Once you have decided to employ a new member of your team, you will usually want them in place as soon as possible. Of course, there are some things that simply cannot be rushed because they are part of the legal process of hiring someone. However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible to shave a little time here and there.
The faster you can get candidates on board, the better
When it comes to employing new people, there is a lot to be said for hurrying things through, and that is particularly true at the moment. With a general shortage of candidates and some quite big skills gaps causing problems when it comes to finding appropriate staff, the faster you can get candidates on board, the better.
So here are five suggestions for trimming time from the period between the decision to hire someone and their induction to the team:
1. Go back to basics and review your hiring process. If you have been using the same approach for a while, it may well be worth looking at again. We sometimes find that the current practices used by an employer were created without speed in mind because it wasn’t a factor at the time. You don’t want to cut corners, but a fresh look at things can sometimes reveal ways of adding a little more haste here and there.
2. Create a clear structure. One thing that a review sometimes reveals is that there are some parts of the process that are not really needed or can be made a little quicker. Either way, once you have been through things, why not make a structured outline of the recruitment process with timescales and distribute it, so everyone knows the agenda.
3. Focus on the candidates, not the internal needs. It really can be an eye-opener to think about how you recruit from the candidate’s point of view. Ask yourself if it makes life easier for them where possible? If you are holding two interviews, for example, could you hold the first one over Teams or Zoom? That means no travelling and less time call on the candidate’s diary space. Interviews are also traditionally held during working hours, but that can slow things down while waiting for all the candidates to become available. If you could hold interviews out of working times, the candidates don’t need to find a way to make the space in their working day to accommodate them. The more convenience you can build in, the faster things will go. Location can also be a factor. If your workplace is in a remote position, could you hold interviews somewhere more central, perhaps?
4. Review the job specification to see if it could be more flexible or could include more development. The more specialist your needs are, the harder it will be to find a perfect match. If you can make any leeway in your requirements, you will increase your potential pool of candidates. We are not suggesting you change the core needs of the job, but sometimes we find that reviewing a job specification will create a new perspective.
5. Get a good recruitment partner and let them know you are in a hurry. Setting a timeline of recruitment with your recruiter and then working with them to make sure everyone meets it may seem like a simple thing, but it requires experience and up to the minute market knowledge. You need a good partner by your side who can give you realistic estimates of timescales and knows how to make sure those timescales are met.
Less disruption
Faster recruitment will mean less disruption for you and your team and less opportunity for candidates to be given counter offers or be tempted to look for other jobs. The more time you can save between decisions and hire, the better.
We are happy to talk more about what your needs are and how to get new employees with the minimum delay. Contact us and let’s talk.