News stories and timelines have been inundated with the latest examples of company layoffs and the looming threat of a recession. However, many would be surprised to hear we’re operating in a candidate’s job market, where job seekers hold considerable power. This is especially true as employers continue to restructure following the Great Reshuffle. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2024 Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, the rate of voluntary separations has remained steady with no significant change, indicating little change in workers willingness to leave their jobs. The balancing act of employers doesn’t stop there, though. In this candidate-friendly job market, talent acquisition costs can compound when candidates drop out late in the recruitment process or fail to turn up for their first day.
Automated pre-hire verifications and onboarding solutions play a crucial role in helping simplify paperwork and onboarding aspects of hiring, helping ensure a more seamless transition for new employees. Integrated technology can help support the entire employee lifecycle from recruitment to departure, providing a more comprehensive and user-friendly experience.
Pre-Hire: Make It More Personal and Faster
In a market where the candidate often holds significant influence, hiring the right person can be challenging. A subpar pre-hire experience can motivate a strong candidate to look elsewhere. Candidates are more vocal about how they don’t want to jump through multiple hoops during an application process, and they want prompt and clear communication. Even if a company’s recruitment process is slow, maintaining contact with a good candidate can help improve their experience and increase the likelihood of completing the pre-hire process.
Candidates are typically available for ten days, so acting quickly can increase a company’s chances of hiring a better candidate and giving them a better experience. Data-driven processes can enhance the pre-hire experience by helping employers identify better candidates quicker, often helping reduce the risk of losing them to faster-moving competitors.
Streamlining the hiring process through technology allows employers to more confidently employ better people, starting with a comprehensive background check. This can not only help save costs but can help set both the employer and employee up for longer-term success, better ensuring qualifications are met and more expertise is built within the business. While a typical pre-employment background check can take two to five business days, employers can use automated and innovative data-driven solutions to help speed up the background check and enhance speed-to-hire, helping get better qualified people in the right seats quicker.
Making Onboarding Easier for Everyone
Once a candidate is hired, the onboarding process provides an opportunity for employers to forge a stronger relationship with new employees. Gallup analytics found that only 12 percent of U.S. employees believe that the company they work for has a good onboarding process. The same group found that nearly one in five employees have had a poor onboarding experience or none at all.
While employers recognize the importance of onboarding, they can also see it as a major pain point. In fact, a recent survey found that 37 percent of HR professionals indicated onboarding was the number one concern regarding filling an open position with remote employees. Once again, innovative employers that adopt cutting-edge digital onboarding practices can better support the completion of necessary paperwork while also helping the new hire feel more cared for and confident in their new role, regardless of their location.
Help Streamline the Process for a Better Win-Win Situation
Efficient pre-hire and onboarding processes create a better win-win situation for both employers and employees. By prioritizing a people-first approach paired with intuitive data tools, companies can demonstrate their commitment to fostering positive working relationships from the recruitment stage onwards. This also helps simplify the hiring and onboarding processes for employees, and benefits employers and HR teams through potential cost-saving efficiencies.
Savvy employers recognize they can adopt more streamlined processes and user-friendly digital tools to help potential employees feel more valued and engaged. Furthermore, data and technology can help them to better get the right person in the right seat, feeling more confident from day one.
Jen Hunter is the Product Leader for Onboarding and Talent Solutions at Equifax Workforce Solutions. She leverages her 20+ years of product and marketing experience to lead a team of product managers responsible for the various points in the hiring lifecycle that enable a candidate to join an organization as a new employee. Her team leads the strategy and development of a full spectrum of products including pre and post-employment verifications, education verification, federal state and local compliance related forms, Form I-9, Work Opportunity Tax Credits (WOTC) and more.