In this edition of HR News You Can Use we discuss several but related topics centered around human capital management.
First, we discuss how a simple thing like kindness in the workplace can improve talent retention and save organizations money.
Next, we look at what job application candidates are saying about their experience. Spoiler alert – it is not positive.
Last, we discuss the ongoing challenge of retaining top talent by holding off competitor poaching.
Being Kind Pays Off
In a recent SHRM Atlanta webinar presented by Lyn Turknett, she provided an interesting reminder of the cost of bad leadership by referencing a 2015 NBC that reported that 70% of survey participants said that they would forego a 10% raise for a kinder boss.
Think about what this means in terms of the cost of talent acquisition and retention.
Candidate Experience Survey – Progress Is Still Needed
A recent CareerArc candidate experience survey on provided some eye-opening statistics on how bad the candidate experience is when applying for positions online. The results of the survey were not surprising. We consistently hear our outplacement candidates voice frustration over the entire applicant tracking system process.
Here are some of the highlights:
- Nearly 60% of candidates have had a poor candidate experience.
- 72% of those candidates have shared their bad experienceonline or with someone directly.3
- 60% of employers have read at least one piece of online negative feedback about their applicant process.
- 65% of candidates say they either never or rarely receive notice of the decision made on their application from an employer.
- Of those that do receive notification, 51% say it takes 1 month or more.
- When they don’t hear back from employers, 85% of Job Seekers doubt that a human being has even reviewed their application.
- Applicant Screening Software: Nearly 40% of employers rely on technology that pre-screens and/or pre-selects Candidates based on the data they’ve submitted.
- The 62% majority of employers who use applicant screening tools admit that some qualified candidates are likely being automatically filtered out of the vetting process by mistake.
- 72% of candidates who have had a poor candidate experience report having shared that experience online on an employer review site or social site, or directly with a professional or personal contact.
Talent Poaching
A recent Hunt-Scanlon blog discussed the challenges that organizations face with the poaching of their top talent and how many organizations do not have plans to address it.
With such a highly competitive job market today, talent poaching happens more often than one may think and many companies are not prepared to combat the problem. According to a recent survey of nearly 400 human resource professionals conducted by Marlin Hawk, a global leadership advisory firm focused on next-generation talent, and Greenwich, Conn-based Hunt-Scanlon Media, 54 percent of all responding HR experts indicated that their company either has no plan to ward off poachers or, if it does, they’re unaware of it. But of those talent acquisition professionals whose companies had a strategy in place, only 39 percent were satisfied with it.
“What our survey demonstrates is a disconcerting lack of attentiveness on the part of many businesses to what is a growing problem,” said Marlin Hawk chief commercial & innovation officer Mark Oppenheimer. “No organization would let an intruder stroll in uncontested and walk off with its financial assets or intellectual property,” he added. “But when it comes to defending talent, the figurative gates seem to be wide open. It’s a huge mistake that can have an adverse impact on readiness to compete, growth targets, and share price.”
