try to retain remaining talent.
While technology has sped up many recruitment processes, HR leaders are sharing that it is taking much longer to hire because of the current hiring crisis.
Talent Works‘ survey of 500 HR leaders from the UK and the US found that more than half were struggling to hire quickly; they said it took double the time to hire talent in 2022, compared to three years ago in 2019. 21% shared that it took three times as long.
The main reason for the delays was that it was becoming harder to find quality candidates (28%), according to Talent Works.
The delayed inefficient process caused 58% to share this was having a negative impact on their employers’ business performance.
How to speed up hiring processes
In this context, Talent Works’ senior vice-president Jody Robie tells UNLEASH: “2022 is the most competitive market we have seen, and the ratio to open roles and job seekers is forcing organizations to think and act differently.
Jody Robie, SVP, Talent Works.
“Companies need to expedite their hiring process in a more agile and meaningful way.”
But what precisely should HR leaders – and particularly hiring teams – do to speed up their hiring processes?
Talent Works’ study suggests that improving employer branding is important – 29% believe that brand awareness was an important factor in successful hiring, but, unfortunately, 42% said they didn’t have strong employer brand recognition with candidates.
The good news is that HR teams know they need to prioritize branding and employee value proposition (EVP) to thrive in the ‘Great Resignation’ and solve their challenges in talent attraction.
31% of those surveyed said they would be relaunching or developing their branding and value proposition in 2022, 20% said they had already done so.
Other priorities included retention (21%) and improving their processes to hire at speed (20%).
Robie continues: “As a business, you need to clearly define who you are as an employer with an updated EVP. You need to be transparent about your remote working policies, and handle the recruitment process professionally.
“This provides a good candidate experience and protects your employer brand and reputation to acquire and keep top talent.”
Talent Works founder and CEO Neil Purcell added: “It’s great to see that companies are beginning to think differently in such an oversubscribed market, but over one in ten companies surveyed were still unaware of the employer brand concept, which shows that there is still work to do.”
