Last Updated on May 31, 2023 by Dave Schoenbeck
Job seekers all want the hiring process to go faster. Likewise, small business owners want a speedy process but usually fail to plan. Ultimately, their fast recruitment crawls. There’s serious incentive to improve the speed and quality of your hiring process, however, and it hinges on the fact that hiring at large corporations is often an even slower ordeal.
Even with the pandemic and so many people out of work, there are hundreds of thousands of job openings at large corporations because they take so long to fill those roles. If you move quickly, you can steal qualified candidates from these businesses by merely outperforming when it comes to your hiring strategies.
How Can I Speed Up the Hiring Process?
To improve the speed and quality of your hiring process, we first need to clarify that “fast” doesn’t mean sloppy or mistake-ridden. Sometimes, you can speed up the overall process by slowing down and simplifying the individual steps to ensure the process is snag-free.
Here are some strategies to help you improve the speed and quality of your hiring process:
- Analyze your hiring process by putting each step on a sticky note and displaying them on your office wall. Look at where the breakdowns are. Then, set strict timelines for each stage of the process. For example, you should know precisely how long you will spend reviewing resumes and how much time you will give each candidate to respond to your messages.
- You should have multiple versions of each job ad or specification. When one stalls, change it up and use another one. Make them playful and exciting to attract the highest-caliber talent pool.
- Have a friend who doesn’t work in your industry read the listing for ideas and suggestions. This might be obvious, but it also helps to have your employees double-check the listings before they go live. Often they will think of more job duties that you might have missed.
- You must use more than one job board. Most rely on only one source, but you must diversify to cast the widest net.
- Reach out to your network to find the best talent. Social media is an excellent tool for this, especially LinkedIn.
- Create a test or project for your candidates to complete during the interview process so that you can get an early read on their level of interest and skill. This project should not be too time-consuming, or you will drive away many candidates in demand elsewhere.
- Create a block of time in your schedule to review resumes. This is where hiring breaks down for small businesses because the CEO is always busy, and hiring is less urgent than other daily tasks.
- Block out time, in advance, for second-round interviews with you and your team. Often, to improve the speed and quality of your hiring process, you must ensure everyone is available simultaneously.
- Always use pre-employment assessments for your finalists. They don’t take long and will help you make better hiring decisions.
- Offer a hiring referral bonus to your team for recommending a star.
To improve profitability, you need to improve the speed and quality of your hiring process. I can help. Fill out my contact form to book a complimentary coaching call, and we’ll work on improving your team’s talent level.
Coach Dave
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