Hiring managers today face certain challenges when it comes to measuring talent for successful selection. Below is a look at some of these challenges.
First of all, over 90% of recruiting begins online through job boards and social media. What this means is that most of the information that the hiring manager or recruiter is using for their research on a particular candidate through the use of sources such as Google, job boards, Facebook and LinkedIn will in most cases have been posted by the candidate themselves. This is especially if the sourced information is employment related.
Secondly, candidates tend to throw resumes at related positions in the hope that they will stick. This means that when most people apply for jobs, they assume that these positions require similar skills and/ or experience which they had used in another job. For instance, a candidate with a sales background will apply for a position as a sales manager, while a former manager will apply to work as a trainer in their field. You will also find those with previous experience in customer service applying for sales jobs, while outside sales positions will attract candidates with a background in inside sales. The same applies for previous business owners who will apply for jobs in their respective areas of expertise.
Another challenge facing hiring managers is that they end up wasting too much time and money reviewing resumes in search for the right talent. This is despite having access to tons of information that is available online. A common scenario is where a recruiter posts an ad for a CFO position and receives over seven hundred emails within 24 hours. The recruiter will thereafter be forced to spend countless hours just going through these resumes looking at the hard skills and educational histories of the applicants. This is even before they begin to check for measurable talent.
Blind spots created in the hiring process due to the emotional bias of the recruiter or hiring manager is another challenge to successful selection. This is because in some cases hiring decisions will be influenced by the emotions of the recruiter. This may be as a result of the personality match between the candidate and the recruiter, where the candidate was referred by a friend of the recruiter or even where the interviewer is simply impressed or aligned with the educational background of the candidate.
Once a candidate is hired, they take at least ninety days to become effective, if ever. Much of that time is spent in the ‘getting acquainted phase’: getting acquainted with the new manager or team, getting acquainted with the systems in the office, how the equipment runs, etc. In most cases, you will find that the true talent match of the individual to the job will only begin to manifest itself in tangible results – if ever – after a period of approximately 90 days. If the candidate is receiving a base annual salary of $50,000, the employer will spend a minimum of $12,500 in this “getting acquainted” phase, before they even get their money’s worth in productivity.
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Authors: Tricia Neves and Gary Sorrell – copyright protected worldwide. All rights reserved.
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Tricia Neves
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