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May 05, 2022
How to stop sabotaging your candidate application numbers

Are your candidate application numbers falling short of the response you expected? With high employment rates and so many opportunities available for potential jobseekers then it’s easy to blame a strong labour market for a lower than average number of CV’s for each vacancy.


However, there are a few elements that seriously put candidates off applying for a job. This could be why your role isn’t attracting the applications it deserves.


Vague job adverts


Quirky job adverts are sure to grab attention. However remember that people will search for job titles that they are used to. If you use obscure job titles you’re restricting how many people will apply. Most jobseekers are interested in finding out more about the role and how it fits with their own skills and experience.


Are your job adverts vague and don’t give much detail on the day to day responsibilities of the position? If you don’t mention skills, qualifications or experience in your job adverts applicants won’t be able to decide if the job is for them. This will seriously harm your candidate application numbers.


Making life harder


See your vacancy through the eyes of your applicant – you need to make the process of applying as easy as possible?


Your candidates can take 1 to 2 hours revising their CV’s in order to showcase their skills and accomplishments to meet the criteria you’ve laid out in your job spec and advert. Adding an additional layer of complexity can put people off applying for your role. Do you really need to ask for a covering letter or online form as well as the standard request for a CV?


A few yes/no questions during an online application won’t significantly hinder your application rates, but generally speaking candidates won’t want to spend even more time entering information into a form that they’ve already covered in their CVs.


Solo posting


Don’t expect to see stellar candidate application numbers if you only choose the one platform to advertise your vacancy. Regardless of how you publicise any roles you’re looking to fill, there are always more channels that can help push your vacancy out. This will help more people to see your job and this visibility will enhance your brand recognition.


Company websites are a great starting point, but don’t forget to use your company LinkedIn and social media channels to help increase your candidate application numbers. Also don’t forget to ask employees to share the job with any friends or family they know.


Get in touch


If you’re struggling to fill your jobs and would like some more or advice get in touch with our team of recruitment consultants. With years of finding applicants for a wide range of jobs we can help you find the right candidates for you so get in touch now and give us a call 01782 338787.

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Regular performance reviews: Improve the overall performance of your team members Help you to identify the areas you need to improve. By looking at the work of your team over an extended period of time you will find solutions to help them improve in those areas Increase engagement of employees, which will lead to happier employees and better employee retention Regular performance reviews help employees to get a better understanding of how their position contributes to company goals and helps them feel more invested in the success of the organisation. Help you identify training needs and plan further professional development Identify employees who may be ready to take on additional responsibilities and opportunities for promotion Plan your professional development for the coming year Regular performance evaluations help you identify areas where team members need additional training. It also gives you the opportunity to identify whether team members are interested in specific types of professional development opportunities that could improve their performance. By investing in training to improve your team’s performance, you increase their engagement and loyalty to the company. Improve engagement loyalty By setting aside time annually for a one-on-one conversation with each person you manage, you can strengthen your relationship with them. It gives you the opportunity to praise their efforts, reward them for their hard work and dedication and listen to any concerns or complaints they may have. This regular communication helps your team members feel their opinion matters and that their company is invested in their growth. Increasing engagement can have a positive impact on retention and performance. Identify opportunities for promotion Meeting with employees regularly helps you better understand their strengths and weaknesses as well as their specific interests, which can help you identify promotional opportunities they may be suited for. How to conduct an annual performance review Research shows they have lots of benefits for you and your employees, so here we share the basic steps to take to carry out your reviews: – Start to prepare for the review Start by reviewing the employee’s performance review from the previous year and any mid-year check-ins that you may have conducted. Review the employee’s self-assessment as well as any notes you made throughout the year about their performance. Make note of specific progress they made towards goals, accomplishments, areas where they exceeded your expectations, additional responsibilities they took on, challenges they encountered and any areas where they need to further develop and improve their performance. Also, make a note of any specific information you want to share during the performance review, perhaps giving an update on how the company’s doing, plans for the future and feedback on how the team is helping to deliver the company’s plans. – Discuss the evaluation with the employee in advance Before beginning the review process, let the employee know about the review, tell them how you will be assessing their performance and what their role will be in the process. Ask them to complete their self-evaluation. Speak to your HR team about any paperwork you should be using to evaluate performance and record future training needs. A good approach is to get employees to give written feedback in their own words to assess how well they think they are doing. This can be done through a questionnaire on aspects such as an employee’s contribution to the team, role development and effectiveness. Your team members will approach this in different ways. Some employees will be very positive and may tend to enhance their ratings through self-promotion or ingratiation, others may underplay their achievements. – Write the review Next, write the employee’s review. You can use bullet points if you prefer. However, it’s important to use clear and concise language and provide examples of their strengths and opportunities for improvement. Include specific examples of successes to praise their hard work and position any challenges or shortfalls as opportunities for growth. Make sure the feedback you give is positive, constructive and actionable, where ever possible, so they can start working on making improvements right away. – Always prepare conversations in advance Always take time to prepare for the one-on-one conversation with the employee. By preparing in advance and making note of key messages you want to talk about, you can feel confident that you won’t miss any opportunities for feedback and improvement. The most important step in the annual performance review process is the one-on-one conversation you have after preparing the review. Taking the time to prepare for this conversation will help you make sure it’s productive and runs smoothly. Take some time to consider what you want to communicate and what feedback you would like from the employee. Plan to review the employee’s accomplishments, strengths and areas they can improve. Plan to discuss their interests, goals and what training they may need to reach those goals. Plan how much time you will need to have the conversation and where is a good place to do the review. – Review the performance evaluation with the employee Meet one-on-one with the employee, reviewing successes since you last spoke and identifying specific results they achieved for the organisation. Discuss any obstacles they may have encountered and what they can do to overcome them to improve their performance in the future. What goals can they work on over the next year? Goals should be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound. It’s a good idea to set some short term and well as longer term goals. To set objectives: Identify key areas of responsibility – think about particular priorities for the coming period. Consider what result is realistic to achieve for each area of responsibility during the review period. Think about how to measure achievement of an objective and then set standards based on quality, cost and deadlines. – Document throughout the year To make a performance most effective, it’s best to document positive and negative events throughout the year. This makes it easier for you to give a thorough evaluation that examines your employee’s performance throughout the entire review period, with specific examples. It also makes it easier for you to make notes of accomplishments and obstacles when you’re preparing the review. – Get feedback from colleagues Request feedback from other managers and co-workers who worked closely with the employee during the review period. The review needs to be balanced, and you should avoid bias with employees that you naturally get on with more than others. Getting feedback from others will help you get a balanced view of how well the employee works with all team members with examples. – Consider giving the employee their review in advance If there is a form you fill out as part of the evaluation or if you have a written document detailing their performance, consider giving it to the employee before meeting them in person. This will give them the opportunity to review and process the evaluation in advance before having a conversation with you. This will help make the conversation go more smoothly and be more productive. We provide examples of forms you can use in our Performance Review Toolkit. – Focus on accomplishments and growth The majority of the conversation should focus on the positive aspects of the employee’s performance and their accomplishments, as this will motivate the employee and make them feel rewarded for their efforts. If you’re meeting with an employee who consistently performs above-average, the discussion should centre on steps they can take to grow professionally and further improve their performance. – Encourage the employee to talk The best reviews are those in which the employee spends a large portion of the conversation talking. Encourage them to talk by asking lots of questions. Question about what they expect to be most challenging, what they hope to accomplish in the coming year and what you could do to be a better manager will encourage them to talk about their aspiration and how you can work better together. – Reward and recognition Discussing pay and performance in the same conversation as your performance review can compromise honesty, company culture, and the ability to grow. That’s why it’s becoming more popular to separate performance reviews from conversations that lead to pay or promotion decisions. By separating the two and having an alternative framework for determining pay, companies can maintain a pay-for-performance culture without sacrificing opportunities for employee development. However, if you do discuss pay as part of your review, remember there are other rewards that you can offer employees, particularly in an environment where companies are struggling to manage spiralling costs. You may want to think about giving a low cost reward. Remember to consider the tastes, and values of the person you’re recognising when deciding which low cost reward will deliver the highest impact. Here are some examples used by other companies: Buy them breakfast, surprise employees with pastries, or a breakfast bap in the morning as a gesture of appreciation. Give away company merchandise such as water bottles. Provide educational rewards, for example sending them on a course lets employees know you’re invested in their long-term success and continual development. Boost mood with plants – plants in a office also help increase productivity and happiness. Buy new office equipment, upgrading their lap top or providing an ergonomic keyboard and mousepad are easy and low cost. Recent surveys have indicated that people are seeking other work-life balance benefits from their employees too and these can help offset restrictions on pay increases. Download our salary guide from the toolkit for some alternative options to pay reward such as hybrid working. Use the guide to compare how competitive your salaries are in the local areas of Staffordshire and Cheshire. – Follow up Plan to check in with the employee at a later time to see if they have questions or want to discuss further. Follow-up conversations also give you the opportunity to check on the employee’s progress working towards goals. Share notes from the review with your employee after the review, so they have a copy to review before next year’s review too. Although Annual Performance reviews are a really valuable tool for managers, they shouldn’t be used instead of more regular conversations, catch ups and reviews with your employees. There’s good evidence that shows it helps to give frequent and immediate feedback throughout the year to keep your employees engaged and striving to improve their performance. 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