Why Your High-Volume Recruitment Process Needs Friction

Or at least some of it! If you’re torn between adding layers for ensuring best-fit and removing barriers for an easy-breezy hiring process, this article is for you.

Understanding & Optimizing Good Friction

Good friction consists of necessary steps and measures that add value to the hiring process by contributing to the identification and selection of high-quality, right-fit candidates. These elements may slow down the recruitment process to some extent, but they ultimately lead to better long-term outcomes.

In today's job market, which is highly competitive and driven by candidates, there is a prevalent phenomenon known as the "Apply Anyways" candidate culture. This culture is adversely impacting the speed and quality of hiring processes. According to studies by Jobvite and Spark Hire, 65% of recruiters find it challenging to identify and attract qualified candidates in high-volume recruiting. However, 73% of recruiters have identified that the top obstacle to their speed of hiring is the lack of qualified candidates despite a high volume of applicants. This confirms that the increasing number of unqualified applicants is causing a slower time to hire, which is a significant pain point for recruiters, HR professionals, and hiring managers worldwide.

This further highlights the importance of good friction in high-volume recruitment in creating a deliberate process that balances the need for speed and efficiency with the need to attract and identify the best candidates. Without proper screening and filtering mechanisms, a high volume of unqualified candidates can slow down the hiring process and make it more difficult for recruiters to identify the best-fit and motivated candidates. By deliberately designing some friction into the recruitment process, recruiters can ensure that only the most qualified candidates move forward, thereby reducing the overall time to hire and improving the quality of hires.

Examples of Good Friction in High-Volume Recruiting

• Comprehensive job descriptions: A detailed job description is essential for attracting the right candidates, as it clearly outlines the role's responsibilities, qualifications, and desired skills.
• Standardized assessments: Implementing highly relevant skill tests and assessments can provide objective insights into a candidate's abilities, allowing organizations to make informed hiring decisions. It’s also important to ensure that these assessments are not too difficult or too easy. 
• Structured interviews: Conducting interviews with a consistent set of questions tailored to the job requirements can lead to a more objective evaluation of candidates, reducing the influence of personal biases.
• Background checks and reference checks: These checks are crucial for verifying a candidate's credentials and ensuring that they have the necessary skills and experience to perform the role effectively.
• Collaborative decision-making: Involving multiple stakeholders in the hiring process enables diverse perspectives and helps identify candidates who are not only qualified for the role, but also a good match for the company culture.

Understanding & Reducing Bad Friction

Bad friction, on the other hand, encompasses unnecessary obstacles that slow down the hiring process without contributing to better outcomes. These elements can create a negative candidate experience and potentially deter top talent from considering your organization.

This can include anything from excessively long application processes to slow response times, a lack of transparency about the hiring process, irrelevant or excessive testing or assessments, overly rigid screening criteria, or poorly structured interviews. Indeed reports that 42% of job seekers find lengthy application processes to be the most frustrating aspect of finding a new job.

Bad friction can create a negative candidate experience and lead to disengagement, ultimately resulting in missed opportunities to attract and hire top talent. It can also cause delays in the hiring process and increase the time-to-fill for open positions. In some cases, bad friction may even result in unhealthy candidate drop-off rates altogether or your candidates accepting offers from competing organizations.

To mitigate bad friction, companies should aim to identify and eliminating any unnecessary steps or obstacles in the process, communicating clearly and frequently with candidates, and maintaining transparency throughout the recruitment process.

Examples of Bad Friction in High-Volume Recruiting

• Lack of clarity in job advertisements - Unclear or poorly written job advertisements can create confusion among potential candidates and may result in a high number of unsuitable applicants. To reduce this friction, ensure that your job advertisements are well-structured, concise, and accurately describe the position, requirements, and expectations.
• Inadequate use of technology - Failing to utilize technology effectively can lead to manual and time-consuming processes, such as sifting through resumes or managing interview schedules. Adopting technology-driven solutions, such as applicant tracking systems (ATS) or AI-powered recruitment tools, can automate repetitive tasks and streamline the recruitment process.
• Ambiguous selection criteria - If your selection criteria are unclear or inconsistent, hiring managers may struggle to identify the most suitable candidates, leading to a prolonged decision-making process. Establish clear, objective, and standardized criteria for evaluating candidates to reduce subjectivity and ensure that all stakeholders are aligned in their assessment of potential hires.
• Poorly organized onboarding process - A disorganized onboarding process can lead to delays in integrating new hires into the company and may contribute to higher attrition rates. Streamline your onboarding process by developing a structured plan that includes all necessary paperwork, training, and introductions to key team members. By creating a smooth onboarding experience, you can help new hires feel more welcome and better prepared for their roles.
• Inadequate feedback mechanisms - Failing to provide timely and constructive feedback to candidates can result in a negative experience and may damage your employer brand. Develop a feedback mechanism that ensures candidates receive prompt and transparent communication throughout the hiring process. This can help build trust and demonstrate that your organization values and respects its candidates.

In Conclusion

In high-volume recruitment, finding the right balance between a thorough hiring process and a quick turnaround time is crucial. While it's important to take the time to vet candidates and find the best fit, the market is competitive and great candidates may be snatched up quickly. This is where understanding the distinction between good and bad friction becomes essential.

Good friction involves necessary steps that contribute to selecting high-quality, right-fit candidates. While these measures may slow down the process, they lead to better long-term outcomes for both the organization and its employees. On the other hand, bad friction consists of unnecessary obstacles that hinder the efficiency of the hiring process without yielding better results. These challenges can create negative experiences for candidates, potentially deterring top talent from considering your organization and increasing the risk of losing them to competitors.

By reducing bad friction while maintaining good friction, organizations can achieve several benefits. This includes improving candidate experience, faster hiring process, higher quality of hires, lower attrition rates, and increased efficiency, resulting in cost savings and more streamlined recruitment processes.

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