Global hiring platform Indeed recently conducted research on the hiring process for small businesses, revealing that on average, companies hire three unsuitable candidates each year. The survey, which involved 1,000 employers, showed that while small business mis-hires were comparable to those of larger companies, the impact of such mismatches is more profound for smaller businesses.
With more than four million businesses in the UK with up to 49 employees, which accounts for almost three-quarters of private sector employers, the effect of mismatches is felt more keenly by these firms, with one in ten indicating that they hired more than five unsuitable employees each year.
Where’s the mismatch?
In addition to inadequate soft skills, the most common reasons for mismatches were salary expectations (37%), expectations of role (37%), visa requirements (36%), and the absence of hybrid working options (35%). Smaller businesses are quicker to identify mismatches, with an average of 12 days compared to 18 days for companies with more than 250 employees.
An inefficient hiring process
The survey also revealed that over half (55%) of all employers believe that the hiring process is inefficient. The most common complaint is that employers receive too many irrelevant candidates (67%) and that the hiring process takes too long (68%). Two-thirds of companies (67%) reported that unsuitable candidates progressed too far in the hiring process.
Over half (55%) of all employers believe that the hiring process is inefficient.
This means that, on average, a third of applicants who reach the interview stage are unsuitable for the role. In reality, candidates were more frequently rejected in the latter stages of the process for technical reasons, such as right-to-work issues (38%), which could have been identified earlier, rather than competency for the role (36%).
Willing to pay more for better
The majority of UK businesses believe that identifying higher quality candidates in the early stages of recruitment would improve the hiring process, with 77% of those polled willing to pay more for fewer, better-suited candidates. “The hiring process is too complex, deeply inefficient, and simply too slow, and we know the frustration this causes employers and jobseekers”, said Raj Mukherjee, EVP and General Manager at Indeed.
“By improving matching, we can help fast forward to meaningful interactions between people, which is when the real magic happens.”
“Finding quality workers should be as easy as pushing a button, and that’s why we’re making it easier and faster for employees to shortlist quality candidates. Recruitment is fundamentally humancentric, and by improving matching, we can help fast forward to meaningful interactions between people, which is when the real magic happens.”
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