Building a diverse workforce helps to bring diversity of thought to an organization. There can be a risk of those conducting the hiring to unknowingly hire people they feel more comfortable with than those who are different from them, such as age, experience, background, race, gender and personality. This is known as unconscious bias, and more particularly "Affinity Bias." Being willing to consider people who are different challenges the status quo by bringing new perspectives that can be beneficial to a company's growth.
A common mistake employers make is to rely only on posting job ads to attract candidates. A company can increase the chance of finding strong candidates by connecting with what are known as "passive candidates" as well. These can be found by searching for promising profiles on Linked In, for example, as well as by incentivising existing employees to recommend suitable candidates that they may already know.
Quality candidates today are seeking more than just a good salary and benefits package. People are increasingly looking for purpose in their work as well as flexibility and work-life balance. A strong workplace culture can make the difference as to whether a "hard to find" candidate will respond to your job posting compared to that of your competitors.
Not taking the time to follow up with candidates who have been interviewed by your company can damage a company's reputation. Providing those interviewed with the courtesy of a follow up, as well as constructive feedback on how they might develop their skills further is often highly appreciated by an applicant even if they were not selected for the position. This in turn can cause those people to speak well of your company.
Although the HR Department may have conducted an effective recruitment process, hiring decisions can be delayed by the lack of availability of the hiring manager. This can result in losing quality candidates to other employers.
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