4 ways to optimise your hiring process

An efficient and effective hiring process entails identifying your businesses' talent needs, generating a dedicated candidate pool, and eventually hiring the individual who is the best fit for your business. Most companies have their own hiring processes in place, but is yours running as efficiently as it could be?

In today’s candidate-short market, if the right person does apply for an open role, you will need to move fast. Here are four top tips on how to optimise your hiring process: 

# 1 – Create a clear timeline 

Before you start promoting your new role, create a clear hiring timeline both for you and the interviewees. This means deciding: 

  • How many interviews you want to run for the open job role 
  • What those interviews will include - for example, do you want to have a task based round so candidates can showcase a particular set of skills?
  • Who will be leading the interviews, and who from your wider team you should bring to field candidates 
  • How long you want to leave in between each stage. If a candidate makes it through to a final stage where a task is involved, make sure you’re giving them enough time to prepare. 

Once you have all this mapped out, you can inform each candidate from the very beginning of the hiring process. That way the candidate is fully aware of what’s expected of them and how the process will run moving forward. 

# 2 – Sell your company’s benefits 

A solid employee benefits package can prove invaluable in attracting and retaining top talent. Benefits can also help you differentiate your business from competitors, so you should be sure to promote these throughout the hiring process. Some of the most popular benefits candidates are looking for right now include flexible working hours, options to work-from-home, free lunches, team socials and many more. 

💡 Knowing what employees want in the new working world is something we looked at in length in our most recent eBook, Talent Trends: 10 key insights on the post-lockdown workplace. Download this insightful guide to what top talent really wants from future employers. 

# 3 – Move fast 

Right now, the best candidates are in high demand and are likely to receive multiple offers. If you’re not prepared to be decisive, you may lose out to your competitors.

Recruiting faster doesn’t mean you have to abandon your standards but might mean you have to re-evaluate your process. Here are a few benefits you can derive if you put in place the necessary frameworks to be to move fast: 

  • It helps you save time, money, and resources 
  • You’ll be able to hire quality employees before they get another offer
  • Candidates will have a better experience with your company 
  • You’ll have better response rates 

If you’re taking weeks to get back to candidates on next steps, they will start to lose interest and find another option. So, move fast, and make sure you have a constant and clear line of communication with candidates regarding next steps and feedback. 

#4 – Flexible interviews, and flexible requirements 

Having a flexible hiring process is important if you’re hoping to attract the best talent. The hiring process consists of many stages and requires a lot of coordination – flexibility here can make all the difference. Remaining too rigid can be off-putting to job applicants. It may even keep would-be candidates from applying for your open position. To be more flexible try: 

  • Hosting initial interview stages using video technology 
  • Be open to off-site interviews and during off-hours 
  • Hostel panel style interviews to help you reach a hiring decision faster 
  • Ask more open-ended questions to allow candidates to answer more freely 

If you’re looking for a specific skill set, flexibility is also key. If your candidate ticks most of your hiring boxes but lacks a certain hard skill you desire this shouldn't be a reason for you to decline their application. If they’ve shown a desire to learn new skills or have transferable skills, then that’s enough for them to be able to process to the next stage of the hiring process. 

What’s next?

For more expert advice on attracting top talent, here are five steps you need to take to get the best people in your business. Once you’ve hired these top candidates, read through our guide on engaging new starters in a hybrid workplace to help keep your employee retention high, and your turnover low. 

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