Singaporean companies risk missing out on top IT jobseekers as hiring managers take multiple months during the recruitment process.
- 97% of Singaporean CIOs are actively taking measures to reduce the length of their recruitment process of IT professionals.
- The average recruitment process length for IT professionals is 3.5 months for staff-level positions and 4.5 months for management-level positions.
- 48% say a skills shortage is the main factor that delays the recruitment process, followed by 37% who respectively cite too many interview rounds and too many stakeholders involved.
- 92% find it challenging to source qualified IT professionals compared to five years ago.
Singaporean companies risk missing out on top IT jobseekers as hiring managers take multiple months during the recruitment process. New independent research commissioned by specialised recruiter Robert Half has shown the average length of the hiring process for IT roles in Singapore is 3.5 months for staff-level professionals and 4.5 months for management-level staff. To combat delays in the recruitment process, the vast majority (97%) of Singaporean CIOs are actively taking steps to reduce the length of their hiring process.
When asked what the main reasons are contributing to slow recruitment processes, almost half (40%) of Singapore’s CIOs refer to the challenging search of sourcing candidates with the right skills. More than one in three (37%) respectively believe there are too many interview rounds and too many stakeholders are involved.
A further 31% say the number of CV submissions per role has increased – indicating hiring managers may feel overwhelmed with the amount of resumes to review during the recruitment process.
Emphasising the need for employers to streamline the hiring process and expand their search amidst a skills shortage, the vast majority (92%) of CIOs find it more challenging to source qualified IT professionals compared to five years ago.
Singaporean CIOs find it particularly hard to source talent within IT security (59%), Business Intelligence (36%), IT management (35%) and Cloud technology (32%), emphasising the need for CIOs act fast once they find a match.
Matthieu Imbert-Bouchard, Managing Director at Robert Half Singapore said: “Operating within a highly competitive global region, it is understandable for Singaporean companies to invest a significant amount of time in the recruitment process to secure the best staff for their teams. Yet oftentimes it has the opposite effect and results in top talent becoming disinterested in a prolonged hiring process, and accepting a job offer with competing organisations.”
“Being in short supply, qualified IT professionals are well aware of their market value and are not likely to wait around during a slow hiring process. Companies need to act fast if they want to secure the right and best talent for their teams.”
To boost their companies’ chances of securing top talent, 97% of Singaporean CIOs are actively taking measures to reduce the length of their recruitment process of IT professionals. More than four in 10 (43%) Singaporean CIOs have set up a pipeline of qualified candidates so they don’t always have to restart the hiring process from scratch. More than one in three (35%) have improved their communication with candidates about the recruitment process in order to keep them engaged in the process and 31% are conducting more initial interviews via phone or video conferencing to be able to create a shortlist of preferred candidates faster. A further 29% are limiting the number of internal stakeholders involved.
In addition, to offset future delays in the recruitment process, little more than four in 10 (41%) are ensuring a talent pipeline of qualified candidates, 33% plan to improve their communication with candidates about the recruitment process, 31% will limit the number of internal stakeholders involved and 23% will be conducting more teleconference interviews.
“To avoid delays in the recruitment process, IT employers need to proactively address where the setbacks are coming from – and then actively address any issues. By doing this, companies can optimise their hiring process and increase their chances of securing their preferred candidate for the role. By being prepared, limiting the number of internal stakeholders as well as reducing the number of interview rounds, companies are in a prime position to recruit the best people for their teams,” Matthieu Imbert-Bouchard concluded.
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About the research
The annual study is developed by Robert Half and conducted in July 2017 by an independent research firm, surveying 75 Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) in Singapore. This survey is part of the international workplace survey, a questionnaire about job trends, talent management and trends in the workplace.
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