High price of flawed hiring practices

POOR candidate experiences in corporate hiring don’t only drive away top talent, they also inflict lasting damage on company reputations — and organisations should carefully consider the unintended but costly impact of flawed hiring practices.

- ADVAITA NAIDOO

South Africa’s ongoing high unemployment rate and brutal job market have led to a significant power imbalance between the potential employer and job applicant. This has resulted in the normalisation of disrespectful, poor treatment of candidates.

Reputational damage

Companies have become accustomed to treating candidates carelessly due to an oversupply of talent. Process gaps between HR, hiring managers and recruiters, along with untrained interviewers, have exacerbated the issue.

It is a mistake, however, to think that flawed hiring practices are hidden behind the scenes and only negatively impact the unsuccessful candidates. Poor experiences harm employer branding, customer relationships and future hiring prospects. In recent years, the floodgates have opened on candidates sharing negative hiring experiences online - impacting both a company’s prospects of attracting great candidates as well as its general reputation. Even top-tier professionals, including executives actively headhunted for senior roles, are walking away from opportunities where a company has developed a reputation for disrespectful or disorganised hiring processes.