If you’re struggling to hire in this tight labor market, you’re not alone. It can seem like people just don’t want to work, but if you speak to job seekers or spend some time on social media, you may find that many job seekers complain about a small set of frustrations that are holding them back.

Many of these job-seeking frustrations occur somewhere in the hiring process. Improving the hiring process is essential for employers because of the impact it has on their business. After all, when a manufacturer has trouble filling production positions, productivity suffers and deadlines are missed.

A long or complicated hiring process creates a poor candidate experience, damaging your reputation and brand and discouraging new candidates from applying. If you want to address some of the most common candidate complaints, reviewing your hiring process is a must. Here are some common hiring process problems you can solve.

Job Application

The Problems: Your application is too complicated, can’t be completed on a smartphone, and applicants have no way of knowing whether it was received.

Solutions To Try: Pare your application down to request only the information you need to decide if you want to interview the candidate, not what you need to know to hire them. If a worker is completely wrong for your posted job, why make them spend an hour filling out information like the address of a company they worked for 10 years ago?

Instead of a long application, have a simplified preliminary application or simply make fewer fields mandatory in your existing application. There will be plenty of time to capture more in-depth information further along in the application process.

Try filling out your online application yourself to see what the candidate experience is like. Be sure candidates can complete the application on a smartphone. For many people, especially candidates for light industrial jobs, a smartphone is their only access to the internet.

Finally, set clear expectations regarding when candidates can expect to hear from you. Let them know they will receive an email confirming the application was received and what the next steps will be.

Decision-MakingProcess

Problems: It takes too long to make a hiring decision, there is no communication, and candidates don’t know where they stand.

Solutions To Try: A slow decision-making process can cause you to lose your best candidates. Remember, the applicants who are most likely to hang in no matter what are those who have no other job prospects. Top candidates with plenty of opportunities will simply move on to the next job on their list without looking back.

Shorten your process by putting a decision-making structure in place with firm timelines. Decide who signs off on a hire and what happens if they are out of town or otherwise unavailable. Try to avoid “feel good” signoffs.

Avoid ghosting candidates by setting clear expectations and automating as much of the process as possible. If you tell a candidate they will hear something by Friday, contact them Friday. A simple call or email with an update to let them know if they are still in the running can make all the difference. If needed, provide a revised hire date, but don’t make promises you can’t keep.

Automate emails or use templates to save time and effort while keeping candidates in the loop. Streamliningrepeatable processes is a simple way to hire faster. At the click of a few keys, you can tell one set of candidates they will be moving onto the next stage and free others to move on to their next opportunity.

Job Descriptions

The Problems: Your job posts aren’t compelling enough and aren’t attracting the right candidates. Your job description is inaccurate or outdated, which causes candidate mismatches and turnover.

Solutions To Try: Don’t forget job descriptions are candidate-targeted marketing, not your wish list. When you’re drafting a job description, consider your ideal candidate and reflect on what that person needs to see from your job that will encourage them to choose your job over another.

Start your description with attractive key points, follow with what they can expect on the job, and wrap up by listing the requirements to be considered for the position. Be honest about the nature of the job, the working environment and your company culture. It’s the best way to attract workers who will fit the job and your company.

Make these changes to your hiring process to attract and retain the best worker and encourage them to refer friends and family as well. Simplifying your hiring process isn’t easy though. If you’re struggling with your hiring process, consider partnering with a staffing company that can help you implement some of these strategies.