Whether it's through a generous salary, employee benefits or a convivial atmosphere, business owners and human resource professionals typically concern themselves with retention factors once potential workers become official staff members. But the results of a recent survey suggest that decision makers may want to address this issue from the moment job seekers start the application process.
The poll, conducted by research firm Kelton Global, questioned 1,000 people looking for work and 300 people in human resources about some of their feelings regarding the job hunt. Approximately 8 in 10 described it as time-consuming, more than three-quarters said it was stressful, over 70 percent called it discouraging and 60 percent said the process was "painful."
Job applications by their very nature are often difficult to deal with. The poll found that as many as 60 percent said that they found them to be more challenging than mortgage applications, health insurance forms and student loan requests, the Kelton Global survey revealed.
Additionally, the survey found that workers would rather perform activities that are widely considered to be displeasing. For example, 19 percent indicated they'd prefer standing in line at their local DMV than go through the online job application process and 1 in 10 said they'd prefer getting a root canal.
"The fact that one in five job seekers would rather go to the DMV to apply for a driver's license over applying for a job is a wake up call to every company that the current process is broken," said Joe Essenfeld, founder and CEO of Jibe, a cloud-based recruitment firm. "The good news, and one of the main takeaways of this data, is that HR professionals are acknowledging the problem and looking for solutions to improve their processes to bring in and secure better quality hires."
Job seekers would abandon application if unable to fill one out via mobile device
Workers aren't necessarily disillusioned with the online job application process entirely, though. Due to the rise of mobile devices, many people log on to the Internet through tablets and handheld devices, such as smartphones. However, the poll found that roughly 1 in 5 would give up on applying for a job if they couldn't complete one through their handheld device.
"As more tech-savvy candidates enter the workforce, the old way is no longer good enough, and that's a problem that has an impact not only on the hiring pool, but potentially on a company's bottom line," said Essenfeld.
The means by which business owners and executives communicate with their workers is of great importance, whether in the beginning phases when individuals are looking for a job or well after they're hired. Approximately one-third of workers say they've received good benefits education from their workplace, a separate study conducted by Harris Interactive revealed.
Businesses that provide outlets for workers to better understand their benefits are often viewed favorably by their staff. Close to 80 percent of workers who ranked their benefits review as excellent or very good said the same thing about their employer, according to the Harris Poll.
