Workforce. Why recruitment needs to change its stripes

The last 15 months have impacted all aspects of a company’s operations — including the often unsung “Talent Acquisition” or recruitment function. They have had to shift from a face-to-face model to a completely virtual interface overnight.

Whether companies acknowledge this or not, the recruitment team is effectively a “gatekeeper”, deciding whether candidates are rejected at the preliminary stage, or are sent on for further evaluation. To make things dramatic, they also have the onerous responsibility of ensuring that company strategy is reflected in the talent strategy — whether through diversity and inclusion mandates, or in terms of acquiring the skills that the company needs to meet its business targets. That makes hiring one of the most significant decisions in an organisation.

Who guards the guardians?

Companies are realising this — and are starting the process way before the “hunt” even begins — by training the recruiter. While most recruiters are trained to filter a resume almost instantly, companies are now making them undergo training to manage any unconscious bias (example, “likeability quotient”) or affinity bias (example, same alma mater) to ensure that screening resumes and the first exploratory phone call is part of an objective, evidence-based hiring process that does not arbitrarily reject qualified candidates who lack the right “keywords”. Even experienced hiring managers go in for refresher training programs to get fresh perspectives and shed biases.

This leads us to the next pre-requisite — the job description (JD). Many companies don’t spend adequate time on articulating the skills and competencies that are needed for a role — resulting in the wrong person being recruited for the wrong role. Sometimes, they liberally “borrow” a job description from a corporate giant without checking if it fits the role or the organisation’s trajectory. Result — the applicant “imagines” the role to be a strategic one whereas the company expects a more “hands-on” person who implements processes.

This expectation mismatch is a waste of time for both the candidate and the company. Recruiters must be empowered to push-back if the JD from the requesting team is wishy-washy, and their training should confer this prerogative.

A job description is not a work of art. But it requires deep thought, a storytelling approach and some amount of word-smithing to bring out the nuances of the role, and highlight key skills and attributes that the company actually needs. It should pique the interest of the candidate but it should also inform them, honestly and clearly what the role entails, what are the “good-to-have” and “must-have” competencies.

Seasoned recruiters know the importance of this and in present times, they need their narrative to stand out in all the clutter. At the same time, they don’t want a good candidate to be scared away by a list of “perfect but non-existing” competencies.

Revamping the process

“Going with the gut” has been praised and criticised equally, and many leaders confess to making the hiring decision within the first few minutes of an interview. However, in a virtual set-up, “gut feel” may have a lesser role to play over a Zoom window. A virtual interview reduces the possibility of non-verbal cues, and neither the candidate nor the interviewer is able to gauge the signs. A consistent process and standardised assessment tools will make the process just and fair.

Some of the cultural baggage needs to be shed as well. Interviewers sometimes do go overboard while trying to make the candidate comfortable on a video call and tend to be chatty — which may lead to personal but irrelevant questions, and could be viewed as intrusive. There are gender differences as well — women are asked how they plan to manage work and childcare if they land the job, while men are acquitted from such probing.

These are not just problematic from a Diversity and Inclusion perspective; they could also land the company in legal pitfalls. There are other recruiters who record the interview without subsequently deleting the video, or following other basic data privacy practices. Therefore, general housekeeping rules have to be identified, announced and the hiring managers must be trained extensively on them.

While virtual hiring may have cancelled the amount of time spent in travelling to the physical workplace, hiring managers need to respect the candidate’s time and ensure that at every step of the process the candidate is comfortable with the timing, duration and frequency of interviews. Importantly, for the candidate this process becomes the main “window” to assess “how things get done here” — whereas in a physical office these cues can get picked up from the energy and vibe of the people and office space.

Lastly, an empathetic process that is well thought through and well-executed will fetch the organisation accolades even from a candidate who doesn’t make it to the finish line, and will keep the company’s brand in good standing.

In an ever-changing work environment where the rules are fluctuating and a perennial war for talent rages, recruitment will need to evolve and change some of its stripes to stay ahead in the chase.

The writer is a Human Resources consultant based in Bengaluru

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