Recruitment barriers frustrate NZ businesses
Recruitment barriers frustrate NZ businesses
Kiwi employers looking for staff could be missing out on more than 60 per cent of potential candidates because of obstructive registration practices used by job boards and some other online recruitment tools.
A new survey suggests complex and probing job application processes are turning off job seekers who simply move on to the next ad or the next job portal that makes applying easier.
The online survey of 150 active job seekers by recruitment technology business Talent Propeller was conducted in late 2015.
Founding director Sharon Davies says candidate registration can often become a psychological hurdle, even for the most suitable and talented applicant.
“Businesses need to think carefully about what platforms they use to advertise vacancies or how candidates are managed – there are plenty of options out there that offer simple processes and don’t demand candidate registration,” Ms Davies says.
“It’s vital for employers to assess whether or not they have the luxury of potentially losing more than six out of 10 potential staff if the recruitment tool or job board they are using demands registration before applying.”
The key findings of the Talent Propeller survey are:
• 85 per
cent of respondents have at some time been made to register
with a website job board or other employment media when
applying for a position.
• Nearly half (49 per cent)
of participants say they either strongly disagreed or
disagreed with being forced to register before being able to
submit an application.
• Having to register changed
the likelihood of actually submitting a job application for
17 per cent of respondents.
• Only 16 per cent said
they were not discouraged by having to register.
• 45
per cent said it would likely affect whether or not they
would apply for a job if they were forced to register.
• 50 per cent of participants said they either
disagreed or strongly disagreed with their information being
stored on a third party database which happens when
they’re forced to register.
Ms Davies says overseas research also suggests that candidate drop off (or application abandonment) is a problem for employers choosing job boards or tools requiring candidates to register before applying.
“An overseas CareerBuilder survey also suggests a drop-off rate to be 60 per cent. These high rates are often caused by unwieldy and onerous registration and application processes.
“There’s a shortage of good candidates across a wide range of fields in New Zealand – construction, education, engineering, health and social services and the trades to name a few. So business can’t afford to miss out on someone who might just be the perfect fit.”
Ms Davies says there are plenty of options out there that don’t demand candidate registration and it is absolutely essential that candidates get a streamlined experience when they’re applying for jobs and aren’t being forced to do something they don’t want to. “First impressions online are as important as in real life. A bad application process will turn away the best candidates.”
ENDS