Many managers view the talent acquisition process as a hassle. It takes time, attention, coordination, and patience. Plus, there is always the risk of making the wrong decision — which can impact your business in innumerable ways, including productivity interruptions, organizational disruption, morale problems, and even legal challenges. People are necessary but finding the right ones can be difficult.
Fortunately, whether your company is large, small, or somewhere in between, it is possible to streamline and automate almost every aspect of your hiring process. The key is the process. A repeatable, scalable hiring methodology that integrates the latest tools and resources will save you time, money, and heartburn. The options are plentiful. You may consider resume-screening software, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered productivity platforms, digital pre-employment assessments, or search and staffing firms.
But where do you start? It can feel overwhelming. Are digital tools the way to go? If so, which ones? What hiring formula will deliver the right talent for you? Consulting a seasoned recruiting firm can help you create a customized strategy, but in the meantime, here are a few tips:
- Finetune Your Job Description
Getting clear about the job function, role, relationships, and impact within your company is half the battle — the more detailed the better. List required skills, education, experience, expertise, and results expected. Feature your benefits, compensation, and company culture prominently. Having these details agreed upon and communicated across your hiring team will save time as you review potential candidates.
- Implement an Applicant Screening Process
Screening has come a long way. Many digital options are available that save countless hours. An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) can automatically screen resumes based on predefined criteria or keywords which were finetuned in the job description. This saves time on the front end and allows human resources specialists and/or hiring managers to focus on connecting personally with the highest potential candidates.
- Structure Interviews, Feedback Loops, and Schedules
Standardize your interview template with consistent behavioral, competency, and performance questions. Train your team to ensure effective interviewing methods and questioning strategies. This helps increase efficiency and reduce bias by gathering responses with a consistent set of questions and objective scoring criteria to help you evaluate candidate responses fairly. Involve multiple interviewers to represent diverse perspectives and reduce individual bias.
Schedule standing debriefing meetings after interviews to accelerate the decision-making process and minimize administrative delays. Keep key decision-makers in the loop throughout the process. Crunch the numbers to track your cost-effectiveness and efficiency. Metrics such as time-to-hire, cost-per-hire, and candidate satisfaction will give you valuable data to help you hone your process and identify hiring effectiveness goals for your organization.
- Respect Your Candidates
Simplify the application process. Long, complicated processes can turn off qualified candidates. Keep application forms concise, easy to navigate, and responsively designed for mobile use to reduce friction.
Resist the urge to prolong the process in search of the “even better candidate,” and minimize excessive rounds of interviews and screening exercises. Candidates can grow weary of such a protracted courtship — risking the chance that they will accept another offer in the interim. Extended interview cycles can also exhaust your employees who participate in the hiring process and leave them wondering if you can make timely and effective decisions. And always provide clear feedback to candidates — even if they are not selected. Approach your hiring process as part of your firm’s public relations effort. After all, a professional who wants to work for you is already a fan and you want to keep them as such.
- Build Your Hiring A-Team
If your company is large enough to require a Human Resources (HR) function, they can help you manage your hiring priorities and timing across the organization. You can delegate the administrative tasks to HR so you can focus on the more strategic and performance-oriented aspects of hiring. The other key member of your team is your internal and external recruiting team. In addition to taking the targeted sourcing and pre-screening work off your plate, a seasoned recruiter can help you find talent with the specialized skills, industry expertise, and experience with target companies — especially for mid-level to senior positions and hard-to-fill roles. To maximize collaboration, hold frequent meetings. Discuss progress, challenges, and adjustments necessary to keep the wheels turning.
Streamlining, automating, and leveling up the hiring process not only helps you attract the best talent; it makes the entire journey easier and more efficient for you, your team, and business. What is working for you? Let us know.
