Top 10 Recruitment Challenges Recruiters and Hiring Managers Face Globally

Talent Acquisition HR & Process Recruitment Automation 1 min read , December 1, 2023

Recruitment Challenges Hiring Managers Face

The rapid evolution of technology has indeed altered the recruiting scene in the last several years. There is no doubt that recruiters are facing the challenges of recruitment, especially when it comes to attracting and finding top talents.

Is your job as a hiring manager or recruiter presenting you with difficulties? Are you curious about a solution to these recruitment challenges?

If that's the case, then you’ve come to the right blog. Recruiters face a number of obstacles, and this blog post would go over the recruitment challenges faced by recruiters and hiring managers globally and provide you with some advice on how to overcome them.

What are the recruiting challenges?


Hiring the best possible candidate while avoiding a poor hire requires a lot of work, and as everyone knows, recruitment isn't easy. There are many obstacles that a recruiter must overcome while filling open positions.

Additionally, to uphold the company's reputation, hiring managers or recruiters must ensure vacant positions are filled promptly in the shortest and fastest way possible.

Recruiting is the most in-depth process from the inside because the recruiter goes through it all with the candidates. Recruiting challenges manifest themselves during these stages as a variety of obstacles, and that's a major challenge in recruitment. According to research on the cost of a bad hire by Zippa, “The average cost of a bad hire is 30% of that hire’s annual salary."

Here are a few recruitment obstacles that you should be prepared to encounter when you begin the hiring process.

Recruitment Challenges Hiring Managers or Recruiters Face

Some of the most typical challenges of recruitment encountered during the hiring process are:

1. Sorting through a Large Talent Pool

Businessman takes a red man out of a crowd of people. Finding the right person. Recruiting talented workers, headhunter, HR. Best choice. Search professionals specialists for open vacancies.
Businessman takes a red man out of a crowd of people. Finding the right person. Recruiting talented workers, headhunter, HR. Best choice. Search professionals specialists for open vacancies.


Because of the candidate-driven nature of the industry, competition is fierce. The shortage of qualified applicants, however, is the most pressing problem with today's fast-paced technological advancements. There are a lot of candidates in the job market, but it’s a difficult task to discover the right, perfect, or ideal candidate with the right skills and qualifications that suit the job.

Using multiple job posting software or even an AI talent pool recommendation tool will help. However, it's essential that the organisation work on building a strong and appealing brand presence to attract the right candidates.

Internally, hiring managers could propose providing competitive benefits and a positive workplace culture to retain their best employees while attracting others.

2. Finding and Hiring Qualified Individuals

Even after sorting through a large talent pool and narrowing it down to a lesser number, hiring managers still face the challenge of assessing candidates correctly to be sure they're a great fit for the job role before they can be hired.

When faced with a substantial number of unqualified candidates, the options for selecting the most suitable applicant are limited. You won't pick the most qualified candidate, but rather the one who happens to be available.

Young female candidate having a job interview in a corporate office, employment and career concept
Young female candidate having a job interview in a corporate office, employment and career concept

According to recruitment challenges statistics by OnHires, “Up to 73% of recruiters find it difficult to search for candidates with particular skills." This larger recruiting obstacle can be overcome by using recruitment software like Tech1M to implement a solid hiring process.

Ensure software like these has distinct features such as candidate evaluation, skill-based assessments, or even AI candidate analysis to help you sort through the myriads of candidates with a click.

3. Engaging Qualified Candidates

Recruiters often reach out to highly skilled individuals; therefore, your email may not stand out as much.

A LinkedIn article quoted a Quora report from the VP of Talent Acquisition at Academia.edu, saying, "My biggest problem is that nearly all candidates are actively pursuing multipleopportunities...  Where I used to be able to work pretty much 1:1 with passive candidates, I no longer have that luxury."

Moreover, it is highly typical for people possessing exceptional skills to simultaneously consider multiple job offers. In order to persuade potential candidates to select your company over your rivals, ensure you invest in streamlining your hiring process from the application stage.

Making the interview process interesting from the beginning will be a consideration for the candidate based on how smart and friendly your work process could be. No wonder 65% of candidates say they may lose interest in a job if they had a bad interview experience.

After interviews, maintain communication with candidates to prevent frustration and discourage them from accepting other offers. Establish a clear timeline for feedback and regularly update it to demonstrate ongoing interest. By the time you finally offer the job, you will have fostered positive sentiments, boosting the likelihood of their acceptance.

4. Vague Job Requirements and Titles

Some organisations fail to articulate job requirements clearly, compounding the challenges faced by recruiters.

When requirements are hastily copied and pasted from previous postings without tailoring them to the present opening, recruiters find their tasks considerably more difficult. One of the foremost obstacles in the recruitment process is contending with vague job specifications.

Without a precise grasp of the requirements, it becomes impossible to accurately shortlist resumes that align with the job criteria.

Recruiters can use recruitment software that automates recruitment processes like job creation while tailoring them to your specific criteria and needed skills.

5. Reducing Recruitment Time

Vacant positions slow down operations, so recruiters want to fill them quickly. However, hiring can be a time-consuming process that takes several months, which can be frustrating for recruiters. A lack of competent applicants can contribute to why the hiring process takes so long.

Source: Rent A Sourcer

A study by the Society for Human Resource Management claims that 63% of the time recruiters spend in the recruitment process is unproductive. According to PwC, recruitment costs comprise 28% of a company’s total operating expenses.

Using an efficient talent acquisition platform can save recruiters time and companies the cost of hiring.

6. Building a Reputable Employer Brand

If you want to recruit and retain top talent, you need a strong company image. There is a tripling effect between the likelihood of a company making a good recruit and its investment in employer branding.

To increase the likelihood of good hiring and decrease the likelihood of bad hiring, it is crucial to have a strong company image that attracts and engages top talent.

Hiring is a team effort that demands constant communication and cooperation because of its complexity. And whether they end up employed or not, recruiters should make sure candidates have an enjoyable experience to boost the company's image.

You can boost your brand image by creating compelling branded career pages, a positive work culture, and company websites, but most importantly, by having your current employees share their work experiences.

Having an online page with easily accessible information about company culture, values, perks, and benefits all in one place will leave curious candidates feeling far more confident.

7. Implementing Data-driven Recruiting Strategies:

Source: LinkedIn

To improve the recruiting process, data-driven recruiting makes good use of data and analytics. The difficulty here is that, without the proper resources and knowledge, it may be very difficult for recruiters to gain access to, understand, and use data successfully.

It could be challenging for recruiters to make the most of data-driven recruiting if they lack the expertise to properly gather and analyse data, as well as the tools to do so. Also, a lack of technical know-how on the latest tools to gather, track, and analyse data can be a challenge.

The landscape of recruitment is becoming increasingly technology-driven, as AI-enabled systems and bots play a pivotal role in streamlining the entire recruitment process.

However, with data analytics and recruitment software that are easy to use and adapt to, recruiters can solve this challenge.

8. Eliminating Recruitment Bias

To find and hire the most qualified individual, a company must treat all applicants fairly. Aside from being the right thing to do from a legal standpoint, it's also a great way to connect with someone on a more personal level and avoid bias.

Unconscious biases are a contributing factor to the difficulty many recruiters face in recruiting a diverse workforce.

Manually sourcing and analysing candidates is never short of bias . Having an automated candidate analysis tool can help eliminate bias in hiring.

9. Hiring Remote-efficient Candidates

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work has become increasingly common, and the ability to do so has become an important factor for job seekers.

The fact that 28.2% of full-time employees use a hybrid model and nearly 12.7% work from home suggests how prevalent the practice has grown today, according to a survey by Forbes Advisor.

This highlights the growing difficulty of finding and hiring top people capable of performing well in remote or hybrid settings. It is important that you evaluate remote employees thoroughly to ensure they are qualified for the position and can work well with others remotely.

Also, knowing how to handle and detect fake assessments, proxy interviews, and the use of AI by candidates in screening could be a challenge.

10. Lack of a Collaborative Hiring Tool

Various individuals inside an organisation, including human resources, recruiting managers, and members of the hiring team, are involved in the hiring process. Hiring managers may occasionally have a few concerns about HR's approach to the hiring process.

Therefore, to effectively manage a collaborative hiring workflow where each team member can review and communicate their views on a candidate, recruiters need to find a collaborative recruitment tool for seamless hiring.

Solutions to the Recruitment Challenges for Hiring Managers

These challenges recruiters or hiring managers face are not without solutions. The following are the most effective solutions to recruitment challenges:

1. Create a Talent Pipeline

A talent pipeline is a network of people you've recruited or interviewed in the past who have the potential to fill open roles in your organisation.

Having quality, pre-screened candidates waiting in line when a position opens can help you minimise time to hire and recruitment costs.

On the other hand, most startups may not have an existing talent pool, as this could be their first time hiring. Therefore, they would need to leverage the features of multiple job posting sites available on some recruitment platforms.

2. Utilise AI recruitment software to avoid bias.


There is always room for improvement in the hiring process, even for seasoned hiring managers and recruiters.

Training recruiting teams to combat bias is a frequent goal, but it's equally crucial to advise them on how to create rapport with prospects and what questions to ask during interviews. And employing external tools like AI candidate analysis tools in areas where bias might be inescapable would be a great alternative.

3. Elevate Your Company's Brand Image

Organisations need to invest in their company's online and offline image. Ensure your websites, career pages, and social media handles are built to attract the kind of candidates you want.

Highlight the advantages, prospects, and distinctive features of your organisation. In order to entice top personnel, you should highlight your organisation's unique selling points. Also, think about providing benefits and salaries that are competitive.

For offline, build a positive work culture that encourages your employees to speak about your brand . You can also create employee referral programmes, encouraging them to share job prospects with candidates.

4. Invest in Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS):

You can save time and cost on hiring with an applicant tracking system (ATS) like Tech1M. Your hiring team can work together more efficiently, and all candidate information is stored in one central location.

If your ATS is up to snuff, it should also have reporting capabilities that can help you learn from your mistakes and make better decisions moving forward.

5. Simplify the Candidate Experience:

During recruitment, make the application process easier for candidates, from the job application to onboarding. Create tailored job descriptions, make your interview process interesting, schedule interviews, give prompt feedback, keep lines of communication open, answer candidates questions clearly, automate tasks like job offer creation, tracking and management.

6. Adapt to new trends and technology:

As a recruiter, keep yourself informed on the most recent developments in the field of recruitment and recruitment technology. Make smarter hiring decisions with the use of data analytics, assessment simulations, and AI-driven recruitment tools.

Embrace recruitment software that makes hiring easier for you and your teams while learning the latest perks, metrics, and experiences candidates would want in the hiring process.

Conclusion

Even in an economy and job market that are doing well, recruiters nevertheless confront a lot of problems when it comes to recruitment. The problems and solutions stated in this article would help you face these challenges of recruitment with a solution ready at hand.

Need comprehensive AI recruitment software for your hiring process as a startup, enterprise, or business? Book a free demo Tech1M and conquer the above challenges.

recruitment challenges Recruitment automation global hiring Employer Branding recruitment challenges in hiring recruitment software ATS
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