What We Learned in 2019 & What We Expect From 2020
This year we had to address “ghosting” and create strategies to hire the right candidates more quickly than ever before.
For those of us who were heavily involved in hiring during 2019, we experienced a year of surprises and new challenges. As we wrap up this year of phenomenal economic growth and low unemployment, I thought I would share three lessons learned and three expected trends for 2020.
Lessons Learned in 2019
Lesson #1 - Ghosting is a Thing
I had never heard the term "ghosting" applied to hiring before 2019. However, it became a big challenge for my team and employers across the country in all industries. A variety of economic, cultural, and generational forces collided to create a phenomenon where job seekers who applied for jobs failed to show up for their scheduled interviews or, after being hired, neglected to show up on their first day of work without even so much as a text or an email notification. They turned into "ghosts."
Strategy: High-touch, friendly, personalized recruiting strategies reduce risk. For instance, address the issue with candidates upfront. You can say, "We know this is a great economy, so if anything changes and you decide not to attend the interview, let us know. You can text, email, or call us. And just so you know, our team, as well as many employers, keep records on each candidate. Ghosting an interview can result in you missing out on a future opportunity." This is easy to cover during an introduction — it makes your stance clear and educates the interviewee.
Lesson #2 - Move Fast
Top candidates are snatched up quickly. If you are looking for a candidate with an in-demand skill set, you can expect them to have an offer within 1-2 weeks of starting their job search. Often they receive multiple offers.
Strategy: Move as fast as reasonably possible when scheduling interviews, running references, and presenting offers. Every day of delay is a chance for another employer to present an offer to your top candidate(s), which puts you in a "bidding war" for the people you want on your team.
Lesson #3 - Be Open-Minded
Especially in a tight labor market, we need to consider "outside the box" candidates. Candidates who have the right aptitudes and are a culture fit, but are not an exact experience match, should be considered.
Strategy: Consider carefully about your "MUST have list" and "WISH to have list." Be careful about what goes into your "MUST have" category. Does your team have the capacity to train someone with the right background and aptitudes? If so, take this flexibility into account.
Expected Trends for 2020
Trend #1 - Competing Offers
Next year, we will continue to see candidates with multiple employment offers. This is not the time to lowball candidates. Present a solid offer right out of the gate and be prepared to offer more if you can. Salary negotiations due to competing offers will be the norm.
Trend #2 - Improved Benefits & Perks
The tight labor market is pushing employers to offer higher wages, better benefits, sign-on bonuses, and extra perks to be more competitive when presenting an offer and reduce turnover. It's worth revisiting your benefits package to see if you can make some changes that will increase your chances of success. For example, increasing your PTO, offering a flexible schedule, creating remote work opportunities for qualified staff, reviewing retirement benefits, adjusting your pay scale, etc.
Trend #3 - Employee Development Focus
As hiring continues to be a challenge, more employers are focusing on employee development.
How can we train the skilled labor and leaders we need from within the company?
How can we make the most of what we have?
These and more are critical questions for 2020.
The positive side of the tight labor market is that the employers who take this as an opportunity to improve relationships, benefits, and culture will make changes that will benefit them now and in the future.