by Simon Lythgoe
A sound hiring process that delivers the right candidates is a crucial component in ongoing success for any organisation. Being able to identify people who have all the relevant skills and experience, the right cultural fit – and that individual spark that brings something extra to your organisation – is incredibly beneficial. Whether you’re establishing or refining your recruitment, these are the ins and outs of the hiring process that you need to consider.
Are you hiring fast enough?
Recruitment should never be rushed but there are benefits to ensuring that the time it takes to hire isn’t overly long. 57% of jobseekers will lose interest in a role if the process of hiring is too long. If you’re wasting time during the hiring process then you risk losing candidates to other businesses that are faster and more efficient when it comes to recruitment.
The hiring process itself
For most businesses, the hiring process will consist of several key stages. These include:
CV screening – filtering out candidates at the most basic level
A phone interview – an initial opportunity to get more of a sense of a candidate than purely what was on the CV
An assessment – particularly if your business is looking for creative or technical expertise, assessments can be essential
An in-person interview – there is no better way to assess whether someone is going to be a good fit for your organisation than to meet them in person
Relating recruitment to business need
One of the key metrics to take into account when it comes to the hiring process is time to hire i.e. how long it takes to transform an applicant into an employee. This is an essential statistic because it will inform the time required to fill roles within the business. When it comes to supporting growth, new campaigns, product launches or expansion into new premises, factoring in the time to hire metric will be essential to ensure that you have the workforce you need to achieve your goals.
Every role/team will be different
Although it’s a good idea to standardise recruitment across the business there must also be some opportunity for customising the hiring process. Different roles and different departments may need to prioritise specific skills or abilities that need to be tested in alternative ways during the process of recruitment. So, it’s always a good idea to leave some space in the process to accommodate this.
The role of data
It’s possible to refine the way that a business recruits by looking at the data that has been previously generated during the hiring process. For example, if it’s taking too long for candidates to move from one stage of the process to another – and they are dropping out as a result – this is something that can be corrected to avoid the same issue in future. Collecting data during hiring can also highlight where the best candidates are coming from and which interview or assessment styles are the most effective.
Hiring is an essential process for any business – getting it right can bring the people into your organisation who are able to deliver the commitment and ideas that it needs to thrive.