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Two thirds of Singapore companies don't ask for feedback after interviews

Despite high awareness of an interviewing capability gap, two thirds (66%) of Singapore companies do not ask for candidate feedback after the interview process, leaving them ill-equipped to address issues in specific and tangible ways, found Aon's Talent Acquisition Southeast Asia Study 2017.

According to the Aon study, this may be attributed to the fact that only 58% of organisations in Singapore have dedicated talent acquisition teams, compared to 70% across Southeast Asia.

In fact, companies in Singapore with fewer than 500 employees also have small HR/admin teams (no more than 4 people) and tend to outsource their recruitment process.

Interestingly, while organisations have named 'attracting quality talent' as a top priority for talent acquisition professionals in Singapore, success metrics are still focused on quantity (percentage of positions filled and time it takes to fill positions) instead of quality (employer brand perception, candidate’s skills and capabilities, and most importantly, job fit).

The study also revealed that talent acquisition professionals have admitted to significant skills gap in the interviewing capability of mid-level managers who are responsible for hiring candidates in entry-level and junior roles. It found that there is a lack of functional assessment when hiring for mid-manager roles, even though ‘functional knowledge’ is the top characteristic identified by talent acquisition professionals for this level.

ALSO READ: 76% in APAC agree AI has helped to generate higher-quality candidates

Additionally, Aon's study found that 50% of organisations in Singapore currently use technology-based assessments as part of their hiring process - compared to around 30% across Southeast Asia. Key reasons for implementation include cost savings, psychometric insights, and quality of analytics.

Personality assessments, competency-based interviews, and cognitive tests were revealed to be the top 3 hiring assessments in Singapore, designed to lower the incidence of hiring on hunch.

Vikas Verma, director, talent, rewards and performance, Aon Hewitt Singapore, said: "High performing companies use online assessments to screen applicants against the ‘success profile’ of their ideal employees. By utilising science and data, they objectively assess candidates for their aptitudes and attitudes, predict their behaviours, and hire those who are the ‘right-fit’ for their organisations."

Boon Chong Na, managing director and partner, Aon Hewitt Singapore, added: "The top reason for early attrition is that the job didn’t match the candidate expectations. Forward thinking companies use Realistic Job Previews (RJPs)—an interactive, engaging, and tech-enabled assessment experience, which provides job applicants with specific examples and virtual simulations of typical on-the-job challenges. RJPs highlight the demands of the role and the culture of the organisation, enabling applicants to self-assess their own suitability and gain instant feedback while setting the right expectations before they apply."

READ MORE: Q2 2018 hiring intentions in Singapore: Sectors most likely to hire

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