Aman Resorts

Don Mak

As a Talent Acquisition Director driving innovative initiatives to attract superstars, or an HR leader managing people strategy to cope with this fast-changing environment, I am sure you would agree hiring the right talent is not easy as it seems. Last yearICIMS conducted a survey which showed that about 90percentof employers are hiring for new roles, as they continue to prepare for the business comeback.

The Great Resignation, another HR hot topic of the year, is making every business leader rethink how to attract and retain talents. Like it or not, talent acquisition is more crucial than ever for every single organization.

Feeling frustrated with hiring? Let’s take a step back and avoid these 3traps we might fall into.

Trap 1: Long Hiring Process

Today, we are all leveraging new technologies to enhance the hiring process. From posting catchy job ads to screening the potential candidates by AI, we are amazed how these technologies help us work smarter and faster. But on the flip side, it makes the entire hiring process longer and longer because many companies want to comprehensively assess the candidates by different recruitment assessment tools.

A long hiring process is costing more than we think. According to SHRM’s research, on average, it costs the company $4,600per hire. For executive levels, the cost-per-hire is even more than $28,000. As more high-skilled positions require advanced interpersonal skillsto work closely with the global team, it is understandable thatwe want to ensure the selected candidate not only possesses the right skills but also shares the company’s values with the culture fit.

“To attract and recruit the top talents, it is important for companies today not only to showcase the great work environment but also to make the best impression as the employer of choice.”

One of the common traps is the never-ending job interviews. In addition to the interviews with HR and the direct manager, most companies usually invite the candidates to meet their potential peers, counterparts,and senior leadership team, making sure all the parties are involved and happy with the hiring decision. In the meanwhile, however, we may realize that the more parties involved, the more difficult to arrive at a consensus for the hiring decision because everyone has their own opinion. With this, it continues with the fifth, sixth, or even seventh-round interview to seek more opinions while the candidates are losing interest.

So, how many rounds of interviews is ideal? It depends.

Google’s research found that four interviews were enough to predict a new hirer’s performance with 86 percent confidence. Interestingly, after the fourth interview, the increase in accuracy dropped off dramatically – less than 1 percent. It simply implies that having more rounds of interviewswould not make any big difference.

Trap 2: Over-promise Workplace

To attract and recruit the top talents, it is important for companies today not only to showcase the great work environment but also to make the best impression as the employer of choice. While it is always tempting to show the best side of the company, from sharpening up the career website to making a sexy job description, we are also setting expectations for the potential candidates.

Disappointment usually results from high expectationsyeta low reality. If the role requires the job holder to work intensively and deal with demanding stakeholders, it is perfectly fine. Be upfront with the candidates, giving them a realistic picture of what the working culture will look likeand what will be the challenges. Instead of crafting an idealworkplace picture, it will be more constructive to tell the real stories of employee experience. In today’s social media world, be mindful that the potential candidates can easily find out what the workplace is really like from the employees or former employees.

While we are all committed to offering a competitive and attractive remuneration package, being transparent to manage the potential candidate’s expectationsisalways helpful. It is also intended to avoid any disappointment when a gap between what the selected candidate expected and what can offer is only found at the final stage.

Trap 3: The Forgotten Internal Talents

Unfortunately, internal talent is the population group that is often easily forgotten.

Consider the case wherewe have met an external candidate with a promising resume. The candidate is sharp and energetic, coming with excellent preparation that gives an incredible impression to everyone. The hiring decision seems easy to make because this perfect candidate ticks all the boxes and stands out comparedto the internal candidates, those we already know their weaknesses.

Whether we realize it or not, sometime our hiring decision are influenced by unconscious biases. Because of the impressive conversation during the interview, we are convinced this perfect candidate would perform better than the other internal candidates.  The reality is often different, however.

Don’t forget every new hirecan impact the success of the future team. Sometimes internal candidates are not selectedfor different valid reasons. When it happens, however, we also need to prepare for the rejected internal candidate to have a higher risk to quit. This is proven by a studyshowing that there is almost 2 times the likelihood of leaving the organization, compared with those who were either hired for an internal job or had not applied for a new job at all.

That being said, giving fair consideration and opportunity to internal talents is equally critical for the success of talent acquisition. Don’t be afraid to take risks by taking your internal talents.