What started as an annoyance in the hiring process has now become a major problem for employers. Each year, the number of dropped connections increases 10-20%! So, how do you mitigate ghosting among your applicants and new hires?
Ghosting in the Workplace
After the 2008 Great Recession, employers were flooded with applications and only responded to the ones they were most interested in. Thus began the practice of ghosting in the workplace. Job applicants had no way of knowing if there was a problem with their application or if the role had already been filled. They only knew they weren’t getting any feedback.
Now, it’s a candidate’s market. Unemployment is at historic lows, and the shoe is on the other foot. Applicants routinely fall off the face of the earth – and even new hires don’t show up for work or drop out in the first few days.
Many of these ghosters are young and just don’t understand how rude it is to abandon the interview process without notifying the company. They don’t understand that this behavior will cause long-term consequences for their careers. Nevertheless, you’ve still got to deal with the reality of unfilled positions and the damage ghosting can cause your organization.
Fortunately, there are best practices and strategies you can employ to mitigate ghosting and reduce the havoc you face in hiring and retention. Here are some of the best tips to incorporate in your CRE organization to keep applicants and new hires engaged, responsive, and committed.
5 Tactics to Mitigate Ghosting
1. Don’t Ghost
It’s called the Golden Rule. If you don’t want applicants to disappear on you, don’t allow this behavior from your hiring managers. Follow up with everyone to build a culture of communication.
2. Exit Interviews
If a new hire fails to show up on Day 1 or leaves at some other point during their employment unexplained, reach out! While they may not respond, asking for an exit interview to let them air their grievances may provide valuable information for future risk mitigation.
3. Shorten Hiring Times
Long periods of time between the interview and job offer allow applicants to lose interest or respond to other opportunities. Working with a professional headhunter in the CRE industry will help you lesson this time period and snatch up top talent quickly while they’re still hot.
4. Get Onboarding Right
Approximately 20% of employee turnover occurs in the first six weeks due to poor onboarding. Don’t just sit your new hire at a desk with a stack of forms to fill out on Day 1. Perfect your hands-on onboarding process to ensure your new hire feels engaged, valued, and part of the mission from the start.
5. Do Your Homework
To mitigate ghosting in your hiring process, do your due diligence to find out if candidates have ever ghosted before. Search Glassdoor and LinkedIn for signs of ghosting in the past. If need be, weed out questionable candidates from your short list.
Remember, you cannot completely prevent ghosting. It’s becoming more and more common in the workplace and hiring process. However, following these critical steps can help minimize exposure and disruption. For a minimal investment, your organization can sidestep much of this problem and maximize engagement for those seeking to join your team