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8 Pros and Cons of Current Hiring Practices

How an employee is hired to fill an open position matters. Thanks to the internet, current hiring practices have evolved to be more than just the meet and greet interview that occurs after an application is received. Online interviews, grading systems, and other skill verification options are available. Background and credit checks are easily available. Prospects can go from application to accepting a position without ever taking pen to paper.

These new practices have certain benefits, but they also provide certain disadvantages that must also be considered. Here is a look at the pros and cons of current hiring practices.

The Pros of Current Hiring Practices

1. A complete picture of each prospect can be obtained.
It is a lot easier to verify the information included on an application today than ever before. With investigation checks, businesses can know how good a credit score is, what the background story of the individual happens to be, and even what their current attitudes happen to be. A Facebook profile can tell an employer a lot about what they can expect from someone.

2. It quickens the pace of the hiring process.
Prospects can fill out an online application in minutes from the comfort of their home. They can even attached a CV if they wish, write a cover letter to send along, or upload specific documents or images that prove their education and expertise. This saves time and money for prospects and employers because there are fewer mailing costs that are combined with fewer steps in the submission process.

3. A greater pool of applicants can be obtained.
With job postings placed online, an entire world of potential applicants can be accessed. It is impossible to know where the next great employee actually lives right now. Someone from Texas might want to relocate to New York and online postings make it easier for that person to find the job they’ll need after they relocate. No employee is 100% perfect, but a bigger pool of potential workers makes the chances better that you’ll get as close as possible to perfection.

4. It creates the possibility of a virtual team.
The internet does more than just provide employers with more applicants. It also creates the potential of hiring a virtual team that can provide services through telecommuting rather than an in-person presence at the office. In return, this can lower costs for the business while employees receive more flexibility in how they get work done – a definite win/win situation.

The Cons of Current Hiring Practices

1. It makes it easier to make a claim of discrimination.
Although it may not be warranted, it is easier for a denied prospect to claim discrimination because of the high volume of applications that can be processed with current hiring practices. Hiring managers must be very specific in how they turn down people to stay in compliance with anti-discrimination laws.

2. Prospects can still fake their data to become employed.
People have evolved their applications to meet the growing demands of current hiring practices. Diploma mills, altered references, and faked work experiences can all create an illusion that makes someone seem like the perfect candidate when they are far from it. Employers must be equally savvy when researching information about people today.

3. The information gathered may not be useful.
Whether it is a credit check or a personality assessment, the data that is collected from the modern hiring process is only as useful as the interpretation that is provided. If there isn’t someone within the organization that can extrapolate real information from the collected data, then the current hiring process is just going to waste everyone’s time and energy.

4. It can be a costly process.
Background and credit checks have a direct cost that applicants aren’t going to pay if they want a job. It takes time and money to maintain a presence on the internet so that online applications can be received. The documents and forms that are uploaded take time and money to create. Hiring managers are actually processing more information today than they have arguably every processed before, which means it could take more time to fill an open position. Current hiring practices can be streamlined, but at a price.

The pros and cons of current hiring practices show that the modern system is fast and responsive. It also shows that there may be unexpected costs that must be paid. By evaluating each key point, employers and applicants can come together and begin to form a relationship that could be potentially profitable for both parties.

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