If you’ve got a vacancy to fill but are struggling to attract good candidates, or you’re getting lots of applications but candidates keep dropping out, you could be making some simple, but common, mistakes in your recruitment process.
In this article we share some of the most common recruitment mistakes we see companies make and suggest how you could avoid them in order to secure the best candidates for your roles.
1. Not stating the salary in the job advert.
One of the most common recruitment mistakes made is not stating the job salary in the advert.
‘Competitive Salary’ means nothing. If you’re not sharing the salary, candidates will think you have something to hide i.e. the salary is not at all competitive.
Salary is an important deciding factor for many candidates and there’s nothing wrong with that. At the very least they need to know whether they can afford to live on what you’re offering. Many will be looking for a salary increase with any job move because they aspire to improve their standard of living.
If the salary will depend on the candidate’s experience, that’s ok – simply give a salary range and state that it depends on experience.
An HR Business Partner in one organisation could offer around £35k and yet another in excess of £100k. Job title does note equal an expectation around salary, so you need to specify.
If you’re not sure what the salary should be, do some benchmarking. We can help with this if necessary – you can contact us via our form here.
2. Not offering benefits of real value
You want to stand out from the competition, so you’ll want to highlight your best employee benefits – this means benefits that provide real value.
Pension is not a benefit, it’s a right, unless you’re offering above the minimum employer auto-enrolment contribution level.
28 days holiday for a full time employee working 5 days per week is not a benefit, it’s a given, but if you offer anything above that e.g. an additional paid day off for your birthday it would be worth mentioning.
Free tea and coffee? Nice, but not much of an incentive. Free lunches everyday – shout about it!
Table football in the staff room…? Do we really need to say?
If you haven’t got much in the way of benefits to shout about, it might be time to review you what you can offer. Introducing new employee benefits would be great way to boost your whole team, not just new starters and doesn’t need to cost the earth.
Get more insight into what candidates want in our article here.
3. Not disclosing who you are in the job advert
If you use a traditional job agency to promote your role, they will often advertise it anonymously under their own name, which means potential candidates have no idea what company they’re applying to.
Candidates like to know. In fact, it’s really useful if they do know as it means they can decide if they actually want to work for you before they apply – rather than potentially wasting both your and their time if they realise you’re not a match further down the line.
Note here that it’s important that you match what the candidate is looking for, as much as them matching your criteria, otherwise, even if they secure the role, it will be unlikely that they’ll be happy long term.
Want to see which companies we’re currently recruiting for? Check out our job site here.
4. Claiming you offer flexibility – when you don’t
The same applies to hybrid working. Letting someone work from home one day a month, isn’t hybrid. Letting someone leave early to go to the dentist is not offering flexibility.
If you’re not genuinely offering a flexible working situation, just don’t say you are. You may get asked the question and you’ll need to be honest, but definitely don’t advertise something you’re not.
It’s also worth noting here that the new Flexible Working Regulations in force from April 2024 mean that flexible working is a day one right, meaning anyone can ask for flexible working as soon as they start employment and you have to reasonably consider it. This doesn’t mean you need to agree, but you’ll need a good reason not to. Given this, it could be worth reviewing your overall policy on flexible working and if you can find a way to accommodate it – and make it part of your culture – then you can absolutely promote it.
5. Looking for the perfect candidate
Yes, you’ll have a list of requirements you’d like the candidate to meet, and some will be essential e.g. a specialist driving licence or knowledge of a particular software however, try not to be too prescriptive if it’s not absolutely necessary.
If you focus too much on an arbitrary checklist you may miss out on some really good candidates that have transferrable skills or experience that outweighs any qualifications.
6. Failure to respond to candidates in a timely manner
Candidates are actively looking for work and it’s likely they’ll have applied for other roles than just yours, and they’ll certainly keep looking until they find something. If you leave it too long to acknowledge applications or to make decisions, chances are that candidate – especially if they’re good enough for you to want them – will have moved on.
If you’re about to embark on a recruitment process, plan ahead and block in time for the admin that goes with it. Try and keep the process efficient rather than drawn out and plan time for interviews ahead of time so you’re not suddenly too busy to do them.
If you have to run the process over an extended period of time, try and interview as you go along and keep communicating with your candidates so they know why there might be a delay.
If you know you’re going to struggle, get support with managing the process. Consider using our Fixed Fee Recruitment service for cost effective expert help.
7. Setting too many hoops for candidates to jump through
Asking candidates to complete lengthy application forms, attend multiple interviews or prepare excessive presentations as part of the application process is likely to put people off.
Decide what you really need to know about a candidate and what the way for them to demonstrate that is. Don’t ask them to complete an application form if the questions are just asking for information that is readily available on their CV.
If there are multiple people in your decision-making process, try and arrange for them to be available at the same time, rather than holding several separate interviews.
Ultimately, a good way to approach your recruitment process is to consider it as an advertising campaign for your business. Treat your candidate as you would a potential customer – focus on their needs and how you can meet them, communicate regularly and make it easy for them to join you.
What’s the best way to avoid making these common recruitment mistakes?
The recruitment process can be time consuming and costly, particularly if you get it wrong and have to start again. If you’d like help to recruit for your vacancy and avoid making those costly mistakes, trust our Recruitment expert with your role. Enquire about our Fixed Fee Recruitment service today.
For more useful advice on running a successful recruitment campaign, request a copy of our Guide To Successful Recruitment.
