By Sean Gray, above, Quality Engineering consultancy Roq’s Talent Acquisition Manager
The UK’s skills gap is a major ongoing issue for UK technology companies and great candidates are like gold dust, making the challenge for tech recruiters (internal or agency) harder than ever.
With Time to Fill (TTF) on technology roles sitting at an average of 61 days (12 working weeks), it’s essential for organisations to have a robust recruiting process to ensure that they get the best possible people into their business.
Quality Engineering consultancy Roq recently became a Platinum accredited Investors In People Company, which recognises how Roq has improved performance through the management and development of its people.
The accreditation independently validates how much Roq invests in the team, and we are now keen to share what we have learned about recruitment and onboarding for in-house tech recruitment teams.
Roq has created the White Paper called From Recruiting To Onboarding to share the company’s experiences and lessons learned on enhancing the candidate experience from recruitment to onboarding for in-house tech recruitment teams. Here are some of our top tips.
Tip 1: Clearly defining a role’s requirement is essential before starting an employee search.
It’s essential to ensure you have sufficient information to kick-start your search to avoid wasting time. Given that an average of 250 candidates will apply for each role, getting to the most appropriate talent, faster and more efficiently will really streamline your process. That means you’ll need to consider some key questions.
Firstly, how has the role come about? If someone has left, it’s very helpful to understand why. You also need to consider what skill sets/experience are required. Next, consider how long you have to recruit for the role and what date do you need this person to start.
Finally, think about what level of flexibility are you willing to accept on the job specification. Clearly understanding what you’re willing to compromise on will reduce frustrations and wasted time but may also flag up other opportunities.
Tip 2: Using brand identity to make candidates receptive to a business
Unsurprisingly, research by LinkedIn shows that 75% of candidates will research a company’s reputation before applying for a role. Thus, it is now more important than ever to ensure that your brand is positioned as an employer of choice for candidates.
So having a great employer brand will help you to attract and retain the best people out there. Further research shows that 75% of active job seekers are likely to apply to a job if the employer actively manages its employer brand, and that’s a large pool of potential candidates that are using it as a deciding factor.
One survey reports that that the top priorities for candidates are include: work-life balance; opportunities for career advancement; compensation; good management and/or team; and positive work culture.
If you can make potential candidates aware that you’re covering the non-financial bases as much as the financial ones it will make them much more receptive to you as a business.
Tip 3: Pre-screening, technical and psychometric assessment and interviewing all play a huge part in successful recruitment
Once a candidate’s CV or application has been sifted and deemed appropriate for the role, it’s highly recommended to reach and arrange a pre-screening conversation. This is essentially a 30-60 minute phone call during which you can check a range of information.
For all skilled technical roles, it is highly advantageous for candidates to complete a technical assessment with a pre-agreed pass rate. These assessments should be done prior to a pre-screen so that you can dig a little deeper into the results.
If the role that you’re recruiting for is more ‘people’ focused and at management level, it is very helpful to carry out a psychometric test through a specialist provider. When the test is completed, the provider will compile a psychological profile based on the results.
Tip 4: A robust and established process mitigates the risk of rejected offers
According to LinkedIn’s Talent Trends report, 94% of candidates want your feedback and not giving it can be damaging for your employer brand. It’s good practice to follow up with each candidate whether they been successful or not in their interview. This is helpful to discuss their thoughts and feelings, field any queries and if appropriate, reconfirm their commitment and expectations.
A verbal feedback loop is an opportunity for unsuccessful candidates to hear a candid assessment of how they convey themselves and to learn for their next attempt. We aim to leave the door open for opportunities in the future.
So, every Roq candidate will receive a call from me to talk through the feedback. I want to ensure they feel heard and respected so that even if unsuccessful, they have a great candidate experience with us.
