When hiring, one of the most important elements for success is speed. It’s vital to ensure that you have the right candidate in place as soon as possible to ensure that your team can hit its goals and objectives. Unfortunately many companies seem to get bogged down in their own hiring processes. If that’s the case in your organization its time to address the issue.
Speed is the new black. Today’s applicants don’t like to wait and yet too many companies still have “slow to hire” mentalities. I recently spoke to a retail outlet executive who told me they recently were able to cut their time to offer from 3 weeks to 3 days. That’s music to my ears.
How can you hire faster? Check out these tips;
1. Reassess your hiring platform – There are a number of hiring platforms available on the market that make it easy to find and contact potential candidates quickly. These platforms also save time by automating certain parts of the hiring process, such as screening resumes or conducting initial interviews. If your current HR tech stack doesn’t allow to optimize its time to change it.
2. Use job postings to weed out the unqualified – Having an effective job listing isn’t just about aesthetics—it also directly impacts your recruitment process by making sure you are attracting the right kind of talent for your open positions. A clear job description helps attract more qualified candidates who have experience relevant to what they will be doing on the job. It also helps improve response rates from interested individuals who are eager to apply because they understand exactly what will be expected of them in their new role. Finally, having an effective job listing means less time spent interviewing unqualified individuals who don’t have the necessary skills or experience for the position.
3. Pre-screen applicants – If possible, pre-screen applicants before inviting them to interviews. This means asking simple questions such as why they are interested in the job or what their experience is with the hiring keywords. This will help you quickly eliminate those who don’t meet your hiring requirements and get closer to finding the perfect candidate faster.
4. Encourage referrals – Ask your current team members if they know anyone that would be a good fit for the position you’re hiring for. Not only will this save time as you won’t need to conduct as many interviews, but it also creates an easier hiring process for potential candidates since their referrals have already vouched for them. Software like Erin Ap exists to help optimize this process.
5. Be transparent about the hiring process – Make sure potential candidates know how long the hiring process will take and what steps are involved, so they can decide if it’s a good fit for them. This transparency also helps to reduce any delays in hiring as applicants already know what to expect from start to finish. I recommend adding content to your career site to break it down for them.
6. Streamline hiring documents/onboarding – Have all necessary hiring documents ready before beginning the search for a new employee. This will allow you to move through the entire hiring process faster as applicants can sign and submit documents right away. Digitize the onboarding paperwork for them.
By following these tips, you’ll be able to hire people faster and more efficiently in order to keep your team on track. In today’s candidate-driven market, job seekers rule the hiring process and if yours is taking too long, top talent will turn to your competition to get employed faster.
If your leadership is still not convinced, show them the money trail. Its costing you money to leave positions unfilled. Calculate turnover costs so you can quantify that stat. The “time to fill” number is now just as important as the quality of hire. A slow hiring process is just bad for business, and it can have a detrimental affect on your existing employees such as lower performing hires, and replacement hires that take longer to ramp up/train.
If you care about the candidate experience and the morale of your recruiting team, take steps immediately to make your hiring process faster.
