When you’re looking to fill a role, you likely need it urgently. Perhaps this person is the key to achieving your annual business goals. Maybe they’ll open up a new process to help your team work faster and smarter. Whatever the reason for opening the role, you want to secure that new hire as quickly as possible so they can hit the ground running.
However, the hiring process must ensure that you get the right person—someone who is skilled to handle the job responsibilities, embodies your company culture, and drives your organization toward its mission. On the other hand, hiring the wrong person can damage your team’s morale and bottom line, as employers spend between $7,500 and $28,000 to find and onboard each new employee.
So, where is the balance between a fast hiring process and an effective one? Moving quickly is important, but if a bad hire costs your company more time and money than the hiring process itself, speed won’t do you any good.
By implementing a few key strategies and hiring tools into your recruitment efforts, you can speed up your hiring timeline without losing the best person for the job.
### How Long Does the Hiring Process Take?
According to a report by Josh Bersin, the average time to hire (the number of days from job listing to when a candidate accepts the offer) has increased to 44 days. Of course, this can vary depending on the role you’re hiring for. An executive-level role will likely take longer to fill than an entry-level position.
Other external factors may also play a role in the hiring timeline. Candidates may not actively seek new roles during the winter holidays or busy summer months, and depending on the economic climate, you may either have your pick of candidates or need to roll out the red carpet to make a great impression.
While 44 days serves as a solid baseline, it’s essential to set realistic hiring timeline goals based on all known factors, including the urgency of hiring for a specific role.
### How to Speed Up the Timeline (and Attract Quality Candidates)
An effective hiring process uses many strategies to attract high-quality candidates. Below, we outline some hiring process steps to implement as you work toward a faster hiring timeline while maintaining a pipeline of qualified candidates.
#### 1. Write a Job Description That Attracts Top Talent
The best way to change your hiring process is to start at the beginning: how you talk about the open position. Writing a job description is one of the first things every HR professional learns, but often, job descriptions aren’t fully utilized as a powerful tool for attracting candidates.
When a position needs to be filled, hiring managers are often so stressed about finding a candidate that they slow down and think about what kind of candidate they truly want and need. In the interest of time, they may not spend enough time crafting an effective job description, resulting in either a flood of unqualified candidates or too few candidates who can meet overly specific requirements.
Here are four tactics to consider when creating a job description:
– **List the top five skills:** While you should be clear about the critical expertise needed for the job, don’t be overly specific, or you may discourage people from applying because they feel unqualified.
– **Unfun fact:** Men apply for a job when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, while women need to be closer to 100% to feel confident enough to apply.
– **Provide a breakdown:** Explain what this person will spend most of their time doing, which teams they’ll collaborate closely with, and what their day-to-day life will generally look like.
– **Discuss success indicators:** What does a job well done look like? What kind of metrics will this person need to track? What will they report on?
By creating a job description that accurately reflects the position along with preferred and critical qualifications, you’ll save a lot of time that might otherwise be spent screening. On the other hand, eliminating non-critical qualifications can open your talent pool to non-traditional candidates or those who can grow into the role.
#### 2. Eliminate Unnecessary Steps in Your Hiring Timeline
Not only will eliminating unnecessary steps speed things up for your hiring team, but you’ll also be less likely to lose candidates along the way. According to SHRM, 92% of job seekers abandon online applications because they’re too long or complicated. That 92% doesn’t include candidates who may drop out due to slow communication, extensive interview processes, or having to jump through too many hoops.
When evaluating your hiring process steps, consider these questions:
– What does each step accomplish?
– Which steps take the longest?
– Which steps create bottlenecks in the hiring process?
– Where do candidates typically drop out of the process?
By auditing your process thoroughly, you can determine which steps move you forward and which hold you and potential candidates back.
#### 3. Leverage Hiring Tools
Save time in your hiring process and increase efficiency by automating key workflows. When everything is automated, no one has to wait to be told what’s coming next. An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) can take small tasks off your plate so you can focus on what really matters in the hiring process: people. An ATS can carry the load for you by providing:
– A branded, pre-built careers page
– Automatic job posting to job boards
– Keyword search and filtering for candidates
– Automated workflows to let your hiring team know what to do and when
– A collaboration hub for the hiring team
– Email and offer letter templates that auto-fill candidate and job information
– Powerful ATS integrations
#### 4. Set Hiring Timeline Goals with Your Hiring Team
At the start of the hiring process, establish an ideal hiring timeline with your hiring team, including the hiring manager. Create milestones and set deadlines so everyone is on the same page about what needs to happen and when. Consider setting timeline goals for the following hiring process steps:
– Write the job description
– Post the job description
– Schedule interviews
– Complete interviews
– Review as a hiring team
– Narrow down your top candidates
– Send an offer
#### 5. Conduct the Right Number of Interviews
After screening your candidates, you’ll want to narrow the pool further by interviewing them individually. Many organizations lose candidates during the interview process due to poor interview practices.
Let’s look at some of the most common interview pitfalls here:
– **Too many cooks in the kitchen:** It might seem important to have every department manager weigh in on each candidate for the graphic designer position. But think about it: Will all 10 of these people agree? By involving too many stakeholders, you may create a stalemate. A better way to get group buy-in is to gather input early on when crafting the job description, then create a small group as the actual decision-makers.
– **Ineffective questions:** It might be a good icebreaker to ask a candidate what their spirit animal is, but it won’t give you much insight into how they’ll perform the job well. To make each interview as comprehensive and meaningful as possible, use the targeted job description as a reference for what to ask in the interview.
– **Lack of structure:** When Manager A says they liked Candidate 1 the most, do they have a valid reason? Effective feedback should go beyond gut feelings and instincts, and if your interviews are to fairly evaluate different candidates and eliminate unconscious bias, they need structure. Before starting the interview process, create a list of questions and a scorecard for each hiring manager. Then, each hiring manager can rate each candidate during the interview based on elements like culture fit, skill set, and anything else that’s essential. By sticking to the same questions and using a consistent scoring system, you can compare apples to apples (and leave oranges out of it).
– **Poor follow-up:** It’s not enough to put candidates through an interview, hand scorecards to managers, and hope it all comes together. To make the most of your hiring timeline, you need to follow up with managers and candidates while the interview is still fresh in their minds. Give hiring managers time to take notes and provide feedback from interviews, and keep candidates informed about next steps. (Reminder: An ATS can help you automate that workflow!)
#### 6. Keep Communication Channels Open
There’s no faster way to drive someone away than radio silence.
Plan communication from the start so they know:
– How long the process will take
– When you received their application
– When they can expect to hear back
– How long each step will likely take
Transparency creates a much better experience in the process and encourages candidates to stay engaged throughout, even if you can’t move as quickly as your competitors.
Along with communication, there’s a need to feel individually cared for—especially for those candidates who make it further in the process. Interviewing is stressful, but making candidates feel welcome and comfortable means they’ll be more themselves during the interview. Remember: We’re all human here!
#### 7. Maintain and Expand Your Talent Pool
Imagine a world where you open a job listing and already have the perfect candidate in your pool. It might sound like a dream, but when you maintain a robust talent pipeline, it can become a reality. How many times have you told a candidate you’d keep their resume on file but never looked at it again? You could have a goldmine of qualified candidates in your files—people who, if they were impressed by your hiring process before, would gladly consider another opportunity with you.
Beyond providing a stellar hiring experience so candidates want to come back, you can expand your talent pool by including internal candidates, candidates with criminal records re-entering the workforce, and other non-traditional workers. Consider implementing diversity hiring tactics to ensure your company welcomes and accommodates people from different backgrounds and needs. Doing so lowers barriers to entry for applicants, opening you up to a wider range of candidates you might otherwise miss.
#### Put Yourself in the Job Seeker’s Shoes!
When it comes to improving and speeding up your hiring and recruitment process, the best way is to experience it firsthand. If you’re revamping your process, ask your hiring managers to “apply” and go through the new steps with you. If all of you find certain steps confusing or lengthy, chances are your candidates will, too. Identify areas where you can eliminate cumbersome procedures, simplify tasks, and improve communication.
By making changes like those outlined above, you’ll save your organization significant time and money while landing the best candidates.
Source: [https://www.bamboohr.com/](https://www.bamboohr.com/)
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