Advice
5 steps for using surveys in a recruitment process
It's no secret that the recruitment process can be quite lengthy and drawn out. Sourcing candidates, conducting interviews, and extending job offers can take weeks or months. Is there a way to change all of this?
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Using Stryve Surveys is your answer to repeat success when hiring!
It's no secret that the recruitment process can be quite lengthy and drawn out. Sourcing candidates, conducting interviews, and extending job offers can take weeks or even months. I have lost count of the number of hiring processes that have fallen over due to missed information that comes to light at advanced stages and causes the process to implode! While there are many different recruiting methods to meet this challenge, one popular method is surveys.
When used correctly, surveys can be a powerful tool in the recruitment process. They can help you identify potential candidates, assess their skills and qualifications, and get an understanding of their interests and motivation for the role. Surveys can also help save time by pre-screening candidates so that you only interview the most qualified candidates.
If you're considering using surveys in your recruitment process, you should keep a few things in mind. In this blog post, we'll discuss how to use surveys effectively in your recruitment process so that you can make the best hiring decisions for your team.
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Defining the purpose of a survey
Surveys are a great way to collect essential information to qualify your diversity and inclusion hiring statistics. They allow organisations to identify areas of improvement in diversity and inclusion hiring practices, assess the impact of existing policies on minority populations, and determine whether or not certain recruitment efforts are successful.
They can also be a great way to collect critical data such as current salary and expectations of potential employees, qualifications or certifications needed for a position, and identify any barriers that candidates face during the hiring process.
Further, you can ensure you also gain insights into whether or not the candidate understands the role and its expectations and if they are an excellent cultural fit by asking questions about preferences and values.
Example survey objectives:
To fully understand the diversity of your talent pool (Stryve can collect and populate this data automatically, so you can easily report it).
Collect salary data (current salary and expectations are key details of whether a process succeeds or fails)
Collect data on skills and qualifications (Do they need systems knowledge or a relevant qualification? Get this before the information accurately)
Understand the candidate's understanding of the role (there is nothing worse than meeting someone who hasn't done their research. Ask them before they start the process to qualify their knowledge/ research into the position)
Do they share the same values? What are their motivators, and what drives them? Gain some insights as the process progresses
How to create questions for a survey
Crafting questions for a survey can be tricky. It's essential to keep them simple to collect meaningful information that you can use and make sure they relate to the purpose of your survey. You don't want too many questions either — try to get right to the point, so your respondents aren't overwhelmed. Focus on ensuring that your questions will obtain the critical information associated with their responses, as this is necessary for building an accurate picture of where you stand. Plus, keep in mind that those responding may not have much patience when it comes to filling out your survey!
Conduct a few surveys throughout the process and only have a short application form. Make this part of the process as easy as possible for the candidate.
Before deciding whether or not to interview a candidate, take the time to gather a few facts about them once they have applied - this would be the first survey, with no more then 5 or 6 questions.
After the first interview and in addition to asking for feedback, it is recommended that you also ask for some additional details. This will enable you to build a complete picture. You can repeat this process as necessary throughout the process.
Finally, remember those that didn't make it! If they were not successful, have them complete a survey to ensure they felt the process was transparent and fair, and use this to collect any other data that could be used to improve the process in the future.
Determining the target audience for a survey
Deciding who your survey's target audience should be can often seem daunting, but if you create detailed "personas" of who you are trying to engage, it can help make the process easier. For example, if you want to define whether "senior versus junior" or "Gen Z versus Gen Y" are your desired demographic groups, start with broad questions and narrow them down based on responses. Consider age or gender as potential categories and then seek to discover more characteristics that reflect the group's views and values. You might even consult marketing professionals for advice about crafting segmentation criteria for those uninterested in your subject because understanding their perspective is key.
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The benefits of using surveys in recruitment processes
Surveys can be an invaluable tool when it comes to recruitment processes. They save time in the hiring process by helping to quickly identify the most suitable candidates and provide deeper insights into specific knowledge and skills that each applicant might possess. This means recruiters or hiring managers can make more informed decisions based on various metrics rather than simply focusing on traditional criteria like experience or degrees alone. Surveys allow employers to tap into a well of potential candidates who might not otherwise appear in conventional job searches, making them a veritable gold mine for any company looking to recruit effectively.
How to make sure your survey is successful
To ensure that your survey is successful, there are some dos and don'ts to remember. Break it up into a series of surveys throughout the process if you need to ask multiple questions. Ask only a few questions at a time, so it doesn't become an overwhelming experience for your respondents. Also, keep your questions clear, concise, and on-point so they can be quickly answered. And last but not least, give respondents incentives for completing the survey! People are more likely to participate when they feel they'll get something out of it. By following these tips, you can confidently move forward with your survey knowing that you've set yourself up for success!
All in all, creating an effective survey doesn't have to be a challenging, stressful process. By clearly defining your purpose, forming targeted questions, and understanding your target audience, you can craft a powerful survey that yields accurate data. However, the most critical aspect of creating a successful survey is engagement. Make sure your survey is easy for people to find and complete - incentivise potential participants if possible. With knowledge, accuracy, and attention in mind, you're on track to create an informative and impactful survey!
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We use Stryve Surveys through hiring processes every day. They are game-changers! To find out more, contact us here.