It might be one of those random Tuesday or Wednesday mornings in Nairobi, a young graduate logs into her third interview for a role that pays just enough to cover her rent and transport.
By this time she has already done an aptitude test, a panel interview, and sometimes even, a take-home assignment. Today, she faces a final round with senior managers. By the end of it, she is exhausted wonders whether the process reflects the job at all.
It is a question that is becoming increasingly common across the job market: why do some roles, especially those offering modest pay, demand such intense and layered recruitment processes? And more importantly, is it time companies rethink how they structure hiring?
The rationale
For Wycliffe Osoro, Head of HR at Swissport, the answer begins with the structure and not with the salary.
‘You should have a recruitment policy that is very clear, one that outlines the different levels in the organisation. If you have that already cast in the policy, then it means you will have at entry level, much less requirement, aptitude testing and interview, which possibly can be done on the same day, if possible. This is compared to the high-level hiring that would demand a chain of involvement,’ he explains.
Entry-level positions, by design, should be simpler and faster to fill. Senior roles may require multiple stakeholders and deeper scrutiny.
Yet, the lived reality for many candidates suggests otherwise. With the multiple interview rounds and sometimes lengthy online applications, the process can tend to feel disproportionate.
Mr Osoro acknowledges that even widely used hiring tools like interviews are not always reliable.
‘Interviews are also not very great at their validity unless you’re doing competency based interviews. The validity of the interview may be a bit low,’ he says.
This limitation partly explains why companies, particularly for senior roles, layer their processes with multiple interviews and stakeholders.
‘The reason why you’ll then find that a more senior level, may want to do more than one series of interviews is it is going to be different stakeholders. But still, you do not require to have a lot of interviews,’ he notes.
In global organisations, the process can become even more complex.
‘Another instance is if probably you’re dealing with say, a multinational, you may have metrics reporting. That also drives the number of interviews because the stakeholders may not necessarily be only local,’ Mr Osoro adds.
But what happens when this level of rigor trickles down to roles that are not senior or highly complex?
‘At entry level, you should not do more than one interview. However, for certain companies, it can be entry level, but high impact like if you’re looking for management trainees. You’re likely to use things like assessment centres,’ Mr Osoro says.
These assessment centres, he explains, go beyond traditional interviews. ‘Assessment centres will not necessarily be considered as interviews, but you’re almost placing the candidates in real life situations, observing them against the competencies that you have set out for those particular jobs.’
Still, the question lingers: should the intensity of recruitment reflect the salary being offered? ‘Process should be process, amount notwithstanding. The salary is not what determines,’ Mr Osoro says.
He offers a comparison. ‘If you are in a multinational that is able to pay an entry level position at Sh100,000 and you have a local business that is paying the same entry level at Sh30,000, should the multinational have a more rigorous process because they’re paying more?’
‘It’s the level of the job that matters, not the amount of money because the ability to pay differs among different organisations.’
However, he acknowledges that salary can sometimes signal the nature of the role. ‘What many deduce is that a lower salary may point toward a job being of a lower grade or with lower responsibilities.’
The downside
Even so, when companies overcomplicate hiring, especially for roles that do not offer competitive pay, they risk more than just candidate frustration.
‘There is a reputational risk in the first place, because the word will go out there about the complex process. There is also a deeper disconnect because at the end of the day, the value that the candidate perceives to receive does not equate to the process that they’re taken through, that’s one of the biggest risks.’ Mr Osoro says.
There is also a very practical consequence. ‘If you have complex processes, then you’re at risk of losing good candidates who get tired along the way.’
Despite all these, it still stands that in a competitive job market, time is currency for both employers and candidates. Mr Osoro highlights how even the application stage can become a barrier.
‘One of the things that we look at, even when you’re having systems, is the amount of time it takes for a candidate to even just place an application,’ he says.
‘If you have several steps to apply, even online, chances are you’re losing good candidates who do not have the time to start filling out a questionnaire that’s going to take them 30 minutes to fill.’
Ironically, the candidates most likely to walk away are often the ones employers want most. ‘It is a sad reality that the best candidates are the ones we call the passive candidates, those who are not looking,’ he notes.
Trust the process
While employers grapple with designing efficient hiring systems, career coach Jane Mutisya places some responsibility on candidates themselves.
‘If you don’t have a job and you’re looking for a job, you’re sitting at home doing nothing. You can’t be complaining about how much time you spent doing an interview,’ she says.
Check your ego
Her view challenges a growing sentiment among job seekers who feel that some processes are not worth their effort.
‘We have an entitlement problem. People have to really check their ego, some of those things they feel very entitled,’ the coach says.
She frames the recruitment process as a competitive opportunity rather than an inconvenience. ‘For example if 100 people have applied for that job and you have been shortlisted for the interview, why would you complain about the time?’
On whether candidates should walk away from demanding processes, her answer is ‘No.’
‘Different employers have different aspects that they are looking for including different qualities and even different levels. It could even be different kind of people,’ she explains.
She points out that even low-paying or volunteer roles can be strategically important.
‘The job could be paying you as low as Sh20,000 or in some cases it’s a volunteer job. But those are the same people that now feed the pipeline of the organisation.’
‘They’re the same people who eventually take up senior roles of managers among others but all that is usually determined at the entry level. It’s at the point of entry that recruiters choose the person that joins their team,’ she adds.
Ms Mutisya also cautions against interpreting complex processes as unnecessary. ‘If the panel is creating time, if the company is creating time to have five managers sit, it is not because those five managers have nothing to do,’ she says. ‘It is because maybe that role is very important and whoever comes to the team, regardless, could be very important.’
At the same time, she acknowledges the shifting attitudes among younger job seekers.
‘I would not call it a generational gap, although the new generation is living in a microwave era where everything is instant,’ she says. ‘The era of everything happens at a touch.’
This expectation of speed, she suggests, may clash with traditional hiring processes. Still, she maintains that patience is part of the equation. ‘Although recruiters should look at their processes, candidates should also learn to trust the process.’
Her observations also touch on the deeper workplace concerns. ‘We have to look at things to do with your work ethics, which nowadays is a big problem for the Gen Z,’ she says.
‘We have very many issues that we are dealing with and therefore that calls for even a bigger recruitment process,’ she adds.
So, is there a case for linking recruitment intensity to salary levels?
‘It depends on what the employers are testing. Always know it’s not about how much you are going to earn, that is not a factor in recruitment.’ Ms Mutisya says.
‘The factor is you are joining a team and the team is serious about who they bring to the team,’ she adds.