Is your protracted recruitment process losing you the good hires?

We all know the state of the economy, the ups and the downs, and the lights at the end of the tunnel. We all know that COVID and Brexit have had an impact on recruitment.

But it seems your competitors are still able to attract the Talent, leaving you struggling to fill an important gap.

Why’s that? You’ve got a good offering, decent package for the right person, and your company is going places – or trying to.

It could be that you’re taking too long in your recruitment process.

That’s right.

Of course, you should not rush the recruitment process. Getting the wrong person could end up costing you time and money. But, taking too long means candidates will lose patience and go elsewhere. It’s a fine balance.

The good news is that there are things you can do to get things right and speed up the process.

One
Do the prep work. Get the ducks in a row – awful phrase but you get the idea. If you are recruiting, ensure there is a clear objective and a clear process and stakeholders are bought into it. For example, make sure recruitment forms are correctly filled in and approved by whoever needs to green light the costs internally. If you get to the end of the recruitment process, make sure the induction and training days are scheduled.

You’ll cut delays and unnecessary obstacles by doing this.

Two
Aim for the right person, not the perfect one. If you’re seeking perfection, you may well be searching for evermore. The person has to be right and meet the criteria, but that does not mean perfect at everything. For example, they may have the right skills and experience in one area, but need coaching on another aspect.

It doesn’t mean you don’t need to aim high, it means you don’t stall recruitment because someone is not 101 percent.

Three
Engage. If the process is delayed for some reason, communicate with the candidates so that they know they have not been forgotten about. There’s nothing worse for a candidate than not hearing back, either from sending in a CV, or after an initial interview. Firstly, it’s good manners and sets the tone if a relationship is to progress. Even if it is not, it might restart at some point and it’s best not to leave a sour taste. Secondly, if you don’t communicate, a candidate will think you’re not interested and will seek an opportunity elsewhere.

Communication breakdown is never good.

Four
Seek help. We would say this, being a leading recruitment business, but it’s true. If you’ve got a leaky pipe in your work’s kitchen, you’d call a plumber, wouldn’t you? Do it for recruitment too. We have all sorts of processes and systems so that you can cut down on the time to get the right person. What’s more, if you leave it to the experts, you have time to focus on other important matters.

The moral of the story is, get things right from the start, and if you need help, call in the experts.