How often have you been ghosted by top candidates you have interviewed or screened? Ghosting is one of the most common phenomena that HR professionals and recruiters cannot avoid. In 2021, ghosting is on the rise and has become a two-way street. 

Recent Indeed survey on Employer Ghosting found that ghosting has become a widespread commonplace practice. Nearly 80 percent of job seekers said they have been ghosted by a prospective employer and 10 percent were still ghosted after a verbal job offer was presented to them. On another occasion, nearly 30 percent of job seekers said they ghosted an employer in 2020. In the same time frame, 76 percent of employers said not only were they ghosted but more than half (57 percent) said ghosting during recruitment has become more common. 

Among 500 job seekers in the survey, 4 percent claimed that Covid-19 was a reason for ghosting over the last 12 months. This is a surprisingly low figure, given its widespread impact on other areas of work. Although the figure of ghosting due to Covid-19 is low, Indeed recorded that nearly half of employers (48 percent) are probably being ghosted more often during the pandemic. 

Other significant reasons job seekers ghosted their prospective employers are receiving another offer (20 percent), dissatisfied with the offered salary (13 percent), and deciding the job offer was not the right job for them (15 percent). 

Why working on a strategy to attract and retain talents is important 

Given the number of ghosting by job seekers to employers, it is essential for HR and employers to revisit their recruitment strategy. Working on this matter also allows employers to stand out more in a tight labour market, especially because there might be an $8.5 trillion lost revenue due to talent shortage through 2030. About 85 million jobs could go unfilled because there are not enough skilled people to fill them. 

With a huge talent shortage, greater competition among employers within the talent market is underway. Employers should scramble to stand out in employment searches in order to attract and retain top talents. Employers need to focus on this competition because compiling the best leading candidates is no easy feat. You might find your offer “left on read” or your interview “left unattended” while you wonder why you are not being chosen by job seekers. 

10 ways to attract and retain top talents

No employer wants to be ghosted. For this particular reason, here are 10 practicable and successful ways to attract top candidates and stop your star talents from leaving:  

1. What is your UEP (Unique Employment Proposition)? What do you offer that your competitors don’t? Make a list of the top 10 reasons a star employee should come to work for you. The easiest way to come up with this list is to ask your best employees why they come to work for you; what makes them stay; and what they like most about their jobs and the company.
2. Ask everyone who gives you an employee referral with one question: Is this a referral or a recommendation? This will tell you if the person who gave you the referral actually knows the person and is willing to put their own name and reputation on the line. (This question is worth asking when you get a referral for a vendor you think you might want to work with, too.)
3. Do not help your competitors. When you get a call asking for a reference on a star employee who left you, you have just been put on notice that they are looking for a new job. So, before you give the requested references, tell the caller that you will have to call the former employee for their permission to release the information. Ask the caller for the former employee’s current telephone number, then call your former star and ask if they would consider coming back. If the answer is no, you still need to make the person feel good and they might think of you next time they’re ready for a change.
4. To change the results, change the sign. The same headline, same message, and same location will continue to attract the same types and kinds of applicants. If you want more and/or different kinds of applicants, change your headline, message, and/or location. For example, if you mainly hire men, take your ad out of the employment section of the newspaper and run it on the sports page. For remote part-time jobs, try: Be Home When Your Kids Are Home.
5. Think inside the box. Before you go looking outside your organisation, look at the people you already have on board to see if anyone on staff can do the job. This person you choose should be the one who deserves the opportunity to grow. Promoting from within motivates the entire staff and it’s nice to discover the person you need for the new position is a person you hired two years ago.
6. Divvy up recruiting responsibilities. If you have more than one manager at a location, divide the recruiting responsibilities between them. Have one focus on referrals, another on outside organisations (schools, church groups, state employment agencies), and another on the Internet (Facebook, LinkedIn, and all the other social media and job boards).
7. Get rid of “Help Wanted” signs. “Help Wanted’ isn’t a good reason for anyone to want to work for you. If you want to recruit star applicants, you need to tell them why they want to apply. Instead of Now Hiring, how about: “Our growth is your opportunity or Come for the job, stay for the career. Santa needs helpers and so do we” is a much better message than Holiday help needed.
8. Frustration is good as long as it is the other company’s employee who is frustrated. Somebody else’s frustrated employee is most likely one of your best prospects. Research shows that over 20 percent employed people are frustrated by their jobs. The same research shows that these people, in most cases, are some of the best employees and are trying to do a great job, but they have not been given the tools, training, and respect they deserve. They are overworked and under-appreciated. Why not run an ad that reads: Are you frustrated and looking for a change? Or Frustrated Nurses, Apply Now with your 24/7 job hotline number. (Just drop in your job title in place of the word “nurses.”)
9. Never stop looking for your next employee. Today’s employees do not believe it is disloyal to look for a job while they are working for you and the same needs to hold true for hiring managers. You always need to be looking for your next star employee. Recruiting is a proactive function and a key component of building your business.
10. Sell the sizzle, not the steak. Nobody really wants to buy light bulbs. We buy light bulbs because we want light. The same goes for work. No one really wants a job; they want the benefits the job gives them: security, growth opportunities, challenges, recognition, respect, relationships, and the list goes on.

To retain and attract is a single job that needs care and a lot of consideration. If you are not ready to give what star candidates want, do not expect a reply.

Further reading: 

• Skill vs. Talent: Why You Should Change Your Focus of Recruitment
• Science-based Talent Acquisition for Better Recruitment and Engagement 
• Employer Branding Strategy through Ex-Employees 
• Job Seekers’ Biggest Pain Points during Hiring Process amidst Crisis with Chelsie Hastings, Head of HR, PageUp
• 3 Recruitment Disciplines HR Need to Review