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Now, There’s Job Title Inflation On The Rise?

While talking to a peer searching for a Director of Talent Acquisition, something funny happened when I asked about team size.

“How big is the team?” The typical question, right, especially since I noticed that the fintech startup was about 140 people deep and was established about five years ago.

There was a pause. “That’s the best part; this person will get to build the team!”

“Oh, cool-cool. So…” I paused and took a deep breath because I knew exactly where this was heading. “Where is comp on this?”

After muttering that they were looking for a “real up-and-comer,” I knew where compensation was. “Help me understand, is this an IC or a leadership role?”

“Both!” they exclaimed.

“Both? How can this be both?” I had to ask. After reiterating that this was a startup and that the ideal candidate would wear many hats, I got the picture: my friend was asking me to refer to them a recruiter who would be enamored with the title and the prospect of being a startup’s only recruiter at a salary well-below market.

Games, Games, Games

Are companies playing Monopoly with job titles?

You betcha! It’s the ultimate game of inflation and deception. Smaller companies with limited resources may use job titles creatively to attract and retain talent or make themselves look like a big deal. But let’s be real; the only IT guy at a company could be the CIO, but companies may use different titles to stretch their budget and make the most of their limited resources.

Additionally, companies may use more general or ambiguous job titles to avoid having to pay for higher-level positions. This can inflate job titles to create a better image of their company and to attract and retain top talent. Or to make the job sound more important or prestigious to attract top talent. But let’s face it, people are emotional and ego-driven, so if it’s a title that seals that deal, often, organizations might be willing to flex on titles.

Title inflation happens for perfectly understandable reasons. Businesses are now in cost-cutting mode. Corporate-title inflation has crept into the workplace and is rising precipitously. Layoffs, hiring freezes, and concerns about a recession are spooking C-suite executives

Employers — and recruiters — have a clear incentive to make titles sound more attractive. A loftier title can go a long way when they’re tapped out on compensation

Job title inflation: Are you playing games?

Experts say that title inflation can usually crop up in a few ways. Vanity titles are common in the startup world, especially in companies that lack a clear organizational hierarchy. With fewer rungs on the corporate ladder, promotions might occur less often — but that doesn’t stop companies from offering title-only upgrades, where employees assume a more prestigious job title without a pay increase or added responsibilities.

It serves to solicit unqualified candidates. Excessive title inflation can hurt the reputations of companies and their recruiters and could even question how qualified existing teams are. I mean, can you imagine a finance team with a bunch of inflated, ridiculous titles? That would be a disaster! And let’s not forget about the bizarre titles like “customer happiness hero” or “office ninja”. These are just empty buzzwords that don’t give any information about the role. So, job title inflation is like trying to put whipped cream on a turd, it may look nicer, but it’s still a turd.

When money is tight, a bump in the title is a way of recognizing someone’s efforts cheaply. Job title inflation is the increasing number and size of grandiose job titles in corporations and organizations without a corresponding increase in pay or increased importance. For organizations looking to bring in new employees, an inflated job title may confuse and disappoint applications if the role turns out to be a lower-level position than they were expecting. Ultimately, that can waste time and money in the recruiting process.

Knock-Knock

Who’s there?

The CIO.

The CIO who?

The CIO of the company, but don’t let my title fool you, I’m still just the only IT guy here.

Additionally, companies may use more general or ambiguous job titles to avoid having to pay for higher-level positions. Could companies inflate job titles to create a better image of their company and to attract and retain top talent? To make the job sound more important or prestigious to attract top talent?

Job titles are a key part of an employee’s currency on the labor market and can affect how someone’s career progresses, how much money they make, and even their status among peers and customers. And just like with any asset, a disconnect between the supposed value and the fundamental truth can end poorly.

Think about what’s happening in the world of Engineering recruiting. Title inflation for engineers is becoming more common, even in large companies. A senior software engineer at Uber, who spoke anonymously to Protocol, said she was promoted to senior engineer within three years of starting her first engineering job. This promotion allowed her to double her salary when Uber hired her and many of her peers are advancing at the same rate. The engineer said she expects her career to “plateau” a bit after climbing early.

So What’s the Harm to Recruiting?

Job title inflation can hurt recruiting efforts by making it difficult for companies to attract and retain top talent. When job titles are inflated, it can create confusion and mistrust among potential candidates and employees, as they may question the validity and value of their role within the company. Additionally, inflated job titles can also create unrealistic expectations and a lack of clear career progression within the company, leading to dissatisfaction and high turnover rates. Furthermore, when job titles are inflated, it can also make it harder for companies to compare and compete with other companies in terms of salary and benefits, which can also hurt recruiting efforts.

Also, consider the candidate and their future job prospects: job title inflation can make it difficult for candidates to stand out in the job market as their title may not accurately reflect their experience and expertise. It can also create confusion for recruiters and hiring managers as they may need help to distinguish between candidates with inflated titles and those with experience and qualifications. Additionally, candidates can struggle to negotiate salary and benefits as their inflated title may not align with their actual experience level. Overall, job title inflation can create a lack of trust and credibility for the candidate in the job market.

What’s Next with Job Title Inflation?

Inflating job titles is a growing trend in the workplace, particularly among smaller companies looking to attract and retain talent or make themselves appear larger than they are. Inflated titles can stretch budgets, make jobs sound more important or prestigious, or avoid paying for higher-level positions. However, this practice can harm the company and the individuals involved. It can create confusion, mistrust, and unrealistic expectations among employees and candidates, leading to dissatisfaction and high turnover rates. It can also make it difficult for companies to attract and retain top talent, compete with other companies in terms of salary and benefits, and for candidates to stand out in the job market. Therefore, recruiters should be aware of the potential pitfalls of inflated job titles and consider them when evaluating candidates and positions.

The Top Three Practices Recruiters Can Use to Drive DEI Uptake

The American workforce is becoming more diverse all the time, and recruiters have responded to this shift by making diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) a top priority. But employers have to do much more than declare their commitment to equity and inclusion if they want to drive uptake of DEI initiatives in the recruiting process – they have to provide concrete, comprehensive support for diverse employees and candidates.

A critical element of any DEI platform is developing an inclusive company culture, but this doesn’t mean putting up a few posters around the office and telling candidates that you value diversity. It means making your commitment to DEI integral to your company’s daily operations and building the infrastructure of support necessary to address the unique needs and concerns of all your employees – from recruitment to onboarding and beyond.

1. Make the Hiring Process Fair

Traditional hiring methods are notoriously prone to bias, which is why some diverse candidates even remove indicators of their race and background on resumes to secure interviews. HR teams can address this problem by making the hiring process more rigorous and fair with objective pre-employment assessments, structured interviews, and other effective hiring tools designed to mitigate bias. A 2021 survey found that the companies which provide the highest-rated candidate experiences conduct structured interviews almost 15 percent more often than average.

A commitment to fair hiring won’t just inspire confidence among diverse job-seekers – it will also help companies make more predictive hiring decisions.

The same principle applies to internal talent mobility, which is pivotal for employee retention. HR teams can use impartial assessments to determine which roles are available to employees, and they should encourage all employees to be advocates for themselves and welcome discussions about professional development and advancement. At a time when just 57 percent of women feel comfortable asking for a raise and many diverse employees believe double standards apply to them, recruiters and HR teams have to address concerns about equity directly.

Considering the fact that candidates are 74 percent more likely to refer others when they perceive the hiring process as fair, it’s clear that this should be a central focus for recruiters.

2. Meeting the Needs of a Diverse Workforce

The American workforce has never been more diverse, which is one of many reasons employees are placing a premium on flexibility. Diverse employees have their own unique priorities and challenges, and HR teams should provide benefits that are as personalized as possible. For example, most companies offer some form of PTO, but a 2021 survey found that there are significant racial, gender, and socioeconomic gaps in whether vacation time is used.

It’s no surprise that 81 percent of executives are adjusting policies to offer greater flexibility to their workforces. But what does this look like in practice? To take one of the most salient examples, companies should offer benefits that meet diverse employees’ individual needs. PTO is among the most common benefits companies offer, but some employees get more use out of it than others. For example, nonwhite employees report that they’re 19 percent less likely than their white colleagues to take all their vacation time in a given year.

HR teams should address these discrepancies by having an open, ongoing discussion with employees about the benefits that make the most sense for them.

Be Upfront with Candidates About Diversity

A Glassdoor survey found that over three-quarters of job-seekers regard diversity as an important factor when considering job offers. Diverse candidates are significantly less likely to apply to companies that lack diversity in their workforces, which means companies that are falling short on DEI are putting themselves in a weaker position to compete.

Just as recruiters should be upfront about the salary and benefits they offer, they should also be willing to have honest conversations with candidates about their DEI efforts. This will establish trust, demonstrate that your company takes DEI seriously, and show job-seekers that their opinions will count at work – a key component of employee engagement.

HR professionals have a responsibility to facilitate open dialogue about DEI issues across the organization, provide benefits and professional development opportunities that diverse employees embrace, and build hiring and onboarding processes with diversity in mind. These inclusive practices won’t just make all employees feel welcome at your company – they’ll also help you attract qualified candidates and improve retention.

Free Contact Enrichment with WhatsMyName

Hello, fellow creeps! Having trouble locking down those elusive contacts of yours? If you’re struggling to slap an email on to your incomplete info cards, then you’ve come to the right place…assuming you at least have their internet handle.  So, step into our office and we’ll give you the rundown on how to do sneaky but free contact enrichment to jigsaw together those elusive partials.

We are simple beasts at heart.  I’d be genuinely shocked if someone told me they had a unique login name for every one of their online accounts. Besides it being incredibly weird, it’s also a hassle. Nobody has time for that. We all use the same name as frequently as possible, dont lie. But, that’s where the “creature of habit” mentality can be exploited (muahaha).

Say you find a juicy lead off twitter, and want to find their email address…what’s a sourcer to do? Plug that twitter handle into WhatsMyName and see what the cat drags in.  It will scour the far reaches of the internet for any and all references to that phrase. We’re talking social media sites and everything under the digital sun.

If they have a custom URL made for their LinkedIn, it should appear there. If they happen to be a software engineer of some kind, GitHub is a fantastic social platform for tracking emails as well. Their email (if they did not choose to hide it) will be under their profile image on their account page.

There are a few other social media accounts that have public facing email addresses, but for the most part LinkedIn and GitHub will be your holy water.  This sort of methodology is what a lot of sourcers live for: the dopamine rush of finally tracking someone down.

Best of luck hunting.

Other Dean Da Costa Content:

Dean has a free page of sourcing tools, links, and other recruiting resources that we highly recommend you check out! That page has an overwhelming amount of stuff, so you gotta really love sourcing to appreciate the infinite hours of work Dean has put into it. For all of the Dean Da Costa resources on RecruitingDaily, click here!

What Recruiting and Sourcing Teams Can be Doing During Slow Times: Part 2

Clean Up Your ATS (I mean, for real. Or get one!)

Get part 1 of what you could and should be doing during your downtime.

What’s that, you say? My applicant tracking system (ATS) is fine the way it is! If that is the case, then you are definitely one in a million. As a contractor, consultant, and in-house sourcing leader, I can’t think of one organization of the twenty-plus I’ve done projects with that had a perfectly set up, well-organized and accurate ATS. And therefore providing every benefit it could perform.

According to Josh Bersin, “HR Tech spending is going to slow… [This] include[s] software for recruiting and ongoing systems for wellbeing.” So getting the most value out of current technology is a must. And I promise you, big or small, fortune 50 or start-up, your ATS can always use an occasional tune-up. 

Benefits of Applicant Tracking Systems

When an ATS is set up correctly, it can do miracles:

  • Manage candidate flow
  • Perform automatic candidate engagement and outreach to talent communities
  • Set up interview scheduling for you
  • Provide metrics that can show snags in your recruiting process
  • Report actual activity needed to fill different kinds of jobs

Some ATS’ such as Loxo, have built-in resume parsing, outreach tools, sourcing tools, and automated candidate response capabilities that can boost candidate flow, improve candidate experience and automatically source past applicants – but only if they are set up. 

I was in awe when I was consulting for a unicorn tech company that had reached a staggering 1,200 employees to discover their recruiting activity was still being tracked on a gigantic spreadsheet. It was so interlinked to other sheets that daily updates took over five minutes to disseminate through all the pages. Not only was it clunky, but mining the information of past candidates, interview results, rejection reasons, and possible “keepers” was nearly impossible. 

ATS: It’s More Than You May Think

Many organizations simply see an ATS as a centralized location for all recruitment-related information. With all resumes, applications, and candidate information stored in one place, recruiters can easily access and review all relevant data, which can help make more informed decisions about which candidates to interview and hire. However, an ATS setup in alignment with an organization’s needs can also provide valuable insights into recruitment metrics such as time-to-hire and cost-per-hire, which can help companies better understand and optimize their recruitment process.

During a slow job market, I can think of no better (though mundane) task that will have big payoffs than a thorough ATS overhaul. The TA leader, sourcers, recruiters, and coordinators alike can all participate in the fun.

In fact, this is a project that should be a true team effort. In smaller organizations, the entire department should participate. In larger ones, there should be representatives from all the TA departments to provide input on the candidate journey, interview process, presentations and projects that are part of the interview process, and the offer process for different departments. 

Other Aspects of ATS and Beyond

Other items that should be looked at by the team include reformatting job postings in alignment with DEI, updating the old postings with this new verbiage in case they are reused, removing duplicate resumes, and ensuring that candidate information is accurate and up-to-date. Take a good, hard look at the recruitment process and find a way to standardize it between business verticals so that metrics are consistent and more meaningful. Examine sourcing activity tracking and make sure there is a CRM capability set up that seamlessly moves a candidate from prospect to being an active applicant.

Now, would also be the perfect time to add new features, such as a parsing engine or outreach tools to your ATS if you can swing the budget. Training on new technologies and sourcing tools, integrating them into the ATS, and the processes as you build them, will be a huge game changer when the market picks up.

Once all are set up, if so equipped, your ATS could deliver better results by automating many of the manual tasks associated with recruitment. For example, setting up a “drop box” or automatic parsing engine will allow your ATS to automatically search for keywords and qualifications that match the requirements of a particular job, and even schedule prescreens with the most promising candidates. This significantly reduces the time and effort required to find and hire the right people while ensuring that the recruitment process is more efficient and effective.

Some other benefits of making your ATS a well-oiled machine include:

  • Improving the candidate experience. With the ability to easily apply for jobs online and receive automated updates about the status of their application, candidates can be kept informed and engaged throughout the recruitment process.
  • Provide a platform for online assessments, which can help to identify the best candidates based on their qualifications and skills.
  • Improve the overall performance of an organization by providing a more diverse and qualified candidate pool. With the ability to search resumes and applications by keywords and qualifications, you can identify candidates who may have been overlooked in the past.

Final Thoughts

An applicant tracking system can deliver a wide range of benefits to organizations looking to streamline their recruitment process and identify the best candidates for open positions if they are organized, set up correctly, and old, duplicate data is consolidated. Whether it’s through automating manual tasks, providing valuable insights into recruitment metrics, or improving the candidate experience, an ATS can help companies to make more informed decisions. This can reduce the time and effort required to find and hire the right people, and ultimately improve the overall performance of the organization. 

So take a few weeks, grab your cleaning gloves, and dig in. When the job market fires back up – and it will soon – you will be amazed at the boost to productivity and results.

The Future of Talent and Hiring Tools: 7 Predictions and Trends

Talent tools have come a long way in the last few years, making recruiting and hiring talent much less labor intensive. However, we are still a long way from having a perfect hiring process. Inefficiencies still exist, and some processes leave candidates feeling disengaged. From relying on automated recruiting tools to 3D VR interviews, here are recruiters, HR leaders and business executives predictions for the future of talent and hiring tools.

Bring in Gamification for Talent Acquisition

In the near future, I believe we’ll be seeing much more gamification when it comes to talent and hiring tools. It will allow us as employers to assess candidate abilities in creative ways that go beyond traditional methods like interviews or written tests, making it possible to evaluate skills like problem-solving ability or creativity through gameplay instead of asking about them directly. Plus, they’re fun — which is just an added bonus!

The same goes for career development, gamified tools can help employees gain new skills while having fun! It’s an engaging way for individuals within an organization (as well as those outside who may want access) to customize their own paths without fear of failure: mistakes made during practice won’t have irreparable impacts on their career paths, unlike real-life experiences may have done!

Overall, I think using gamification will revolutionize how companies attract top-notch candidates, something I’m looking forward to seeing over time!

Maria Harutyunyan
Co-Founder, Loopex Digital

Heading Back to the Basics With More Personal Recruiting Efforts

Recruiting is selling the best person for the job on the fact that you’re the best employer to offer them a job. While I’ve seen the upfront cost-saving benefits of a well-streamlined hiring process, employers still need to tailor their approach to the individual they are looking to hire. Resume parsing, knock-out questions, video interviews and automated workflows are all great, but it’s the personal touches that make the difference.

Have the hiring manager or even someone a level up in the organization reach out to a highly sought-after candidate directly. Take them out to lunch at their favorite restaurant. Give them an office tour and introduce them to their coworkers. If the position is remote, an Uber Eats gift card and a face-to-face Zoom call with the team can go a long way.

Susan Snipes
Chief People and Culture Consultant, GoCo

3D Virtual Reality Interviews Will Be Used

Talent and hiring practices are constantly being impacted by the ever-evolving technology landscape. One future prediction I see for talent and hiring practices is the use of virtual reality (VR) interviews. With VR, companies can simulate an entire interview process with a potential candidate in an immersive 3D environment, enabling them to make more informed decisions about who to hire.

Not only does this provide a more accurate assessment of someone’s competencies, but it also allows employers to save time and resources when interviewing candidates from all around the world without any travel costs. Moreover, it offers applicants a much safer and more comfortable way to express themselves than most traditional recruitment methods.

Grace He
People and Culture Director, teambuilding.com

Application of AI in Talent Searches and Recruitment

We have seen the application of AI in recruitment over the last year, and we expect this to ramp up significantly in 2023. AI will be used to automate some of the processes involved in recruiting, including scanning candidates, screening resumes and developing suitability models to help recruiters narrow down their search for talent.

We may also start seeing AI interviews in 2023. Candidates may literally sit down with an AI where they will answer questions, after which the AI will screen and shortlist candidates based on predetermined criteria. This may help to remove some of the instinctive human biases that often arise in traditional recruitment methods.

Logan Nguyen
Co-Founder, MIDSS

Hiring Tools Will Be More Prominent

The use and development of talent and hiring tools will continue to gain traction and will be more prominent in 2023. Integrating them into our system will be easier, and they will be part of every automated process. This will start with creating job descriptions that will attract more people, automating the search and filtering of applicants and will continue into payroll and employee evaluation. Getting the right talent and hiring tools will be essential in kick-starting your automated process. The success will set the tone for all other automated systems and will give it an excellent head start.

Fawaz Naser
CEO, Softlist

Rely On Automated Recruiting Tools to Sift Applicants

As the great resignation continues, recruiters will rely more heavily on automated recruiting tools to sift through a surplus of applicants. While some may fear that these computerized systems will replace more human elements of the hiring process, the truth is that they simply can’t do that. Computers are limited in the information they can gather about a candidate based on their resume alone, and they need human input to better understand the potential of a candidate and to verify details. So, while the computers gather information, they leave the final decision to recruiters who can then use the tools to narrow down their choices.

Matthew Ramirez
CEO, Rephrasely

Social Media Screening Tools Will Improve

My prediction is that we will see a resurgence of powerful hiring tools for social media screening and background checks. Recruiters will want to know if candidates have what it takes to represent the company on social media in a respectable and appropriate way. According to Statista, we’re spending more than two hours daily on social media and that number is probably going to go even higher, and recruiters will want to know if our social media tendencies are appropriate or not.

Natalia Brzezinska
Marketing & Outreach Manager, UK Passport Photo

Celebrating Black History Month with a Look at DEI in 2023

This February, we’re celebrating Black History Month, an annual celebration of African Americans’ achievements throughout U.S. history until today.

Since 1976, every U.S. President has designated February as Black History Month. This recognition is not limited to the United States. Other countries, such as Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black histories. But is this enough? Simply put, no, it’s not. Especially in the workplace.

There’s no time like the present for companies to take an introspective look at their hiring, retention, and promotion practices to see if they’re prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Keep reading to learn more about where we collectively stand with DEI in 2023.

The Current State of DEI Affairs

It’s been a tough few years.  From the global pandemic to the war in Ukraine to an uncertain economic future, employers and employees both have faced challenges in (and out of) work.

But what does that mean for DEI in the workplace?

According to a recent report by Workhuman, “2023 will begin with a test of organizational commitment to the day-to-day work of inclusivity, equity, and diversity.”  According to Dr. Meisha-Ann Martin, Senior Director of Research and People Analytics at Workhuman, leaders are often tempted to cut certain priorities in the face of a looming recession – and DEI may be one of those.

And, apparently, Workhuman isn’t alone in this prediction.

According to the 2023 Monster Work Watch Report, 11 percent of employers say that DEI programs are “among the first to go when they are forced to cut costs,” coming in third behind organizational events and bonuses. Additionally, only 5 percent of recruiters say that DEI efforts are among their top three priorities.

So, where does this leave us as we move forward in 2023?

Embracing Organizational Transparency Will Be Key to Attracting and Retaining Diverse Employees

According to Workhuman’s January 2023 index, employees are questioning their leaders’ commitment to DEI.

For example, the index showed that:

  • 17.1 percent of respondents are concerned about their future at their employer because of the lack of diverse leadership and voices.
  • 21.1 percent of respondents are “questioning the intentions” of their leaders around social justice issues.
  • 32.8 percent of respondents claimed they would consider leaving their employer if their DEI strategy doesn’t improve within the first six months of 2023, with employees of color reporting the highest percentages.

These results should not be taken lightly. Clearly, employers need to re-think their communication and branding strategies around DEI as we head into the second month of 2023.

If employers want to distinguish themselves when recruiting and retaining employees, they should focus on transparency around diversity at all levels of the organization – from eliminating unconscious biases in the hiring process to (truly) supporting employee resource groups – and everything in between.

In other words, they must show their true commitment to maintaining a diverse and equitable workforce at every point of the employee journey. Here are three ways employers can demonstrate transparency in the workplace in 2023.

3 Ways Employers Can Demonstrate Transparency in the Workplace

  • Prioritize Open Communication:  For DEI initiatives to be effective, organizations must foster a supportive (and accepting) environment for open communication.  This will not only result in honest conversations around DEI, but it will also build trust between employers and employees.
  • Increase Your Diversity Hiring: Employers should continue to increase diversity in their talent pools. The more diverse candidates are, the more a company will realize increased creativity, innovation, and profits – helping to stave off economic uncertainty.
  • Don’t Just Know the Numbers; Incorporate Data Into Your DEI Strategy: Understanding industry and company data is one thing.  Incorporating it into a company’s DEI strategy and holding them accountable to their goals is another.  And with the need for additional transparency, companies can use this data to build a “DEI strategy scoreboard,” helping to build visibility.

In 2023, employers must continue to prioritize DEI with visible action and accountable transparency. Doing so can help employers deliver positive outcomes in recruitment, retention, and promoting talent in what looks to be a challenging economic landscape.

Closing The Candidate Engagement Gap

In a recent article, I referred to the candidate engagement gap, which I explain as “the gap between the candidates you want to hire and the candidates you actually connect with.” Given the ongoing chaos in the job market, I think this topic warrants deeper discussion in hopes that we build processes that close the gap and shift the whole hiring experience in a more positive direction. But first, we need to take a closer look at candidate engagement and what it means, both in theory and practice, to determine where the gap lies. 

There is no official definition of candidate engagement: no Wikipedia page to scour or analyst missive to ponder. Most of the search results you will find point to a series of vendors throwing around ideas that all ultimately tie back to their products. Read enough of what’s out there, and you’ll realize that everyone is saying the same thing: candidate engagement is about building and maintaining relationships. Candidate engagement rates seek to quantify those relationships by measuring how responsive candidates are, how quickly they follow up, and, ultimately, how they feel they were treated throughout the process. Candidate engagement varies from person to person and organization to organization. It is subjective and corresponds directly with another critical concept, candidate experience.  

So, where does the gap come into play? Earlier than you might expect. 

Finding the Source

Candidate engagement can take many different forms depending on the job type, organization, recruiting strategy, and so on. Just like digital marketers have worked to identify categories of customer engagement, sourcers have taken a similar approach to reach prospective candidates because they know that hiring hinges on engagement. Industry analyst Madeline Laurano shared a slide recently that detailed four sourcing tactics – speed, research, batch and tailored – and the associated causes and success of each. With regard to engagement, this helps to illustrate that from the get-go, there are any number of ways candidate interactions can go off the rails – and fast. Even with tools that provide contact data and automate follow-ups, it doesn’t matter which tactic we use; if the candidates you want to hire don’t engage at the outset, the process stalls. 

And stalled engagement isn’t limited to any one source. In fact, it isn’t even limited to just passive candidates. Even active, seemingly interested candidates might ignore an InMail or avoid their personal email, and I’m sure they have their reasons. But without interaction, without the opportunity to forge a relationship, the recruiting process will move on to someone else, someone who may be less suited for the role or organization, leaving those in-demand candidates behind. 

Minding the Gap 

Knowing that the gap can start with sourcing (and spread from there), we have the opportunity to rethink how we engage candidates. You’ve likely heard people say that you have to meet candidates where they are, which, while solid advice, is easier said than done. With thousands of potential sources spread across the physical world and the online one, how do you determine which platforms your candidates are most interested in? How do you know when they will be available? How do you craft a message that will capture their attention? These are big questions that most of the conversations about candidate engagement seem to overlook in favor of talking around the problem – and any potential solutions. 

One such answer is social media, but even that isn’t limited to only one source or strategy. If you are keen to find Gen Z talent, you might want to consider TikTok. For Millennials, maybe Instagram, and for Gen X, try LinkedIn. You get the picture. Narrowing the focus is a step in the right direction, though it still doesn’t guarantee that candidates will engage. Instead, we need to drill down further and identify which platform, when to reach out, and what to say, which is no easy feat without the help of technology. 

Problem Meet Solution 

Going back to digital marketers for a moment, these folks are pros at maximizing engagement. They work to understand customer emotions, behaviors, ethics, and actions to deliver content that will hit at just the right moment. Digital marketers know that each of these categories requires different tactics to trigger engagement. They are consistent, compelling and contextual at every turn. In this example, an engagement could be as simple as interacting with an ad or conversion to a sale. Likewise, for recruiting, by taking a digital marketing-driven approach, we can look to improve targeting to encourage connection, closing the candidate engagement gap by improving the process. And it all begins with who, how, and when we source. 

Supercharge Your Workflow by Sourcing with Swordfish

Swordfish has traditionally been a great platform and browser extension for accumulating phone numbers, but they’ve recently expanded their platform to even greater heights. Phone numbers have their place in sourcing, but with how Gen-Z feels about answering their phones…it’s probably not a bad idea to branch out into other forms of contact. With their new sourcing interface dubbed Prospector, sourcing with Swordfish has become a reality.

So what does this platform bring to the table? There’s a decent amount of filters to narrow your search such as experience levels, past job titles, and even company headcount. You can also use their reverse search section to look up a contact based on limited information. This reverse lookup feature can definitely can go toe-to-toe with other contact enrichment platforms.

They’re expanding the feature list to include radius searches, custom boolean strings, and more features to stand out from the crowd. While this platform has been around for a while, sourcing with swordfish is still in its early stages.  They released their contact finding tool in the same fashion and built it into something quite notable, so there’s great potential for them to do the same here.

We’re looking forward to seeing their sourcing tool Prospector grow over the next few months. If you don’t already have an account, when you sign up there will be some free credits to let you play around.

Other Dean Da Costa Content:

Dean has a free page of sourcing tools, links, and other recruiting resources that we highly recommend you check out! That page has an overwhelming amount of stuff, so you gotta really love sourcing to appreciate the infinite hours of work Dean has put into it. For all of the Dean Da Costa resources on RecruitingDaily, click here!

Breaking Barriers: How Recruiters can Promote Diversity and Inclusion in the Workforce

Diversity in the workforce is increasingly recognized as not just a moral, but also a business imperative. In today’s globalized economy, companies need to be able to tap into the widest talent pools, and that means recruiting from a diverse group of candidates. However, achieving diversity in the workplace is a multifaceted and ongoing challenge, making recruiters play a key role in this effort.

Recruiters have the important task of finding, attracting, and hiring the most qualified candidates for open positions. However, if recruiters rely solely on traditional recruiting methods, they may end up with a pool of candidates that is not diverse. For example, relying on personal networks or targeting specific universities or job fairs can lead to recruiting candidates similar to recruiters or current employees, which can perpetuate homogeneity in the workplace.

Increasing Diversity In the Candidate Pool

To increase diversity and broaden the candidate pool, recruiters can adopt a number of strategies:

Broaden Recruiting Tactics

One strategy is to broaden the recruiting sources. This strategy could include posting job advertisements on various platforms, such as online job boards, social media, and specialized platforms that cater to underrepresented groups. Furthermore, going to career fairs and events that target underrepresented groups, and using online recruiting resources that focus on diversity help to widen the talent pool. 

For instance, a technology company could post a job opening on a platform that focuses on recruiting women in tech, or a company in the healthcare industry could attend a job fair targeted at people with disabilities. Expanding the recruiting sources can increase the chances of reaching a more diverse group of candidates.

Acknowledge Hidden Bias

Sometimes hard to admit, but you should be aware of unconscious bias in the recruitment process. This includes reviewing resumes and cover letters blindly in a way that personal identifying information is removed and using behavioral interviewing techniques that focus on a candidate’s qualifications and past experiences rather than their demographic characteristics. 

By using software that removes names and addresses or a separate team member to conduct initial resume screenings, recruiters can reduce bias from the beginning of the hiring process. And behavioral interviewing techniques that focus on candidates’ past experiences and qualifications will provide a more accurate assessment of candidates’ abilities.

Partner with Inclusion Groups

In addition, recruiters can partner with employee resource groups, community-based organizations, and non-profit groups dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace. These organizations can help recruiters connect with diverse candidates and provide resources and support for creating an inclusive workplace. 

By joining a group in the industry and attending their organized events, recruiters can further establish a partnership with a non-profit organization that focuses on helping individuals with disabilities find employment. Not only could if benefit your company but your community and yourself.

Make it an Integral Part of Company Culture

It’s not only about finding diverse candidates; it’s also essential they have an inclusive environment where they can thrive. Thus, diversity should be part of the company’s culture, making it easier to attract candidates to your job openings and retain them long-term. 

Companies could ensure that their recruitment process and hiring decisions are transparent and that their employee evaluations and promotions are fair and merit-based. This will create a welcoming and comfortable environment for all employees regardless of their backgrounds, improving team dynamics, leading to innovation and ultimately resulting in an improved bottom line for the organization.

Final Thoughts

It’s important to note that increasing diversity in the workplace is not only the responsibility of recruiters but the entire organization. Everyone should be committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. By working together, recruiters and the organization can create an environment that values diversity and inclusivity and attract, retain and promote diverse talent.

Diversity and inclusivity is an ongoing journey that requires constant effort and commitment from everyone involved. As the workforce and society evolve, so must the recruitment process and the company culture. By taking steps to increase diversity, recruiters can not only help create a more inclusive and equitable workplace, but also help the company stay competitive and succeed in today’s globalized economy. Implementing a strategy built on diversity and inclusivity will shape the way your teams and company function for the better.

Chipotle’s Hiring Surge: What Happens After Burrito Season?

Did you know that spring is officially Burrito Season? It is, according to the folks at Chipotle who say their busiest time of year is from March to May.

Chipotle is gearing up and announced they’re looking to hire 15,000 restaurant workers — about a 15% increase in their total workforce. The company is looking to staff up existing restaurants and overcome the quick-serve industry’s consistent challenges with turnover.

Is This Mass Hiring Strategy a Smart Move?

This sounds like great hiring news for those looking for restaurant jobs, but is it a good move for the company?

Many companies in 2021 and 2022 worried about finding qualified workers and over-hired. Mass hiring also turned into mass layoffs in several industries in the latter part of 2022 and the start of 2023, especially in the tech sector.

Hiring fast and scaling quickly can be a recipe for trouble, but the company says there’s a method in its madness within the Chipotle hiring process. The company has an aggressive plan for expansion that would nearly double its stores nationwide to 7,000. They’re hiring en masse now to find those with leadership potential to be team leads and store managers.

Chipotle has found the best candidates for management come from within the company. More than 90% of management roles were internal promotions in 2022, including 100% of regional VPs, 81% of team directors, and 74% of field leader positions. To find tomorrow’s leaders, they need to hire and evaluate today’s workers.

Upskilling and promoting from within are increasingly part of the trends for frontline hiring within many industries today.

What Happens When Busy Season Ends?

Despite the company’s desire to grow, expansion takes time. It’s impossible to construct and open thousands of stores between now and the end of the busy season. Will Chipotle be looking at its own mass layoffs when the burrito season ends?

Maybe. Maybe not. When you consider that turnover rates at Chipotle for hourly crew members average more than 140% annually and turnover for salaried workers and managers can run between 31% and 49%, it may be a smart plan.

The company currently has 100,000 employees. If turnover’s that high, they might easily need to add 15,000 new workers a quarter just to stay on par. With such a significant amount of turnover, Chipotle can evaluate workers during the burrito season and then likely absorb most if not all of the workers that want to stay with the company.

Continued Industry Shortages

The National Restaurant Association says the industry still needs about 450,000 workers. Despite nearly across-the-board wage increases in the QSR and fast-food industry, hiring continues to be a challenge. A growing number of jobs outside the restaurant industry are also hiring workers from a similar talent pool.

While other restaurants may not be hiring at the same rate as Chipotle, the Association’s recent survey of operators showed that 87% would hire additional employees if they could find qualified workers.

Rage Applying: What Recruiters Need to Know

The tedious trudge to work and “Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho, it’s off to work we go” is a thing of the past. Today we see employees taking control of their work-life balance and ensuring that they find contentment, fulfillment, and satisfaction in their workplace. The culture of self-care and awareness has created a strong drive for many to seek a job that suits their needs. But when they don’t get it, employees resort to quiet-quitting or ‘rage applying.’

How should recruiters respond to the influx of hot-headed applications? This article examines the pros and cons of rage applying and how recruiters should respond.

Rage Applying – The Pros, the Power, the Purpose

Rage applying is the reaction to dissatisfaction, annoyance, burnout, or boredom in a current job. It’s the practice of applying to several positions to compare salaries and possibilities for a better-suited one, usually in a moment of frustration. The trend highlights the power of taking control of one’s career and seeking a position that values them.

Doesn’t sound new (or terrible), right? People have impulsively applied for jobs during a moment of frustration for years. However, the trending hashtag resonates with Gen Zs and millennials who have had enough of resolving themselves to jobs that make them desperate for the weekend. A Deloitte Global 2022 Gen Z and millennial survey shows that insufficient pay and toxic work environments contribute to a desire to leave a job for both age groups. These employees seek to advocate for change.

Does Rage Applying Work?

Rage applying can be empowering as many TikTokers have reported a substantial raise and better job when they applied to openings in a moment of resentment. Rage applying can be effective. It opens applicants to new opportunities when they feel stagnant, unheard and frustrated with their current position.

Is Rage Applying Reactive? Here are the Cons of this Job Trend

Rage applying can come with a cost, though. Pattie Lovett-Reid, financial commentator and public speaker, recently highlighted that rage applying could become a red flag to future employers when they realize applicants are serial job hoppers.

As with most trends, it’s easier to hop on than to reflect and consider the implications of rage-applying. The trend may encourage avoidant behavior rather than endorse constructive conversations with one’s boss or HR department.

Rage applying can also lead applicants to apply for jobs at random without fully being invested in the opportunity. They may speed-read the posting, put little effort into knowing the business, and even apply for jobs that they’re unqualified for with an attitude of “I just want out!” As a result, rejection emails or ignored applications can wear down their confidence and lead to deeper dissatisfaction.

How Should Recruiters Respond to Rage Applying?

While reviewing applications, or even during an interview process, it may become clear that the interviewee succumbed to rage applying. So what do you do?

Uncover the Reason for Their Application

Applicants have a right to advocate for change and find a position to suit their needs. Have an honest conversation about the work environment they desire and uncover any dissatisfaction they may be experiencing in their current role. Listening to applicants can help you determine if their application is genuine or simply coming from a place of spite.

Educate Businesses You’re Recruiting For

According to a Glassdoor study, Gen Z job seekers value high salaries, flexible work hours, and work environments with a culture that resonates with their own. They also seek trust in their leadership. Recruiting for businesses that tick these boxes will appeal to this new working generation. Be prepared to answer questions relating to these ‘must-haves’ when interviewing young applicants.

Sensitivity to Rage Applying

Rage applying can bring talented applicants to the surface, allowing them to rise in a workplace that values them and pays them their worth. It can also highlight flaws in a business environment and urge employers to reconsider inadequate pay and toxic practices. Ultimately, you want employers and young employees who are happy with their pairing. Learn how to engage and attract the next generation of workers so that rage applying becomes less trendy and more thoughtful.

Lingering Symptoms & Long Covid: The Job Market Continues to Struggle With its Own Chronic Illness

From a global pandemic sending millions of workers home to a labor crunch, the job market just keeps taking one gut punch after another. Employers are still trying to attract and retain talent, whereas employees are still in the job market’s driver’s seat.

But, almost three years later, the global pandemic’s lingering effects continue to impact the job market. Enter long Covid.

According to the Brookings Institute, about 16 million working-age Americans suffer from long Covid, with anywhere from two to four million out of work because of Covid’s lingering symptoms. The cost to these employees? Lost wages ranging from $170 billion to $230 billion annually, creating a “meaningful drag on U.S. economic performance and household financial health.”

Add to that:

  • 260,000 working-age adults that have been lost to Covid
  • The slowdown of immigration, costing another three million workers
  • Baby Boomer retirements
  • Lower birth rates

And, the job market just received another gut punch, along with suffering from its own lingering, seemingly incurable viral symptoms.

Long Covid and the Job Market:  Going Hand in Hand

In the U.S. alone, the coronavirus infected almost 102 million people, putting the brakes on the economy. However, doctors and scientists (and economists) thought that once people started feeling better, they’d get back to work.

A reasonable assumption, no doubt.

However, this hasn’t exactly happened.  Much like long Covid itself, the job market just can’t shake this sick feeling.

U.S. job openings are holding pretty steady at just over 10 million jobs (e.g., 10.3 million in October 2022 and 10.5 million in November 2022), just under the record high of 11 million job openings in 2021 and early 2022. But, where are the workers?

Well, some employees are being laid off by America’s largest companies, such as Amazon, Meta, Twitter, and Peloton. But, employees are quitting their jobs in droves as well – with quits exceeding “the pre-pandemic high for 21 consecutive months, as more than 4 million Americans voluntarily left their jobs in each of the past 18 months.”

In 2022 alone, 46.6 million employees voluntarily quit their jobs.

That’s shocking, to say the least, but the tides have turned. Employees are no longer willing to put up with inflexible, unfair working conditions, causing both workers and companies to re-evaluate the employer-employee relationship.

From the Great Resignation to the Great Reshuffle to the Great Layoffs, the job market is still trying to figure out how to heal itself, getting back to “normal.”

But is there a getting back to normal?  Or just learning to live with long Covid?

Looking for a Cure (or just a way to stop the bleeding)

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, “[i]f every unemployed person in the country found a job, we would still have 4 million open jobs.” Wow-za.

How do you solve that?  What’s the cure?

We are definitely living in unprecedented times – but is it a crisis?  According to HR expert Josh Bersin, yes – almost.

Last fall, Bersin said:

[Q]uite simply, we cannot “manufacture more people” in a flash. We can solve the global supply chain problem by building a factory, buying a ship, or scaling up a distribution center. People don’t work that way. We need to educate them, train them, and coach them to perform at work. And as all the data now shows, when you “push” people too hard, they just quit, check out, or change careers.

The cure? Treat people like an asset, according to Bersin. Perhaps easier said than done…

How Hiring Managers Can Find Millions of Overlooked Workers

Although the persistently tight labor market is beginning to show signs of slackening, companies are still struggling to find enough workers to fill their open positions. In the United States, there are significantly more job openings than unemployed people who are actively looking to fill them. However, the keywords there are “actively searching,” as many potential employees don’t fall under that category. The U.S. Department of Labor only counts people as unemployed if they’ve actively looked for a job within the past four weeks – assuming the DOL can find them to ask that question in the first place.

This represents a major opportunity for proactive hiring professionals who are looking to gain an edge amid fierce competition for talent. There are millions of overlooked Americans who aren’t included in the official unemployment rate of 3.5 percent because they aren’t currently searching for a job or they fall outside the DOL’s time window. But this doesn’t mean these people are unreachable – if companies expand their efforts to identify and recruit candidates, they’ll discover future employees who aren’t showing up in government statistics. This won’t just connect companies with the talent they desperately need – it will also help to draw workers out of the shadows. 

There’s a lot of talk about the strong labor market today, but these conversations need to consider the entire economic picture instead of the deceptively low unemployment rate. When HR teams focus on the millions of available workers who aren’t technically classified as unemployed, they’ll alleviate their talent shortages while contributing to a healthier labor force more broadly. 

Real Unemployment is Higher Than You Think

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the labor force participation rate collapsed as the unemployment rate surged. But as the latter returned to pre-pandemic levels, the former has remained depressed – from 63.3 percent in February 2020 to 62.3 percent in December 2022. This rate is critical because it captures a reality that the unemployment rate misses. As the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics explains: “All persons who are without jobs and are actively seeking and available to work are included among the unemployed.” This leaves many people out. 

While early retirements, a legal immigration slowdown, and other factors have contributed to the shrinking labor market, a February 2022 working paper published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago found that a lower willingness to work was also having an impact. This should come as no surprise – the quit rate remains high as employees continue to demand more flexibility on the job, better benefits and compensation, and greater opportunities for professional development and talent mobility. Meanwhile, we’re in the middle of an employee engagement crisis – Gallup reports that just 21 percent of employees say they’re engaged at work, which can lead to turnover, cultural problems, and lower productivity. 

Even when employees stick around, their lack of engagement and frustration with the status quo can lead to quiet quitting (a term I loathe, but that’s an article for another day), which refers to workers becoming less invested in their jobs and doing the absolute minimum necessary to remain employed. Is it any wonder that many of the workers who’ve dropped out of the labor force are feeling similarly disenchanted about their prospects? Just as many employees are merely going through the motions at their jobs, many would-be employees don’t see a compelling reason to rush back to work in the first place. 

How Companies Can Reach Overlooked Workers

While the labor force participation rate has remained stubbornly low over the past two years, this doesn’t mean companies should write off millions of potential employees who aren’t lining up to go back to work. In many cases, these apprehensive former workers are experienced professionals who would make a great addition to your team. They’re just deterred by the frustrating process of reentering the workforce, anxious about shifting workplace demands and environments, or in the process of reassessing their professional lives. 

But before hiring managers and HR teams even think about how to convince these professionals to return, they have to be capable of finding and contacting people who are no longer classified as “actively seeking” work. This is where talent rediscovery can be a powerful tool. Hiring managers are increasingly scanning their records to resurface potential employees who have previously applied for positions at their companies, as these candidates are more likely to suit their needs, and they’ve already expressed interest in a position. There are also great tools that seek to operationalize this process like Retrain. These candidates’ former applications will provide invaluable information for personalized outreach, and this level of engagement may be enough to bring them back into the labor force. 

There are many other strategies hiring managers can explore to identify overlooked workers. They can forge relationships with educational institutions, community groups, and other organizations where former workers may be active. They can reach out to part-time gig workers who were full-time employees before the pandemic. At a time when there are still many more jobs than workers, hiring managers will have to get creative about expanding their networks and finding talent where their competitors forgot to look.

Meeting Potential Employees Where They Are

As the quit rate soared over the past several years, the “Great Resignation” quickly became part of the lexicon for many HR professionals. But some in the industry prefer alternative terms like the “Great Reevaluation” to capture the fact that the social and economic turmoil caused by COVID-19 convinced many employees to take a hard look at what they want out of their careers. Employees are increasingly demanding remote work options, more robust financial support, a wider range of benefits such as mental health coverage, professional development opportunities, and greater flexibility.

HR teams are attempting to meet these emerging demands and expectations, which will lead to long-overdue changes in their relationships with employees. These changes may also appeal to former employees who dropped out of the labor force, and the companies that want to attract these potential workers should make it clear that they take employees’ shifting concerns and priorities seriously. At a time when household debt is surging – including a 15 percent year-over-year increase in credit card balances, which is a two-decade high – and the personal savings rate has collapsed, many workers who’ve been on the sidelines since the beginning of the pandemic may start exploring their options to return to the workforce. Your company should get a head start by finding these future employees now. 

Although the unemployment rate is hovering around 3.5 percent, it’s clear that this figure is undercounting how many Americans are out of work. Instead of writing these workers off, hiring managers should be doing everything possible to bring them back into the fold. 

8 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Conducting Skills Assessments

Employee skills assessments are great indicators for a candidates likelihood to succeed in role. However, they are hard to do the right way, and they can’t always tell you the whole story. From devaluing soft skills to not communicating clearly enough, recruiters, HR leaders and executives give their insights into the common mistakes made in employee skills assessments.

Not Valuing Soft Skills in Employees

Not recognizing the value of soft skills is one mistake to avoid when conducting employee skills assessments. Soft skills — such as communication, problem-solving and collaboration — are critical for workplace success and should be measured alongside hard skills required for job roles.

This can be avoided by encouraging employees to speak up during their assessments and posing questions that focus on their ability to perform less skills-based tasks within their role. An uncommon approach could include assigning a project or task in advance of the assessment, giving candidates an opportunity to demonstrate both technical and interpersonal skill-sets in a more natural setting than a traditional interview or assessment.

Michael Alexis
CEO, swag.org

Confusing Skills With Other Characteristics

You may be measuring skills in the hiring process and using this information to match candidates to jobs. Keep in mind, many skills can be trained. Other aspects of fit can be predictive of job success and long-term retention and can be very fair to diverse candidates.

Hiring teams have access to science-based candidate insights to help identify and hire the right talent. Virtual assessments with job simulations, like Modern Hire’s Virtual Job Tryouts, provide a realistic preview of a typical day on the job while measuring a host of job-related characteristics that are critical for success.

VJTs can even predict the success of a candidate in the open position and recommend them for the job; they can also predict the likelihood of the candidate not working out. By embracing science-based assessments, HR leaders can focus on hiring qualified candidates that are likely to have a positive impact on the organization, while increasing retention and reducing turnover in the new year ahead.

Eric Sydell
EVP of Innovation, Modern Hire

Basing the Assessments Solely on Job Performance 

While job performance is an important aspect of an employee’s skills and abilities, it is not the only one. Other factors, such as communication skills, problem-solving abilities and teamwork, can also be important indicators of an employee’s skills and potential.

To avoid this mistake, it’s important to use a variety of assessment methods, such as interviews, observation, and testing, to gain a comprehensive understanding of an employee’s skills and abilities.

Additionally, it’s important to ensure that the assessment is job-related and measures the skills and abilities that are necessary for successful job performance. Involving multiple people in the assessment process, such as managers, supervisors and peers can help with this problem. This will provide a more well-rounded view of an employee’s skills and help to mitigate any bias that may be present.

Paw Vej
Chief Operating Officer, Financer.com

Not Sticking With an 80/20 Formula

An over-reliance on skills assessments can lead to concerns when you hire new employees. A skills assessment doesn’t take into account work ethic, workplace experience or other pertinent information that hiring managers must take into account before hiring someone.

If someone scores well on the skills assessment, that should be part of the calculus of whether that candidate is worthy of being selected, but it should only be a small part of it. I think 20% is acceptable. Some might think 25% or 30% is more appropriate, but ultimately a candidate should be hired based on their performance at previous employment stops. Aptitude matters, but it isn’t the only thing that matters.

Brittany Dolin
Co-Founder, Pocketbook Agency

Turning It into an Employer Skills Assessment

Questions matter. Skill assessments have their obvious origins in employee and/or candidate evaluation. When labor markets are tight, as they have been for some time, prospective and current employees scrutinize the employer as much or more than they are being scrutinized at every turn in the candidate/employee lifecycle.

Skill assessments can reflect positively on a company, have a negligible impact or make a company look really bad. While I’m sure other responders will dive into the specific reasons this can happen (gender bias, lack of accessibility, etc.), my overall point is to remove any possibility that the tables can be turned on the employer.

Jeremy Ames
Senior Manager, Accenture

Basing Solely on Job Title or Tenure

Avoid basing the assessment solely on an individual’s job title or tenure. This can lead to inaccurate or incomplete assessments, as an employee’s job title or tenure does not necessarily reflect their current level of skill or proficiency.

It’s important to use a variety of assessment methods that provide a comprehensive view of an employee’s skills. These methods might include:

  • Job performance evaluations
  • Skill-specific tests or assessments
  • Self-assessments
  • Peer evaluations
  • 360-degree evaluations
  • On-the-job assessments
  • Training and development opportunities

It’s also important to provide employees with clear criteria and performance standards, so they know what they need to do to demonstrate their skills and abilities. And be sure to communicate with the employee in advance on the areas and skills that will be focused on in the assessment. This will enable them to prepare adequately and be ready to demonstrate their skills.

Johannes Larsson
Founder & CEO, JohannesLarsson.com

Not Involving Employees in the Process

One mistake to avoid when conducting employee skills assessments is to assess employees on items outside of their job descriptions. We can avoid this by ensuring that the skills assessments are specific to the tasks and responsibilities associated with our employees’ jobs.

It is important to provide the team with clear instructions and guidelines on how they should complete the assessment, so they have a better understanding of what is expected of them. Involve your employees in the assessment process and ensure that their feedback is taken into account.

Christa Reed
Head of Job Market Research, JobSearcher

Not Giving Employees the Chance to Upset Your Biases

Let’s face it. We are humans, and every human is fundamentally a box of biases. These biases are not all inherently evil, as they are generalized predictions from the repetitiveness of previous experiences.

When you have two or three employees with a significantly shared trait repeat the same outcome, a manager would be naturally prone to associating such outcome (or skill or deficiency) with that trait and expecting another entirely different employee with that trait to repeat the same outcome. This is a bias.

But when conducting employee skills evaluations, strive to give employees an even playing field to upset these biases. Don’t be too quick to tap into the predictions of your existing biases. “Oh, he has X trait, he should automatically excel (or struggle) at Y skill”..don’t be too quick to assume. Strive to treat each employee as a new entity and give them a blank slate to prove their capacity and surprise you.

Lotus Felix
CEO, Lotus Brains Studio

Are Your Job Descriptions to Blame for Your Attrition?

A comprehensive job description (JD) clarifies job duties and responsibilities for the candidates and helps organizations maintain consistency within the organization. It also extends legal protection in case of litigation and justifies compensation and hiring decisions. For instance, job descriptions can defend the classification of specific jobs as exempt or non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and are very useful in complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). JDs are also indispensable in adhering to fair pay legislation common in many states.

However, despite the importance of job descriptions, organizations struggle to publish a good-quality draft. According to the Job Seeker Nation Report 2022, 27% of respondents say that deceiving job descriptions is among the most frustrating aspects of finding a job. 

Now, more than ever, the need to hire, retain and support talent must be a strategic priority from the C-suite down. And it begins with getting your job descriptions right.

Drawbacks of Vague Job Descriptions

According to a recent survey by Eightfold AI, unclear job descriptions discourage candidates from applying for roles. Eightfold conducted a survey of 913 full and part-time American workers, out of which 17% reported not applying for an open position due to a ‘vague or confusing’ job description. This is the second most important reason cited by employees after “my past experience did not directly relate to the job description”. 

The wrong job description will lead to longer hiring times by attracting unqualified candidates. Often attracting more candidates is helpful, but only if those are all relevant to the role. When a wrong job description leads to an influx of applications, recruiters are left to sort through the resumes to distinguish a handful of qualified candidates. This slows down the recruiter and unnecessarily lengthens the process. 

A poorly drafted JD often increases the probability of a bad hire joining your organization, and the cost to replace such employees is significantly higher. In 2019, Gallup reported that replacing an employee can cost anywhere between 1.5x to 2x the employee’s annual salary. With rising salaries and hiring costs, this number might be much higher. According to proprietary analysis by WORQDRIVE, turnover cost US employers $2.4 trillion in 2021. 

Furthermore, if your job descriptions lack important details like salary range, you are risking legal action. New compensation laws in various states mandate employers’ disclosure of salary ranges in job ads. While there are no laws regulating job descriptions, in cases of litigation inadequate JDs can be useless in defending claims. 

How Job Descriptions Promote Employee Performance and Retention 

An official job description is one of the first documents that employees peruse to understand the role and the organization. Nevertheless, its use is not limited to hiring. Across the employee lifecycle, JDs can help assess candidate skills, conduct performance reviews, and boost employee engagement during their tenure. 

Let’s see how good job descriptions can help you reduce your long-term hiring costs and retain talented employees. 

1. Assessing Candidate Fit

While writing a job description, employers envision how the role functions and contributes to their organization. So, it clearly outlines the duties to be performed in that role, including deliverables, performance expectations, and compensation details. Companies also include work flexibility, diversity statements or policies, and application instructions. A typical JD will consist of the following:

  • Job Title and  Role Summary
  • Description of daily responsibilities, duties, and tasks
  • Expectations of performance
  • Required qualifications, skills, and desirable skills
  • Classification of the job – full-time/part-time and exempt/non-exempt
  • Physical Demands/Working Conditions for ADA compliance
  • Competencies to augment skills-based recruiting
  • Compensation details – base/hourly salary, insurance and healthcare, associated benefits
  • Location – on-site, remote, or hybrid location requirements 
  • Company values, mission, or diversity statement

These essential elements in a JD allow employees to assess how they fit into the role and the organization at large. Honest JDs will attract relevant candidates who are interested in your organization. 

2. Creating Customized Learning Opportunities

In recent years and especially since the pandemic, the ongoing skills gap has widened, prompting businesses to strive to overcome it. Job descriptions are helpful documents when conducting an organizational skills gap analysis. JDs include a list of necessary and desired skills for any role and can be used as a reference to evaluate an employee’s skill set. 

In conjunction with other evaluation and performance measures, JDs help identify each employee’s critical and noncritical skills. Noncritical skills are those without which the employee can still complete the task. But critical skills are the ones that directly hamper task achievement, and the employee will benefit by learning these. The analysis is an opportunity for organizations to explore the type and extent of training for the employees. The skills analysis report makes it easier to pinpoint where the employees fall short in terms of skills and where they need additional training. 

Instead of creating standard learning courses, a detailed JD lets you collaborate with the employee to chart a plan that helps them learn and grow – something new employees value in an organization. 

3. Transparency and Communication

When the company has a distinct job description document, it supports communication and transparency in the organization. Since leaders and managers have access to the JD, they can evaluate the employee’s performance accordingly. There is an objective structure and criteria to analyze employee performance and achievement. 

Without such structures, managers might struggle to evaluate employees and hold them accountable for their actions and decisions. A well-crafted job description lets managers and team leaders communicate critical feedback to the employees without affecting their morale. 

4. Enhancing Employee Satisfaction and Retention 

When job descriptions don’t define what the work entails and what a typical workday looks like, it fosters disappointment later when the JD does not match the reality. Employees who find their work differs significantly from their job description are more likely to quit as they cannot utilize their skills or contribute meaningfully to the organization. 

A well-written job description makes employees feel confident in their roles, establishes a connection between them and the organization’s success, and makes them feel more committed. In addition, quality job descriptions remove uncertainty and confusion as employees know what is expected of them. Since roles are defined across organizations, this improves workflow, enhances collaboration between teams and departments, and ensures that business goals are met. 

A strong job description lets employees determine healthy boundaries in their workplace and create personal goals to facilitate growth and development. 

Write a Stellar Job Description

Job descriptions (JDs) act as a roadmap highlighting key responsibilities and tasks for the employees and departments in an organization. Unclear job descriptions either turn away talented candidates or lead to bad hires who quit within months of joining. Poor job descriptions also foster dissatisfaction and frustration among employees. As a result, hiring costs and attrition rates keep rising while impacting employee performance and management. 

Organizations can attract better candidates in a volatile recruiting market by enhancing job descriptions. Moreover, a well-written JD enables performance reviews, identity training, and development opportunities and boosts employee satisfaction and retention. With the right technology, like a job description management tool, companies can dynamically create, edit and publish JDs to make the hiring process efficient and successful.