Compared to 2021, when a recruitment process for a middle management role in large companies active in Romania was closed in an average period of 3 months, in 2022 the same process increased by an average of 33 days, reaching 4 months, an Arthur Hunt Romania study reveals. During this time, candidates withdraw from the recruitment processes or search for other roles in the market, the analysis highlights.
Corporate bureaucracy and the duration increase of the internal recruitment decision contradict the market dynamics and the phenomenon of candidates changing their minds upon receiving the first offer, which reached a percentage of 44% last year, compared to 42% in 2021. This phenomenon is observed particularly at candidates below the age of 40, generally for finance or other specialist roles.
For example, according to the Arthur Hunt study, in the banking and finance sectors, only 2 out of 11 candidates were recruited within a period of time between 94 and 120 days, 6 candidates withdrew from the recruitment process, and the rest continued until they received the second or third offer.
“Companies must simplify their internal recruitment processes and adapt them to the reality of today’s labor market. This slow decision pace leads to additional costs for companies, which must restart their recruitment processes or even face major reputational risks. In the analyzed middle management segment, we are talking about the generation under the age of 40, which is less empathetic and more transactional. If they are not satisfied with the speed of reaction or with a company`s response, these candidates give up, because they have other options in the market. In the context of a historically low level of unemployment in Romania, we are certainly talking about the employees`, not the employers` market”, Sorin Roibu, Managing Partner of Arthur Hunt Romania says.
However, there are also companies that have simplified the recruitment process, some of which offer autonomy of decision to the direct manager of the department, without further validations necessary from higher hierarchical structures. According to international studies, 75% of the candidates decide whether to continue a recruitment process within a company based on the experience they have with the respective employer during the recruitment process itself.
Last year, only 56% of candidates accepted and followed through on their first job offer. In the case of the others, who refused the first offer, the whole process started again. With regard to the projects that were resumed, the success rate in recruitment was high, the percentage reaching 82%, Arthur Hunt Romania specialists note.
In 2022, as in the previous years, companies faced several waves of uncertainty and had to successively adjust their business strategies – and this was also reflected in the general dynamics of the labor market. The specialized human resource remains indispensable for resilience in difficult social-economic conditions and for the development of a company, company representatives highlight.
The study was carried out throughout last year and included the data resulting from all recruitment processes for middle management roles carried out by Arthur Hunt in Romania.