Tips for Speeding Up the Interview Process
Are you finding great talent, voluntarily withdrawing their application in the recruitment process? If so, you are not alone. Research from the Talent Board’s Candidate Experience Benchmark Research Report showed that candidates are doing so for various reasons, with two of the top reasons being that the recruiting process took too long or that they felt their time was disrespected.
This research echoes what we see in the market as according to a Forbes article, the duration for global hiring is at an all-time high, taking an average of 43 days to hire. With candidates often being in the interview process with multiple organizations simultaneously it is important now more than ever to streamline the interview process.
Preparation
The first step to speed up the interview process starts well before interviews take place. It begins with creating an appropriate job posting. It is important that the posting is clear, concise, and outlines the must-have qualifications so that you are attracting the right candidates. Doing so, hiring managers should reflect on what is absolutely needed for a candidate to succeed. Overall, this will help to avoid scheduling more interviews than necessary and wasting time interviewing candidates that don’t meet the requirements.
At this stage, it is also important to determine who will be needed in the interview process, beyond the direct manager. If you want to include a member of senior management, a member from the board, a colleague, human resources, etc., scheduling can get complicated.
Once you have an idea of who needs to attend the interview(s), determine how many rounds you will need and what the purpose of the interview(s) will be. Often, two interviews are sufficient. Block off calendars in advance so that when candidates are identified they aren’t being pushed out weeks to accommodate the hiring teams’ calendar.
With each interview having a purpose, it is important to outline specific questions you will need to review at each stage. To save time, avoid asking the same questions and instead share notes with all members of the hiring process.
Interviewing
Throughout the interview process, communication is important. When interviewing candidates let them know what to expect in terms of interview rounds, assessment, etc. This will help prevent candidate drop-offs and provide a better candidate experience.
Hiring
When it comes time to extend an offer, making a timely offer is crucial. Budget approvals should be completed before the role is posted so that there are no delays. Taking too long to extend an offer may cause you to lose the candidate when they have multiple offers on the table. Making an offer contingent on favorable references is a great way to get the offer out to the candidate quicker, while not losing out on obtaining references.
By partnering with Logic Executive Search & Workplace Solutions we can help speed up your interview process. Our team of professionals can offer support with creating job postings, interview questions, scheduling and coordinating interviews. We even carefully screen and interview candidates before they are presented. Plus, we have an internal database of exceptional talent!
Written By: Alex Olivastri
Note: This article is written as an opinion piece from the perspective of a Recruitment Specialist
Sources:
https://www.thetalentboard.org/benchmark-research/cande-research-reports/