Pandemic aside, the hiring process can be stressful for busy franchisees. It’s a seemingly never-ending process that’s time-consuming, has frequent dead ends, and often leaves franchise owners and candidates more frustrated than when they started.
That’s why now, more than ever, it’s important for hiring managers to consider the needs of their prospective employees to attract the best talent. Studies show that 37% of hourly job seekers say that being hired quickly is the most important factor in deciding where to work. To attract employees, hiring managers must flex to the needs of the job seekers.
Here are 4 key solutions for franchise owners to help attract and retain the right employees for their business.
Stop the ghosting
According to recent findings, 62% of hourly workers who applied for jobs never received a response to their application. This trend of “ghosting” potential employees, while not always intentional, is disheartening for job seekers and an overall bad practice for franchise employers. In an industry where employee turnover is high, hiring managers must make an effort to follow through with every lead.
Open and transparent communication with potential employees helps develop a sense of trust with job seekers and leaves those who do not end up working for you with a good impression of the business.
Work your hardest to be accountable in the hiring process for your employees, because, ultimately, that’s what you’ll be asking of them.
Reduce the roadblocks
For many hourly job seekers, time is of the essence. The job response that comes back first, and with the least complicated hiring process, can be the one that is most enticing. Some will be deterred by an application with too many steps, or an interview process that’s too drawn out.
To attract hourly workers to your business, it’s essential to show them that you’re prioritizing the time they spend interviewing with you, leaving as few opportunities for roadblocks as possible. To appeal to the needs of the quick-moving job seeker, work to make the hiring process as seamless as possible. Where you can, move more quickly to an in-person interview, minimize paperwork, and eliminate as many unnecessary steps as possible.
Expand your talent pool
To find the best fit for a job during a labor shortage, many franchise owners find the need to get creative. In a world where it’s becoming increasingly important to adapt, look beyond your ideal talent pools. Throw a wider net to find more employees who want to work and are willing to learn on the job. Sometimes your “ideal” employee is not actually who you’re looking for.
Robust and unrealistic requirements for employees can deter a job seeker from ever applying. For example, if the minimum requirement for working a register is 5 years, but they only have 3 years of experience, you may have just lost out on a perfect candidate because of a minor condition of the application. Additionally, underrepresented groups who may have less experience because of societal roadblocks may be less likely to apply.
In this new world of hourly hiring, soft skills (customer service, workplace communication, and timeliness) are essential for prospective employees. These skills aren’t taught, but are learned through experience. In some ways, they can be more valuable than that minimum of 5 years on the register.
Rather than focusing on specialized job experience, I challenge franchise owners to be open to employees who have mastered these softer skills, which can be translated to match the role you’re hiring for. With this approach, you’ll widen your pool of potential employees, adapt employees to fit your specific roles and business, and build loyalty.
Adapt to succeed
In a world that’s changing so rapidly, the key is simple: you must adapt to succeed. It is easy to stick with the status quo and keep your hiring process the way it is, but there is true value in being open to implementing new ideas to attract talent and fortify your business.
As job seekers become interested in new opportunities and prefer new ways to get hired, franchise owners must be on the forefront of this new wave to attract and maintain the best talent.
Candace Nicolls is senior vice president of people and workplace at Snagajob, the country’s largest platform for hourly work, with 100 million registered job seekers and job opportunities at 700,000 employer locations in the U.S. and Canada.