Like many other industries, sales organizations are struggling to hire enough people. There is a shortage of qualified talent and hiring managers are under a lot of pressure to find qualified candidates. But they are also faced with a serious issue that is hampering the hiring process – candidate abandonment.

Over the past year, amid the great resignation and ongoing changes related to the post-pandemic work world, organizations are also seeing an increase in the number of people who are abandoning the sales recruitment process.

There is no doubt it’s a candidate’s market, and top sales professionals are in high demand. As an organization, you need to take steps to reduce sales recruitment process abandonment numbers. To do this, you need to first understand the top reasons candidates are taking these actions. We outline them below:

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1. You are not respecting their time

When you engage a candidate, they expect you to respect their time. It’s a fair expectation. But this doesn’t always happen. There are a variety of ways companies do not respect a candidate’s time. For example, applications and screening processes that take up way too much time. Or requests for work samples that require hours of unpaid work. It can also be in the form of having to reschedule interviews or taking weeks to get back to candidates about job offers.

2. Your hiring process is too long

Most sales candidates understand that the recruiting process can take some time, and it can take longer as the job titles become more senior. However, candidates also understand they are in demand, and they are not willing to wait around for an extended period. They will continue to look for other opportunities. If you take too long, another company could swoop in and hire the candidate.

3. Your remote work/COVID policy

A more recent factor leading to candidates disengaging is when they learn about your remote work or COVID policy. Rather than withhold this information, it’s more effective for you to supply this information upfront. If the candidate doesn’t like your policies in this area, they will choose not to apply, rather than dropping out once you’ve already invested time into recruiting them.

4. Poor communications

Maintaining an open line of communication is essential. Candidates want to know where they stand. However, many companies are failing to do this. They keep them in the dark about where they are in the recruitment process, the next steps in the hiring process, and their status. When they don’t hear from you and don’t know where they stand, many assume they are no longer in consideration and move on. Or they see it as a sign of things to come and decide they no longer are interested in working for your company.

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