How to speed up your hiring processes and secure top talent quickly

31st August 2022

AUTHOR: Gemma Knight

Any hiring manager understands the urgency of moving quickly when it comes to hiring.

The average hire takes about 43 days from job posting to signing the contract. Time and speed are of the essence.

If your recruitment process is inefficient, this can lead to:

● Financial and operational costs of making the wrong hire

● Lost productivity

● Disruption among existing employees

● Harm to your employer brand

If it ends up taking a while to seal the deal, it becomes more likely that your competitors will secure quality candidates.

A slow process can end in you missing out on top talent, an outcome that can cost the business more than just wasted time.

So, how do you speed things up and streamline your recruitment process when you’re in growth mode?

What exactly is the hiring process?

To make the hiring process efficient, outline each stage and find ways to improve.

● Identify the need for a new employee or function

● Decide on job requirements and write the job description

● Post job ads to attract new candidates

● Screen candidates – look at CVs, shortlist, interview

● Select the best candidate

● Onboard and train the new hire

Be clear on what you’re looking for

The best way to avoid wasted time is to be clear from the get-go.

Before you publish your job opening, go over your hiring process; think about the steps you need and how much time these will take from the first interview to offer.

We’ve seen companies miss out on their perfect candidate because their internal procedures have taken too long.

Determine what your hiring needs are. Identify exactly what you are looking for in terms of hard and soft skills. How many positions do you want to fill? Which team are you looking to grow?

● Review skills gaps

● Create candidate personas

● Look over business development plans

● Set a budget

● Choose a preferred start date

Remember the market has shifted

The market is now very candidate-driven, meaning people looking for jobs have multiple opportunities at their fingertips.

This means that candidates have the upper hand in choosing roles that suit them best. But how do you ensure that you find the best talent over your competition?

In candidate-led times, securing the right people will take more time. This includes increased candidate engagement and a more aggressive approach to recruitment.

Keep friends close, keep competitors closer

To beat your competition you must know your competition. Follow them on their online platforms. Keep up to date with their content. What are they showing to candidates?

Determine how you are different from them, what can you do better? What makes your business unique?

Be inclusive

This is about more than recruiting people from underrepresented backgrounds to tick a box.

Inclusive hiring practices aim to level the playing field for all applicants in order to fight against recruitment bias and any forms of discrimination.

Think inclusive job ads, an accessible website and equal opportunities.

Partner with a specialist recruiter

Working with a recruiter is one of the easiest ways to speed up your hiring process.

Recruitment consultants are experts at managing the relationship between you and the candidate, which is of utmost importance.

Though it’s no surprise that hiring managers are often keen to get involved in the recruitment process by directly communicating with candidates. However, when clients go directly to candidates at the offer stage, the situation almost always turns out poorly.

The reason being - candidates don’t wish to communicate directly with the business to negotiate terms.

This is why it’s essential for the recruiter to be able to form a relationship with the candidate and gain an understanding of where they are in relation to other opportunities.

Right now, there is an abundance of counteroffers, making it even harder to secure top talent.

At DNA, we're specialists at keeping candidates engaged, showcasing the benefits of your company and making the process as smooth as possible.

Utilise Technology

Thanks to the wonders of technology, you can accelerate parts of the recruitment process.

Instead of finding time to interview in person, you can conduct video interviews – many businesses are now interviewing by video for the first round as standard practice.

This makes the screening process much faster. If the candidate remains on the list after that interview, you can meet the candidate in person.

Embrace hybrid/remote working

The preference for home and remote working isn’t going away, it’s less of a trend and more of a permanent change. Keep this in mind, as you’ll want to stand out from the competition.

Take fast action

The candidates you are interviewing are likely receiving multiple offers. By keeping the time frame short and the offer attractive, you are more likely to beat the competition.

To keep candidates engaged, don’t prolong the interview process - aim to keep the time frame short.

This can be achieved by shortening the number of interviews, e.g. 1 panel interview instead of 3 rounds with only one interviewer.

It’s crucial to get to know each candidate properly but it’s equally as important to move the process quickly.

If you want the best candidate to join your business, make sure you’re agile; set a clear timeframe, remove unnecessary hiring stages and don’t let weeks go by before you make your final decision. And, prepare for counteroffers and have a plan to deal with them.

The takeaways

With the market being so competitive, companies need to be quick in taking action and making business decisions – that is especially true when it comes to hiring.

Without a clear process and recruitment plan in place, it’s unlikely that the dream candidate will land in your lap. There are many issues that lead to a delay in the hiring process are:

● Lack of planning

● Lack of clarity

● Lack of communication

The solution?

● Clear planning and clear communication with your recruitment team

● A smooth process

● A good candidate experience - it’s is more important than ever.