Let’s say you met a dating app match IRL. The two of you really hit it off, as you shared an intriguing conversation about yourselves. It was a great conversation. “We’ll see each other again,” your new friend said.
A few days later, you send them a text. It has now been a week, but the line goes dead.
Sound familiar? Sadly, it doesn’t take a dating app to get ghosted. It also happens in a professional setting and the effects are equally demotivating.
If it’s any consolation, it’s not just you who’s getting ghosted. Ghosting is an increasingly troubling workplace trend. A survey by Indeed shows that 28% of job seekers have ghosted an employer and 77% of job seekers say they have been ghosted by an employer. Additionally, 48% of job seekers acknowledge that employers are being ghosted more during the pandemic.
While we can’t make everything perfect, here are some ways you can banish those ghosts, and keep your new hires engaged.
Manage the interview process from the outset
An interview is a two-way process — companies are typically being assessed as much as the candidates they are interviewing. During the interview, employers assess a candidate’s suitability for the job and candidates are shaping their perception of the company and the vacancy of the job.
From day one, recruiters should make sure the hiring process is as efficient as possible. This means blocking time in both the hiring manager and the candidate’s calendars well ahead, ensuring only the right people are involved in the process, and maintaining open communication with the candidate.
From there, your company's culture also should come through; if you set to inspire your potential hires to want to work with you, that's the perfect platform and way to start. Show some of the work and achievements by the company or your team, and set the tone of how the work is going to be. This ensures transparency about the whole process. Which leads to....
Be transparent about the job
A solid strategy to reduce employee ghosting is clearly communicating with the candidate throughout the hiring process. Hiring managers need to ensure the candidates are well-informed about the job, the job description, their role and their tasks. This means discussing the expectations, benefits, and potential challenges.
Additionally, keep the candidates informed about where they stand in the hiring process. Communicating the timeline also keeps the candidates engaged — what does the hiring process look like? What are the steps? How long do they take?
Make decisive hiring decisions
It’s very important to be decisive during the hiring process. When the fit is just not right, don’t prolong the screening or interviewing process longer than necessary. And, when you see a potential in a candidate, make the hiring happen.
Every effort should be made to facilitate efficient decision-making in the event that a company comes across an ideal candidate. As the saying goes, the early bird gets the worm. A hiring manager needs to be able to make decisions quickly to battle for great talents!
Streamline and act quick with dealing with the applicants! Taking too long to contact candidates to get the papers right and offer them a job could mean a missed opportunity.
Would a candidate spend months waiting to hear from you? The answer is, no, they won’t. They would give up and move on. Candidates who don’t hear back from you in time typically will not wait and will start their job-searching journey elsewhere.
Listen to jobseekers (we mean really listen)
Just like the interview process, bolster transparency and establish excitement with warm and welcoming communication. You would want the employee to feel excited and optimistic about starting at the company right from the start.
In the days leading up to the new hire’s start date, you may send a welcome email. Your welcome email should include a few details such as the team they will be working under, the person they will be reporting to, the teammates they will be working with and other details such as the employee handbook.
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