Employer ghosting on the rise
The New York Times describes ghosting as:
Ghosting — when someone cuts off all communication without explanation — extends to all things, it seems. Most of us think about it in the context of digital departure: a friend not responding to a text, or worse, a lover, but it happens across all social circumstances and it’s tied to the way we view the world.
Not just limited to the dating world, ghosting has now become a thing in recruitment too.
What is ghosting in an employment sense?
In the workplace, “ghosting” refers to one party vanishing from the interview process without a trace.
The issue of workplace ghosting is a relatively new phenomenon. Indeed had this to say about the 2020 data:
Employers are getting ghosted at every stage of the hiring process, leaving them scrambling to respond. The vast majority (84%) have had candidates not show up for interviews, and 64% say they stopped communicating with no explanation. Nearly 60% report candidates accepting a verbal offer only to disappear. And a stunning 65% of employers report no-shows on their first day of work.
The next survey from Indeed found that job seeking ghosters had increased by 10% to over 1 in 4 job seekers. Interestingly, it’s not just job seekers who are doing this, with a massive 77% of the job seekers surveyed saying that they have been ghosted by a prospective employer- even – unbelievably, after a verbal job offer has been made:
Alarmingly, only 27% of employers say they haven’t ghosted a job seeker in the past year. It’s another sign that ghosting has become standard practice in the hiring process — even though it creates a terrible candidate experience and can threaten a company’s employer brand.
Why why why??
Why would someone go to all the trouble to apply for a role, and then ghost the employer?
As they say “it’s complicated.”
The pandemic has created “the great reckoning” – an environment where there’s much more contemplation around life, work and how the two fit together. Employees are being much more considered around roles, flexibility and benefits. Employees are spoilt for choice as there’s lots of roles around at present. If one doesn’t suit, there may well be a better one around the corner.
Sadly, many first time or younger job seekers don’t necessarily have the skills to confidently articulate this to a recruiter or an organisation.
There’s also clunky recruitment processes that take too long or are too onerous. Recruitment is often tacked onto a full time role of managers, and get’s fitted in as and when, which can extend the lead times. Add in busy diaries and schedules, and timeframes can get blown out quickly.
Emails, still the preferred choice of most companies/recruiters are perceived as old fashioned by some job seekers, or not timely.
And from some recruiters/companies, there’s still an Elon Musk philosophy of “you’ll be lucky to be working with us” rather than a mutual respect for both parties to the employment relationship.
So that makes sense from an candidate perspective. Employers ghosting may be a function of COVID fall out -as organisations struggle more broadly with the economic implications of the pandemic. There is another aspect though, and that’s that some managers find it difficult to give prospective job seekers feedback, finding it “easier” to simply ignore requests. And many find it difficult to deliver bad news (particularly if that bad news comes after a verbal job offer has been made).
The Takeaway
From an employer perspective – really look at your recruitment processes.
Technology – how are you using it?
Think about how you use technology such as texts rather than emails. Particularly in such a sensitive recruitment market.
Most people, 90 percent, open a text within three minutes, compared with the 20 percent of people who even open an email. Texts have a response rate of 45 percent compared to email’s 6 percent. And even more tellingly, people respond to a text message within 90 seconds—by contrast, they respond to emails within 90 minutes.
Who’s involved and do they have the right skills?
Think about what training the relevant people to give timely and meaningful feedback (especially if the news isn’t good).
Consider if the right people are involved in the recruitment process from a diary and scheduling perspective.
How are you communicating?
Make sure your communication is on point with candidates- that it’s clear and respectful. That the candidate has a clear understanding of the process and the timeframes, and can access feedback about the process and their position in it along the way. Remember, even if the candidate isn’t successful – how you manage recruitment ultimately affects your employer brand in the marketplace.
Wait, it is you.. Look at what is going on within your organisation
Now is a great time to take a good look at your organisational culture. Why are job seekers choosing other offers over yours? Are you not competitive pay wise? Or do you need to consider your workplace flexibility practices? Are there some leadership or other behaviours that are known in the marketplace to not be that positive?
Job seekers – this can bite you in the bottom
From a job seeker perspective – the research shows more and more employers are keeping track on those that ghost and that there are implications beyond the immediate process.
Respect is a two way street. If you are not interested in the role any more, letting the organisation know is courteous and can give them useful feedback too.
Otherwise don’t be surprised if there are consequences for the ghosting down the track.
More Resources..
Why People Ghost – New York Times
Overcoming candidate ghosting – 2o22
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