Tips on how to overcome recruiter burnout

Recruiter burnout refers to the mental and physical exhaustion experienced by recruiters and talent acquisition specialists. This burnout can be caused by various work-related obstacles and extends beyond the normal exhaustion recruiters may encounter regularly. Recruiter burnout can be aggravated by the perception that one's work is failing or that one's ambitions are unrealistic. As a result of the pandemic, remote work, and a competitive employment market, 61% of recruiters have observed an increase in workplace stress.

The leading causes of recruiter burnout

An excessive workload does not necessarily cause Recruiter burnout. Let's go through the most prevalent (and frequently overlooked) causes of burnout on your hiring team:

• Stress brought on by the Great Resignation and talent competition

• Isolation caused by working from home or remotely

• Pandemic-related layoffs and job reductions

• The Great Rehire and demanding corporate airline goals for hiring teams

• Altering recruitment objectives and goals

It's easy to see how recruiters could gradually become exhausted, but organisational factors can further aggravate feelings of tiredness.

Insufficient hiring resources

When your team is absorbed on the goals of hiring candidates and filling seats, a lack of resources can significantly impact their capacity to source and engage people in addition to carrying out their other responsibilities. Consider the last time your team cleaned up your CRM or arranged all of the information in your ATS. When recruiters lack the tools necessary to conduct their jobs successfully, it can result in broken workflows and burnout.

Improper recruitment practises

Your team's recruitment strategies are essential to maximising every area of your hiring process, but it becomes nearly impossible to hire the top personnel when they fail. Consider your sourcing strategy, engagement efforts, nurturing initiatives, screening and review methodology, and other elements.

While 76% of hiring professionals believe attracting qualified candidates is their greatest difficulty, 89% of firms lose top talent due to cumbersome and time-consuming processes. It's no wonder that recruiters experience burnout!

Too many hats worn at once

When recruiters are required to wear numerous hats simultaneously, it stops them from focusing on the activities and responsibilities that genuinely move the needle for your organisation. It also strains both recruiting teams and their resources and can soon leave recruiters incapable of achieving certain objectives.

In light of this, over 42% of businesses are investing in solutions to accelerate the recruitment process, which can assist hiring teams in streamlining their operations.

Insufficient data

Alternatively referred to as 'analytical paralysis,' recruiters may be left with either insufficient or incorrect data. You'll consider various data points and insights when recruiting a candidate. Still, ensuring you're looking at the proper data, analysing it, and basing hiring decisions on the right criteria is difficult.

Without the correct data and a mechanism to collect and organise it, it is possible to become "paralysed" by data analysis, which can lead to recruiting the wrong applicants for the wrong roles. This is a surefire way to cause recruiter burnout.

Invisible symptoms of Burnout

The cumulative nature of these symptoms and the invisibility of their impact make it simpler to disregard them. Frequently, these symptoms show in the daily work of a recruiter. They may consist of the following:

• Exhaustion — mental, emotional, and physical weariness
• Decrease in productivity – inability to remain motivated, focused, or interested in the task • Pessimism or cynicism — unfavourable attitude toward the work being done, the ability to attain goals, or an unwillingness to participate

As a hiring manager, it is crucial that you pay close attention to the productivity, attitude towards work, and work ethic of your recruiters to detect any unseen or undetectable signs of burnout. You may begin to detect previously unnoticed indicators of burnout.

You may observe that a recruiter has become worried, struggles to keep a cheerful attitude, and appears distant from their profession, for instance.

Visible signs of burnout

Recruiter burnout is more obvious regarding their performance and capacity to do their duties. Because stress and anxiety have very real bodily manifestations, it is equally important to monitor the obvious symptoms of burnout as the invisible ones. Here are some instances of visible signs of burnout:

• Absenteeism
• Mood swings
• Sleep difficulties
• Headaches and migraines
• Hypertension
• Lack of physical activity

These signs are easy to detect because they typically result in increased sick days or time away from work. You may also hear firsthand from employees that they are experiencing physical burnout symptoms.

Types of Burnout

There are various sorts of burnout that recruiters can encounter.

You may be shocked to hear that burnout appears in various ways, and you may not observe the same indicators of burnout in different recruiters. There are three unique types of burnout to watch out for!

Frenetic burnout – occurs when the time and effort devoted to a role exceeds the benefits.

Under-challenged burnout – occurs when an individual's role is repetitious or unchallenging, resulting in diminished motivation, productivity, and mood.

Worn-out burnout – occurs when an individual's work environment is persistently demanding, resulting in apathy.

Recruiters are more likely to feel frenzied or worn-out burnout during stressful circumstances, such as hiring during a pandemic or in large quantities.

Overcoming burnout among recruiters

Before implementing tactics or solutions to combat burnout on your hiring team, you must first identify the causes among your recruiters. It is equally vital for you as a recruiter to be aware of burnout symptoms so you may address them with your manager.

For instance, an obsolete or antiquated ATS could impede recruiters from automating time-consuming operations. With the amount of manual effort required of recruiters, a technology that enables automation and talent relationship management could help prevent recruiter fatigue. Forty-five percent of recruiters believe that automation will assist in optimising their responsibilities. Let's delve deeper into additional methods you might assist your recruiters in overcoming (and preventing) fatigue.

Concentrate on defining SMART objectives for your hiring staff.

It is natural for recruiters to experience burnout when their goals are unattainable. We have all experienced the anxiety that accompanies an excessively ambitious ORK, and it might feel impossible to achieve these objectives. We propose defining SMART objectives for your hiring team at this stage.

SMART goals are centred on attainable outcomes.

• Specific—your goals should be simple yet specific enough that there's no confusion as to what your team is trying to achieve
• Measurable—each objective should be measurable, something you can track the progress of • Reachable—in other words, each goal should be attainable
• Achievable—in other words, every goal should be attainable
• Relevant - Are your aims attainable and aligned with your hiring objectives?
• Time-bound—recruitment and hiring objectives may be accomplished in a given quarter or on a timely basis.

Promote a work-life balance

Burnout exists. And firms of all sizes struggle when it comes to defining work-life balance guidelines. Unsurprisingly, many CEOs believe employee health has been challenging during the pandemic. As a recruiting manager, you must promote and enforce work-life balance, just as recruiters must be comfortable defining these boundaries and keeping steadfast on the need for self-care and wellness.

Provide the proper technology tools and stack

There is a considerable amount of technicality involved in recruiting. From sourcing applicants to engaging with them, cultivating talent, and everything else, the labour required to locate the right employees requires the appropriate tools. Recruiters can only perform so much manual labour; therefore, a tech stack that provides them with the necessary tools, apps, and resources helps prevent burnout and tiredness. Building a DEI tech stack with the proper tools and integrations might assist minimise diversity fatigue, for instance, if your company is dealing with diversity recruitment.

Develop a plan for the growth of your recruiters.

Having a development plan in place for your recruiters can be the difference between under-challenged and burnt-out recruiters and those who are actively engaged and satisfied in their role to prevent frenzied burnout and maintain existing talent. Development can take various forms, but ultimately, you'll want to create an internal mobility strategy for your team and provide opportunities for learning and professional growth.

Support flexible work and health

Even before the epidemic, firms seeking to provide employees with a better work-life balance were increasingly utilising remote and flexible work arrangements. Giving your recruits the option to select how they work until they return to the office might result in happier, healthier employees, even if you are still working remotely. This is where hybrid work comes in: give recruiters the choice of working from the office, their homes, or even a different location. Occasionally, a change of pace might alleviate work-related tiredness, agitation, or lack of drive.

In addition, curating a health and wellness programme that supports internal employees can help recruiters alleviate or avoid the physical symptoms of burnout. For instance, a wellness programme that prioritises mental well-being and encourages employees to pursue physical activities, live a balanced lifestyle, and eat healthily can assist recruiters in bringing their best selves to work.