Recruitments in India – Understanding & challenges.

 

 Recruitments in India – Understanding & challenges.

Recruitment processes generally encounter challenges that delay the smooth identification and On-boarding of suitable candidates. Common issues are talent shortages-- where the demand for particular skills outstrips their availability, resulting competition among employers.

The rise of technology has brought greater challenges such as navigating the complexities of ATS-applicant tracking systems and re-arrange recruitment strategies for a digital landscape.

When we talk about recruitment, the process first come in our mind is interview process. Instead recruitment is something else. We also get confused with talent acquisition and Recruitment.

In general we define the central idea of recruitment is to hire Right Talent at the right time and at the right place.

Instead, In India, Recruitment is the process where we look for fitment of candidates as per our vacant position and profile. And, the most important factor in it is to hire right, suitable (fitment) talent at the most cost effective way. Costing is somehow, somewhere always rides ahead of fitment and in doing so we generally miss best suitable talents.

We also face challenge in getting best suitable candidates in absence of proper recruitment process. In India we are actually failed to understand the importance of recruitment. So we, instead to focusing on the skills what a candidate possess, focus more on suitability of the cost.

It is my personal feeling in last 20 years that, owing to having so many candidature due to population high and as so many students are being qualified every year. We face challenges in selection and suitability.

Being free, frank and fearless, I must say that we are not doing recruitments instead, we try to figure out the way of rejections and when we can’t reject a profile, we feel he is the best suitable candidate.

I strongly advocate that we must see the following in the candidate-

1.      Trainability (ability and skill in the candidate whether he can be trained or not).

2.      Interest and passion about the profile he has applied for.

3.      Attitude towards work.

4.      Availability and style of working suitable as per the required position.

5.      While offering salary, we should keep his talent Vs our position, instead we only    see his last drawn salary and start negotiating on the same.

We, so many times fail or miss to hire good talents due to following reason-

1.  If the candidate is having breaks in his career - we interrogate the candidate like he has done any crime. And we keep prejudice that there is something wrong and the candidate gets disqualified.

2.  If the candidate is under paid, we always question his talent as why his salary is low.

3.  Reason of leaving – this is super flop question and we start arguing as why he left last job. We always keep in our mind that there must be something wrong as why is he leaving. And if the candidate is leaving service within a year…means he is the sinner.

4. Validation of resume- we always handover the most important work of downloading of resume or sourcing of candidates to our executive level employees who are either at entry level or having less experience. They are not able to justify with the validation as which cv is the most suitable.

5. Dependency on key words- I have seen so many recruiter put important key words on search engine / portal and start downloading the cv which matches most key words without reading the candidature or seeing the suitability of other skills 

     2024 a year of change and challenges.

There are so many factors involve in motivating new talents this year. Millenials are more interested for handsome package, Good workin conditions, Fun at work etc.

Flexibility is also major factor which was cited as most important factor of motivation based on a survey in Gartner Voice- May 2023. Te survey was done on near about 3500 plus candidates and major factors of motivation evolved as-

1.      Work life Balance – 45%

2.      Higher Salary package – 40%

  Commonly we face difficulties in recruitment in the areas of -

1.      Diversity.

2.      Demographic changes.

3.      Geo Political situation, especially for MNC’s.

4.      Changing Market demands.

Major challenges may includes-

1.  Shortage of suitable and qualified  candidates.

In 2024, according to Veris insights, there will be few opportunities for simple talent pickups due to a generationally diminishing talent pool caused by the inability of new Generation entrants to replace aging talents, record low unemployment, and nearly full employment levels. 

The repercussions of these challenges are intellectual -- affecting the efficiency and effectiveness of selection processes. Extended time-to-fill positions, increased recruitment costs, and a potential decline in the quality of selection & hires are some of the direct consequences.

Strategic approach is required to address the challenge that integrates technology, data analytics, and a deep understanding of the evolving expectations of the modern workforce.

2. Attracting the right  candidates

Attracting the right candidates is a challenge recruiters are facing now more than ever. Proactive measures need to be taken in a systematic fashion to ensure that organizations attract the right talent.

3. Navigating through the AI

According to Forbes, while over half of HR executives believe that having AI recommend resume material or auto-complete resumes is a desirable thing, 31% of HR leaders feel adversely about AI influencing recruiting decisions. This implies that AI has a role in HR, but not in a position of power.

However, the positives of AI in recruitment outweigh the negatives and this means that HR has to take active measures to compensate for the shortcomings with the help of human intervention and training AI models. 

4.  Implementing data-driven recruitment process.
Collect data from tools like Google Analytics and recruitment marketing tools. Focus on relevant metrics. With Analytics and AI integrated into the world of recruiting serving data is not the biggest of challenges, but getting the right set of data to actively work on, definitely is.

5.   Branding for recruiters' standing apart from the crowd

According to 55% of recruiting leaders worldwide have a proactive employer brand strategy, 72% of respondents agreed that employer brand had a substantial impact on hiring, and 39% of respondents said employer brand will be a long-lasting trend to focus on in the future. 

It is evident that employer branding is a bare necessity in the realm of recruiting, but the challenge lies in standing out amidst the tough crowd and competition. Strategies need to be constantly reviewed and revised. Novel experiments should be carried out to gain a competitive edge. 

How to Overcome Recruitment Challenges

·        Proactive Approaches to Addressing Issues

·        Case Studies and Success Stories

·        Identifying Solutions for Common Problems

·        Implementing Effective Strategies

·        Emerging Trends and Growth Areas

·        Building a Strong Candidate Pipeline

Overcoming the problems of recruitment challenges involves not only addressing immediate issues but also preparing for the future.

It is about recognizing that challenges are inevitable but manageable with the right tools and approaches.

By implementing the discussed strategies, organizations can transform challenges into opportunities, ensuring a robust talent acquisition strategy that aligns with the goals of the business.

 

Thanks!

Shachindra Pathak