3 Tips to Speed Up Your Hiring Process

Sure, you want to find the right person. Dedicating time and money to a stellar hiring process lets you build the perfect team. However, it comes with a cost. If you could speed up your hiring process, without losing effectiveness, you’d save resources and improve your operations.

It’s no secret that hiring represents a painstaking process. One study found that the average hiring process took nearly 24 days from beginning to end. However, that comes with significant variance. Another set of data suggested that some companies take up to 4 months to determine the right fit.

Even if we generally give the time-to-hire somewhere in the 1-2 month range, that creates a huge gap. That’s a good chunk of the year when you aren’t reaching your full potential. Speeding up allows you to raise your output ceiling and accelerate growth.

But how do you do it? How do you accelerate your recruitment efforts without risking a bad decision?

Here are three tips that will speed up your hiring process:

Streamline Your Process

You do efficiency reviews all the time with your products. You look for ways to streamline production, to eliminate unnecessary steps, and to optimize every step in the process. It helps you expand margins and maximize your output.

Now, just direct this type of analysis on your hiring routine. Assess your current set of procedures. Look for bottlenecks, unnecessary redundancies, and inefficiencies. Then, take steps to root out the culprits slowing down the system.

Here are a few easy fixes as you look to streamline your hiring:

Know What You Want: Have a clear plan as you launch the recruitment process. Understand the skills you are looking for and what constitutes an ideal candidate.

Leverage Technology: There are loads of software options for automating the grueling aspects of your hiring procedure. The programs can help you review resumes, rank candidates, and upgrade many other parts of the process. Shop around and pick the tools that help you most.

Limit the Number of Decision Makers: Don’t run each candidate through multiple approvals. Clearly set down the guidelines at the beginning and then empower a small group of people to make the actual hire.

Develop a Talent Pipeline

Think about putting on a play. Most of the work takes place before the audience arrives. Prior to opening night, months of rehearsal and planning went into making a seamless production.

The same applies to hiring. The problem might not be with the hiring process itself. You might not be doing enough work ahead of time.

If you start from scratch with every hiring decision, it will take time to ramp up everything. However, if you have a talent pipeline in the works, you can move quickly. You’ll already have candidates you can approach.

Here are a few steps you can take to put this strategy into action:

Keep in Touch with Former Candidates: When you pass on a qualified candidate in one hiring round, don’t forget about them. Maintain contact and consider them for future openings.

Offer Contract/Freelance Assignments: Build a network of part-timers to supplement your normal operations. Then, you can use this pool of talent to fill full-time positions when they arise.

Search for Passive Talent: Keep track of top performers in your industry. Rather than opening up a generic job search when the time comes, you can target specific candidates that you’ve already identified.

Use a Staffing Agency

Companies often bring in dedicated consultants to streamline their operations. You’ve probably used a few of third-party experts yourself for other matters. Think of the outside lawyers or accountants you engage from time to time.

A staffing agency provides the same type of service for the hiring realm. They have a database of qualified professionals ready to step into your open positions. You can skip most of the preliminary preparations and vetting procedures. The recruiter has already done that work for you.

As a result, you’re able to hire the perfect candidate in the shortest possible time.

Ready to speed up your hiring process? A strong staffing agency, like SmartTalent, will make it possible.

Contact SmartTalent today to learn more.