Delayed or no feedback, too complicated application procedures or too high demands from the HR departments - mistakes in the internal processes often make it difficult to fill vacancies quickly. The problems are known, but are too rarely actively dealt with.
In view of the shortage of skilled workers, which in some cases is already assuming considerable proportions for some occupational groups, one should actually be able to assume that companies would pull out all the stops to be able to fill success-critical positions as quickly as possible. But the word actually is in many cases also the key term that describes the failure of the efforts. "Actually, we should coordinate much more closely with the specialist department", "Actually, the candidate should now receive our contract offer as quickly as possible", "Actually, we should build up a pool of applicants". Every experienced HR manager knows how important internal processes are for successful recruiting, but in practice these internal processes are not handled as they should be.
Lack of feedback is the biggest point of criticism
According to a reader survey by the job and application portal Karrierebibel.de*, applicants are particularly annoyed by receiving no response or only a very late response to their application or interview. Almost 23 percent of the participants stated that they never heard anything from the company again after their application. 13.5 percent of the respondents did not receive any feedback after the interview.
Other points of criticism are too little openness about why the application failed (18 per cent) and the fact that the job in question is re-advertised after the rejection (just under 10 per cent). All of this shows little appreciation for the applicants and ultimately damages both the image and the recruiting of the company looking for a job.
Threats to new hires
A current study by the personnel service provider Robert Half** also confirms that recruiting processes take too long and applicants are lost as a result. On the one hand, the reasons lie in the overly extensive processes, but on the other hand also in the increased demands of applicants. More than half of the CFOs surveyed in the study (55 percent) agree that applicants have become more impatient. This is because most candidates have several options available to them through multiple applications and thus have a choice.
"The consequence: long application processes jeopardise the quality of new hires," the study says. In plain language, this means: If the searching companies wait too long with their decision, the good applicants will have left in the meantime and, in the worst case, the search will have to start all over again.
About the author
After graduating as an automotive engineer and industrial engineer, he began his career in the automotive industry in the areas of sales, development and marketing and also spent a year in Japan with one of the largest automotive suppliers.
He then moved to a world-renowned premium car manufacturer, where he was responsible for product marketing in Japan and South America and marketing strategy in North and South America.
In 1994 he decided to become self-employed and founded a personnel consultancy in Munich, where he has been driving development and expansion for over 20 years. As managing director, his industry focus is naturally on the automotive world as well as mechanical and plant engineering.
With his doctorate in the field of aptitude diagnostics, he ideally rounds off his fields of competence, especially with regard to personnel and management consultancy. The dissertation deals with the identification and proof of typical personality traits of engineers as well as the definition of development areas for a successful professional career.
These are scientifically derived and presented in the book "Eignungsdiagnostik im Praxiseinsatz".
At the same time, his focus is on building networks and cooperation models as well as the continuous further development of systems and processes in HR consulting.
Within the last 20 years in personnel consulting, he has developed several brands that are still successful on the market today.
