#PandaPounds: Hiring Ecommerce professionals

Are you hiring Ecommerce professionals, or looking to fill a gap in the future? Using our 2016 Ecommerce Salary Survey & Insights report, we looked at what ecommerce professionals expect when finding – and starting – a new digital job.

It’s time to delve a little deeper with a new #PandaPounds exclusive. Managing the hiring process isn’t always easy; you are juggling your day to day responsibilities while trying to find someone who can do the job well while fitting in with the office culture.

Candidates will approach the hiring process differently, especially if the process encounters a delay of any kind. Looking at our salary survey responses, it’s clear that prolonged silences and lack of feedback are just a few things that cause a candidate to become despondent to a potential job.

What to remember when hiring ecommerce professionals: candidate expectations

It will be useful to quickly revisit how long Ecommerce professionals expect a new job process to take (from application to the job offer.)

How long do candidates stay engaged with a role?

Once a candidate has completed the first stage or two of the hiring process, they will probably expect an update of the process in terms of when decisions will be made, feedback from their own interviews and general contact with the hiring manager. How long will it take before they become disengaged with a potential opportunity and what actions do they take? Let’s find out… (Note that respondents were invited to add more than one response for each available answer as sentiment was likely to be mixed on the this subject!)

“I’d give it a few weeks if I was really interested in a role.”

58% of our respondents gave this answer. Candidates who apply for a role and commit to interview processes are clearly attracted to the role. But not everyone is willing to wait a few weeks for progression in the recruitment process…

“I’d start looking for other roles to secure interviews.”

55% of our respondents stated that this is the action they would take if the recruitment process took longer than they would expect. When a candidate is sure in their decision to find a new opportunity, they will be eager to search high and low for a job that fits them perfectly…that includes the time they want to wait until a potential offer comes their way.

“I’d assume the brand wasn’t interested in me.”

24% would feel a company was not interested in taking the process further with them. Even if it is down to a simple delay, candidates don’t want to be left in the dark for too long. A further 13% also said that they would forget about the role as there are more opportunities which confirms candidates definitely prefer closure in a process.

“I’d wait to hear back from the hiring manager/recruiter.”

Whether you are dealing with a candidate directly, or working with a recruiter, they will be waiting for any feedback possible. As mentioned above, closure is important in any job process.

What can hiring managers do to keep candidates engaged?

Looking at the responses to our 2016 ecommerce salary survey, it’s clear that keeping candidates engaged and updated is critical in securing top ecommerce talent. Even if the update is to tell a candidate they have not been successful, it still needs to be done with concise feedback. A person who is truly passionate about a brand will happily work to gain the experience they need and just might become a future star of the team.

• Any delays in the process should be flagged with the candidate immediately. If they find themselves chasing for feedback, they can easily become disengaged. If any decision has been made regarding a candidate and their place in the process, they should be notified at the earliest opportunity.
• Learning the motivations of your candidates. It could be that there is one perfect candidate in different processes. The best thing you can do is learn about their current role and what is motivating them to leave. Promoting your company culture and how their motivations will be met will really interest an active candidate. As seen above, candidates are well aware of the many opportunities around them.
• 24% would move on from a hiring process because they would assume the brand is not interested. Make sure all candidates, and the time they are putting into this process, know they are valued and respected.