There is hardly an industry in Germany that does not suffer from a shortage of skilled employees. Posting a job ad and waiting is no longer a promising tactic. But how can modern recruiting processes work?
Shortage of skilled employees - clearly noticeable
Although there are always voices that declare the shortage of skilled employees to be non-existent, in reality it has a firm grip on German SMEs. According to Markt und Mittelstand the shortage of skilled employees is now the number one concern of small and medium-sized enterprises. According to a survey by DZ Bank, 81 percent say they consider this to be one of their biggest problem areas.
But it is not only the qualified staff that is lacking, the processes in recruiting are also changing increasingly. Digitalization and demographic change are thus exacerbating companies' staffing problems. Today more than ever, therefore, good strategies for recruiting are needed.
How does successful recruiting work?
In itself, every successful recruitment is a five-step process:
- Definition and elaboration of the requirements
- Addressing suitable applicants
- Screening of the applicants
- Selection
- Placement
However, today it is often no longer that simple. Finding and addressing suitable applicants is increasingly becoming the bottleneck that causes companies to fail.
As a result, positions remain vacant for increasingly longer periods of time. In 2019, for example, jobs remained vacant for an average of 124 days (source: Statista), and in some bottleneck occupations the average vacancy time is even significantly higher. Every day that a position remains unfilled costs companies money.
For these reasons, successful recruiting in the current era consists of much more than the five steps mentioned above. A number of key factors can be found that contribute to recruiting success.
Key factor #1: Human and social factors
The human and social component may be considered the key factor par excellence. After all, in an economy in which workers can increasingly pick and choose an employer from several offers, the human impression is what counts most.
Today's applicants want an approachable and empathetic employer and a good, collegial working relationship right from the start. Anyone who can't keep up with this often loses out when potential new employees make their decision.
With this in mind, the following key factors primarily serve to improve the implementation of human interaction.
Key factor #2: Strategic planning
Searching for applicants when positions urgently need to be filled - this often builds up great pressure and leads to long vacancy periods. Instead, employers would do better to engage in long-term personnel planning. This includes a concrete strategy for the development of their own personnel.
It is worthwhile to conduct good applicant management in advance. Contact should be maintained with potential future employees who have submitted unsolicited applications, for example. Building up talent pools makes it easier to fill positions with qualified candidates when they actually become vacant.
In times when it is harder to find good staff externally, more time should also be invested in formulating and implementing a strategy for internal recruitment.
Key factor #3: Employer branding
You want to be interesting and attractive to potential applicants. Nothing is better suited to this than a strongly established employer brand. This is created through active employer branding.
While the general image as a company is important for this, it is not enough to convince new employees. This is because they increasingly rely on the recommendations of other current or former employees.
Take advantage of this fact! Establish a working environment in which your staff really enjoy coming to work, feel valued and seen. In times of Kununu and Co., this not only increase employee loyalty, but also your attractiveness as an employer brand for new employees. Incidentally, satisfied employees will also perform better!
Key factor #4: The target group analysis
Desired qualifications, scope of duties, required experience - companies often think a lot about all these things when they want to hire new employees. Unfortunately, far too seldom is light shed on what social factors make up the desired applicant.
You are therefore one step ahead of other employers if you give this detailed consideration. For one thing, this makes it easier to integrate the new employee into the team later on. On the other hand, it also makes it easier to address potential new specialists in a target group-specific manner.
Because today, especially in e-recruiting via online channels, there are almost endless job boards and networks. Above all, you should advertise a job where the desired applicant will also be found. A prior analysis of the character you are looking for makes it much easier to decide where to search. This in turn increases the success of the personnel search.
Key factor #5: Applicant management
More than half of all applicants have already turned down a job offer because the applicant management of the interested employer seemed unsympathetic or off-putting. The main factors here are:
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Speed: Applicants want prompt initial feedback on their application.
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Accuracy: Feedback should not just consist of generic statements, but should contain concrete, useful information. This also applies to rejections - after all, this very applicant could become interesting again in the future.
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Individuality: Pre-formulated text modules attract the negative attention of most applicants. Individual answers should therefore be standard.
Key factor #6: Onboarding
Once new personnel have been found, recruiting does not stop there. An onboarding strategy should be in place to help new employees settle in.
This has several advantages: For one thing, high turnover is avoided because employees are less inclined to quit again quickly. In addition, applicants are also more inclined to choose a company if they already know in advance how onboarding will proceed approximately. This in turn promotes a positive employer brand overall.
Get experts on board
You see: Implementing successful recruiting is more complex today than it was a few years ago and increasingly requires expertise from various disciplines. The time required for personnel planning and recruitment measures should also not be underestimated.
If you request the help of external service providers such as Vality One you can concentrate on your core competencies. At the same time, we ensure that your recruiting, from requirements planning to onboarding and employee support, is targeted, successful and professional. To achieve this, we work hand in hand with our customers and always close to the people.
We would also be happy to help you implement a successful human resources strategy - just contact us.
