Employers invest significant time and money to find the best candidate. However, too many companies are jeopardizing their investment by failing to unify the subsequent hiring process. The hiring process bridges the gap between recruiting and day one, most often served by a wide variety of point solutions. These point solutions can be simple paper or fax-based processes, or quite automated, such as an electronic I-9 solution, drug testing or background screening system. A disjointed hiring process doesn’t talk well with payroll or core HR systems and requires too many unnecessary steps for both the candidate and HR.
At TalentWise, we believe a unified hiring process, where systems work together and where data flows seamlessly, is critical to long term engagement and retention of your new hire. We’ve built our business around this. Here are five reasons your organization should take a hard look at your hiring process and start unifying it.
1. Compliance.
This is a no-brainer for HR. Costs of non-compliance are higher than ever. From the federal to industry and corporate compliance, HR needs to ensure they have their “I’s” dotted and “T’s” crossed. This is where automation shines. Smart forms ensure that information provided by the candidate is both complete and validated. Furthermore, workflows are designed to reflect the latest legislation, including updated forms such as the I-9, W-4, and state tax withholdings. Instead of managing this process through will and determination alone, a unified hiring process can manage this process for you, with compliance “baked in.”
2. Candidate Experience.
This is the hot topic of the day, particularly with Millennials and competitive job markets. A poor hiring experience can mean your organization will come up short in the war for talent. Conversely, a great hiring experience will set your company apart. No candidate wants to rekey information into multiple systems, scan paper forms or be required to find a fax machine. By automating tedious new hire tasks and leveraging a single automated system to navigate the hiring process, HR can reduce the number of candidate interactions, eliminate redundant data entry, and allow the candidate to complete the onboarding process anytime, anywhere, from just about any device. Besides winning talent, a great hiring experience puts the candidate well on his or her way to becoming an engaged and productive employee.
3. Efficient HR Time.
Hiring top talent is a most critical function of HR. Time should be spent sourcing top candidates and engaging new employees, not quarterbacking a paper-based hiring process. Eliminating time spent on “administrivia” frees up time for quality onboarding and strategic initiatives that increase new hire engagement. Let technology automate the tedium; eliminate email notifications, fax, and paper chasing; and save priceless human interaction for activities that matter the most.
4. Corporate and employer branding.
The hiring process is the candidate’s first close-up look at the corporate culture. The recruiting chase is over, leaving the candidate to navigate their first administrative process as an employee. Social media has changed the game; so let’s hope it goes well. If a candidate is subjected to a disjointed process, they are more likely than ever to talk about it. Furthermore, the lines between candidates and customers have blurred. Every employee is a brand advocate and every unhappy candidate is a potential lost customer. How you hire is a key part of building your brand.
5. Costs.
Everyone is looking to save money, but it’s surprising how few people are looking at the real costs of hiring. Recruiting costs are tracked down to the dollar, but few employers are tracking the costs associated with moving from job offer to day one. Multiple vendors and platforms are expensive; more expensive is the time spent trying to manage them all, and even more expensive than that is the cost of losing a frustrated candidate to a competitor. A unified hiring process will reap tremendous savings – but first HR must understand the real costs of their current hiring process.
So where to get started? The first thing to do is to define your process. You have one, even if you don’t realize it. It may just be a checklist, or perhaps tribal knowledge spanning several departments. Do your best to document your process and pay particular attention to the candidate experience. How many distinct interactions does the candidate have prior to their first day? How many systems are involved? How many emails are they sent? How many times are they asked to log in? Does information from the recruiting process seamlessly flow into the new hire process, or are they required to provide information again? A unified hiring process, with a single portal for candidate and HR access, is a game changer for employers. Bridge the gap between recruiting and talent management and make your organization the winner in the war for talent while ensuring compliance, saving time and money, and communicating the brand you want to be.
(About the Author: Todd Owens is the President and Chief Operating Officer at TalentWise and has been with the company since 2006. Todd previously held senior Product Management and Business Development roles at both Wind River Systems and Siebel Systems. Early in his career, Todd was a United States Navy submarine officer serving aboard the USS Pogy (SSN 647) and on the Third Fleet staff. He has twice been recognized as a “Superstar for outsourcing innovation in support of HR organizations” by HRO Today magazine. Todd holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy and a Masters in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School.)
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