Companies That Prioritize Candidate Relationships Improve Hiring Performance According to Hiring Insights Report From GoodTime

Report Findings Show Companies’ Struggles Around Talent Acquisition in the Distance Economy; 50% of Companies Say They Did Not Hit Their Hiring Goals, and 60% Say it is Taking Longer to Hire.

Businesses continue to find it difficult to hire new employees given the various headwinds caused by a number of factors ranging from increased demand for talent, an increased number of workers embracing freelance or part-time work. While the hiring landscape became more competitive, businesses also faced a lack of qualified candidates due to the supply/demand gap. Increased selectivity among job seekers played a part, too.GoodTime announced its findings from its first annual Hiring Insights Report to gauge the current landscape in talent acquisition. GoodTime surveyed 560 HR, talent, and recruiting leaders across the U.S. to hear about their most critical hiring challenges—and how they’re meeting the demands of modern candidates in a changed hiring landscape.
The report highlights the challenges of hiring during both the Great Resignation as well as the emerging Distance Economy, focusing on what companies are doing, not doing, or are planning to do to hit their hiring goals.
The high-level findings from the GoodTime Hiring Insights Report include:

• 50% of hiring goals were not met in 2021
• 60% surveyed said the time-to-hire increased in the past 12 months
• 46% surveyed said the No.1 hiring goal in 2022 is to create genuine relationships with candidates
• 36% said they consider improving candidate relationships a priority but struggle to execute
• 31% said they made DEIB a measurable priority in the past 12 months

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Companies far from hitting their hiring goals

It’s hard out there for HR and talent leaders. In 2021, companies fell 50% short of their hiring goals and felt the sting of the Great Resignation, evidenced in part by the number one reported hiring challenge: retaining top talent. As employees resigned for greener pastures, companies scrambled to backfill roles, hiring 108 new employees, on average, in 2021. According to the GoodTime Hiring Insights Report, respondents averaged just 50% of their hiring goals in 2021. To make matters worse, 60% of HR and talent leaders report that it is taking longer to fill an open position in 2021 than in previous years.

Creating meaningful relationships with candidates is key

Antiquated pre-COVID tactics—flaunting nap rooms and massage chairs—are, and will continue to be—ineffective in wooing top talent. Today, 46% said creating meaningful relationships with candidates is more important than ever. Among the leading candidate-focused hiring practices include flexibility in scheduling during the interview process and demonstration of the company’s culture, mission, and values. Providing office tours and free lunch during the interview were also noted but considered ‘relics of the past.’

Retaining top talent is the number one challenge

Some assume that fully in-office companies have the most challenging time retaining talent; however, that wasn’t the case. Sixty-three percent (63%) of fully-remote companies selected “retaining top talent,” far above the average (30%). And while 34% of fully or mostly remote companies struggled with a lack of qualified candidates, only 22% of fully or mostly in-office companies reported the same challenge. While the Distance Economy widens the talent pool, it also widens the employer pool, making it more critical for remote and hybrid companies to take meaningful steps to retain, attract, and win candidates. As a result, HR teams expect to struggle to retain top talent and attract qualified candidates in the year ahead.

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Hiring landscape more competitive

HR leaders disagree on whether the hiring landscape has become more competitive. Forty-seven percent (47%) of HR leaders agreed that “the hiring landscape has become more competitive due to an increased demand for talent.” This sentiment aligns with most headlines and analyst reports. However, the No. 1 selected item (45%) among Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) was “the hiring landscape has become less competitive due to an increase in available talent who have recently quit their jobs.” Directors were 34% less likely than CHROs to agree (32%). Employees who are more closely involved with day-to-day recruiting work have a different perception of business functioning.

DEIB in the Hiring Process

The findings in the Hiring Insights Report cast a dull light on the state of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) in the hiring process. Thirty-one percent (31%) of companies made DEIB a measurable priority in the past 12 months. Thirty-eight percent (38%) of companies plan to make DEIB a measurable priority over the next 12 months. While this is a 7% YoY increase, DEIB is at the bottom of the list. Further findings showed that commitment to DEIB was the least selected item (32%) in response to the question, “Which of the following do you communicate to candidates during the hiring process to attract top talent?””Winning the war for talent moves beyond the one-sided, staged candidate experience to the two-way, genuine candidate relationship. Companies that take a human-centered approach to talent acquisition are 2x more likely to achieve financial goals,” said Ahryun Moon, CEO & Co-Founder, GoodTime. “The report findings clearly show that winning talent through outdated methods like free lunches and ping pong tables are over. Companies need to put more emphasis on cultivating the candidate relationship if they want to create impactful hires in today’s Distance Economy.””If you aren’t offering candidates an environment where they can grow their career, your target hiring goals will continue to grow right with your attrition rate. As a result, you could be forever chasing an unattainable goal,” said Pete Lawson, Talent Acquisition Leader, GoPuff.

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