If You’re Experiencing This Common Problem, Your Hiring Process is Too Slow

When hiring for your business, it’s natural to proceed with caution. After all, you’re looking to take on a brand new team member, and their performance can have a huge impact on your daily operations. While it’s important to be prudent, there are many businesses that will drag out filling a position for months at a time.

Why? For most hiring managers, it’s the desire to ensure they’re hiring the perfect person for the team. Others operate under the impression that there’s always someone better waiting to be found. The reality is, delaying your recruitment decisions can have a significantly negative impact on your candidates and your hiring results.

How speed factors into recruitment

Recruitment is – and always has been – a competition. At any given time, there are a dozen other businesses in your area vying for the same pool of talent, looking to hire the best of the best. Moving the recruitment process along at a faster pace ensures the following things:

You build a stronger relationship with your candidates. Responding to your applicants in timely manner shows that you are invested in their candidacy and are eager to connect with them. Furthermore, it shows that you value their time and effort.

You reduce interview no-shows. The sooner you extend an invitation for an interview, the more likely they are to attend. Wait too long, and chances are they will have scheduled interviews with other businesses in the area.

You increase the chances of your hire accepting the position. Ultimately, the relationship you forge with the candidate combined with a timely interview and offer will become a deciding factor when it comes to accepting or passing on the role.

A good rule to follow during the hiring process is the 48 hour rule. Generally, hiring managers should respond all candidate communications within this timeframe. For instance, within 48 hours of receiving the application, an invitation for an interview should be sent out. After the interview, a decision should be made within the same timeframe. Ideally, the hiring timeline with each individual candidate should not span more than 7 days.

Simple solutions for faster hiring

It’s easy to talk about a 7-day recruitment timeline, but the reality is hiring managers have a lot on their plate. Luckily, there are ways to help streamline the hiring process! Here are some tips and resources for stepping up your recruitment-game:

Know what you’re looking for. Right from the beginning, have a clear idea of what type of employee you want to hire. Be clear on what qualities and skills are essential and which are nice to have. This will help you make decisions more efficiently.

Automated Interview Scheduling. This software is invaluable for hiring managers with limited time. Automated Interview Scheduling platforms are designed to organize your applicants and shortlisted candidates, sending them an interview invitation with a click of a button. No more drafting emails by hand!

TIP: Find out more about HigherMe’s Automated Interview Scheduling software and more on our Applicant Tracking System page.

Text-messaging. Want quicker responses from candidates? Text messaging is one of the most effective ways to reach them – in fact, an increasing number of job seekers report that they’ve had positive experiences with text-message communication during their search and answer their messages sooner than if sent by email.

TIP: HigherMe’s Text-to-Apply campaigns are another great way to harness the power of text-messaging for your recruitment needs. Click here to learn more!

Do you agree that speed is a crucial factor when hiring new employees? HigherMe offers a wide range of products and services to help you find top talent in your area. Connect with us at contact@higherme.com or visit our Applicant Tracking System Page!