According to a 2016 Society for Human Resource Management report, 84% of employers see a shortage in skilled applicants, while 68% experience difficulty filling jobs. In today’s war for talent, the challenge to find qualified candidates continues to grow, as does the skills gap.
For an HR Break Room episode on how hiring is changing in the digital age, we invited Lou Adler, business consultant and CEO of The Adler Group, to join our discussion. Here are two highlights from our conversation.
The skills gap isn’t going anywhere
The low unemployment rate and ubiquitous talent shortage make current competition for top performers increasingly heated. “You cannot use a surplus of talent in your hiring process, based on weeding out the weak, when a surplus of talent doesn’t exist,” Adler said.
Ideal candidates bring a lot to the table, including:
- a core set of skills
- interest in and motivation to do the work
- fitting into the culture
- career goals aligning with an organization’s trajectory
Even if your number of job applicants grows, the number of qualified candidates is limited. To fill open positions with only those candidates who truly qualify, HR and recruiting should work together, using a performance-based hiring methodology.
“Hire with the end in mind,” Adler said. “The end isn’t when the person accepts an offer. It isn’t onboarding. It’s a year later when the candidate says, ‘Yeah. This is a great job,’ and the hiring manager says, ‘Yes. That was a great person. I’m glad I hired that person.’”
Using past performance as an indicator of future success is a cornerstone to the Adler method.
How HR tech digitally transforms recruiting
As the challenges presented by the skills gap continue to grow, technology continues to transform and help automate some talent acquisition initiatives in response. After managers have defined an individual’s role in the hiring process, it is essential they know how to properly conduct an interview to determine if a candidate makes a good fit.
One way HR can equip managers with the tools to conduct successful interviews is to train them consistently using a learning management system. This technology helps get managers up to speed on how to ask appropriate, fact-finding questions to determine if a candidate is a culture fit, possesses the skills for the job, and has the desire to learn and grow with the organization.
These training sessions can be customized to teach managers a variety of interview techniques. Courses on interview practices, such as behavioral questions – or, as Adler put it, “how to peel back the onion and dig deeper” – are especially beneficial.
With some software applications, managers can prepare anytime, anywhere, even on a mobile device. HR can assign these training courses for managers to review on demand.
To hear our full conversation with Adler, listen to episode 55 of the HR Break Room podcast, “Hiring in the Digital Age: How Performance-Based Hiring Helps Recruiting.”