Dive Brief:

• Piquing job applicants' interest is the hardest task in the recruiting process, according to 35% of senior managers in a Robert Half survey. Others in the poll of 2,800 senior managers at companies with 20 or more employees cited asking the right questions in interviews (20%), devising compensation packages and negotiating salaries (19%), reviewing applications (13%) and creating job descriptions (12%).
• When asked about the most common reason candidates gave for turning down a job at their company, 30% of respondents said compensation and benefits were lower than they expected. A similar share said the most common reason was the acceptance of a job with another company.
• In other survey results, the biggest difficulties for respondents in writing job descriptions were separating essential credentials from "nice to have" credentials and identifying necessary interpersonal and soft skills.

Dive Insight:

Recruiting and hiring have always been challenging, but today's focus on attracting and retaining talent is made even more demanding by the tight labor market and the needs of a transforming workforce. But competing for applicants' attention in an employee-driven market isn't impossible; even the most contented workers are open to making a job switch for a better opportunity, and some will leave with less than a year on the job, according to a recent poll.

Although job seekers favor such benefits and perks as paid family leave, flexible schedules and remote work options, pay remains the chief motivator for accepting a job offer, according to Glassdoor. A May 2019 report by Washington State University's Carson School of Business showed there may be a disconnect here, between workers and employers on which benefits they prize most. That report showed higher pay trumps benefits in most cases. Employers also may be able to attract talent with less tangible offerings, including an emphasis on meaningful work or volunteer opportunities.

But keeping new hires in place after the recruiting process is its own HR problem, and research shows that many quit because the job didn't meet their expectations. Nearly half the respondents in a survey by London-based ThriveMap said they left a job because it — or the company's culture — wasn't what they envisioned. Employers might reduce new-hire turnover by drafting job descriptions that accurately describe openings and being transparent with candidates throughout the recruiting process about job responsibilities and company culture.