Post-pandemic, there has been a shift to employee-centric policies throughout the UK recruitment market. For decades, human resource managers have based recruitment choices on cost efficiency, analytics, and big data to find the “right” candidate. The result? A 32.2% turnover rate.

While productivity is still the main goal of businesses, leaders have realised that productivity will come from great work environments, teams that collaborate well, and employees that enjoy their work, all of which can be supported throughout the recruitment process.

With this in mind, hiring managers are now questioning whether or not standard processes have replaced the creativity and innovation required to attract the market's top talent and build recruitment into the workforce strategy.

The Disadvantages Of Current Recruitment Processes

It’s no secret that many recruitment processes are outdated. While they may have been appropriate several decades ago, they’re less appropriate in the rapidly evolving modem workplace. Here's why.

They’re Designed To Tick Boxes

Historically, recruitment processes would be based around ticking boxes. Potential candidates would have to meet certain educational requirements, specific grades, and in some cases, complete a test. If a candidate passed these, they’d go through to an interview stage and go on to get the job if successful. While grades are important, they don’t necessarily mean an employee will fit a company culture or team.

Interview Processes Are Flawed

85% of hiring managers in the UK report making a bad hire in the past year. This stat has been linked to poor interview processes. Firstly, most companies have an inconsistent interview process, making it hard to compare candidates. Additionally, HR personnel have reported that many interview processes use the wrong questions, fail to explain the company culture, and overlook the importance of a candidate's personality.

The Process Takes Too Long

Over 50% of professionals in the UK have declined a job offer as the hiring process took too long. Many hiring processes take weeks, if not months, to be completed. While it's important for businesses to do their due diligence, it’s also causing high-skilled candidates to take jobs elsewhere.

While these are just three disadvantages of current recruitment processes, many others have been highlighted by HR experts, including the use of keyword-based algorithms, automated interviews, and an overreliance on technology.

However, businesses are now realising the disadvantages of these processes and are taking a more human approach. This involves looking at personality-to-business compatibility, how well a new candidate will fit into a team, and whether or not a specific role offers what a candidate is looking for in their career. Early research has shown such an approach is already bearing fruit, with a number of advantages in the workplace.

The Benefits Of Focusing On People During Recruitment

Higher Employee Engagement

Due to the increase in hybrid working, the range of performance between disengaged and fully committed employees has increased exponentially. This divide can be linked back to the hiring process. During the recruitment process, it's important for businesses to look at the compatibility between a candidate and the current team. Do they have similar work styles? Do they like to collaborate or work alone? How do their skills align?

The better a candidate fits into a team, the more comfortable they will naturally feel no matter where they work This will not only speed up how quickly they feel like part of the team, but will also make the collaboration process significantly easier. Better collaboration means better engagement, and better engagement will lead to higher productivity.

Improved Brand Reputation

Brands like Google, Apple, and Adobe are known for being fun places to work. Several videos have gone viral in the past, showing teams having fun, making use of collaboration rooms, or enjoying some table tennis in workplace social areas.

This reputation is extremely important for businesses when it comes to long-term growth, and starts with the recruitment process. With a well-built process, businesses can hire people based on personality traits rather than book smarts alone. Over a few years, this will help build the business's reputation, which will help the business naturally attract like-minded people. Furthermore, employees may even recommend friends or people they’ve worked with in the past for particular roles, creating a “family-like” environment rather than just another place to work.

Decreased Staff Turnover

Staff turnover is becoming a significant problem for businesses. Around 40% of employees are planning to leave their current jobs in the next year, with this number increasing annually. While each individual has their own reason, in many cases, the business-to-person fit isn’t right. Many of these individuals joined businesses right out of university and didn’t consider whether or not they would stay in the business in the long run. Likewise, businesses were using outdated recruitment methods to hire based solely on grades.

By taking a human approach to recruitment, businesses can dramatically decrease staff turnover rates. This is done by creating stronger bonds within teams, providing career development options based on an individual's expectations, and making sure a candidate's values align with the organisation.

Better Workplace Environment

According to a 2022 report, 42% of employees in the UK have left jobs due to a bad workplace environment. While a myriad of factors influence the environment, the recruitment process plays an important role. For example, as part of the interview process, it may be a good idea to include the manager whom the new candidate would be working under. Doing so would make sure there are no clashes in personality.

Using a proactive approach, employers can improve relationships between workers, increase morale with a healthy work environment and reduce conflict within a team.

Employees Can Bring Their Whole Personality To Work

Everyone has a “work personality” and a personality they have outside of work. However, by hiring the right people, managers can create a relaxed environment where employees feel themselves. Not only is this good for morale, but it can also increase productivity and the quality of ideas being shared, with employees feeling more confident to challenge ideas and present their own.

A Human Approach To Recruitment: Essential For Success

With technology continuously changing the workplace, modern teams are required to constantly adapt. Doing this as a team is significantly less daunting than doing so alone. Therefore the quality of teams will determine the future of an organisations success.

Future recruitment programmes must focus on a business's internal culture and how a candidate fits in rather than simply filling boxes. This will improve productivity, create harmonious workplace environments and reduce turnover, which is slowly becoming the greatest challenge faced by modern workplaces.