Numerous reports have shown that people are voluntarily quitting their jobs more than ever in the U.S. According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2.4% of employed American workers had voluntarily quit their jobs by the end of July 2018—this is the highest the voluntary quit rate has been since April 2001.
So, Why is This Happening?
The top factor for people quitting their jobs was compensation. According to this Forbes article, 19% of a survey’s participants cited this as the reason for leaving their job in the last year. Meanwhile, 13% of younger workers said that a lack of growth opportunities was enough reason for them to quit their jobs.
The survey’s results also revealed other interesting findings, such as the motivations for men and women leaving their jobs. Female job seekers were more likely to quit to seek better work-life balance, while male job seekers quit for better compensation.
Use Your ATS Recruitment Software to Find Solid Candidates
While this data may be a little unsettling for recruiters, there are ways to find candidates who may be more likely to stay long-term at a job. If these recent reports show that compensation is the top reason for employees to quit, then recruiters can use that information to their advantage while sourcing candidates. Since your ATS recruitment software is a goldmine of big data, we’ll explore how you can use it to its fullest potential to find and attract candidates who are likely to stay for the long haul.
Determine the Average Salary of the Job Position
As we now know, many people switch jobs in hopes of securing better compensation. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, about 30% of the people who switched jobs this past May received more money. Instead of having employees seek other opportunities for higher pay, recruiters can cite this data and recommend that their clients offer a competitive salary right from the start.
To get detailed information that’s relevant to the particular client’s needs, recruiters can run a report in their ATS recruitment software to determine the average salary of a particular position. They can narrow down their search parameters to the location and seniority level of the position to get an even more accurate figure. This way, recruiters will know whether they’re advertising a job that pays market rate or higher.
Find Candidates Who Live Nearby the Workplace Location
Commute times to and from work matter to employees. Longer commute times have been proven to cause higher stress levels and lower job satisfaction. Researchers found that every additional minute of commuting time reduces job and leisure time satisfaction. Right now, the average round-trip commute time in the U.S. is about 50 minutes. In Canada, the average round-trip commute time is about 52 minutes.
With the right recruitment software, recruiters can search for candidates who live within a given proximity to the workplace, simply by entering the maximum distance a candidate should live from the workplace as part of their search criteria. By factoring in a preferred location and the required skills in the search, recruiters should be able to find qualified candidates with short commute times. These candidates are more likely to stay with the company compared to those who live far from work.
Exercise Your People Skills
While your ATS recruitment software can provide a wealth of insight, there are certain things it can’t give you specific information on, such as company culture. This is where recruiters need to tap into their people skills to gain an understanding of the company and its story. Recruiters should ask their client to talk about what the team and work environment is like. Better yet, they can visit the workplace themselves to feel out the environment.
Getting an accurate picture of a company culture matters since it’s another top reason why employees choose to quit their jobs. Linkedin’s survey revealed that out of 10,000 participants, 36% of them said they switched jobs because they were unsatisfied with their work environment and culture.
It really pays off to keep employees happy at work. A study showed that when employees feel happy, they’re 12% more productive overall. Meanwhile, unhappy employees proved to be 10% less productive. Hiring candidates who relate to the company values will help them thrive and will drive retention. Determine a candidate’s company culture fit during your pre-screening phone calls and interviews.
Write Accurate Job Descriptions
Did you know that 30% of job seekers have quit a job within the first three months after starting? According to this article, the number one reason was because they felt their day-to-day role wasn’t what they expected. This surprising statistic has costly implications, as going through the recruiting, hiring and training process takes time and costs money.
Writing clear and accurate job descriptions will help prevent this from happening. By doing this, recruiters can weed out the candidates who aren’t interested or qualified for the role’s day-to-day duties, and attract the ones who want to learn more about the role. We’ve detailed how to write an effective job post in the past, and provided data-driven insight into what it takes to structure a winning job post.
Knowledge is Power
The rate of employees quitting their jobs is concerning, but their reasons for leaving are worth evaluating. Using an ATS recruitment software can help mitigate the risks of candidates quitting.
Since we know compensation and work-life balance are major concerns, recruiters should use their massive wealth of ATS recruiting software data to pinpoint a competitive salary that will make candidates happy. They can also use the technology to help them reach out to candidates who live nearby the workplace to further boost retention.
Beyond this, it’s important to learn as much as possible about a company and its culture, including the environment, values, perks and benefits. Finding qualified candidates who are more likely to stay at a workplace requires harnessing data and information—and ATS recruitment software can help do this.
Do you want to learn more about how a recruitment software can help you find qualified candidates? Get in touch with us today.