At first glance, not filling an open position can seem like it would save the company money in not having to pay the extra salary or benefits. However, that idea has more negative side effects than positive. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, some specialty chemical companies are putting their hiring on hold while others are taking advantage of this time. Food and Beverage recruiter Jeff Bennett has been advising clients to continue interviewing and keep the hiring process flowing. Here are some of the negative effects to avoid from slow hiring:

Leaving the role open will cost more

An open position can effect your ability to hit personal and team quotas. With one less team member, that means that is less manpower put towards those quotas. Customer satisfaction may be lower due to a slowed down or disrupted process as responsibilities from the open position are delegated to other team members. This could have long term or future financial consequences. Also, the hiring process and the resources that go into are not cheap, but the more time that is put into it the more expensive it will be. Combine that with the inability for the team to be as productive and that is a formula leading to failure.

Passive talent wants to be taken seriously

The most competitive and technical candidates in specialty chemicals are passive candidates who are currently still employed. For instance, Chemical Engineers are at a nearly zero percent unemployment rate currently. Moving slow in processes or freezing hiring may knock your company out of the running with these candidates. A slow hiring process can also reflect a negative image on your company as your corporation’s culture being slow as well. On top of that slow process can lead to candidates thinking your company isn’t interested. These candidates likely have other companies and recruiters reaching out and will be off the market quick, leaving the only options to be less qualified candidates available.

Decrease in team and employee morale

The responsibilities of an open role still need to be completed which means that other team members will have to pick up the slack. This can cause employees to feel overwhelmed and stressed. Having to work later hours can also cause them to lose work life balance. Ultimately, the team will be less productive due to having less time to delegate to their normal responsibilities. There is also the worry of an employee leaving due to these circumstances creating another vacant position or resentment from those who stay for the company not filling the role and the feeling of endless work without the foresight of the extra work dispersed again.

Typically hiring takes companies 94 days to fill highly technical roles. For the Boaz specialty chemical recruiters, through the pandemic in 2020, it is averaging around 80 days to fill a position. In the long run for cost, available talent, hiring processes, and employee morale, it is better to keep the conversations and interviews flowing so that you are ready and do not have to get ready once this comes to an end. Can you afford not to hire?