Employers worried: 2022 saw a hail of rejections from applicants

Over 60 percent of companies had to deal with rejections from applicants last year. The majority of HR decision-makers fear that the shortage of skilled workers will become even more acute in 2023.
- Many job seekers drop out during the application process
- „The balance of power on the labor market has changed – companies no longer hold the trump cards.“
- Future trends 2023: Active sourcing, retention management and talent pooling more important in the coming year
According to HR managers in German companies, the already serious shortage of skilled workers in Germany will continue to increase: Two out of three HR decision-makers expect the situation to worsen in the coming year (67%). The concern is particularly pronounced in companies with over 250 employees – three out of four HR managers there believe that the critical situation on the labor market will become even more acute in 2023 (78%). Even today, over 60% of HR decision-makers have experienced talent dropping out during the application process. Forsa surveyed 500 HR managers in companies with 50 or more employees across Germany on these topics.
HR managers from the healthcare and social services sector are the least confident about the future. In this sector, 71% of respondents believe that the shortage of skilled workers will worsen in the coming year, while a further 23% expect the situation to remain as critical as it currently is. HR managers in other sectors are also rather gloomy about the prospects: 65% of respondents in industry and 68% of respondents in the service sector believe that it will become more difficult to find new employees in the coming year. The Institute for Employment Research currently expects 1.82 million vacancies (as of: IAB November 2022). „The balance of power on the labor market has shifted. Companies no longer hold the trump cards. Today, companies apply for talent, not talent for jobs,“ says Frank Hassler, Member of the Executive Board of NEW WORK SE, responsible for the Recruiting and Employer Branding business areas. „Companies have little room for error here and need to take a very close look at how they set up their recruiting in a contemporary and strategic way,“ continues Hassler.
Many job seekers drop out during the application process
The fact that almost every HR manager (90%) has had the experience of being turned down by applicants during the application process this year shows just how urgently a rethink is needed. One in three HR managers (37%) confirmed that candidates had occasionally turned them down in the last twelve months and 24% of those surveyed stated that this had even happened frequently to very frequently. The reasons for rejection are varied and range from a better offer from the competition, a lack of flexibility on the part of employers (keyword: working models, home office, etc.) to procedural reasons, such as an application process that is perceived as too time-consuming. It is certainly not an advantage that HR staff have to spend a large part of their time on administrative tasks such as payroll accounting (61%) and the organization and coordination of application processes (67%). „Many HR departments today are overburdened by administrative time wasters. Companies should find intelligent ways to relieve the burden on their managers,“ says Frank Hassler.
New hiring as a future trend: retention management, active sourcing and talent pooling will become more important in 2023
With an increasing shortage of talent on the labor market, measures to retain existing employees are becoming ever more important. Two out of three HR managers in Germany are therefore of the opinion that employee retention measures will become more important in the coming year (65%). At 53%, retention management is also at the top of the list of activities for which they would like to have more time. Identifying and proactively approaching potential applicants at an early stage will also become more relevant in 2023: Two thirds of HR managers believe that active sourcing will become more important (64%). This applies in particular to HR managers in companies with 250 employees or more (74%). They also see a recruiting opportunity in so-called talent pooling, i.e. identifying potential candidates at an early stage in order to approach them later when needed (60%). However, traditional HR measures such as coaching and further training for employees (63%) and managers (54%) will also become more important in the coming year, as will employer branding measures (49%). New recruiting channels could also be given a chance in the coming year: 56% of HR managers are interested in simplifying and speeding up the application process – for example by sending applications via WhatsApp or other social media channels. In companies with 250 employees or more, almost three quarters of respondents are interested in this (72%). And a third of respondents say that „data analytics and reporting“ will continue to gain in importance in the HR world in the coming year. „HR tech is one of the key trend topics in companies. In times of skills shortages, the use of intelligent technologies is essential in order to have a chance on the recruitment market,“ says Frank Hassler. Unfortunately, every second HR manager also estimates that the administration and coordination of application processes will become an increasingly important task in 2023 (50%).
Corporate culture makes the difference
When asked what motivates employees in their company to stay for the long term, HR managers say that it is so-called soft factors: In addition to the working atmosphere and corporate culture, job satisfaction (80%) and work-life balance (71%) are seen as the most important factors.
Only 54% see the salary level as one of the main reasons for staying. Despite this, it is usually discussed in HR meetings: at 75%, salary is the top topic, followed by discussions about work tasks and career prospects (73%) and job satisfaction (70%). „HR managers must have the time and resources to focus even more on topics that are close to people’s hearts instead of mainly talking about money. This is the only way to create genuine employee loyalty that motivates employees to stay,“ says Frank Hassler. Source: Xing