Finding the right candidates for open job positions can be a daunting task for employers. Job boards have become a popular solution to connect with potential candidates. However, not all job boards are created equal. Some job boards are more effective than others in delivering results for employers. In this article, we will explore the top job boards that work for employers and help them find the best candidates.
GRIT is a venture-backed recruitment company that provides a unique recruitment service for employers to hire qualified talent quickly and reduce the cost to hire significantly. What sets GRIT apart from other job boards is the AI-powered Talent Platform that automatically qualifies job-ready candidates in just three days for any roles specified by employers at a fixed price of US$999. Additionally, the GRIT Talent Platform integrates with some of the most common ATS, facilitates multi-user collaboration, and provides smart scheduling options for employers to arrange interviews instantly.
In other words, an employer can enjoy impressive recruitment support at a significantly low cost (US$999) to achieve a more effective and efficient hiring process. Talk to GRIT to learn more!
SEEK Asia has a wide network of regional job boards across South East Asia and Hong Kong — JobStreet MY, JobStreet PH, JobStreet SG, JobStreet ID, JobsDB HK, and JobsDB TH; reaching 36 million active talent profiles in these regions, with more than 240,000 jobs at any given time. On top of that, SEEK Asia has also been reinvesting in its products and offerings to help both employers and job seekers in matching efficiency and effectiveness.
One of the biggest investments from SEEK Asia is on their data capability and platform to help employers increase the chances of job ads reached and viewed by the matching talent by up to 20%. Simply put, employers can be sure that they will be able to recruit talent that meet their company needs and requirements easily by utilising SEEK Asia's robust data capability and platform.
SEEK Asia offers multiple job posting packages that are tailored to meet different needs of employers. Instead of paying per job posting, employers purchase a set amount of credits that can be used to select the appropriate job posting package for their roles. This approach is particularly useful for employers to manage their budget effectively based on the urgency of their hiring needs.
| Branded | Premium | Premium Ad Plus |
| Employers get to enjoy all the benefits of Lite Ads. | Employers get to enjoy all the benefits of Branded Ads, plus. | Employers get to enjoy all the benefits of Premium Ads. |
| 2x more space for employers to showcase their top 3 value propositions. | Will be able to enjoy the ability to prioritise candidates on both mobile and desktop devices. | Employers will have access to personalised job ad writing and posting. |
| Personalised image banners. | Faster access to potential candidates. | The ability to screen and list potential candidates. |
| Wider reach. | - | Time efficiency by only interacting and engaging with potential candidates only. |
In addition to the job postings that come along in each of the ad packages, other features that further complement the job posting include:
SEEK Asia’s Talent Search has a vast database and employers can leverage this to actively search for the right candidates instead of waiting for candidates to apply for jobs. Employers will also be able to customise their search to find candidates with specific skill sets.
Using SEEK Asia’s SiVA Recruitment Centre tool, employers will be able to take advantage of its advanced filtering capabilities; they can widen or narrow their candidates to fit hiring preferences. In addition, SiVA Recruitment also allows employers to collaborate with stakeholders throughout the selection process so that they can make quicker decisions.
SEEK Asia’s Employer Branding Services help employers to stand out from their competitors by effectively expanding their company’s reach through mass media and targeted media. In addition, employers will be able to track their branding campaign; find how the job market perceives them via reviews and ratings.
Well-positioned and known within the Asia region as a comprehensive job search site. SEEK Asia provides a huge talent pool for employers to choose from — low skills, mid-level and high-end white collar. Allow employers to attract both local and global talent to work for their company. Extensive talent search features that allow employers to find the right talent.
LinkedIn is a powerful professional networking platform that provides unparalleled opportunities for connecting with like-minded businesses and expanding employers’ professional talent pool. LinkedIn boasts an impressive 900 million users across 200 countries & territories in 2023, with 13 million users in Southeast Asia and 2.77 million users in Hong Kong.
Unlike other job boards, employers will have the opportunity to connect directly with potential candidates by contacting them directly via the Linkedin direct message. This allows employers to gauge and know their potential candidates at a more personal level, not just from their resume.
In addition, employers can create a hassle-free application process using the Linkedin Easy Apply feature. And employers can share their company's latest achievements and milestones to attract and engage candidates on the Linkedin social platform.
LinkedIn Recruiter is a premium tool offered by LinkedIn that provides advanced search and messaging capabilities for recruiters to find and connect with potential candidates on the platform. It allows recruiters to search for candidates based on various criteria such as job title, location, industry, and experience level, and provides access to in-depth candidate profiles, which include details such as work history, education, and skills.
LinkedIn Recruiter Lite, on the other hand, is a more basic version of LinkedIn Recruiter that offers a simplified search and messaging interface. It is designed for smaller companies or individual recruiters who do not need the full range of features provided by LinkedIn Recruiter. LinkedIn Recruiter Lite still provides access to candidate profiles and messaging capabilities, but with some limitations compared to the full version of LinkedIn Recruiter.
LinkedIn Jobs allows employers to post open roles and easily target, prioritise, and manage qualified candidates. LinkedIn’s algorithm helps the jobs to reach the right audiences and if that’s not enough, they also allow employers to add a budget to promote the urgent roles to increase visibility and expand reach.
LinkedIn can provide real-time insights to help employers make the right hiring decisions. In addition to that, it can also assist employers to find quality candidates effectively and address skill gap issues via benchmarking. This hiring tool also allows employers to create future talent pipelines using detailed snapshots and talent recommendations.
LinkedIn Talent Hub is a recruiting and applicant tracking system designed for companies to streamline their hiring process. It allows recruiters and hiring managers to post job openings, manage candidate applications, and collaborate with team members all in one platform. Talent Hub also offers features such as candidate sourcing, job posting distribution, and customizable hiring workflows to help companies find and hire top talent more efficiently. Additionally, the platform integrates with other LinkedIn products like LinkedIn Recruiter and LinkedIn Learning to provide recruiters with more resources and insights to make informed hiring decisions.
LinkedIn stands out from other job search sites for employers due to its focus on professional networking and comprehensive profiles. With a vast and diverse talent pool, employers can connect with potential candidates based on their skills and experience, and build meaningful relationships. LinkedIn profiles provide detailed information, allowing employers to gain a comprehensive understanding of candidates' professional backgrounds, skills, endorsements, and recommendations.
Indeed is one of the job board pioneers that was founded in 2004. It boasts a massive 665 million visits globally monthly with 42.1 million visits from SEA and 1.6 million from HK, it also claims to have 200 million resumes worldwide — meaning employers will have access to a huge pool of candidates. For employers looking to fill non-executive roles quickly, Indeed may be an appealing option because though Indeed caters to all industries and experience levels, Indeed is mostly frequented by entry-level and lower-level professionals candidates rather than executive level candidates.
Job Postings
It comes with free job postings but with limited reach. However, employers have the option to sponsor their job ads with a dedicated budget to get more reach. It starts at $5 a day.
Indeed Resumes
Indeed Resume Search is a tool for employers to find and connect with potential job candidates on the Indeed platform. Employers can search for resumes using various criteria, view detailed candidate profiles, and save and download resumes. The tool also offers the option to contact candidates directly through the platform, and set up alerts for new resumes that match their search criteria.
Indeed Hiring Platform
The Indeed Hiring Platform is a comprehensive recruiting solution designed to help employers streamline their recruitment process. It offers features such as job posting, candidate sourcing, applicant tracking, and analytics to provide employers with a complete recruitment solution. The platform also integrates with other tools, such as Indeed Assessments and Indeed Instant Match, to help employers make data-driven hiring decisions and connect with qualified candidates quickly.
Indeed is a strong option if the location and types of jobs align with what employers need. Given employers can control the costs of their job postings via sponsoring option, making it a budget-friendly choice for employers.
Starting off as a platform to hire interns, Glints has come a long way to become a leading talent ecosystem in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. Launched in 2015 in Singapore, Glints claimed to have empowered more than 4 million talent and 50,000 organisations. Similar to Indeed, it is more commonly used by entry-level and junior-level professions but the job functions are pretty diverse, from administrative roles to engineering.
Employers will be able to enjoy the benefits of managing, tracking, and negotiating salary in one place with the Glints Recruitment tool. Through the Glints Recruitment hiring tool, employers also will be able to hire locally or remotely. The Glints Recruitment tool helps quicken the hiring process using 5 easy steps — resulting in a faster, easier and cheaper hiring process.
Glints Managed Talent is a recruitment service that helps employers find and hire top talent more efficiently. The service provides a dedicated team of recruitment specialists who work with employers to understand their hiring needs and create customized recruitment strategies to attract and identify the best candidates for their roles. Glints Managed Talent offers end-to-end recruitment services, including job posting, candidate screening, interview scheduling, and offer management. The service also provides regular updates and analytics to help employers track their recruitment progress and make data-driven decisions.
Glints Job Search is a job posting platform for employers to post job openings and connect with potential candidates. It allows employers to create job postings and specify their requirements and job details. The platform also provides features such as candidate matching, resume screening, and communication tools to help employers streamline their recruitment process. Glints Job Search offers a range of job posting options, including free and paid options, to cater to the needs of different employers.
One major factor that differentiates Glints from other job board sites is that Glints emphasised on helping job seekers excel in their career with the launch of Glints Academy, a 12-week boot camp to train and equip young professionals with skills that are much needed and in high demand within the tech industry.
Besides that, Glints also offer a full-stack recruitment model aside from the generic job posting option. Using the full-stack recruitment model option, employers get to enjoy a more cost friendly recruitment service as they are utilising their vast candidate database to support the recruitment service. This makes Glints a great choice for budget-conscious employers.
Monster was first established and launched in the US in 1994 and has since rebranded as foundit in 2022. Similar to Indeed, foundit has a massive global presence where the company has been serving more than 70 million job seekers and 10,000 customers spread across 18 countries.
Resume Database Access (RDA) allows employers to search and filter resumes based on various criteria such as experience, education, and skills. The database is regularly updated to ensure that employers have access to the most recent and relevant resumes. Additionally, the platform offers features such as resume shortlisting, communication tools, and resume tracking to help employers streamline their recruitment process.
FoundIT’s job posting provides online job posting services for regions across India, Middle East and SouthEast Asia. The platform offers various features to customise job postings and reach a wider pool of qualified candidates. The features include response management, logo with job posting, print alliance, and highlighting job postings. They are charging based on cost per job posting and they do offer a free trial for a couple of days for employers to really understand and experience foundit’s capability.
Social Job Ads from foundit is an integrated solution that maximises the reach of job postings and expands brand awareness with job seekers. It offers a potent mix of intelligent custom targeting via multi-level vehicles such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google, and foundit Database. Social Job Ads provides an exclusive, automated, and intelligent targeting solution that requires a single click for recruiters to post job vacancies. It helps reach millions of passive candidates via desktop and mobile, giving visibility to the employer's brand on social media.
foundit Branding Solutions offers a slew of branding solutions, such as Interstitial Ads, Search Results Takeover, and Targeted Mailers. Employers will be able to promote their company brand and reach their target candidates.
foundit sets itself apart from other job board sites by having dedicated categories for skills, functions, and industries. This helps to ensure a better matching of candidates to the jobs posted by employers.
AJobThing based in Malaysia is a well-known recruitment enterprise that offers three distinctive recruitment platforms, namely Maukerja, Ricebowl, and Internsheeps in which each of the platforms serves different target audiences. Maukerja typically serves the Bahasa speaking audiences; Ricebowl serves the Chinese speaking audiences, and Internsheeps serves uni students who are looking for internship opportunities. Combined, they boast an impressive 1.5 million monthly visits. However, most of the roles offered are for non-executive and non-technical roles.
Besides the generic job posting and talent search functionality, AJobThing offers a bulk hiring recruitment solution called SHOUTOUT where it guarantees a certain number of candidates to show up for interviews.
MyCareersFuture is a government-backed job search platform in Singapore that helps job seekers find suitable employment opportunities and employers to connect with qualified candidates. What’s interesting is that advertising on the MyCareersFuture job portal is free of charge.
MyCareersFuture boasts a massive 3.5 million candidate visits monthly, meaning employers will have access to a massive talent pool every month — quickening their recruitment process and role fulfilment.
CTgoodjobs is a hiring and recruitment platform in Hong Kong; a brand extension under Career Times Online Ltd — a member of the Hong Kong Economic Times Group. CTgoodjobs offers both recruitment and employer branding solutions services to employers.
Besides the services, employers can take advantage of the huge candidate pool — over 670,000 candidates visit per month. Plus, CTgoodjobs also has a very strong social media presence on Facebook with over 328,000 followers.
CTgoodjobs provides employers with an all-in-one recruitment tool to increase the efficiency of the recruitment process, such as talent management which allows employers to screen and find candidates that match their job requirements.
In today's competitive job market, job boards have become a crucial tool for employers in the hiring process. They provide a platform for employers to advertise their job openings and connect with potential candidates. Among the top job boards mentioned in this article, including LinkedIn, Indeed, Glints, foundit, AJobThing, and MyFutureCareersSG, employers can leverage their extensive reach and comprehensive features to effectively source and attract top talent.
These job boards offer a wide range of job opportunities across various industries, locations, and demographics, allowing employers to cast a wide net and reach a diverse pool of candidates. They also provide advanced search filters, resume databases, candidate matching, and other recruitment tools that streamline the hiring process and help employers identify the most qualified candidates efficiently. Additionally, some job boards also offer employer branding options, career advice, and networking tools that allow employers to strengthen their employer brand and engage with potential candidates.
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) acknowledges that behavioural interview questions are an effective interview technique that can be used across different types of companies. These questions are a crucial part of the hiring process, as they help evaluate a candidate's work experience and work style.
Now, this standardised set of questions allows interviewers to compare and assess multiple candidates applying for the same job opening in a structured manner. Behavioural interviews aren’t technical at all, and are focused on the candidate, making it possible for them to prepare well in advance.
Of course, you’ve got several interview strategies and question types available for you to assess candidate readiness and suitability, but behavioural-based questions remain one of the best methods for finding out how the candidate is able to handle different work situations (sometimes on the spur of the moment)!
Behavioural-based questions are interview questions that are designed to elicit information about a candidate's past behaviours in specific situations, as a good way of predicting their future performance. Instead of hypothetical or theoretical questions, these questions ask the candidate to describe real-life experiences in detail, and how they handled each one of them.
By asking questions about how a candidate has handled specific situations in the past, employers can get a sense of how they might handle similar situations in the future. These challenging questions typically focus on skills and qualities that are important for the job, such as problem-solving, teamwork, creative thinking, communication, adaptability, and leadership.
For example, instead of asking a candidate how they would handle a difficult customer, a behavioural-based interview question might ask them to describe a time when they had to deal with a difficult customer in the past, and how they kept on top of the situation.
Sample questions about teamwork
Sample questions about adaptability
Sample questions about time management
Sample questions about communication
Sample questions about leadership
Sample questions about personal stress
Do keep in mind that the candidates’ answers to behavioural-based interview questions should last between one and two minutes on average, with factual answers being even shorter. The answers are meant to help you see how efficiently a candidate can think on their feet (not tell their entire life story!), as opposed to relying solely on their accomplishments listed on paper.
If you're in employer branding, it's also important to use behavioural questions to identify the kind of people who are most likely to excel in the role. Above all, remember that this isn't meant to be a new form of torture for the candidates, your goal is to learn as much as you can about them in a short timeframe, and how they may (or may not) complement the current team.
During the interviewing process, as a recruiter or HR representative, you'll encounter various interview styles and questions. Your objective should be to identify candidates who meet the position's criteria, and can positively contribute to the company culture. If you’re at a loss as to how to do so effectively, utilising competency-based interview questions is an effective way to identify such candidates. These prompts would allow you to quickly determine how the talent in front of you would handle a certain situation, and their response in different scenarios.
These are also known as a structured, behavioural, or situational interview. They’re designed to assess a candidate's skills, knowledge, and abilities required to perform the job effectively. Unlike traditional interview questions, which focus on past experiences and qualifications, this type asks candidates to provide examples of how they have demonstrated certain competencies or skills in the past.
The questions are often structured around specific competencies, such as problem-solving, communication, leadership, teamwork, time management, or adaptability, among others. The interviewer will ask the candidate to provide examples of how they’ve demonstrated any of those in their past work experience, education, or personal life. Competency-based questions aid in determining how a candidate will utilise the skills and experience they have acquired in their professional life to benefit your company.
This type of training typically covers a range of topics, including identifying core competencies required for a particular job, designing interview questions that assess these competencies, and evaluating candidate responses.
The goal of a competency-based interview training is to help recruiters and HR representatives improve their ability to identify the best candidates for a particular role based on their competencies, rather than just their experience or qualifications. Here’s how you can ensure your recruiters or HR representatives are trained to ask the right questions:
When responding to competency interview questions, job seekers should provide examples from their real-life experiences, specifically those that demonstrate the competencies highlighted in the question. The structure of their response is also important, and should follow the STAR method:
This approach offers insight into the candidate's work approach, problem-solving skills, and ability to communicate effectively under pressure. Employers should look for candidates who can structure their answers in this way, indicating that they are well-prepared for the interview, as well as possess the ability to think critically and coherently even in high-pressure situations.
However, the risk with this approach is that candidates may prepare rehearsed answers based on the job description, potentially providing less insight into their problem-solving abilities in spontaneous situations.
Interviewing candidates nowadays can present unique challenges, because they now have access to a wide range of resources on what are the techniques used, and the types of questions that recruiters and hiring representatives may ask.
Nevertheless, using this type of questions will provide you with a clear indication of the skills and characteristics of your potential employee, regardless of how well they perform in interviews. By asking the right competency-based questions, you can immediately observe how the candidate would handle work-related situations, removing some of the uncertainty about whether the role is a good fit for them. Good luck!
Have you ever wondered how you can avoid wasting precious time and resources on unqualified candidates (or even those who display red flags)? One way is to remember that it’s essential to conduct a pre-qualification or pre-screening process before proceeding to the interview stage.
This process ensures that applicants meet the minimum requirements for the position and have the necessary skills. Incorporating pre-screening interviews into your hiring process can significantly benefit your company, as it helps filter out unsuitable candidates and saves you from the potentially expensive mistake of making a wrong hire.
A pre-screening interview, also known as a pre-employment screening, is a preliminary method conducted by employers to assess whether a job candidate meets the basic requirements for the position before inviting them for an in-person interview. It’s typically conducted over the phone or via video conferencing.
The primary purpose of this is to narrow down the pool of candidates for a position, by eliminating unqualified applicants early in the hiring process. During a pre-screening interview, the recruiter or HR representative asks questions related to the candidate's qualifications, experience, and job requirements. Based on the responses, the employer can then determine if the candidate is a good fit for the position and the company.
It can also be a valuable step in helping employers identify if a candidate has embellished the resume. For example, if they make it seem as though they’re more skilled than they actually are, have a sketchy employment history, lack the necessary qualifications, or are unwilling to answer questions, the employer can quickly eliminate them from the applicant pool.
That’s why pre-employment assessments are becoming increasingly popular, which is most likely due to their effectiveness. According to a Bersin by Deloitte's research, it was revealed that pre-employment assessments are a USD1 billion industry, and more than 60% of large companies use them regularly as part of their recruitment process.
Conducting a pre-screening interview is an essential part of the hiring process for any company, as it not only helps filter out unqualified or unsuitable candidates, it’s crucial in helping to reduce the time-to-hire (TTH). The TTH is how long a company needs to fill a vacant position, which includes the duration from when the job vacancy is advertised to the point when an offer is made. Here are the steps to conducting a pre-screening interview:
Don’t forget to approach each session with a willingness to consider the candidates' responses carefully. Although some pre-screening questions may elicit similar answers, place more emphasis on applicants who display innovativeness and strong communication skills. Furthermore, keep to your interview schedule by reserving the more comprehensive questions for face-to-face assessments.
Pre-screening interviews consist of brief interview questions that aim to evaluate if potential candidates meet the qualifications for an open position. But don’t forget to keep an eye out for certain red flags along the way too, like those who seem distracted and unprepared for the interview, are mainly focused on salary expectations, or even just flat-out avoiding some of your questions! We hope these concise questions help you to narrow down the pool of candidates to the most qualified ones, as well as help you in saving time and resources during the hiring process.
Join over 500 companies that are hiring (effectively and efficiently) with GRIT!
What are some of the indicators of a successful candidate experience? Consistent communication that focuses on quality, is one. In a study that looked at the recruiter-candidate experience, it was found that 47% of the talent who were surveyed said that “great communication, including prompt feedback and follow-ups” made for a positive candidate experience.
While it’s easier to use methods like phone calls, text apps, or in-person meetings to keep in contact with candidates – especially those you’re interested in – there’s also emails to consider. But, there’s an art to using email, especially if you want to come across as clear and concise; there’s nothing worse than a recruiter blasting out emails which are long-winded and irrelevant.
In fact, a survey found that a large number of jobseekers would be more willing to take positive action if they had a clear and consistent hiring process – 80% would apply to the company again, 78% would accept the job offer, while 60% would tell others to apply to the company. Using templates ensures that all candidates receive the same information, and are treated in a consistent manner, which can help build a positive candidate experience and improve the reputation of the company.
That’s why we've assembled a list of the 25 most popular email templates for you to refer and use, so that you can continue to consistently reach out to top talent, keeping you ahead of your competitors.
By following these tips, recruiters can quickly write clear and concise emails that not only effectively communicate the message, it’ll encourage the candidate to take action.
A clear and descriptive subject line will help the email stand out in the candidate's inbox and give them a quick understanding of what the email is about. This is particularly important in a busy inbox, as it can help ensure the candidate opens and reads the email. The subject line should be short, to the point, and accurately reflect the content of the email.
Personalising the email by using the candidate's name and mentioning specific details about their background or qualifications shows that you have taken the time to review their information and make a personalised connection. This can help establish a positive relationship with the candidate and improve their impression of the company.
A lengthy introduction or elaborate explanation is unlikely to hold the candidate's attention, so it's important to get straight to the purpose of the email. State the main message and the desired outcome clearly and concisely, using simple and easy-to-understand language.
Explain why the candidate should be interested in the opportunity and what sets your company apart from others. This could include details about company culture, benefits, or opportunities for growth and development. Highlighting the benefits can help motivate the candidate to take action and show interest in the opportunity.
Let the candidate know what the next steps are and what you expect from them. This could be scheduling a call, sending over additional information, or completing an application. By including a clear call-to-action, you can help the candidate understand what is expected of them and make it easier for them to take action.
Before sending the email, take the time to double-check for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and clarity. A well-written and professional email will help establish a positive first impression and maintain a level of professionalism throughout the recruitment process.
Use a professional tone throughout the email to maintain a level of professionalism, but it’s best to also remain approachable in order to establish a positive first impression. This can include avoiding overly casual language, abbreviations, and emoticons. A professional tone can help communicate the level of importance the company places on the recruitment process and the opportunity being offered.
Using email templates can save recruiters a significant amount of time. The average professional spends more than 5 hours of their work day reading and answering emails, according to a survey by Adobe. By using templates, recruiters can reduce the time spent crafting each individual email, allowing them to focus on other tasks and increase their overall productivity.
Consistent messaging and tone can help create a more positive candidate experience. Research has shown that a whopping amount of job seekers (81%) prefer employers who have a clear and consistent communication process, as it would greatly improve their overall experience as well as allow them to have a more positive view of the company. Using templates ensures that all candidates receive the same information and are treated in a consistent manner, which can help build a positive candidate experience and improve the reputation of the company.
As the number of candidates being considered increases, it becomes more difficult to manage the volume of emails being sent. Templates can help automate the recruitment process, enabling recruiters to handle a larger volume of candidates more efficiently. This can be particularly important for companies that are growing rapidly or that have a high volume of recruitment needs.
Email templates can be tailored to fit the specific needs of each role or company. For example, a template for a technical role might include information about the specific technology stack the company is using, while a template for a sales role might include information about the company's sales process. By customising templates, recruiters can ensure that the right information is being communicated to the candidate and that the recruitment process is tailored to the specific needs of the company.
The candidate experience is important, and that’s not only because 65% of candidates say a bad interview experience makes them lose interest in the job. It’s also a major component of employer branding: How companies treat their employees can define their brand and reputation for years to come. Who wouldn't want to streamline the entire recruitment process so that it not only saves time and ensures the company's brand consistency, it also improves the candidate experience and minimises disruption? They're so easy for anyone from companies of all sizes to adopt, so it's time for recruiters to start using email templates and enjoy these benefits!
Where companies once used traditional methods of executing everything manually, their human resources (HR) personnel were bogged down with hours of tedious but essential admin work. These processes can be time-consuming, cumbersome, and laborious because they’re all compliance-driven.
Now, with the premium on top talent in today’s highly competitive job market, HR has moved from a backend administration role to a frontline strategic function. Which can only mean one thing: A greater pressure on them to perform well in their employee management and candidate experience.
Enter HR tools, which are the wide range of technological solutions that help companies manage their day-to-day HR activities effectively, while also achieving improved efficiency. In a survey carried out to determine the opportunities present for HR tech to grow, it was found that 58% of HR professionals used three or less tech tools.
So, while it’s true that HR teams now utilise some of the more common tools in their day-to-day tasks, there’s still plenty of room for further adoption. Let’s face it, without them, your company will be lagging, and that’s going to cost you when it comes to attracting and retaining the best talent.
Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at some of the essential HR tools that your company should be implementing in 2023, and beyond!
The HRIS is essentially a software solution that’s used to collect, store, manage, and process data on a company’s employees, as well as its policies and procedures. As a software that performs various functions in order to streamline and support HR tasks, as well as help manage their processes, here are some of its everyday uses:
A HRIS is important for companies because it provides several benefits, such as:
| Recommended Human Resources Information Systems | Price |
| 1) Workday | Prefers to deal with each company directly to give a tailored quote for their needs. However, some reports have mentioned that pricing usually starts at USD99 per user/month. |
| 2) SAP SuccessFactors | Tiered pricing for annual subscriptions starts at USD85 per employee for companies with up to 100 employees (about USD8 per employee/month), and drops from there depending upon the size of the user base. |
| 3) ADP Workforce Now | Prefers to deal with each company directly to give a tailored quote for their needs. However, some reports have mentioned that pricing usually starts at USD62/month, though the average business should expect to spend a lot more than that. |
| 4) Oracle HCM Cloud | Consists of three pricing editions; Help Desk (USD4 per employee/month), Talent Management (USD10 per employee/month), and Global HR (USD15 per employee/month). |
| 5) UKG Pro | Prefers to deal with each company directly to give a tailored quote for their needs. However, some reports have mentioned that pricing usually starts from USD600 per year for every five users. |
Employee Onboarding software is a tool that automates and streamlines the process of introducing new hires to a company, covering tasks such as orientation, paperwork, and training. This is to help new hires get up to speed quickly and efficiently, improving their overall experience and reducing the time it takes to become fully productive. Some of the functions include:
An Employee Onboarding software is important because of several benefits, including:
| Recommended Employee Onboarding Softwares | Price |
| 1) BambooHR | BambooHR charges on a monthly or quarterly subscription basis, costing between USD6 and USD12 per employee/month. As a company's employee count rises, BambooHR pricing will decrease with volume. |
| 2) Lever | Prefers to deal with each company directly to give a tailored quote for their needs. However, some reports have mentioned that pricing usually starts from USD300 a month for a company of up to 10 people. |
| 3) JazzHR | Consists of three pricing editions; Hero at USD49/month (when billed annually), Plus at USD239/month (on an annual plan), and Pro at USD359/month (on an annual plan). |
| 4) iCIMS | Pricing is based on the number of users, number of products, and integration with any iCIMS partners, where the paid version starts at USD1,700/month. |
| 5) Workable | Consists of three pricing editions; Paygo at USD129/month (pay per job), Standard at USD299/month (pay upfront, commit annually), and Premier at USD599/month ((pay upfront, commit annually). |
A Performance Management System supports companies in evaluating and managing performance appraisal, goal setting, feedback, and continuous performance tracking. Companies are thus able to improve performance, align employee goals with business objectives, and make data-driven decisions about employee development and compensation. This software can perform the following functions:
Companies should consider a Performance Management System because of benefits like:
| Recommended Performance Management System | Price |
| 1) 15Five | Consists of four pricing editions; Engage at USD4 per user/month (billed annually), Perform at USD8 per user/month (billed annually), Focus at USD8 per user/month (billed annually), and Total Platform at USD14 per user/month (billed annually). |
| 2) JazzHR | Consists of three pricing editions; Hero at USD49/month (when billed annually), Plus at USD239/month (on an annual plan), and Pro at USD359/month (on an annual plan). |
| 3) Reflektive | Costs USD7,500 flat rate, and is a subscription-based software package. |
| 4) Lattice | Consists of a main pricing edition with optional add-ons; Performance Management + OKRs & Goals (USD11 per person/month), Engagement (additional USD$4 person/month), Grow (additional USD4 person/month), and Compensation (additional USD6 person/month). |
| 5) Culture Amp | Consists of three pricing editions; Engage (from USD5 per person/month), Perform (from USD11 per person/month), and Develop (from USD4 per person/month). |
This software is a tool that enables companies to track, manage, and report on employee time and attendance. It automates the process of recording employee hours, making it easier for companies to ensure compliance with labour laws. Furthermore, it improves accuracy, reduces administrative burden, and provides valuable insights into workforce utilisation. The following are just some of its functions:
This software is able to provide companies with several benefits, such as:
| Recommended Time And Attendance Tracking Softwares | Price |
| 1) QuickBooks | Consists of four pricing editions; Simple Start (USD15/month), Essentials (USD27.50/month), Plus (USD42.50/month), Advanced (USD100/month). |
| 2) When I Work | Consists of two pricing editions; Standard (USD2.50 per user/month), and Advanced (USD6.00 per user/month), with optional add-ons available for both plans. |
| 3) Homebase | Price: Consists of three pricing editions; Essentials (USD20 per location/month), Plus (USD48 per location/month), and All In One (USD80 per location/month). |
| 4) Deputy | Price: Consists of three pricing editions; Scheduling (USD3.50 per user/month billed monthly), Time & Attendance (USD3.50 per user/month billed monthly), and Premium (USD4.90 per user/month billed monthly). |
| 5) Bitrix24 | Price: Consists of four pricing editions; Basic at USD61/month (five users), Standard at USD124/month (50 users), Professional at USD249/month (100 users), and Enterprise from USD499/month (from 250 users). |
This is a tool that automates the administration and management of employee benefits programmes, by streamlining the process of enrolling in and managing benefits, thus simplifying the process for both employees and HR teams. The goal is to reduce administrative burden, improve the accuracy of benefits data, and enhance the employee experience. Here are just some of the functions to expect:
It’s important for companies to consider this software because it provides several benefits, including:
| Recommended Employee Benefits Management Systems | Price |
| 1) Zenefits | Price: Starting off with a base plan at USD10 per employee/month, companies can choose to add-on further features which is the Growth plan at USD20 per employee/month or the Zen plan at USD27 per employee/month. |
| 2) Gusto | Price: Consists of three pricing editions; Simple at USD40/month (plus USD6 per person/month), Plus at USD60/month (plus USD9 per person/month), and Premium which is tailored to each company’s individual needs. |
| 3) Benefitfocus | Price: Costs USD2-USD4 per user/month, depending on whether you get the base features or the full product stack. |
| 4) ADP TotalSource | Price: Prefers to deal with each company directly to give a tailored quote for their needs. However, some reports have mentioned that pricing usually starts at around USD85 per employee. |
| 5) Paychex Flex | Price: The introductory plan (Paychex Flex Essentials) costs USD39/month plus USD5 per employee. |
A Learning Management System (LMS) is a software application that facilitates the administration, delivery, and tracking of educational courses or training programmes. It provides an efficient and effective way to manage and deliver learning content as well as track employee progress and achievement. This software can perform the following functions:
It’s important for your company to consider this software for its benefits like:
| Recommended Learning Management Systems | Price |
| 1) TalentLMS | Consists of four pricing editions; Starter at USD69/month (billed yearly), Basic at USD149/month (billed yearly), Plus at USD279/month (billed yearly), and Premium at USD459/month (billed yearly). |
| 2) Docebo | Two types of flexible plans available – Growth and Enterprise – with a subscription-based pricing model that’s based on the number of active users per month. |
| 3) Talent LMS | Consists of five pricing editions; Starter at USD69/month (billed yearly, up to 40 users), Basic at USD149/month (billed yearly, up to 100 users), Plus at USD279/month (billed yearly, up to 500 users), Premium at USD459/month (billed yearly, up to 1,000 users), and Enterprise which requires a custom pricing but allows for more than 1,000 users. |
| 4) SAP Litmos | Starts from USD6 per user/month (for 150 to 500 active learners), the SAP Litmos Pro subscription needs at least 150 active learners. Larger companies get a better deal (for 501 to 1,000 active learners) since the cost is USD4 per user/month. |
| 5) Absorb LMS | Small businesses can purchase an Absorb LMS licensing fee for USD800/month plus a 12-month user fee of USD16 per active user. Hosted pricing starts at USD1,350/month (or USD14,500/year) for up to 500 users. It's USD4,850 per month (or USD52,380 per year) for up to 5,000 users, and USD8,850 per month (or USD95,580 per year) for up to 17,500. |
HR teams face the increasingly difficult challenge of attracting top talent to their companies, and retaining current employees. This involves understanding the current job market and competition for talent, as well as developing the necessary strategies to attract and retain employees. Additionally, they'd also need to ensure that employees are engaged and satisfied with their work, which is essential for improving productivity and reducing turnover. This involves regularly surveying employees to gauge their satisfaction, including helping employees grow and develop in their careers.
What better way to do all of the above than to start adopting HR tech in order to help your HR team automate previously-tedious processes as much as possible, including using data to take advantage of better people skills. If you're looking for that edge above your competitors, this list of must-have tools will allow a crucial shift of your HR's focus from administrative to strategic, which will then completely change the role of the HR team (in a much-needed way!) within the business operations as a whole.
Hiring is a challenge for most businesses. It's more than just finding new employees, or the onboarding and training process. Did you know that only a handful of companies take less than a month for their typical time-to-hire? The remainder will see the length of their own hiring process fall anywhere between one to four months!
The time it takes to hire just one person can have a significant impact on a company’s bottom line, especially if they're competing with other companies for the top talent. For example, a study by HackerRank found that the time-to-hire rates can reach up to 45 days for tech and digital roles at large companies. Translation: That's 45 days of lost productivity, wasted money on advertising/job boards, or both!
You see, recruiters and/or hiring managers spend a lot of time making sure that the candidates are suitably qualified for the position, there aren't any red flags, and that he/she will be a good fit for the company culture, among other steps. This can be challenging when you have limited resources, and hundreds (or even thousands!) of applicants for each open role. Added to that is the great pressure to hire quickly, so that they can fill open roles faster than their competitors do. They also want to make sure they're hiring only the best; if they don't get it right, they'll lose out on valuable talent (and money).
Here's another thing to consider: Most hiring managers don't have that much of a budget to work with (unless you’re working for a mega corporation). In fact, according to research carried out by HR software company Personio, 55% of HR managers have either had their budgets already slashed, or are expecting them to be slashed in the coming months, as businesses prune their budgets in preparation to face a potential global financial crash.
So how can hiring managers find great candidates for their open roles? And how can they speed up this process so they don't lose out on valuable talent? In many cases, you can bring your time-to-hire down significantly if you follow some simple strategies. But first…
The term 'time-to-hire' (TTH) refers to the measure of how long it takes to close one position, which starts from posting the available job role, right up until the day you make an offer.
Hiring is a crucial performance pointer for HR teams. A short TTH shows that your team is well-organised and efficient in its process of recruiting, possesses good communication skills, plus having the ability to effectively handle both internal stakeholders and external candidates. In addition, it’s more likely that candidates will be satisfied with the level of treatment and candidate experience they receive during their applications.
Taking too long to fill the openings, or even making a bad hire, will be very costly in the long run. Research shows that even an average employee can cost a company around USD3,500, both direct and indirect. If you're wondering why this is so, it's important to note that there are various potentially high costs involved in the recruiting process, such as advertising the job role, the time cost of a recruiter (internal or external) in reviewing resumes and performing other relevant tasks, the time cost of the person conducting the interviews, background checks and screening, as well as various pre-employment assessment tests.
When you're looking at the number above, think about how much money would be lost if you needed to hire for more than one role, more so if the new employee(s) chooses not to stay after their probationary period; that's thousands of dollars and months of productivity lost!
There’s no “one-answer-fits-all” here, but it can be safely stated that the time taken by your company to hire one person is probably longer than you think!
According to one study, the average TTH in organisations around the world is 42 days – that’s just a little over two months! However, there are also many variables to be taken into consideration that can impact the TTH, such as location, industry, and qualification level of the candidate.
For example, some countries experience much longer times, like India with an average of 58 days. In comparison, the United States notes an average of 38 days, with Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong looking at averages of 36 days, 30 days, and 29 days, respectively. The statistics also vary between industries: Software companies tend to have a quicker rate at about 36 days, whereas accounting and consulting firms take an average of 55 days.
The longest TTH occurs when businesses are not properly equipped to hire, or don't have a proper process in place to determine which candidates should move forward. It also happens when they have a shortage of quality candidates available (i.e., too many unsuitable applications), or if they don't know how long their decision making process will take, so they delay moving someone through until they've made up their mind. Other reasons include complexity around internal processes, or issues where there isn't enough information available on why some candidates aren't moving forward even though they've shown that they might be a good fit.
Uber, Airbnb, and Netflix are three companies that have a relatively short TTH. In fact, they're some of the fastest to hire on average, because they don't waste too much time on recruiting, interviewing, and processing candidates. Let's have a look at each one:
They utilise a simple five-step hiring process which first involves submitting an application online. The applicant would then go through two rounds of interviews (online or in-person) with a possible assessment, complete an extensive background check; undergo drug testing, and then having a final onsite follow-up meeting with a HR representative.
Airbnb's hiring process generally involves several stages which begins with filling out their online application form. If selected, you'll get invited to an in-person or virtual interview, by one or more recruiters at different times. You'd then need to attend a further interview for cultural fit to assess whether you align with Airbnb's core values; go through a technical assessment when invited back for another round of interviews; pass an extensive background check before being offered employment.
The hiring process at Netflix is simple yet effective – candidates must submit their online applications, then wait until they hear back regarding the next steps, which includes an initial screening and video interviewing, before getting invited for technical assessments. Candidates may also be interviewed by potential colleagues to evaluate their fit with the team and the company culture. The final step involves getting hired after passing the tests and an extensive background check successfully!
The faster you hire, the more time you have to focus on your company's core business. A quick hiring process also means that hiring managers will be able to evaluate candidates more thoroughly before making a final decision about who gets hired – and if there's anything about a candidate that isn't quite right for the position, it's easier to reject them without feeling too guilty or apologetic (which can leave both parties feeling awkward).
Who wouldn’t be happy when told: “You get to save money by cutting down on recruitment agency fees and other costs associated with hiring”? It's estimated that companies lose USD1 billion annually due to bad hires; by cutting down on how long it takes to make those hires, they could save themselves tonnes of money in reduced costs associated with mistakes and employee turnover.
There will always be other companies who are able to hire quicker than yours. If it takes too long for you to close on a candidate, there may be some top talent who will be lured away from under your nose. There's a term called 'salary cost' which you'd need to be aware of: If you wait too long, the candidate may receive a better counteroffer from your competition, resulting in a bidding war, thus increasing the salary cost.
A faster TTH will help you attract better candidates, because it means less wasted time in interviews, which will in turn show that people want to work at your company, and you’re able to respond efficiently. That translates into savings as well – you won't need as many recruiters or advertising dollars because of how quickly jobs are filled up after being posted online. Ultimately, you’ll have a greater peace of mind in knowing that they'll be more likely to say yes when you ask them if they want to come work for you.
A shorter hiring process can also improve your company's culture. As mentioned above, it will show that people are eager to work at your company – and they'll be even more excited once they're hired! This means that you'll be able to attract the top talent and get them on board faster.
Finally, a shorter TTH will help boost productivity by making sure there aren’t any gaps in the workforce when people leave for other jobs or retire. This means that you'll be able to get more done in less time, which will help them achieve their targets faster, and aid in making your employer brand stronger by showing how quickly things get done at your company. Did you also know that lost productivity cost businesses a shocking USD1.8 trillion every year?
The bottom-line: A shorter time-to-hire can help companies find quality candidates faster and save money. The quicker you can bring someone on board, the sooner they can start contributing to your company's bottom line.
This metric is also an effective way for management teams to measure how well their recruiting are performing. If a company consistently has longer than average time-to-hires for similar positions, this may indicate that there is a need for improvement in recruiting practices or onboarding processes. TTH can also be used as a proxy for quality of hiring process: If candidates tend to not accept offers quickly after being selected, or if they leave shortly after starting work, then this suggests that there may be issues with retention or performance expectations related back to recruitment efforts by managers who were involved in making those selections.
To sum up, your company's TTH involves several stages. It takes a long time to hire one person, and even longer to find the right fit, because the recruiter/hiring manager has to go through multiple steps before making a decision to offer or not on an employment contract. Which is why it's incredibly important to have the right people working together with you in order to help expedite everything, thus helping you save valuable resources. Enter GRIT Talent Platform, which not only cuts hiring time to 2-3 weeks on average and allows you to select from the active candidates database that’s growing 300% month-on-month, it also provides you with an automated interview scheduling and feedback feature to cut time spent on managing the recruiting process by 70% on average. The best part: It only costs USD999, which is a stark contrast from the four-figure amounts you would normally face in a typical cost per hire!
Join over 500 companies that are hiring (effectively and efficiently) with GRIT!
When it comes to hiring, you need to be thinking globally. Even more so in 2023, when the new norm is having colleagues from all over the world, and half of your company is probably working from home in their pyjamas! Now that it’s time to step up your recruiting efforts in doing your best to source and onboard new people, companies are still facing the same challenge – the struggle to find and retain top talent.
Which is why we’ll be talking about looking out for the four hiring trends in 2023 that may affect your business, and how to use them to get better results, with less time spent on hiring.
As the world continues to move away from traditional work schedules, remote work is becoming more popular. According to Gallup’s research, 56% of employees (that’s more than more than 70 million workers!) say that their job can be done working remotely from home. Remote workers are happier overall, more productive, and engage in better relationships with their co-workers (and even bosses!) than office-bound employees – simply because they can spend more time with friends and family.
This trend is only going to grow exponentially as millennials become the majority of the workforce; they’re already leading in this area, and they want it both ways – work remotely sometimes or even all the time, plus having flexible hours and schedules. Additionally, it's important to note that millennials aren't alone: The Gen Z (born between 1995-2014) also want flexible jobs so they can easily juggle personal commitments outside of work.
In fact, 65% of Gen Zers would consider leaving a job if they didn't have access to flexible hours or remote working options. One example of how remote and/or hybrid work is playing such an important role in today’s way of work is Apple Inc.’s employees, who fought back and issued a petition shortly after its senior leaders told employees that they had to return to the office for at least three days a week, arguing that staffers can do "exceptional work" from home. Whereas many major companies including Atlassian, Coinbase, Citigroup, McKinsey & Company, and Gusto are offering permanent remote- or hybrid-work options. So, companies that offer this kind of flexibility get ahead in attracting top talent by providing what these generations want the most: Flexibility!
It's important to invest in a digital interview guide, suitable tech assessment, and adequate trial period for each of your candidates. This will allow them to know in detail how the interview will be held, how they can prove themselves, and what to do when things go wrong.
“With all things being equal, hire for fit rather than skill, and run a hiring trial period,” said Mark Faggiano, CEO, TaxJar. He developed an interview process that contains specific steps to test for both skill and cultural fit – the ability to do great work in a 100% remote environment. “Though the process with the hiring manager is primarily skills testing, we’re looking as much for fit as dexterity, because we’ll take fit over skill all day long.”
After being selected, the candidate will have to go through a “Mutual Trial”, that lasts anywhere from 30 to 90 days. It allows both parties to figure out if they’re actually the right fit, or otherwise. Even though the candidate may have excelled in the interview, Faggiano understands that they need to prove they can excel in a 100% remote workplace.
“Can you walk the walk? Can you excel in the environment? How do you treat people? Are you someone that can deliver and work at the pace that we work at? Are you excited to get out of bed in the morning?” he quipped. You can also opt for remote teams that will work with you on a per-project basis, such as GRIT Squad, a distributed team of IT experts that supports growth initiatives and addresses the talent gap by providing remote IT services to digital native companies, tech startups, and SMEs. GRIT Squad offers bespoke solutions depending on each client’s needs, instead of a standard one-size-fits-all approach, thus allowing you to customise your very own team according to your budget. This personal touch is complemented by constant supervision, until each team or individual contributor is up and running.
Check out our ultimate guide to sourcing and onboarding the best remote talent
Ever heard the saying, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it”, by Warren Buffett?
You want candidates to be impressed by your company, because no matter how attractive or impressive the job posting is, it won't do much good if there are other companies out there who enjoy a far superior reputation compared to yours. That's where effective candidate experience comes into play: It's a key factor in attracting and retaining the top talent, because it’s one of the first interactions candidates have with your brand.
Candidate experience encompasses a lot of things – it includes everything from filling out the application forms on your website or social media page, to interviewing with recruiters over video call at 6pm after getting off work at 5pm (yes, we've done this before), and finally having to complete skills assessment tests.
Furthermore, it’s been proven that a majority of job seekers (86%) do perform research on a company’s brand and reputation, before they’d even think of applying for a position there. Indeed, it wouldn’t even matter if they receive a high salary and various benefits, 75% of candidates say they wouldn’t want to work for a company with a bad reputation.
“Reputation is everything. If you want to stand out, you need to spend some time thinking about how to ensure your company looks different and get above the noise, especially if you're in a crowded sector. I believe it's your reputation that will set you apart,” said Simon Mass, founder and CEO, The Condo Store Group of Companies. Here are some ways to go about creating a strong brand that attracts the top talent:
Read more about the other excellent company cultures out there to inspire your own
Recruiting software helps you in sourcing and selecting the right people for the job role. Some of these include applicant tracking software (ATS), interviewing tools, and candidate relationship management. Research from Gartner found that 90% of companies chose to invest in HR technology to help solve people-driven challenges. In fact, HR tech spending grew by 57%, which focused heavily on recruiting and retention.
The ATS allows you to manage each stage of your hiring process, as well as keep track of candidates throughout their journey. In addition, you can sort through resumes based on certain criteria that you specify in advance (like location, education level, or skill set), making it easier for recruiters or HR managers to quickly find candidates who match your needs. The ATS also helps ensure that everyone involved in the recruiting process stays up-to-date with relevant information about new applicants at all times, so there aren't any surprises later down the road when making decisions about who should get an interview request next!
By implementing skills tests which are useful for ruling out under-qualified individuals, employers can thus screen candidates more effectively, and shorten the hiring process. A fast streamlining is crucial, as companies race to offer employment opportunities to quality candidates before they find a position elsewhere. In addition to skills tests, some companies implement behavioural assessments as part of their screening process, which provide an insight into an applicant's core attributes, such as having a strong work ethic and motivation.
”I’m frequently asked for the best practices that will supercharge applicant flow. I always say to remember that while software can transform recruiting, people set the parameters used to screen and sort candidates. Recruiting technology can transform the way you hire, but it needs a solid foundation. It’s moot to invest in recruiting software without reevaluating your hiring strategy. By questioning how you’ve done things and rethinking how you’ll do things going forward, savvy organisations can work with recruiting technology to evolve how they find talent and increase their applicant flow,” explained Joshua Siler, CEO, HiringThing.
However, if you’re looking to do away with the hassle of selecting the right recruiting software as well as implementing proper hiring strategies, GRIT Talent Platform is what you need. With our comprehensive talent ecosystem, extensive partnership networks, and exclusive referral schemes, you can access the largest and most diverse talent pool in the region. Our highly trained team of consultants, researchers, and more specialise in acquiring the region’s best tech and digital talent, working alongside you to streamline the entire hiring process so that your resources can be used for other purposes.
You might find this next piece of data hard to believe, but about 20% to 40% of companies hire new people based on referrals, and looks set to increase as more global borders are broken down! That’s a fantastic way to limit your cost per hire, and on top of that, the people that have been referred by either your own employees or other external contacts tend to stay longer and perform better.
An employee referral programme can help you solve this problem by leveraging existing relationships. Employees already know their co-workers and understand what each other is capable of doing. As a result, they can recommend people who have similar skill sets and cultural fit with your company. It’s a win-win situation for both the company and the employee, because it gives them an opportunity to earn some extra cash as well as get their friends/family hired.
“If some of your best employees are passing along the resumes of people they know, you may want to prioritise those candidates! People tend to recommend people similar to themselves, so if you have a top performer making a recommendation, odds are he or she will recommend other top performers. The people being referred will also perform well, because they don’t want to let down the person who referred them,” stated Jan Jones, author of ‘The CEO’s Secret Weapon’.
Because of how efficient, reliable, and cost-effective the referral method can be, GRIT Talent Platform is also leveraging on referrals (our very own GRIT Scouts!) in order to tap into our network of growing talent, as one of the means to help you get the right fit for your role(s). So, if you know someone who’s looking for a new job opportunity (or you’re on the hunt too!), it’s time to check out GRIT Scouts.
We know recruiting is a real challenge, and hiring the wrong person can prove to be a very expensive mistake, estimated to range from 30% to 150% of an employee’s annual salary. You have to spend time covering for them, correcting mistakes, and in the end, letting them go. Not only will you have incurred these costs, but you will also lose productivity from being stuck with an underperforming employee.
Did you also know that the average cost of hiring an employee is more than USD4,000 per hire, depending on location and job function? This cost includes sourcing candidates, advertising jobs online/offline, interviewing and negotiating terms, before finally making a decision whether or not the individual should be hired.
Find out how to calculate (and LOWER) the true cost of hiring an employee
Hiring the right person can therefore save you time AND money in so many ways: Increased productivity and efficiency from a motivated team member, less time spent on training as they already know how to do their job well, reduced turnover costs as there is less chance of an employee leaving soon after their start date, etc.
With that said, by using GRIT Talent Platform, you’ll stand to gain an edge over your competitors with a host of benefits: Cut hiring times to 2-3 weeks on average, select from the active candidates database that’s growing 300% month-on-month, use the automated interview scheduling and feedback feature to cut time spent on managing the recruiting process by 70% on average, and all of that for only USD999!
Join over 500 companies that are hiring (effectively and efficiently) with GRIT!
There’s a saying by Steve Jobs which goes: “It’s not the tools you have faith in – tools are just tools – they work, or they don’t work. It’s the people you have faith in or not.” He knew that one very important secret, which is that your business will only ever be as good as your employees. When you need to run a company and make critical spending decisions that can either make or break you, one of the most important decisions that can help in driving your company to new heights is hiring the right people.
It may seem like a daunting task; having to filter through hundreds of hopefuls, shortlist the ones with the greatest potential, run through multiple interview sessions, and then select the one who’s (hopefully!) the best fit. It can even seem scary when you find out there’s research which proves that hiring the wrong people will actually pose a significant cost to your company. For example, the average cost of a bad hire is estimated to range from 30% to 150% of an employee’s annual salary (re-hiring costs, lost productivity, lost manager time, lost training investment, training of replacement).
From the receptionist desk to the executive offices, every single one of your employees represents a facet of your business to clients, and to the community at large. Which is why when you make the wrong hiring decision, that can cost you more than just money, such as the following:
Every new employee will need some form of training, and time to acclimatise to the job. The wrong person won’t be able to grasp the job scope and responsibilities quickly enough, and may even decrease productivity, especially if he/she requires frequent follow-ups, retraining, and even disciplinary action. As time is money, you shouldn’t have to worry about whether your employees are getting the job done (and done right), or holding their hand for as long as they work there.
When you hire someone who’s wrong for the job, not only will you and your business suffer, your company’s image may take a beating too. This is because what people say about you and/or your company does matter – and you wouldn’t want word to get around that there’s a high turnover rate, because that’s not a place most jobseekers want to join. Additionally, you wouldn’t want the bad hire to go around talking negatively to either existing employees or outsiders about their experience.
If someone doesn’t want to grow with you, they’re essentially working against you, and that’s the last thing you want on your plate when you’re trying to focus on growing the business. You want people who are able to help you in not only contributing to the company’s overall success, but working to stabilise and improve the business, as well as reducing the need to rehire – over and over again.
Let’s face it, having so many people come and go in such a short period of time may have an adverse effect on the existing employees because it can cause them to feel uneasy and/or unsettled. Furthermore, a bad hire is able to sow discord and cause tension among their teammates and other departments, where it may not have even existed before, thus causing an upset in the daily workflow, overall people connectivity, and company culture.
For many small- to medium-sized companies, having a dedicated in-house HR team won’t make much fiscal sense, which is why many opt to turn to external recruiters to facilitate hiring. With only a small team, every new hire is crucial for the company’s success, so turning to an outside expert who has a talent pool of qualified and experienced candidates as well as an array of tools and resources to draw upon is often the preferred choice. However, bear in mind that external recruiters/agencies have various pricing structures which can quickly add up, no matter whether it’s in the form of a role’s annual salary, retainer-based, or flat rate.
It’s true that an experienced and skilled Human Resources (HR) team is a crucial asset for any company’s recruiting efforts. Even if you’re only able to hire one dedicated HR person at a time, the tasks that will need to be carried out for the hiring process are valuable: Setting up the job posts, putting them out on job boards, screening and selecting the candidates, assessing and interviewing them, all the way to making an offer and training them. But wait, they have more than that to do too, such as drafting corporate policies and procedures, which is why all this can come at a high cost.
Now that you’ve got the best in-house HR person/team ready to start hiring for you, you’re going to have to start getting those job posts out in the open. Writing a compelling ad is no small task, and it can make the difference between attracting the top talent, or just another average person who needs a job. When it comes to boards to post, there are several free options to consider like LinkedIn and ZipRecruiter, but those come with limited features. Other popular job board options that charge for you to use them include Indeed, Monster, CareerBuilder, and Dice.
After you’ve got a shortlist of who you think are the “right” candidates, you need to screen and run background checks before making an offer to one of them. First up, a lot of time will go into discussing with various department heads to whittle the list down further, and setting up screening calls. Then the background check lets you learn about them more by verifying basic information like the individual’s education and previous employers, right up to criminal databases, so that you have peace of mind that they’re as good as they seem.
Did you know that your new hire’s onboarding and training process would need to be factored into the total cost of hiring an employee? Here’s a rough example for you to consider: According to a report by Training Magazine, it would “cost” companies an average of 46.7 hours to train an employee, plus an additional USD986 in training expenses. Apart from that, there are also IT equipment costs (laptop/desktop, work phone, WiFi dongle, etc) and formal training costs (in-person/online courses, onboarding materials, etc) to factor in. But don’t worry, the training you provide is to get the new hire up to speed quickly, and prepare him/her to make key contributions!
Once the new hire has accepted and signed the job contract, it’s time to start paying their monthly salary when they begin work – which is the more obvious cost associated with hiring. When calculating your ongoing cost to hire though, make sure you also consider the taxes, benefits (like health insurance, retirement plans and employee growth initiatives), and bonuses (if relevant). You also need to bear in mind that most employees will expect their salaries to rise over a period of time, usually in line with their work contributions and keeping with your country's inflation.
Apart from the most common methods of job boards or external recruiters/agencies, there are other methods which can prove successful, such as referrals, your website’s job availability page, or attending/hosting career/industry events. While it’s not easy to create an effective and enticing referral programme, the high-quality candidates it can generate actually makes it a great recruiting tool for many companies because you’ll be relying on the network of your existing employees, which can turn up many top talent yet untapped. As for the other methods, they too may have an associated cost, all of which must be taken into due consideration.
If your company is one which relies on external recruiters/agencies, the number that would mostly speak of when discussing recruitment costs, is the external expenditure on hiring – typically 15-30% of a candidate's annual salary (higher if you use an executive search company). Now assuming that you decide to sign a contract with an external recruiting agency with a typical invoice value per hire at 22%, and the candidate has an annual salary of USD60,000, the data suggests that the amount would be around USD13,200.
This is as far as most companies look, so when costs need to be controlled (because of external global events like recession/pandemic/poor market conditions), they will only rely on agencies if they have too many roles to fill, which leads to the company not seeing success or facing an urgent situation to fill open roles.
| GRIT Talent Platform only costs USD999 per role. That's a total of 92% of saved costs, in comparison with the external agencies: USD13,200 - USD999 = (USD12,201/USD13,200) x 100 = 92% |
There are also companies which seek to reduce their headline costs by bringing recruitment activities in-house, reasoning that if they hire the recruiters themselves, they can cut out the agencies. However, it’s worth noting that even in-house recruiters can fail to source most, if not all, of their vacancies themselves, and therefore may need agencies to help in the end. Furthermore, your internal HR team would have a lot more on their plate than just hiring, so working out their costs per hire is a bit trickier. Here’s how you can do it though:
But if you made use of GRIT Talent Platform, it'll only cost USD999 per role, so that's a whopping total of USD2,481 saved (71%) if you utilise the service!
Most companies do track how long it takes to hire people, but completely ignore it as a cost factor. But, it’s actually a huge overhead! Given the typical reactive recruitment environment, the average hiring time is usually about 36 to 42 days, during which time the role is unfilled. For that period, there’s either no productivity, or productivity is provided by someone else, likely the manager. This has a tangible cost, and if the hiring timeline slips, the cost then goes up.
So, if we were to take that maximum number of 42 days (6 weeks) as a rough benchmark, according to data for the United States alone, the average vacancy costs employers a staggering USD4,129 over that period (the time it typically takes to fill an open position). This breaks down to just over USD98 per day, plus any additional funds allocated towards recruitment. Now, imagine if you had 10 roles to fill!
There are a couple of ways you can impact this cost, though. Firstly, by moving away from the purely reactive model and understanding your recruitment demand, you can then plan your recruitment proactivity, which makes a significant difference. This can reduce the typical hiring period by another few more weeks.
For the best results, you can take this further and operate through GRIT Talent Platform. By proactively sourcing candidates through our Tech Platform before they’re needed, and actively managing them, you can cut hiring times to 2-3 weeks on average, with a huge resultant savings of USD4,129/2 = USD2,064.50.
Assuming that an employee earns USD50,000 annually, with a productivity cost of 3x salary:
| Average time to hire: Planned hiring | 6 weeks |
| Total productivity loss | USD17,308 |
You can still see how the GRIT Talent Platform’s 2-3 week hiring period can save your productivity losses with a properly planned hiring process.
Another major cost is the time which is spent by whoever is involved with managing the recruitment process; they’re tasked with specifying roles, reviewing CVs, arranging interviews manually, collecting feedback and, as over 50% of offers made are rejected, they then have to repeat the process!
GRIT Talent Platform will help you streamline your process as it’s all online/digital so you can manage your pipeline effectively and with ease. Using our automated interview scheduling and interview feedback, you’ll be able to cut time spent on managing the recruiting process by 70% on average.
We’ve already discussed that almost all recruitment solutions are reactive, which is the act of sourcing candidates only when the need arises. The immediacy of that need means that companies are entirely reliant on candidates already in the market: Signed up with agencies, looking at ads, on job sites, or on databases. But studies have shown that this only represents around 20% of the qualified candidates in the marketplace, and even then, to access all of that you have to use every agency, database, and advertising medium.
A limited access, to only people who really want or need a new job, has a dramatic impact on the quality of talent. Most companies know that the candidates who apply to their job post(s) are irrelevant, which still significantly reduces their talent pool. If a company is able to access the wider pool of talent, as is achieved by the GRIT Talent Platform, there’s a demonstrable improvement in quality of talent, and as a result, an evident increase in productivity per head of between 10-30%.
GRIT Talent Platform's unique candidate funnel system ensures that there’s a consistent stream of active talent for you to select from, with our active candidates database growing 300% month-on-month. GRIT Talent Platform boasts a carefully curated list of talent that has been gathered from across the tech and digital industries. We'll help you tap into various sites on top of sourcing, gathering, and filtering – thus allowing you to enjoy a pool of unlimited high-quality talent.
Finally, up to half of new hires leave within the first twelve months, and the average is over 20%. The reasons are simple: The 6-8 weeks of contact with a company during a standard recruitment process is not enough to develop a cultural rapport between candidate and company. In short, the new hire starts work and then only finds out if they do ‘fit in’ or otherwise, any concerns they may have are amplified by the pressure of the new job.
GRIT Talent Platform tackles this, by having a longer runtime to engage with candidates adding an additional screening tier; including culture-fit and behavioural questions before putting the candidates into your shortlist. The result is a reduction in the typical twelve-month drop-out rate of up to 90%.
In short, the true cost of hiring is not just how much you pay for recruiters (whether internal or external), agency fees, and ads. That's only the tip of a sizable iceberg that impacts every facet of your company's performance and productivity.
A fairly typical hire can cost well over twice that, in combined headline and hidden costs (even based on average figures), and whether you use agencies or in-house recruiters the bottom line is the same: Hiring costs approximately double the salary.
By using our GRIT Talent Platform, where there's a combination of online digital recruitment pipeline management as well as unique proactive sourcing channels of active and curated talent, only then will you be able to drive down time-to-hire (cut hiring times to 2-3 weeks on average, with a huge resultant savings), reduce costs to hire (total of 92% and 71% of saved costs, in comparison with the external agencies and internal HR team respectively), cut time spent managing (by 70% on average), as well as lower the attrition rate (reduction in the typical twelve-month drop-out rate of up to 90%).
This is the most effective and efficient way you're really going to address the fundamental issue of recruitment costs!
Join over 500 companies that are hiring (effectively and efficiently) with GRIT!
In industries all over the world, many people still place a high value on skills, experiences, and education. They're one of the main factors that employers will consider before hiring the right talent. Or what people will look at to determine whether one is qualified for certain tasks. The reason for this, is that every job has a specific set of hard and soft skills requirements. So, to find the ideal job, you must match your acquired skills to the qualifications needed for the position.
However, with all the commotion surrounding the need for specific skills and qualifications to carry out a job, some individuals occasionally overlook or underplay people skills. That's why it's common to hear in the workplace that those hired are not given the job they're supposed to, are being compared to others, are kept stagnant with no career advancement, or are even downgraded to lower positions.
Nonetheless, while this is inevitable, one of the major concerns about employee skills is observed in the digital realm. As countries and businesses digitally transform, the issue of providing workers with the right skills at the right time is becoming increasingly important to governments and many digital technology companies.
According to a Digital Talent Insight report released by international consultant Korn Ferry, Asia Pacific will face a 47 million tech talent deficit by 2030. Along the same lines, consulting firm PwC discovered in a survey that more than 50% of chief executives in the region found it difficult to hire digital talent with the necessary skills.
In Singapore, 54% of companies reported that a lack of understanding and knowledge of digital tools among employees is a challenge for successful digital transformation, with only 35% of companies able to implement more sophisticated digital tools such as AI, data analytics, and IoT. This demonstrates how employers are constantly on the lookout for people who possess the necessary set of skills.
Aside from understanding the importance of skills in the workplace, as job seekers, you must be aware that there are two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills. Understand the distinctions and which skills fall into which category so that you can incorporate them more effectively during job searching and application.
Investopedia describes hard skills as technical skills required to perform a job or land a new one. They're categorised as learning skills that can be developed and improved through education and experience. Typically, they're industry-specific. A financial analyst, for example, will require a different set of hard skills than a carpenter.
A relevant certification, portfolio, or skill assessment test can serve as proof of one's competence in hard skills. Different professions will have different standards for expertise. Advanced degrees and stringent testing will be required for some occupations, such as medical professionals, to demonstrate hard skills. Other professions, like content writers or designers, can learn the necessary skills on the job or on their own time, and they can demonstrate their proficiency with a portfolio of completed work.
Here are a few examples of common hard skills:
(Source: Investopedia)
Soft skills are character traits and interpersonal abilities that define a person's relationships with other people, according to Investopedia. In the workplace, soft skills are viewed as an addition to hard skills, which are a person's knowledge and professional competencies. Sociologists may use the term "soft skills" to describe a person's emotional intelligence quotient (EQ) rather than intelligence quotient (IQ) (IQ).
Even though these interpersonal skills are hard to define or quantify, they're still important in the workplace. They include your personality, teamwork skills and how you participate in the workplace. For instance, individuals working in the event industry need to be excellent team players and communicators, and sales and marketing positions may require relationship-building abilities.
Soft skills come in a variety of forms, just like hard skills. Here are some examples of soft skills required for success in the workplace:
(Source: Forbes)
Employees need soft skills, in addition to hard skills if they're to succeed. The main difference between the two is that hard skills are quantifiable, measurable abilities, whereas soft skills are not. Soft skills are more intangible and more difficult to teach. While soft skills concentrate on attitudes and personalities, hard skills are concerned with practical knowledge and abilities.
Consider hard skills as your technical knowledge, and soft skills as your interpersonal or workplace competencies. A soft skill could be the capacity to perform well in a team, while a hard skill may well be proficiency in a second language.
Check out the table below to see the differences between the two types of skills and some examples of top skills in 2022, as reported by LinkedIn.
There's a famous saying in the job search world that says "Hard skills will get you the interview; soft skills will get you the job," implying both play an equal role in recruitment. When you apply for a job, your hard skills will be evaluated. If your hard skills match the requirements, you will almost certainly be invited to an interview. During the interview, soft skills are tested. The way you present yourself, respond to questions and communicate.
Once you're working, you're not only dealing with the task at hand, but you're also dealing with people and your surroundings. Hard skills are what it takes to do a job well, whereas soft skills assist in coping with and responding to situations. Therefore, it's crucial for everyone to have both hard and soft skills because they show that you are knowledgeable about practical implementation and can contribute to a supportive and constructive work environment.
Since both skills are important when it comes to getting a job. It's essential to understand how to include hard and soft skills when writing a good resume and how to demonstrate them during an interview.
Your resume and cover letter should highlight both your hard skills and soft skills. These are the particular skills that employers are looking for. Employers give preference to candidates who have a balance of technical and interpersonal skills, so it's crucial to demonstrate that you have both of these skills.
There are more than 100 essential skills to choose from, but how do you list them on a resume? It's important to lay out your skills on your resume to catch the attention of employers. On your resume, include a section titled "Skills" where you can list all of your hard skills.
Below is an example of how it may look like:
| SKILLS Computer Skills: Microsoft Word (Advanced); Microsoft PowerPoint (Advanced); Microsoft Excel (Intermediate); Language: Writing English & Malay Translating English to Malay, and vice versa SEO articles Online research Creative writing Copywriting Creative thinking |
Important To Note: You may have a long list of skills, but there's no need to list them all. Select a few of the most important ones, preferably those that are relevant to the position being applied for. This allows you to talk about your skill set during the interview.
Soft skills should be included in the job descriptions that you create for previous experience. Referring to the job description can help you decide which soft skills to highlight on your resume and cover letter. You should look for any requirements that touch on your motivations or interpersonal skills.
For example:
The interview session is the next crucial step in the hiring process where employers will evaluate candidates after reviewing resumes and cover letters. Make sure to prepare for your interview beforehand and keep in mind all the information from your resume's skill requirements and job description.
In an interview, describing your hard skills is somewhat more straightforward than presenting your soft skills. You'll inevitably show that you have the necessary hard skills as you discuss your relevant educational background and work experience.
While soft skills call for a little more application and explanation, the STAR method is a fantastic approach for describing them. It's a methodical way of answering a behavioural-based interview question that involves outlining the precise Situation, Task, Action, and Result of the circumstance you are describing.
When discussing your soft skills in an interview setting, you will be answering questions that demonstrate how you personally manage certain situations.
For example, if you were asked to "Describe a difficult work situation and how you handled it," you could begin by discussing the situation, what you were tasked with, and how your decisions and soft skills assisted you in taking specific action to achieve a specific result.
Your response could be:
“I once had a superior who yell and berate everyone whenever something went wrong. Although I will admit that those kinds of abusive behaviours do affect me, I remained composed at work. I do realise that he was going through a trying time, which is why he occasionally brought that into the office and changed the mood. It didn't affect my work because I could understand his situation, but it was a challenging situation.”
If you're concerned about a lack of hard and soft skills, there are strategies you can use to improve them. These can be extremely helpful when applying for a job that may require additional certifications or abilities that you do not have or need to improve.
Hard skills are typically acquired through education or practical experience. Soft skills, on the other hand, resemble personality traits that you have innately developed throughout your life. For instance, typing would be a technical skill. Nobody has the innate ability to type. Instead, it must be learned over time, typically through learning or education.
As previously stated, soft skills are more interpersonal than technical. Soft skills are typically things that you are already proficient in without having to receive a formal education or practical training. You can still, however, develop your soft skills in the same way that you can develop your hard skills. Here are some suggestions from InsightGlobal.
Learning a new technical skill can make you stand out from other job applicants. A few methods for acquiring hard skills are listed below:
If you already have a job, look for learning opportunities there. Even if you're actively looking for a new job, you can benefit from your current employer's classes, webinars, and workshops.
Improving your soft skills is more difficult, but it's still possible. First, decide which soft skills you want to improve. Conduct an honest self-evaluation. You can also solicit input from your boss, co-workers, family, and friends.
For example, if you are frequently late for work or frequently miss deadlines, you may need to improve your time management skills. If you want to advance in your career, you may need to hone your leadership abilities.
To improve your time management skills, you could first watch a productivity webinar and then apply each tip. To hone your leadership abilities, you could take on a new project at work or request more responsibility in your volunteer role.
Once you've determined which soft skills you want to improve, it's time to get to work. Some soft skills can be acquired through education. All soft skills can be developed through practise. After all, as they say, practise makes perfect!
Hard skills and soft skills are essential for success in any field you choose to work in, as well as in all aspects of life. Understanding your hard skills may not be difficult since they involve the techniques or knowledge you acquire while in school or while receiving on-the-job training. Consider your positive traits, attitudes, and manners when assessing your soft skills. This extends to how you dress as well as how you speak, listen, make eye contact, and how you interact verbally.
The most crucial aspect is that you must provide compelling examples of how and where you have used each of your skills when identifying and expressing them to employers. In the end, they want to see your work, not just hear about it. Just keep in mind that everyone has a distinctive set of skills, so be sure to properly describe yours to convey who you are.