Recruitment practices failing to engage

Supply chain and procurement hiring managers are currently using recruitment practices that fail to engage supply chain and procurement professionals, according to research released today by Hudson Supply Chain & Procurement, a leading provider of specialist recruitment services

Hudson’s survey of 132 supply chain and procurement hiring managers nationally shows many employers simply don’t have their finger on the pulse when it comes to knowing what motivates job seekers.

As a result they are missing out on attracting the best people in the market.

The research showed that just one in four (26%) of employers include salary information in their job advertisements while only 37% include information on career development opportunities and 38% cover the provision of training in their advertisements.

When compared to the findings of the recent Hudson 20:20 Series report Candidate Buying Behavior, the disconnect between what information employers provide candidates in job advertisements and what information candidates want to see, becomes evident.

Michael Digby, Practice Manager Hudson Supply Chain & Procurement says by providing information candidates want, companies stand a better chance of attracting a higher caliber candidate and a more targeted response, thus delivering a better ROI on their advertising.

“In some cases employers argue that recent increases in supply chain and procurement salaries make it difficult to advertise the salary for new roles, if they do make salaries public they undoubtedly face a backlash from current staff members,” Digby says.

“There is also the question of competition, with employers reluctant to share their remuneration levels with the market.”

“This is a challenge employers need to overcome because candidates are telling us salary is a major motivator in the early stages of the job seeking process,” he says.

In addition, the research showed only 27% of hiring managers actively introduced target candidates to their prospective colleagues and senior management during the interview stage, despite this being considered a valuable way of assessing the job seeker’s cultural fit with the team and organisation.

“Giving quality candidates access to their prospective team is a simple way of selling the role and demonstrates a strong commitment to open and honest communication in the workplace,” says Digby.

Mr Digby says the good news for employers is that many of these issues can be rectified immediately by reviewing the content of job advertisements and the interview process and where possible tailoring the recruitment process to the candidate’s needs.

“The challenge for employers is to achieve a balance between honesty in the recruitment process and making a role attractive enough to engage the best supply chain and procurement professionals in the market.”

• Less than 30% of supply chain and procurement employers invite target candidates to meet prospective colleagues during interview process
• Only one in four include salary range in job advertisements despite 82% of supply chain and procurement candidates wanting to see this information