A majority of potential candidates use referrals from current employees of an organization to learn about job opportunities. When current employees talk about their organization’s great cultural environment, it is trusted and seen as genuine by potential candidates. According to Gallup, company culture is what attracts the top 20% of candidates! So what does it take for a company to build a glorious work culture that attracts top talent?
In an employee-centric market, with the large spectrum of job options on their plates, candidates can afford to pick and choose till expectations are met. Meanwhile, organizations are making every possible effort and investment to snag the best talents! By and large, recruiting organizations are under the strain of vying for the crème de la crème employee – multi-skilled, intelligent, competent and scarce. So how do you make sure they don’t slip through your net and into someone else’s?
The first step is to Improvise and enhance your recruiting culture
Candidate experience begins at the first touch point in the recruitment life cycle. Those priced candidates are evaluating companies at every stage, just as those companies are evaluating them. And at every interaction , businesses are showcasing their effective culture, thus shaping an overall perception of the organization in the candidate’s mind. So what are the top 3 recruitment bloopers companies should definitely avoid?
Red Tape Delays
Does your recruiting follow a lengthy process for approval from various committees? Extensive delays due to regulatory measures are a waste of the candidate’s time costing organizations the misfortune of losing a potentially talented candidate. An exceptionally talented candidate is not going to wait through all the protocols that determine the decision.
Dead-End Recruiter Philosophy
- The Technology Irony- With the advent of the ATS, companies have a pretty small recruiter-to-hire ratio making it impossible for a recruiter to personally identify exceptional candidates. Does your ATS automatically eliminate resumes with long sabbaticals? Every candidate has a story. And so do the ones with long sabbaticals. You may just have lost out on a skilled hand every time a preset rule in your ATS tosses out a profile.
- Absence of Personal Connection – Most candidates, especially the bright ones, enjoy human to human interaction. If your hiring process involves mainly automated tests and scores you might alienate highly talented and skilled candidates who would turn elsewhere for a more personalized interview experience. At Paramount, we are keenly focused on stronger candidate-recruiter relationships. This is why, as opposed to most recruiting agencies, our recruiters are able to see cross-profile synergies, ensuring that top talent is never lost in the midst of a large candidate database.
Alright, so our best recruitment culture has grabbed the best brains. So battle’s won now?
Not really. When the best talent is finally hired, how long before they pack up and leave you for someone else?
Top-of-the-line work culture!
Exceptionally talented/skilled employees have outsized expectations of work culture. The absence of a solid work culture can eventually break an organization if the best practices that effectively are relevant to employees are not adopted. Do these top 4 cultural pitfalls ring a bell?
Customary Perks or Meaningful Benefits
Are those ‘bonus and rewards’ programs providing satisfaction? Forward – looking companies have begun to hand out benefits that really matter to their priced employees. They may offer paid vacations and gift vouchers or other monetary gifts as opposed to the traditional course of granting free lunches and company branded goodies.
Lack of Agility in Work Hours
The nine-to-five swipe-in-swipe-out system is a thing of the past and (according to Forbes) remote working isn’t even considered a privilege anymore- it’s an elementary requirement. Be cool with the ‘WFH’ tag of the millennials. That said, given that remote working is quite the norm in large corporations today, it is advisable to encourage (not pressure!) employees to work out of the office too! A recent study revealed that in-office days may become more frequent this year as a result of the issues faced by remote working employees.
Lack of respect for autonomy – the tale of the ‘bad manager’
Talented employees want their skills to be respected and do not appreciate their decisions being overridden. When a manager undermines their team leader’s authority by imposing his counter-approach on their decisions, it causes de-motivation, disinterest and a sense of disrespect.
Managers without the right approach towards their subordinates have the most detrimental effect on the organization. Many culture conscious organizations are providing coaching for top level and mid-level managers. So, the healthy and symbiotic culture eventually trickles down to the rest of the company.
Stagnating roles
Many organizations are guilty of not providing their employees a healthy number of opportunities for skill enhancement and growth. Talented employees desire challenging roles, the chance to add to their skillset and rapid career growth. Companies that do not offer such empowering options will not be able to retain their top talent.
Conclusion
Forming a company’s recruitment and work culture are calculated, step-by-step initiatives that ultimately determine the calibre of employees you are able to hire and also retain.
With its 20 years of backing in recruitment, Paramount has imbibed an effective recruiting culture that never fails. We are veterans in recruiting the top talent of the day. Listen to our CEO, Pramod Sajja, in Epic Culture’s podcast series to learn more about the work culture we really believe in.
