A Long Hiring Process Often Eliminates Top Talent

June 17, 2015 – Why does it take some companies so long to recruit talent? No matter the reason why it takes some companies a long time to hire, at Signature Source we understand that nothing negatively impacts recruiting results faster than a slow-hiring process. And here are some of the reasons why…

Reasons to avoid a long hiring process:

1. The most important reason is that most sought-after candidates are likely to be snapped up quickly once they decide to entertain job offers. All too often a candidate has accepted a job while other companies are only halfway through the hiring process. Experts say that the top 10 percent of job candidates are often gone from the job marketplace within 10 days. When competing against other firms for top performers, speed really is of the essence.
2. A slow decision also requires a huge time commitment from your staff, time better spent focusing on their own jobs.
3. Vacant positions that go unfilled for months can weaken the productivity of your present staff since many of them are forced to handle some added job responsibilities. Error rates often increase, new projects may not be implemented and the dollar impact on a company suffers when productivity, innovation and revenue generation fails.
4. Your company’s reputation can be damaged if prompt communications with candidates is not followed. When you quickly respond to applicants and keep the application process flowing you project an image as a well-organized company that values its employees.
5. How your company manages its employees begins at the application. The message a candidate receives with a seamless, quick hiring process is that your corporate culture includes swift decision-making strategies that translate into a well-managed company.
6. We live in an age of social media and websites such as glassdoor.com talk about hiring processes at thousands of companies and how long it takes to complete the hiring process. Negative comments quickly spread and damage reputations.
7. You might actually pay the new hire less if you are quick to make an offer, before other firms make an offer that can start a bidding war that will naturally mean a higher salary for that employee.

So what to do?

It’s key to develop an interview process that includes a timeline to keep everyone involved on track. Before the process begins, block off time in everyone’s calendars so time is set aside and everyone involved commits to creating a productive hiring process. And then keep to this schedule, and communicate it to every applicant.

Although more than one person’s input is needed in most hiring decisions, it’s critical to involve only those people who are the decision makers in the final decision – and keep that number to no more than three. It is also important to consider that an excessive amount of interviews – anything more than four per candidate– will bring added-on costs to your company because of the time spent interviewing.

Equally important is to have a clear understanding of what the job entails, so the requirements do not change halfway through the interview process. Also, items such as years of experience, compensation range, relocation benefits, education, etc., must be decided before the job is posted.

Bottom line: A well-thought out hiring process that efficiently moves candidates through the interviews will provide the information needed to make faster decisions about the most qualified person to hire.