Report reveals shocking ‘wastage’ in the hiring process

Three quarters of candidates sourced for a job do not meet role requirements, leading to shocking amounts of “wastage” in the hiring process, according to talent management specialists Alexander Mann Solutions.

Its 2016 Global Recruiting Survey, in conjunction with social learning and analytics company Social Talent, found that an average of 282 candidates considered for every role. Social media is exacerbating the issue, with 72% of candidates found through online searches being discarded at an early stage, according to the survey.

Jeremy Tipper, consulting and innovation director at Alexander Mann Solutions said that this amount of wastage could have a negative impact on a company’s reputation.

He commented: “While hiring managers now have a vast array of sophisticated tools at their disposal to source talent, there is clearly still work to be done in the development of targeted recruitment processes. The amount of wastage that has been revealed will quite simply be damaging to an organisation’s employee value proposition and could be detrimental to future hires.”

The report also found that 72% of candidates contacted regarding a role do not respond, which means many potential future employees, or even customers, are being ‘spammed’ by brands. 

Jonathan Campbell, CEO of Social Talent, added: “Huge waste and inefficiency still exists within the recruitment industry. Even after many years of recruiters discovering and learning brand new techniques to attract the best talent, wastage still remains resulting in reduced productivity and static hiring stats. The silver lining here is that there is a massive opportunity in the industry for recruiters to redefine their candidate pipeline. Simple tweaks to candidate engagement strategies, existing processes and sharing best practice will drive lean improvements for you and your business.”