The hiring process can be long and tedious for recruitment professionals as well as applicants. And even when circumstances change in the labor market, basic recruitment and hiring processes can be slow to change.
Source: sorbetto / DigitalVision Vectors / Getty
For example, we are currently living in an environment with historically low unemployment and a large skills gap between the skills possessed by applicants and those sought by employers.
Furthermore, failing to find a good match for an open position means a longer time to fill open roles and turnover, both of which are costly from a financial standpoint. For this reason, among others, many employers are looking for new ways to identify their ideal candidate, and applicants seem receptive.
As one expert notes, employees and employers alike are increasingly open to unorthodox recruitment tools and strategies. According to a recent survey by The Knowledge Academy, a majority of U.S. job seekers (72%) said they want companies to use more unorthodox recruiting assessment methods, such as capture the flag, escape rooms, and professional speed-dating sessions.
The survey also indicated that 70% of companies are willing to consider escape rooms in hiring processes. Why escape rooms? According to The Knowledge Academy, this method is useful for evaluating skills like time management, problem-solving, and communication.
It’s not likely that capture the flag and escape rooms will completely replace traditional interviews and résumé submission. But these tools can be considered for advanced stages of the hiring process to help influence the selection of the preferred candidate from among the final cadre of potential new hires.
These tools can also help identify soft skills that don’t always shine through in résumés or even in-person interviews.