Insights From the Volume Hiring Market: Hire Quality vs Speed

Insights From the Volume Hiring Market: Hire Quality vs Speed

We all know it’s a candidate’s market. A lack of applications and number of suitable candidates, ghosting, dropouts, and a high level of attrition are all making hiring more difficult than ever. In 2020/21, the customer services market saw a record number of vacancies. However, the number of active candidates per vacancy reduced by half. This has further highlighted the need for organisations to use innovative solutions to attract talent.

A recent poll by PeopleScout asked participants what their biggest hiring challenges were in the current market:

  • 50% of candidates answered that they faced the most problems getting good quality candidates to apply
  • 27% said that holding onto candidates throughout the hiring process was their second biggest challenge

In addition, time-to-hire is also an issue that has been at the forefront for our clients. So, the question becomes, how do we accelerate the hiring process without jeopardising quality?

In the last 12 months, PeopleScout have helped organisations such as Virgin Media, the AA and Heathrow to make 4,000 new hires, ranging from graduates and apprentices through to customer service agents.

Our hiring success is a result of working in partnership with our clients, understanding their employer value proposition (EVP) and activating their employer brand. We bring to the partnership expert planners, designers, and implementation specialists who provide innovative strategies to recruit the right quality and volume of talent in the shortest timeframes.

We recently hosted a panel for our Hire Speed vs Quality webinar including speakers from PeopleScout, Virgin Media O2, easyJet, Shakespeare Martineau and the Call Centre Management Association. These experts discussed the challenging market situation and how innovation can provide solutions. The panel agreed that, taking greater precedence than ever before, is the need for more creative solutions to making the process smoother and quicker. This in turn ensures that the company’s investment in the candidate is not wasted.

A clear and informative job profile that brings the role to life can be the first step to finding the right candidate.

Once they apply, setting clear expectations and providing interventions to keep candidates informed between recruitment stages keeps them engaged. A good EVP that brings company culture to life also helps the candidate understand early on whether they want to remain part of the recruitment process or not.

Essential tools that are gaining traction include day-in-the-life videos, virtual office tours and segmented and enhanced referral schemes.