How to Improve the Hiring Process

One great hire can change the culture of your company and help you make strides toward your business goals. However, in this competitive business landscape, companies are competing for both market share and the talent that will help them acquire it. When you’re hiring, it is important to keep in mind that your ideal candidate may be fielding multiple offers.

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In many cases, their choice comes down to which company has the better hiring process. How efficient and thorough is your team at finding qualified candidates that are a fit on every level? If you’re missing out on quality candidates, it’s likely that your hiring process could use a little improvement. This guide will show you how to optimize it for maximum hiring success.

4 Steps in Hiring

Before you can improve the hiring process, you’ll first have to evaluate your current one.  As you do, think about your organization’s current steps in hiring, and where there may be room for increased efficiency, an improved candidate experience, or more rigorous screening methods.

Planning

Take time to assess your needs through workforce planning. This process will give you the opportunity to understand headcount budgets, assess skill gaps, and employ the right talent management interventions to ensure you hire wisely and effectively.

Recruitment

As you begin the recruitment process, you and your team need to write an effective job description that demonstrates how the new role aligns with business goals. You’ll also need to strategize about where to advertise the position and decide whether to conduct an internal search first. Will you be handling the search in-house, or partnering with a recruiting firm who specializes in your industry? If you have a recruiting partner, this is the stage when you would contact them to start the search and share any must-have requirements for the role. 

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Before the next phase, make sure to nail down your interview questions, determine what the interview process will look like, and designate specific interviewer roles. 

Selection Process

The selection process can be time consuming. This typically involves phone screens, interviews, and background and reference checks to gain more insight into each applicant. Some organizations require additional assessments to help evaluate applicants for particular skills or personality traits. After these screenings, analyze and discuss your findings with your hiring team.

Once you have come to a consensus about which candidate would bring the greatest value to your organization, notify all candidates of their status and draft an offer letter to the selected applicant. Be as efficient as possible in this stage, respecting candidates’ time with quick feedback and decision-making. Your swift communication will demonstrate your interest, and candidates fielding multiple offers will recognize and appreciate your decisiveness. 

Onboarding

Once the offer is accepted, it is time to onboard the candidate into your organization. A seamless onboarding process will help get them acclimated to company culture and give them a sense of the work style on your team, in addition to granting them access to the tools they’ll need for their role. 

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Where to Improve the  Hiring Process

Now that you’ve evaluated the basic steps of the hiring process, here are a few tactics you can employ to make improvements along the way – helping you find the right candidate sooner.

Streamline Your Interview Process

Ensure the job description is clear about the company’s needs and expectations and uses relevant keywords to attract the right applicants.. If possible, limit your total interview rounds to 3to cut down on your team’s administrative burden, while also being mindful that additional interview rounds lengthen the hiring process. Your ideal candidate may accept another offer in the time you’re taking to schedule further rounds. Instead, conduct more thorough screening calls at the beginning of the process to ensure the candidate meet basic requirements. 

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If multiple hiring managers or stakeholders need to meet this applicant, consider panel interviews; having multiple people work together can shorten the candidate analysis and selection phase.

Move Quickly and Efficiently

Hiring quickly not only leads to better productivity, it also saves the company money by eliminating costs associated with unfilled roles. Because excellent candidates usually aren’t in the market very long, it can also help you gain access to higher-quality talent and enjoy the benefit of a higher position acceptance rate.

Clear Candidate Communication

The interview process is an opportunity for a candidate to get to know a company, and first impressions do matter in the end. When you clearly communicate information and expectations to a candidate, it leaves them with a favorable impression of the company and makes them more likely to seal the deal in the end.

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The candidate experience makes a big difference in determining whether or not a candidate accepts your offer. Candidates will notice if the hiring process felt disorganized, unwelcoming, or rushed. 

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Why Improving the Hiring Process Matters

Putting in the work to improve your hiring process can have many benefits for your business. First, a purposeful process that doesn’t include unnecessary interview rounds can attract top talent to your business. When a candidate has already proven they have what it takes to get the job done, trust your gut and extend an offer (of course after completing your due diligence). 

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Making improvements to the way you hire candidates can help with employee retention. Clear communication about your company culture and expectations for the role — along with a well-crafted interview that helps you truly understand a candidate’s fit — can make all the difference in whether that person is able to thrive at your company over the long haul.

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Finally, Forbes Magazine estimates that a good hire can save a company thousands of dollars, especially if that new employee lifts morale and contributes to productivity and innovation. If you’re looking for new ways to save money in your business, your hiring practices may hold the key.

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Leveraging Partnership to Find the Perfect Match

If you want to improve the hiring process at your company, it may be helpful to think of hiring as a matchmaking process. You want to ensure that you end up with the candidate who is the best fit for the role, and you use every available resource and best practice to ensure a successful outcome.

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Career Group Companies has been that resource for the most highly sought-after organizations across the nation for more than four decades. Placing a high priority on building relationships and working with candidates long-term, we take a curated approach to help you find the right match, evaluating for fit at every turn. 

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Hire talent with Career Group Companies and see the difference working with a premier national recruitment firm can make for your business.