Today, the talent shortage isn't just afflicting companies hiring for roles that require niche, hard-to-find skills. It's afflicting almost every company in virtually every industry. But without the right talent, you can't drive your business forward — or even keep up with the competition. Meanwhile, being understaffed means you and your team have to work even more than usual. So how do you find the talent you need when you barely have the time to hire in the first place?
Here's how new technology can help you streamline your hiring process.
pre-employment screenings online
Right now, testing and assessments to improve job and company fit are all the rage, with as many as 60 percent of employees taking workplace assessments annually. Not included in that figure are the bevy of online pre-employment screening tests that an increasingly significant portion of employers are using to sort the proverbial wheat from the chaff in their talent pipelines.
Why pre-screen candidates? For one, it's the simplest way to vet candidates for the core skills that will make them successful in the role you have available. Let's imagine you need candidates with technical skills — specific coding or programming expertise, say. In that case, it just makes sense to ask candidates actually demonstrate that skill set — before you go through the trouble of setting up an interview.
video interviews
Coordinating schedules for an in-person interview, especially when there are multiple parties involved, can be an enormous headache. Finding a day and time that works for everyone can delay the hiring process by days — or even weeks. And for candidates who may have to travel from out of town to attend an interview, or who are already employed and can't readily leave the office, there are other logistical challenges to consider, too.
Fortunately, there's a workaround: video interviews. With video interviews, you circumvent the endless email chain and can get everyone together in the same room sooner. Now, you can connect with the candidates you want, no matter where they are, with far less logistical complexity. A few popular options include Google Duo, Google Hangouts, Skype and FaceTime.
There are even technologies, like one that Randstad uses, that eliminate the need to coordinate schedules. Candidates record their answers to preset interview questions on their own time. Then, you review their recordings and determine which individuals you'd like to connect with. This is especially useful when trying to lure in-demand talent who are already employed and have limited time for interviewing.
write better job postings
While companies today are paying more attention to diversity and inclusion than ever before, many of them are struggling nonetheless to recruit and hire qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds. And the job descriptions they're writing may have something to do with that.
In fact, research shows that how job descriptions are phrased often influences who applies for the position. For example, when job descriptions include words like “proven,” "ninja" and "chairman" — or phrases like “under pressure" — they tend to appeal more to men than to women. But the good news is that there are new technology tools that use AI and machine learning to help employers correct for some of the unconscious biases that slip into the language they're using in job descriptions.
how a partner can help
For companies looking to hire and retain the best candidates on the job market today — the kind of talent that can help you achieve your bottom-line goals — it makes sense to join forces with a staffing company like Randstad. We leverage state-of-the-art tools like pre-employment screening and video interviews, combined with our deep domain expertise in staffing, to find the talent you need to drive your business forward. We take a high-tech, high-touch approach to staffing — so that you can focus on your growing your business.
Click here to get in touch with us today.
