Author Cynthia Ozick once wrote, “Two things remain irretrievable: time and a first impression.” While Ozick likely wasn’t talking about interviews, her sentiment highlights the importance of these foundational moments in the employer-employee relationship.
Interviews are high-pressure, high-stakes events for employers and prospects alike. Both parties want to put their best foot forward. Job seekers may feel rushed and pressed to get enough information. Recruiters are under pressure to fill jobs quickly with employees who will stick. Retention matters.
These dynamics create a vetting process prone to omission. Prospects can hesitate to ask about key metrics — pay, benefits, expectations — for fear of raising red flags. For recruiters, presenting the company culture through rose-tinted glasses or glossing over team dynamics might help fill jobs in the short run, but a jarring experience will push new hires away once they see behind the curtain.
As missed expectations drive 80 percent of new employees to be okay with quitting a job within six months, hiring teams must rethink how they qualify prospective talent.
Transparency is key
Transparency is an increasingly desired — and expected — component of employee experience. Employer transparency correlates strongly with employee happiness, and 87 percent of employees want transparency from a future employer. Likewise, 51 percent of employees would consider switching jobs if more pay transparency was offered. With 44 percent of employees actively considering new prospects, employers need to lead with transparency to navigate the candidate-driven market we are experiencing today.
Honesty is the best policy, and this honesty can start with recruiters. While recruiters neither do the hiring nor train the candidate, as the first touchpoint, they are critical in setting the initial tone for the (hopefully) long-term employee-employer relationship. Building trust in relationships with candidates must be a sharp focus for a successful outbound recruiting strategy, one where hiring teams take proactive action to find the right talent to align with open jobs.
To set realistic expectations, recruiters need to be transparent. It’s easy to promote an employer’s perks: good pay, strong benefits, career advancement, etc. It’s much harder to confront the negative aspects: internal tensions, struggling departments, and organizational shakeups. But it’s essential to own the bad along with the good.
If a team’s culture is less than ideal, then be honest about it. If team members contribute to a toxic environment, give the candidate a heads-up (even if action is being taken to correct an issue, it may not be resolved by the time a new hire starts). It may make for an uncomfortable conversation, but aspects that will significantly shape the prospect’s employee experience should be addressed, so they aren’t caught off guard.
Being candid during your conversations can even be used to sell the position: Your company recognizes the problem and wants to rebuild the team. Let the candidate know that part of the reason they’re wanted is that you believe they can make a positive impact.
Eyes wide open
Transparency — or the lack thereof — is a potent factor in determining outcomes for candidates and hiring teams.
Sean, a colleague of mine, could speak personally about navigating transparency in the job market:
“At my last job, I was wined and dined. The interviewer told me how awesome the company was, how excited they were to have me, etc. I was going to get to build my department from the ground up. They were excited about a fresh perspective. On paper, it checked all the boxes.”
In reality, it was trouble from day one.
“While the interviewer had made it seem like I was their first researcher, in reality I was their fourth. They had cycled through the previous three in less than a year. That was the first red flag. Everyone in the department was burnt out. My supervisors micromanaged everything because they had been burned by the previous hires. I felt like I spent my whole time paying for the previous hires’ mistakes.”
When Sean returned to the job market later that year, they did so with a newfound skepticism.
“Interviewers promised competitive salaries and lots of PTO. Said they had great teams. Everyone loved it there, and so on. I took it with a grain of salt. It was all so vague.”
Sean was shocked, then, when an interviewer opened the meeting by directly stating the salary expectations and work culture.
“Right off the bat she was like, ‘Here’s how much we’re offering, and here’s our benefits package. Is this okay with you?’ I said yes. Then she said, ‘Okay, we work in an agile environment. It works well in these cases, but people can get frustrated by XYZ. Are you okay with that?’ It was a breath of fresh air.”
When the company eventually extended an offer, Sean accepted on the spot. Other companies tried to counter with higher salaries or other benefits, but Sean entertained none of them.
“This company was the only one that was upfront and honest from day one.”
Empowering transparency
Honesty can buoy the first impressions that launch enduring relationships. Companies can take steps to cultivate honesty as an organizational value. This starts with empowering recruiters to be transparent.
- Equip recruiters, to be honest with a detailed understanding of company culture, organizational conventions (e.g., working hours), team dynamics, compensation and benefits, career development opportunities, and employer expectations. Importantly, recruiters should understand why there is an opening in the first place.
Hiring managers should collaborate closely with recruiters to keep them well informed. This is especially important for outsourced recruiters who are not ingrained in the company or its culture. The more a recruiter knows, the better they’ll be able to evaluate a candidate’s fit.
- Knowing is only half the battle. The other half involves creating a company culture that encourages recruiters to be honest and share what they know.
Whether internal or external, Recruiters can fear repercussions for sharing too much information, being too candid, or otherwise not presenting the employer in the best possible light.
Combat this by making transparency a best practice. Lead by example with honest conversations. Set up a mock interview with the recruiter for the candidate position. Let them ask the hard questions and demonstrate the transparency you expect in your answers.
- Finally, make transparency rewarding.
Staffing firms are generally incentivized with commissions at the point of hire. If companies want to reduce churn, consider rethinking how compensation packages are structured.
Evaluating and compensating recruiters six months after a candidate is placed, or based on candidate tenure or performance, shifts the focus from short-term gains to long-term sustainability.
Be the change
Transparency starts from the top. Leaders need to take a proactive approach to kindle organizational honesty.
As difficult as it can be to confront ugly truths, the benefit is worth the cost. Promoting authenticity in the hiring process can have radical radiating impacts. Being honest about foundational elements like job descriptions, pay rates, and working conditions can create room for more meaningful conversations about employee experience and company culture.
