Human resources personnel at small and mid-sized businesses in the U.S. feel the pressure to find and retain talent. And inefficient hiring practices include the slow hiring of the right staff. So this proves detrimental to small business growth.
New Report Urges Faster Hiring Process
The 2019 BerniePortal Recruitment Report surveyed HR managers at small and mid-sized businesses across America.
All-in-one HRIS platform BerniePortal created the report. And it found organizations fail to find the most talented hires. But they still don’t prioritize rapid recruitment processes.
So your competitors pick the most talented of job seekers. And this happened before your slow-to-react hiring managers make their move.
BerniePortal designed the report to help small businesses optimize their HR process.
Low U.S. Unemployment Challenges Small Business Recruiting
Unemployment in the United States stands at a 50 year low. And the results of the survey suggest small businesses need to streamline their hiring processes. So they must do this to improve recruitment and retention rates.
Many hiring managers seem slow and inefficient in their hiring processes. But 61 percent of those surveyed said recruitment was their primary HR goal. Or it ranked as one of several key HR goals for 2019.
And 47 percent of the HR professionals that took part in the survey said their average hire time is between 15 and 30 days. But that proves too long when quality candidates are often snapped up by an organization within days.
Meanwhile, 22 percent of participants said their average hire speed was between 31 and 45 days. And 13 percent said they typically took more than 45 days to hire new recruits.
More Details Arise from the Recruitment Report
Noting the importance of hiring talent quickly, the BerniePortal report states:
“Top candidates are off the market quickly — many within days, which immediately puts employers with an extended hiring process at a disadvantage.
“For the majority of respondents working as HR teams of one, this is a unique challenge, as most of the administrative responsibility associated with filling multiple positions can fall to just on person, slowing down the process.”
Over half of the business surveyed in the report said they believe retaining talent is almost as important as finding it. And reducing staff turnover remains a leading priority.
The competitive recruitment market remains competitive. And HR teams need to act quickly and streamline processes. But only 17 percent of respondents said they use an applicant tracking solution.
In light of the survey’s findings, BerniePortal recommends that small businesses automate the hiring process through software solutions to manage applicant tracking, onboarding and more. This way, hiring times are reduced and recruitment rates are improved.
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