BLOG

Why hiring quickly matters!

Over the next 5 days, I will be talking about the 5 most common hiring challenges that companies in the IT and Engineering sectors are facing and offer some ideas on how to overcome them.

Problem #1 – Losing Candidates Before The Offer Stage

In candidate driven markets such as IT & Engineering, the ability to move quickly when hiring has never been more important. Move quickly and make sure you hire 1st or 2nd choice rather than your 3rd or 4th!

There are TWO main areas to consider when speed is impacting the success of your recruitment;

1 – The Process

Start to gather metrics on each stage of the hiring process.

Measure;

• How long it takes from vacancy sign off to advert to screening to interview to final interview to decision to offer.

By identifying bottlenecks, you’ll know where improvements are possible and more importantly, you’ll know when you’re improving.

Ask yourself some of these questions;

• Can you ask for more support from your recruiter?
• Can you involve less people in the interview process?
• Can you carry out 1st and 2nd stage interviews back to back?
• Can you empower your staff to make hiring decisions?

2 – Candidate Engagement

If you simply can’t hire any faster, then it’s key to ensure that the candidate is willing to wait until you’re ready to make an offer.

Keep them interested by focusing on your employer brand and communicating what you have to offer to new hires.

Getting the candidates excited and bought into your company, will go a long way to ensuring they remain on the market long enough for you to make an offer.

• Make sure applicants have a designated contact, rather than a recruitment@xyz.com email address.
• Get on social media and share positive news about the company.
• Share the stories of existing employees with blogs and short videos.
• Don’t be vague – give realistic timescales and about when decisions will be made and keep everyone informed throughout.

Have you ever lost your number one choice candidate because another company beat you to it?

What have you found to be the best way to speed up the hiring process?