Don’t Blink: How to Speed Up Your Hiring Process

Today’s job market is fast-paced, and candidates aren’t waiting around. Your recruitment strategy needs to align with that reality—and part of the solution is simply to speed up your hiring process.

Clients often ask me for my thoughts regarding their hiring process. Is it missing anything? How many interviews are appropriate? How long should the entire process take? Do I need to speed up the hiring process? What does a competitive offer look like?

These are good, right and fair questions that healthy companies should be asking. This does not concern me, rather it encourages me that these clients view me as a consultant. Additionally, it’s heartening to see clients that want to improve their process so that they can become more competitive when it comes to acquiring top talent.

The danger I see is when I encounter companies that seemingly choose to “wing it” and take their time during the hiring process. They move slow. They drag. They’re inconsistent. The process is burdensome and frustrates candidates. And there simply is no sense of urgency. This typically ends badly for the company and can leave a bad taste in a candidate’s mouth.

In a typical economy, companies may have been able to get away with a six, eight and maybe even a ten-week process from submittal to hire. This is not the case today. Not in today’s economy.

In a candidate driven job market, candidates have options. If they are interviewing at your company, you can count on the fact that they are interviewing at others as well. More than likely, the top talent on the market has 3-4 companies that they are “in process” with. And these interviews turn into offers…usually multiple offers. Again, candidates have options, and options for candidates means competition for companies.

While there is no sure-fire solution or magic bullet when it comes to attracting and hiring top talent, there are some action items you can put in place to speed up your hiring process.

Know what you’re looking for

The single biggest reason companies take too long in their hiring process is because they don’t truly know what they’re looking for in a candidate. You need to go into the process with clear criteria that everyone agrees on so you can reach a final decision faster.

Communication is key

Communicate clearly and often with your search firm about what you are looking for and provide productive and quick feedback.

Be decisive and talk with candidates

When candidates are submitted, make sure they are reviewed promptly. Any candidates that seem like good prospects should be scheduled for first interview within 24-48 hours of being submitted.

Keep the process moving

Once again, keep the communication flowing and schedule the next round of interviews ASAP. The more time that passes, the more you risk losing great candidates.

Make a competitive offer

Candidates are receiving multiple offers. Deliver your offer the moment you make a decision, and make sure that your offer meets or exceeds their expectations so that you stand out among the competition.

Obviously, much more can be said regarding a healthy hiring process/strategy. The important thing is to make sure that you do, in fact, have a strategy. In the meantime, hopefully the suggestions above will prove helpful as you move in that direction.

In the process of hiring a new executive? Let’s chat.