Submitted by TempWorks Software

Among the many new turns of phrase that have come with the advent of the smartphone, the term “ghosting” is one of the most popular. People use the word to describe the act of someone who suddenly cuts off all contact with another person without any explanation. Ghosting is an easy thing to do, especially if one’s only mode of communication with the other party is through email or text.

Given the prevalence of virtual communication in light of the pandemic, ghosting has become more common—and in the staffing industry, it can wreak havoc. Recruiters trying to fill already difficult job orders often deal with no-show interviews or candidates who don’t show up on their first day of work.

How can the staffing industry work around ghosting? The first step is acknowledging that ghosting isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and the second is to develop a strategy that helps agencies work around the ghosting problem.

Make It Easy

The number one reason people ghost is that it’s easy to do. Candidates don’t have to write a two weeks’ notice to avoid their first day of work. They can simply not go and break off all contact with the agency. Another reason ghosting effects the staffing industry is that some processes (such as applications, summoning the energy to show up for an interview, etc.) are, in this mobile-efficient day an age, too complicated. Thus, one of the major ways an agency can avoid ghosting is by making their applications and interview processes simple to accomplish. This means using the world’s reliance on digital communication to one’s advantage. When a recruiter calls a candidate to schedule an interview, the convenience and ease of virtual interviews makes it possible to schedule one within the hour, much faster than scheduling an in-person interview days in advance.

In the same vein, making applications fillable from mobile devices ensure candidates can send applications at their own convenience. This in turn makes candidates more likely to apply for jobs (helpful for recruiters who are struggling to fill certain job orders) and reduces the chance of them giving up halfway through the process.

Ghosting is likely to remain a problem while we rely on digital ways of connecting with one another. But by leveraging technology properly, staffing agencies can get creative about how they connect with candidates, and in turn reduce the amount of ghosting.