What are the Recruitment Challenges Faced by Recruiters?

Metaphorically, recruitment is a tough game of Frisbee where you must have incredible accuracy not just in hurling the disc but in catching it on its way back. In recruitment, you will face challenges because you not only need to attract the right candidates, but you also then need to manage their screening and interviewing rounds effectively, acknowledging their performance at the right time.

What are the challenges of recruitment?

There are many recruitment challenges. Let us now look at some of the most common challenges faced by recruiters.

1. Difficulty finding the right talent

When a job is posted online, if there are a thousand applicants for it, the likelihood of qualified and suitable applicants is as low as 5%. This means that just 50 applicants are probably eligible for the role, and again of the 50 applicants, many may not match location preferences or might make demands which recruiters may not be able to accommodate, even with a good and fair compensation and benefits in mind. How does one find these 10 applicants out of a thousand and ensure that they continue their application for the role? Suddenly the job of a recruiter becomes a very tough one.

2. No strong brand in place

To ensure that your communication is received with respect and that the applicant puts in effort to continue the application with the company even through rigorous screening processes and interviews, you must have a strong brand in place. Not to mention the competition one needs to fend off from other companies trying to attract the same candidates. How do you project your company as one that values contributions, values sustainability and makes meaningful contributions to the communities you work with? All these things matter for today’s recruits.

3. Being able to offer a flexible work schedule

Post the pandemic, the demand for remote work has gone up considerably. Sometimes candidates want a flexible work schedule, but it becomes difficult for recruiters to offer them, for reasons of policy or need to work in certain shifts as per client requirements. How can recruiters offer flexible work schedules for all candidate, increasing their motivation to work?

4. Great talent is not actually looking for a job

This is one of the most difficult to address recruitment challenges. Sometimes the most talented are not really looking for a job. Such candidates are referred to as passive candidates. They are heavily engrossed in their current jobs, work in companies that respect their contribution and whose contribution they respect too. They also receive their compensation and benefits on time, which makes them passive candidates.

How to overcome common recruitment challenges?

There are ways around these recruitment challenges, however. Let us look at how to address these challenges faced by recruiters. The first challenge can be overcome by using an Applicant Tracking System (or ATS) and ensuring that you have a clear idea of the skill requirements and that the job posting takes this into consideration.

Second, that of having a strong brand, can be ensured by organising campaigns on social media where employee contributions towards community development and environment are respected, gathering positive feedback from employees about the company and posting impressive testimonials from clients on the website etc.

Third, that of offering new employees flexible work schedules is perhaps the toughest challenge on the list, and this requires discussion with senior management before implementation as it needs to perhaps be implemented across the board for several employees.

Fourth, an equally tough challenge, how do you engage with someone who is not actually looking for a job? You need to attract candidates preferably through employee references and by promising them benefits they may not probably have in their current role.

What are the best recruitment methods to overcome common challenges faced by recruiters?

Now let us look at formal recruitment methods that can help us with each of the recruitment challenges we mentioned. Here are the recruitment challenges and their solutions.

How do you weed out underqualified candidates?

You can narrow your list down to qualified candidates by using an ATS and by making job descriptions more specific rather than broad in nature, where you really don’t have the talent eligible and finally a lot of people who are ineligible apply for the roles. Employee referrals can also ensure that more suitable candidates apply for the roles.

How do you ensure you have a strong brand?

Direct advertising can be a game-changer for you. Posting a lot of ads for job requirements on social media and job boards in addition to the career pages on your website gives the impression that your company is doing well, your clients are happy and rewarding you with more work, and that you are looking to scale and need more resources to help you with it. It also boosts your brand reputation and keeps you in the recruitment game.

How can you offer flexible work schedules to candidates?

You can offer flexible work schedules to candidates if you opt for virtual staffing or onboard them as contractors or temporary staff. These types of recruitment are made for flexible work schedules and remote work. It is easier to recruit candidates who prefer such work in this manner.

How do you ensure passive candidates apply?

Passive candidates like the idea of a challenge. There are myriad ways to ensure this, though one popular way is to run recruitment drives or events. When you run a recruitment event, such as a hackathon, people like the idea and are in it to win it; this will ensure that a lot of passive candidates apply.

Looking for a recruitment partner?

Don’t second guess in recruitment. Make sure your guesses, even if you do make them, are spot in. Work with a recruitment agency to ensure that you always have the best talent, ready to work for you when you are in need.

Alp consulting, an HR company with 25 years of experience, can unlock talent both within and outside your company for you, ensuring that you have people with the best skill sets working for you. Your recruitment challenges will be a thing of the past. Talk to us today.