Hiring talent in the current market is a challenge in any industry, but it can be even worse in solar. You need specialized people with knowledge of the industry and sales experience, which can be hard to find.
But if your hiring process is set up to fail, you’re at a serious disadvantage. Here are x reasons your solar hiring process is failing you – and what you can do about it.
1. Your Job Description Is Poorly Written or Poorly Defined
Whether you post your job listing internally, on job boards, or anywhere else, it should be curated accurately with a lot of attention to detail. If you don’t define the job properly, you’re sure to attract the wrong candidates. When that happens, you’ll either hire someone wrong for the job, or you’ll need to start over.
Write the job description thoroughly and accurately. If possible, hire an HR expert or professional writer and provide all the information about the requirements, day-to-day responsibilities, and job expectations.
2. Your Application Process Is Too Long
The application process should be a positive experience. Repetitive, long, or confusing job forms can lead candidates to drop out of the process before they’ve even provided information, costing you potentially great talent.
If the application process is frustrating, the candidate may question whether the job is worth it. Make applying quick and easy on a mobile device, provide a time estimate for completion, and get rid of pages of questionnaires or personality tests.
3. You Put Too Much Weight into the Interview
Interviews are often regarded as the be-all, end-all of hiring. But in reality, interviews cause nervousness and anxiety in even the best of candidates. If your interview process is unexciting, boring, or makes the candidate feel like they’re being interrogated, they’re not going to stick it out for the rest of the process.
Set the candidate up for success by providing the names and titles of people they’ll meet. If the interview is in person, provide directions to the location and send an email expressing your excitement for the interview. Take a few minutes at the start of the interview for small talk to get the candidate comfortable and warmed up.
4. Your Hiring Process Is Drawn Out
Along with a drawn-out application process, long hiring processes are difficult when you’re dealing with talent that may be fielding multiple offers. Candidates may have several companies pursuing them and may get offers in as little as a week or two. If you’re asking them to jump through hoops weeks after application, they’ll likely just take another offer.
If scheduling is a limitation, implement a scheduling technology to avoid phone tag and long emails to get interviews scheduled. Overall, reduce the number of interviews or try to schedule multiple stages within a short period to get to the offer stage faster.
5. You Don’t Follow Up
Candidates who don’t hear from companies in a timely manner, especially after an interview, are going to lose interest in a job. Taking weeks to respond after the application is submitted, disappearing after the interview for months, or forcing the candidate to follow up only leaves the candidate frustrated and uncertain.
Keep candidates engaged by implementing a plan for candidate communication. Acknowledge the applications and thank candidates for applying. Give them an estimated timeline for when you’ll reach out with next steps and stick to it, whether they’re moving forward or not.
Fix Your Broken Hiring Process
If you find that you have a lot of candidates dropping out of your hiring process, there could be many reasons for it. These are the top reasons candidates may withdraw, but there could be others. Evaluate your hiring process to see where you may not be keeping candidates engaged or treating them as valued potential team members.
Want to elevate your team and boost your sales revenue? Contact AJC Group for high-performance sales training!