Article · 5 minute read
Part 1: Futureproofing EX with Better Hiring
By Isabella Heath – 12th August 2022
Recruitment freezes of 2020 have thawed… but the applications aren’t flooding in. This is creating a tough landscape for many recruiters and talent acquisition specialists.
On top of this, we’ve seen the continuation of the ‘Great Resignation’. Not only is it currently tough to acquire talent, it’s tough to retain it too. What current and potential employees want from their careers and EX is evolving, and while creating a positive hiring experience is still important, this might not be enough. With increased expectation, we need to broaden the hiring lens and embrace the opportunity to bring in wider elements from the whole employee experience.
To win that war for talent, Employee Experience starts not only with current incumbents but potential employees in the hiring process too. We know that EX drives engagement and wellbeing but also business performance and financial metrics too.
Every year, WTW survey over 500 companies, totaling nearly 10 million employees globally. From this, they have identified a smaller set of 30 high-performance companies who not only perform strongly financially but achieve above average employee survey scores. By comparing their results to the global average, we can identify which characteristics of EX they do particularly well at, and this research has formed the basis of the ‘High Performance Employee Experience (HPEX)’ model.
Looking at this from a retention perspective, the key drivers have been identified as:
Combining our research on retention, Employee Experience and what applicants are looking for within a hiring process, we see four areas emerge:
For each of these statements, we have presented some common pitfalls and tips to help avoid these, as well as a case study looking at how we have worked with clients on these previously:
If people are being hired through coffee chats or coming in through the back door, is that fair? Who is being offered these opportunities and who is making the decisions?
TIP: Look at bringing assessment in earlier to help you make sure you have that objectivity in the process.
You may have an objective hiring process but this can be undone if the perception of the candidate is that something isn’t fair. This could be as simple as the timing of an outcome decision – maybe they found out at a different time from someone else or the process has taken too long.
TIP: Meticulously plan the hiring process. Try to make sure you work through your timeline from the candidate perspective; run through the candidate journey and think about what communications you will send and when.
It can be difficult, particularly in larger organizations, to make sure there is consistency in hiring approaches without mandating processes. This lack of consistency across the organization can then go on to affect the perception of fairness.
TIP: Think about where you can bring this consistency in, both across the organization and within the processes you have already.
Read how a Global Tech company used assessments to improve their ROI and D&I outcomes.
Understanding and trust have been shown as key to EX and retention, and in our applicant survey we found applicants wanted to ensure they were selected for a role to which they are well suited. So, if the experience in the hiring process doesn’t match up to the job, how well does this equip them to make that decision? It is also worth considering that if they end up in a role that doesn’t match, they may not stay there for very long – impacting upon the experience of other employees along the way.
If there is something in a role that is not communicated up front, this may put people off later on in the process or early in the job.
TIP: Embedding realistic job previews, maybe a video on the website or during a video interview process.
While we want to attract people, we need to balance this with the reality. For example, will graduates or apprentices actually get to do everything advertised to them? Do they get to work on those types of projects and what would their role be?
TIP: Be realistic and challenge others to be realistic as well.
As well as knowing what the role is now, it’s important to also make sure people have a vision of what this could develop into.
TIP: Make sure leaders help to provide vision and input into where they see evolution in the future.
Growth is both a key driver of retention as well as being a key factor in the HPEX model. Applicants have stated that they want to obtain a job they wish to stay in. People are evaluating what they want and their career trajectory so identifying people who will thrive in these roles may be more important than ever.
If we want successful candidates to thrive in the job, we need to really understand what that job entails. So, while you might have a job which involves a lot of important processes and attention to detail, what other behaviors do you also need to consider? Who will they be interacting with in their role and how do you need them to go about this to be successful?
TIP: Conduct job analysis to gain an understanding of what is important.
Conducting the job analysis is important but within this you need to make sure the output is objective and measurable within your hiring process.
TIP: Once you have these measurables, you can include role relevant assessments.
TIP: Ensure you have rigor and insight in your analysis and assessment process.
Read how a global insurance company identified sales talent using assessments, leading to improved performance and retention.
We know from both HPEX and retention driver research that having those opportunities to learn skills and develop capabilities is key. From an employer perspective, being able to develop the skills of those already in situ may help play a key role in tackling attraction and retention challenges, as well as helping close any skills gaps emerging in the organization.
Focusing too much on placing people in roles and then leaving it there.
TIP: Link hiring with onboarding and development. If we’re getting the hiring process right, we should be gathering some helpful data which we can then use to feed into the onboarding process and beyond.
We might understand a candidate has strong experiences and capabilities, but do we know where their motives lie? Considering motive can help us look at whether they are going to want to continue doing certain aspects of a role.
TIP: Moving past traditional linear views of progression, instead we can look at giving them new experiences or lateral moves.
This could be a missed opportunity in terms of attraction and retention; looking at the internal talent pool can help people thrive.
Read how an IT company identified digital talent by retraining existing staff in a Digital Transformation program.
Are there any ‘moments that matter’ that are more important to use as an organization?
Are there any additional moments that matter specifically to us?
Our team will be happy to tell you more about how our assessmentment options can help futureproof your EX.
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