jibe recruitment survey - newsworthy analysis final

8/20/2019 Jibe Recruitment Survey - NewsWorthy Analysis Final

1/36

2014 Talent Acquisition

Survey

September 2014

© 2014 Jibe. All Rights Reserved. 1


2/36

Job Seeker & Talent Acquisition Challenges


Every day, millions of Americans are searching for work. And in today’s tech-

enabled world, it should be easier than ever for them to identify, apply for, and

follow up on positions that interest them.

Unfortunately, a new survey by Jibe finds that most job seekers* today are

dissatisfied with the steps they need to take today to search and apply for jobs.And although many HR professionals* are aware that some issues exist, they’re a

much more optimistic group – they simply don’t realize the depth of the challenges

that applicants face.

A closer look reveals a major technology disconnect at the root of this gap. From

outdated online and mobile application systems to an alarming lack of follow-ups

and clarity about the process, the limitations of prospective employers throw a

serious wrench in a journey that is often difficult to begin with. And both

audiences are painfully aware that these inefficiencies not only get in the way of

effective hiring, but can damage the company’s brand and bottom line.

*An online study of 1,205 passive and active job seekers ages 18+, and 306 HR decision-makers or frontline recruiting professionals


3/36


Job seekers are struggling,

and their expectations don’tmatch the reality of whatprospective employers canoffer.


4/36

An Uphill Battle


A majority of job seekers have negative feelings about the job search process.

35%

35%

38%

42%

49%

60%

71%

78%

80%

Easy

Satisfying

Exciting

Promising

Efficient

Painful

Discouraging

Stressful

Time-consuming

Up to this point, my job search has been…


5/36

Unresponsive Employers


Job seekers are frustrated by the inability of companies to respond in a timely

fashion:

60%55%

20% 19%

Companies reply in a timely manner Companies are respectful of my time

Expectation Reality


6/36

Candidates in the Dark


Many job seekers are also frustrated by the lack of key follow-ups:

51% 51%

62%

41%

16%14%

46%

28%

Companies will let me knowwhy I didn't get a job

Companies will keep meinformed about the status of

an application

Companies will notify mewhen my application has

been received all or most of

the time

Companies will tell me that Ididn't get a job all or most of

the time

Expectation

Reality


7/36

The Human Touch


And perhaps most importantly, millions of job hunters are often left feeling that

companies simply don’t care enough about them as people:

40%38%

51%

46%

15%13%

24%21%

Make applicants feel valued Make applicants feelwanted

Clearly communicate theapplication process

Be transparent about theapplication process

Expectation Reality


8/36

Application Obstacles


A clear majority (60%) of job seekers feel that the online job application

process is more challenging than other common forms:

13%

19%

20%

27%

32%

36%

46%

48%

60%

Online dating

Credit card

Government ID

Grad school

Student loan

College

Health insurance

Mortgage

Job

Which applications are the most challenging to fill out?*

*Respondents were asked to choose their top three answers.


9/36

Avoidance at all Costs


In fact, three in ten would

rather do all of their holiday

shopping on Christmas Eve(30%) or go on a blind date

(30%) than fill out an online

job application. Nineteen

percent would even opt to

spend a day waiting on line at

the DMV instead!

36%

12%

12%

19%

22%

30%

30%

None of these

Go skydiving with no training

Get a root canal

Spend a day on line at the DMV

Speak in front of 100 strangers

Go on a blind date

Do all of my holiday shopping onChristmas Eve

What would you rather do than fill outan online job application?


10/36

Basic Demands


Job seekers feel that the online application experience is too complicated and

desire something better.

68%

60%

44%40%

Clear User-friendly Easy Fast

It's extremely important that the online applicationprocess at most companies is…


11/36


HR professionals know theapplication process ispainful – but don’tunderstand the extent ofthis pain.


12/36

Not Meeting Needs


HR professionals agree that their current application processes are

coming up short:

• Most feel that it’s extremely important for candidates to feel their

application process is clear (69%), user-friendly (64%), and easy (56%).

• Additionally, close to half acknowledge that most of the people who

apply to jobs at their company expect transparency about the process

(45%) and follow up often about the status of their applications (42%).

• Yet, many HR professionals admit that if they were applying for a job at

their company today, it’s not very likely that they could describe theexperience as easy (57%), user-friendly (54%) or clear (52%).


13/36

Experience Matters


HR professionals know that the application

process is crucial to attracting top talent,

but are still struggling to improve in that

area.

• More than half (54%) agree that candidateexperience is important to their hiring

practices.

• Forty-five percent are committed to

enhancing the experience.

• Almost four in ten (36%) report that

improving the candidate experience is

one of their greatest challenges.

54%say that candidate

experience is

important

36%find it challengingto improve candidate

experience


14/36

Tools of Engagement


Additionally, nearly two in five feel it’s hard to keep candidates engaged throughout

the application process (35%) and communicate effectively with them at each step

(34%).

57% 56% 55%

Don't stay engaged throughout theprocess Aren't satisfied with the applicationprocess Don't feel connected to my company

Most people who apply for jobs at my company…

A majority of HR professionals feel that candidates are extremely ambivalent anddisconnected throughout the application process.


15/36

Sharing More Information


Perhaps a better feedback loop would be

a step in the right direction:

• Many HR professionals would

consider changing some aspects of

their application process based oncandidate feedback (48%) and feel they

need more applicant feedback post-

hire (46%) as well as during the

process (44%).

• However, three in ten (30%) admit thatincorporating candidate feedback

when they make tweaks to their

systems is a challenge they currently

face.

48%would change the

application process

based on candidatefeedback

30%

find it difficult toincorporate candidatefeedback into system

changes


16/36


HR professionals and job seekers alike arefrustrated with the toolsthey have today.


17/36

Deep Dissatisfaction


A majority of HR professionals say that their current technology doesn’t deliver

what they need.

65%

59% 58%53%

Intuitive Easy to customize Money-saving Time-saving

The recruiting tools I use today are not…

In fact, nearly three in ten (27%) HR professionals agree that the tools they have

right now get in the way of their ability to do their jobs instead of actually

making them better at what they do.


18/36

Tracking Poorly


• Almost two in three (64%) express some dissatisfaction with or plans to

replace their current applicant tracking system (ATS).

• Many dissatisfied customers cite issues with customization, integration, ease

of use, and performance.

“We get people,

but not the

best.”

“Cumbersome,

complicated, andslow.”

“Often delays the

hiring process byenough time that wehave lost potential

candidates.”

“Difficult to customize,

performance is slow,and metrics are

impossible to obtain.”

“Too manual.”

“It is old and not

integrated with othertools.”


19/36

Investing the Hours


Job seekers express skepticism about the

technology available to streamline the

application process, particularly as it relates to

mobile capabilities:

• On average, this group believes that thelongest that an online application should

take is 30 minutes.

• More than two in five (41%) say that if they

didn’t know long the application would take

to complete, they wouldn’t even start it.

• And 46 percent admit they’d be concerned

about the amount of time an application

would take them to complete if they were

doing it on a smartphone.

Online job applicationsshouldn’t take longer

than 30 minutes

41% wouldn’t start an

online application ifthey didn’t know how

long it would take


20/36

Mobile Expectations


Job seekers are happy to let

smartphones aid their search:

• Eighty percent of job

seekers expect to be able to

do part of their job searcheasily on a smartphone.

• More than half (54%) report

that they have used a mobile

device in numerous ways to

aid in their job search –everything from

bookmarking posts to revisit

later to conducting the entire

search using a smartphone

or tablet.

54% have doneat least one

of these duringtheir job search:

• Saved postings on a smartphone

• Used a mix of devices to apply

• Used a smartphone for the entire process

• Used a tablet for the entire process


21/36

Mobile All the Way


• A majority (70%) of job

seekers would be willing

to not just search, but to

apply for a job from a

smartphone.

• Of these, a clear majority

(82%) represent the

current and future

workforce (18-34-year-olds) vs. those who are 35

and older (56%).

70% would use asmartphone toapply for a job.

Some of the

most commonreasons are:

Convenient: 62%

Fast: 49%

Easier than using a computer: 23%


22/36

Roadblocks to Adoption


While job seekers are open to the idea of applying for positions on a mobile

platform, 88 percent admit they have concerns about this process:

3%

26%

37%

38%

39%

41%

46%

51%

51%

55%

Other

Contacting tech support

Employer might think I'm not professional

Room for the information I want/need to share

Security of personal information

Reviewing my application before I submit it

The time it will take

Formatting my resume

Uploading my resume

Making mistakes or errors


23/36

Crucial Offering


Job seekers and HR professionals agree that mobile optimization is a priority.

• Seventy-six percent of HR professionals say it’s important that candidates

feel the application process is mobile optimized.

• Job seekers agree: more than half (55%) feel it’s important that the onlineapplication process is optimized for mobile.

76%

of HR professionals stressthe importance of anapplication process that’s

mobile optimized

55%

of job seekers feel it’skey for the onlineapplication process to be

mobile optimized


24/36

Coming Up Short


Companies are struggling to meet the mobile expectations of today’s job seeker.

• Nearly a third (27%) of HR professionals at companies with 500+ employees

haven’t optimized anything job search-related for mobile devices.

• Thirty-six percent also admit that if they were in a candidate’s shoes, theywouldn’t be able to describe the application process at their company as

mobile-optimized.

27%of those at companies with 500people or more report that nothing

is mobile optimized.


25/36

Stopping Mobile Adoption


4%

24%

25%

32%

33%

35%

43%

Other

Company's financial performance

Not having enough data to make/inform a decision

Internal resistance

Competing budget priorities

Available budget for my department

IT implementation issues

What would prevent or has prevented your company frommobile hiring optimization?

Despite IT implementation issues topping the list of mobile optimization

obstacles, this goal is actually deemed important by more of those in the IT

department than in HR (83% vs. 71%).


26/36

Data Headaches


• Almost two in three (62%) HR

professionals don’t feel they can

easily extract data or metrics from

their current recruiting tools to

make key decisions.

• Nearly a third (32%) are forced to

request a manual export from

someone else in order to get the

data they need.

• Only 25 percent are able to

consume the data they need

through a user-friendly dashboard-

like application.

62%can’t easily extract data

or metrics from their

recruiting tools

32%usually have to requesta manual data exportfrom another person


27/36

Uneasy Analytics


• Talent acquisition professionals

report that they spend an

average of 32 hours per month

manually sorting through or

manipulating data, an increase

from the 24 hours a month

reported in 2013.*

• Despite this time investment, 67

percent do not trust most of the

data generated by their

recruiting systems.

• Three in four (75%) say it’s not

easy for them to share or explain

the data they have to those

outside of HR.

It takes 32 hours a month tomanually sort data

67% don’t trust most ofthe data they receive


28/36

Flying Blind


Talent acquisition professionals are unable to track key metrics used to guide

hiring decisions.

42%

49%

54%

56%

58%

Applicant source

Time to fill

Quality of hire

Candidate conversion data

Cost per hire

Right now, I’m unable to track...


29/36

A Thirst for Data


This may be why almost half (46%) of HR professionals express interest in

recruiting tools that would better integrate all of the data they have; the same

amount (44%) would like tools to make their current numbers easier to

understand.

44%

46%

I am interested in tools that make the dataavailable easier to understand

I am interested in recruiting tools thatwould better integrate all of the data that I

have


30/36


An inferior candidate

experience can deter qualityhires – and impact acompany’s bottom line.


31/36

Behind the Curve


Nearly half (44%) of job seekers agree that if they were applying for a job online

using a tool that felt archaic, they’d either give up the application completely or

put it off until later.

Apply anyway56%

Put offapplying or

not apply at all44%

If an online job application was outdated or notadvanced enough, I would…


32/36

Top Talent Walks Away


Not only do job hunters dread the online application process, many aren’t very

committed to it:

• Job seekers would be most apt to give up on an online application if they

encountered tech hurdles (60%), couldn’t upload their resumes (55%), or

weren’t able to follow up on their application’s status (44%).

• In fact, six in ten (60%) have either started an online application without

finishing it or lost all of their work after completing one.

60%of job seekers have either quit an online applicationbefore completing it, or thought they were finished andlost all their work


33/36

Negative Impacts


• One in three (33%) HR professionals believe that if candidates weren’t able to

apply for jobs on their smartphones, they’ll be less interested in working for

that company. Two in ten (20%) job seekers go so far as to say that they

wouldn’t fill out an online job application if they couldn’t do it on a mobile

device.

• Many HR professionals also imagine that mobile hiring limitations will lead to

negative company feedback shared by applicants among their friends and

family (21%) and publicly on social media (21%).

• A quarter (25%) of HR professionals think that not being able to apply for jobsusing a smartphone might even prevent candidates from buying products or

services from that organization.


34/36

Adverse Effects


• Additionally, 37 percent of HR

professionals are concerned about their

company’s application process deterring

quality hires – and with good reason:

• Over a third (34%) of job seekers confirmthat if they had issues filling out an online

application, for example, they’d never

apply for a job there again, tell others to

similarly avoid the company, or even

steer clear of supporting the company

with their time or money.

• Forty-one percent of 18-34-year-olds

would consider one of these damaging

courses of action, vs. 26 percent of

their 35+ elders.

If an onlineapplicationgave them

trouble, 34%

would:

• Never apply to the

company again

• Tell others not to

apply to the

company

• Not support the

company with their

time or money


35/36

Methodological Notes


The Jibe Recruitment Survey was conducted between August 13th and August 22nd, 2014 among twoaudiences using an e-mail invitation and an online survey: 1,025 active and passive job seekers ages 18 andover; and 306 HR professionals from companies with 100+ employees and $50M or more in revenue and whoare either on the front lines of recruitment or are decision-makers who have budget authority in talentacquisition.

Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is

affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results.

For the job seeker study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by morethan 3.1 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with allpersonas in the universe represented by the sample. The margin of error for any subgroups will be slightlyhigher.

For the HR audience study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by

more than 5.6 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted withall personas in the universe represented by the sample. The margin of error for any subgroups will be slightlyhigher.

*The 2013 Jibe Recruiter Survey was conducted between July 31st and August 14th, 2013 among 101 staffingand recruiting professionals, using an email invitation and an online survey. The margin of error was +/- 9.8percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.

jibe recruitment survey - newsworthy analysis final

Documents