5 Technology Roadblocks Costing You Great Talent You want to be able to hire the best employees, but these shortfalls could cause the best candidates to not look your way.
By Andre Lavoie Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Companies put a lot into recruiting great talent -- nearly $110 billion a year, according to a 2013 study by Deloitte. In addition to the money, companies are also investing time and patience into finding and hiring great talent.
However, when it comes to technology and recruiting, how many of us are shooting ourselves in the proverbial foot without realizing it? In my opinion, there are five major technology-related roadblocks killing candidates' experience and causing companies to miss out on great talent:
1. Companies fail to re-engage candidates.
One of the biggest mistakes companies make is failing to re-engage candidates, an October 2014 CareerBuilder study found. A candidate who isn't hired for a certain position may turn out to be a perfect fit for one that opens up later, but organizations that don't maintain relationships with viable candidates lose them.
Related: 5 Reasons Why Your Social-Recruiting Strategy Isn't Working
These candidates have already expressed interest in the organization, so companies could save time and effort by reaching out to them for future positions. However, only 38 percent of human-resource professionals re-engage candidates every six months or more, while more than a third report they have moved on to more current candidates.
2. Companies lose interested, but passive, candidates.
Just because a candidate may not apply immediately upon reading your posting doesn't mean they aren't interested in applying later. However, 57 percent of HR professionals don't use any tools to capture candidates who didn't apply to their jobs. In fact, 39 percent of job seekers feel the ability to leave their contact information with an employer and apply later is extremely or very important, according to CareerBuilder.
In addition, two in five job seekers would like to receive emails about new opportunities opening up at companies. By getting interested candidates' information, companies can build a talent pipeline for future openings.
3. The application isn't accessible on mobile devices.
Nine out of 10 job seekers say they will use their mobile device during a job search sometime in the next 12 months, a 2014 Glassdoor survey reports. That means if you don't have an application that's accessible on mobile devices, or if it doesn't line up well with the interface, you're missing out on a lot of potential talent.
Companies can combat this by offering an application that's accessible on mobile devices, or through the use of mobile apps. In addition to job searching, 44 percent of job seekers expect to be able to apply for jobs from their mobile device, so not offering mobile applications costs a lot of companies great talent.
Related: The Art of Courting Candidates: Creating a Stellar Startup Interview Experience
4. Using automated responses.
When companies are flooded with applications and resumes, it can be difficult to get back to each individual candidate. It's easy to use an automated email response or generalized application service, but 39 percent of job seekers don't feel that's enough. They're looking for personalization, the CareerBuilder study reports.
Sixty-two percent of job seekers are expecting more personalized communications, which could be anything from a personalized email to a phone call from a recruiter after an application has been submitted (which, in fact, 67 percent of job seekers expect!). Companies that don't respond to each applicant may find themselves losing great talent to organizations that do.
5. The application process is too complicated.
According to CareerBuilder, 53 percent of human resources professionals think having a long application is good because it filters out candidates who aren't truly interested.
While this may be true, making the application process too complicated also filters out potential candidates who may not have the patience for a long application. A shocking 60 percent of job seekers reported not finishing an application because it was too long.
So how long is too long? While the CareerBuilder survey found 37 percent of recruiters ask 15 or more questions on an application, job seekers say an application should have 10 questions at the most. In addition, 29 percent of job seekers believe the application process should take 10 minutes or less, with 62 percent saying it should take 20 minutes at the most.
It can be hard enough to recruit great talent without hidden roadblocks. By avoiding these technology-related mistakes, companies can widen their talent pool and find and hire the best talent for their organization.
Related: The Law of Attraction: Finding the Perfect Hire for Your Company
