The job ghosting It is a phenomenon that companies suffer more and more frequently. These are candidates who disappear from the selection process right off the bat. When you try to contact them, it is no longer possible, or they do not go to the scheduled appointments.
At a time when finding talent is not easyFor entities looking for personnel, it is a serious problem to lose candidates who could have been very valid to fill the vacant position.
The more candidates who drop out of the selection process, the longer it will take, and the more likely it will be that the company will end up hiring someone who does not quite fit what they were looking for, which could lead to voluntary turnover. or involuntary of that new worker.
We are going to see six very effective strategies when it comes to getting candidates to stay in the recruitment process until it is over.
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Invest in employer branding
When we talk about investing we are not only talking about money, but also about time and effort. Employer branding involves working on the employer brand or, what is the same, the image that the company transmits towards the outside as a place to work.
If a company is perceived as a good place to work, it will get a greater number of candidates to submit to its selection processes. And not only that, it will also make the applicants hold out until the position is filled, because they will have a real interest in working in that business.
The employer brand is built based on the values and culture of the company, and the benefits that working there has for its employees. In fact, it can be considered as one more branch of marketing, because employer branding must be very present in corporate communication. You have to make everyone see that this company is the best option when it comes to choosing a place to work.
But as always when it comes to projecting a public image, just pretending is not enough. There has to be a correlation between the image that the company projects as an employer, and the way in which it actually acts with its staff members. If this is not the case, we can ensure that the candidates do not abandon the selection process, but once the contract is made, the person hired will feel very disappointed with what they are going to find and it is possible that they decide to go and work elsewhere. .
Streamline the selection process
We know that selection processes can take a long time. Frequently, the notice period given by the employee who is leaving the position passes, and the company still has not found anyone who can fill it. In addition, the process takes even longer if highly specialized profiles or managers are sought.
Although workers are used to this, they are increasingly tired of having to wait week after week to find out if the position is theirs or not. By prolonging the selection process more than is advisable, the only thing that is achieved is that the applicants end up giving the position for lost, or even that they receive another job offer and decide to accept it.
There is no specific time to find the new members of the staff, but it It would be advisable for it not to take more than a month to fill the vacancy. since the announcement is published.
The best way to do this is to make a strategic selection planning, setting deadlines for each of its phases. For example:
- Announcement Posting
- Reception of applications: within 10 days.
- CV screening: done in a maximum of 3 days.
- Conducting interviews: within 5 to 10 days, depending on the number of people to be interviewed.
- Accessory tests: from 3 to 5 days.
- Decision making: 3 days from the last test carried out on the candidates.
Planning of this type ensures that the selection process does not last more than a month. Also, if you use digital tools to expedite tasks such as screening resumes, lead times can be further reduced.
Of course, this requires intense teamwork within the Human Resources department.
Maintain good communication with candidates
Even if the selection process has been planned in detail so that it lasts as little as possible, it is important that applicants are aware of how it is developing and the time they will have to wait to know if they continue in it or not.
With a simple phone call, a message, or an email, applicants for the position can be informed of the progress of the recruitment process. This makes them see, first of all, that have not yet been ruled out and, secondly, that heThe company cares about improving the candidate experience.
It must not be forgotten that one of the main reasons for workplace ghosting It is that companies take a long time to finish each phase and do not notify the candidates. This causes a feeling of ennui among applicants, who prefer to continue their job search elsewhere.
Offer flexibility within the selection process
We've already seen that detailed planning will help make recruiting faster and more efficient, but that's not to say there isn't room for flexibility.
A person who is looking for work also has other obligations, even if you are currently unemployed. It is not fully available to the companies to which you have sent your CV, and this must be respected.
If a candidate is called for an interview and it turns out that they cannot attend the scheduled day and time, they can be look for other alternatives such as offering to conduct the interview at another time, or even conduct it by phone or videoconference.
This shows the candidate that behind the job offer there is an entity that respects their time and is flexible, which conveys a good picture of what it will be like to work there. Consequently, that applicant will have a greater interest in staying in the selection process until it ends.
Provide a means of communication to applicants
Too often, the recruitment process is one-way when it comes to communicating with candidates. It is the company that decides when and how to contact them. In return, applicants usually do not have a way to contact those who are directly involved in recruitment.
This makes it difficult for candidates to be able to report personal situations that could affect their permanence in the selection process. For example, letting them know that they have to be out of town for a few days and will not be able to attend interviews in person, or that they have suffered a medical mishap and cannot work right now.
As the selection process progresses, the relationship between the candidate and the company becomes a relationship between the applicant and the person who is managing the recruitment. Precisely for this reason, candidates should have a way of Direct communication with the technician in charge of the selection. Not only to report on possible incidents that affect them, but also to answer questions they may have, and keep up to date with how the selection process is progressing and the status of their candidacy.
Humanize the selection process
Everything we have seen so far could be summed up in this last strategy, because the key for candidates to want to continue being candidates is to humanize the selection process. Value them as people, appreciate the time they are dedicating to the company, and trying to improve their experience as much as possible so that even if they don't get chosen, they don't feel like they were wasting their time.
There are many things that can be done to humanize the selection process:
- Train recruiters to further develop their empathy and flexibility, and to move past cognitive biases.
- Establish an indicative calendar for the recruitment process and inform candidates about it so that they are aware of the waiting times they will have to face.
- Inform all candidates whose application has been rejected and thank them for their participation in the process. This will mean that in the future they may be interested in another position for which they could be suitable.
- That the technician in charge of the selection introduce himself to the candidates he interviews. If he is going to find out about the person in front of him, it is positive that this interlocutor also obtains some information from the person interviewing him.
- Give feedback to candidates who stick around until the later stages of the process, so they know why they haven't been chosen.
With these techniques that we have seen, we get a selection process becomes more friendly for candidates, making them feel more comfortable and be more themselves in each test to which they are subjected. We must not forget that the better the experience of the candidate, the less chance there is that he will disappear from the selection process without leaving a trace.
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