How to Accelerate Your Hiring Process
The recruitment process can be ponderous, time-consuming, and costly. So when you put out a job posting, the hiring process should be your top priority. Candidates will not just sit and wait for you to respond to their applications. While you are taking long to respond, they will be hunting for new opportunities elsewhere and your competitors might end up hiring them before you reach out.
The basic challenge is to find parity between completing the needed processes before making an offer within the realities of the contemporary labor market. At times, organizations are slow because they are figuring out the best possible candidates; Hence a multi-step hiring process. If it works, it will be a great strategy because you will bring in a well-vetted candidate who will add value to your organization. But a slow hiring process has a lot of downsides. For instance, good candidates could drop out of the hiring process, leaving you with lower-quality hires that are willing to wait for you. There is also the cost impact of leaving roles unfilled. Even your firm’s reputation will be directly affected.
A hiring process should not be too slow that it will have an economic impact on the firm, neither should it be too fast that you are not vetting properly. You need to find the balance that is suited for you and that will likely differ for every organization. The universal focus of hiring managers should be finding and adopting efficient hiring models that identify the best-suited candidates within the shortest possible time. Here are a few things you can do to expedite the hiring process.
Look within the organization
When hiring internally, you wouldn’t have to worry much about every detail; You already know how well they fit your business as well as their skills, knowledge, and work ethic. It also eliminates or at worse reduces the cost of advertising, training, and induction of new member(s) of staff. If employees feel rewarded and see genuine progression opportunities, they will be motivated to give their best. Of course, there is a downside of hiring internally is that you will need to fill the roles the employees you are promoting are leaving. The good part is, it is often easier and faster to fill low-lower positions than higher-level ones.
Engage employees of other organizations
One common presumption in the recruitment business is the best candidates already have a job. A reasonable number of jobs are not advertised and a host of others are filled through networking, so one good way to get suitable candidate(s) to fill vacant positions is to headhunt them from other firms. One effective way of headhunting is through LinkedIn. The platform will avail you with professional information for various candidates. Not only will you see their educational qualifications, experiences, and present employer, but you can also see their recommendations and their superior’s comments on them. Once you identify an interesting candidate reach out and make a better offer. If the candidate declines, find the next suitable person and before you know it, you will land an experienced candidate within a short time at very little cost.
Make your job adverts attractive
If a person is already employed and not necessarily looking for a new opportunity, the only way they are going to notice your listing is if it stands out. Similarly, a job search can be a very draining process. An exhausted candidate may not be keen on a job listing that doesn’t fascinate him. Start your job ad with a motivating explanation about how a person in this position gets to impact your firm. Involve your employees in the ad; They hold a certain level of understanding as they went through your onboarding process and are now in the position anybody applying for the job they want to be. Articulate the job requirement properly, so that only eligible candidates will apply. You can end by writing a short story about your firm, highlighting the most interesting brand you have worked with, and detailing some benefits of working in your company.
Digitalize your recruitment process
Use technology as a force multiplier to support the recruiting team to make them more efficient. One effective way of digitalizing the recruitment process is by applicant tracking. It involves using artificial intelligence (AI) to track all the applicants in different stages of the recruitment process to determine your next line of action. Pay-per-click (PPC) will broaden your job ad visibility; endeavor it utilize it if you can afford it. You can also invest in video interviews, which will hasten up the process. Once you notice an interesting candidate you can reach him online for a video interview; meaning he doesn’t even have to come over. Don’t forget to make your firm’s website up to date and convenient to navigate. Remember that a human being is on the other side of the communication channel that is why personalized messaging is important in reaching out to applicants.
Use social media
Setting up a new social media profile, building a following, engaging, and indulging everyone could take some time, but if you already have a social media presence, you should utilize it to drive your hiring process. Put out your job advert on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Social media platforms are great mediums for attracting passive candidates to your business. Passive candidates are often more exclusive, relevant, and dedicated. However, they always need more persuasion to jettison their current job; Social media can make that happen fast. Your social media handle should not just be active when you are hiring, it is one guaranteed medium of creating and maintaining a good relationship with your community. Often share as much as you are comfortable with, and post about your products, services, and benefits of working in your firm. Once people appreciate your firm, its values, and opportunities, they will be waiting for your next job advert to apply; meaning a pool of fast applications and enthusiastic candidates.
Communicate quickly
Your interaction with your candidates must be done timely and properly. If you don’t, the rest of the process slows down. When you have information to share, disseminate it to the candidates immediately. Throughout the hiring process, follow up with the candidates to make sure they are also informing on everything you need to know. You can put a little pressure so they share as much as possible. You can utilize any convenient platform to communicate.
Don’t delay in making your offer
Once you identify a perfect candidate and you are absolutely sure they are the right candidate for your organization, do not hesitate to make the job offer. Keeping candidates on a lurch, waiting for a response can put them off your firm that they might get snapped up by someone else. Perhaps you have a process you need to complete, but if you are sure about a candidate, then the purpose is already served. Just request their notices and you can start planning how to get them on board. If you are delaying because you are just not sure, then maybe you need to go back and start all over again.
Conclusion
Assembling a great team is one of the most important factors to consider as an employer. But it requires commitment, identifying bottlenecks, employing technology, and engaging the recruiting team actively. If you can reduce the length of time expended in hiring without sacrificing quality; Which is very likely. You will have one of the best organizations in your industry. Good candidates will notice and appreciate your firm and if you are consistent enough, you may find a pool of top talents coming to you and willing to wait a little longer for an offer. Hiring processes do take time to complete, so instead of considering every applicant, be strategic and create a plan. Your recruitment strategy can make or break your firm so invest in making it the best it can be.