7 Ways To Cut Hiring Time In Half

Finding the right candidate is like searching for a needle in a haystack

But finding the right person for the job can sometimes feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. The time it takes to hire someone is currently at an all-time high - 42 business days, according to a survey by SAP. Because of this, it’s tempting to hire the first person who seems like a good fit. But making a decision too fast can have consequences.
 
Taking too long to hire someone can also cause problems. The team starts to feel overworked, morale is low and the company suffers. To ensure your hiring process doesn’t drag on too long, you need to find ways to streamline to save time and resources without sacrificing the quality of your candidates.
 
But how? Here are seven ways you can improve your hiring process and slash the amount of time spent to fill a position:
 

On the Virgin blog, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson writes, “Hiring the right people takes time, the right questions and a healthy dose of curiosity.” You need the right people in place who know what they are doing to ensure your hiring process runs smoothly.
 
To start, you need to identify who will be in charge of each part of the hiring process. Who will sort through resumes? Who will interview? Make sure each person involved knows their role and is trained on how to do it successfully.
 

Much of the burden of hiring falls on your recruiters. They will most likely be the ones reading resumes, making phone calls and managing applicants. You need to ensure the recruiters are able to fulfill their roles effectively.
 
In an article for Monster, Lee Salz, president of Sales Architects, says, “Managers are used to calling internal recruiters and saying, ‘Hey, find me some great people,’ with no further input. You have to give recruiters the tools they need to be successful in filling the position.”
 
Make sure recruiters have all of the information they need about the position, such as required skills and other details. There should be no surprises as to what the position entails to ensure the recruiters can find applicants who meet the requirements as quickly as possible.
 

Keeping track of the hiring process and all of the minutiae involved is a huge undertaking. Doing it all manually can be a burden and take up much of the recruiter’s time.
 
But with the right technology, recruiters can free up some of that time and use it more wisely to better recruit talent. In fact, 75% of hiring and talent managers use either applicant tracking or recruiting software to improve their hiring process, according to Capterra’s Recruiting Software Impact Report.
 
The right technology can automate some of the recruiter’s tasks, including organizing applicant information, posting job ads, sending emails and more.
 
You also need to look at which platforms will give you the best chance to find your ideal candidate.
 
“We searched and searched on the mainstream job platforms, but couldn’t find any qualified candidates despite paying to advertise and tweaking our job descriptions,” says Alex Birkett, Growth Marketing Manager at HubSpot. “You need to diversify where you fish for candidates because you never know where the best pond will be. I like to use a tool like WorkConnect.io to post in a bunch of job boards at once (which also saves time).”
 

The job ad is the first thing the applicant sees, and it is the first impression they will have of your company. You want to make sure your job description makes the best possible impression to attract the highest quality talent.
 
Make sure the language is clear, concise and free of any errors. You also need to ensure it’s an accurate description of the position. If a candidate goes through multiple interviews and then finds out the job isn’t a good fit because of something that wasn’t revealed in the job description, you’ll have wasted a lot of time.
 
If you’re repurposing an old job description, make sure you update it before posting it online. Things may have changed since the last time you were hiring for that position.
 

According to the survey by SAP, 70% of the global workforce is made up of passive talent that isn’t actively job searching. That means that in order to find quality hires, you need to be aiming your recruiting efforts at more than just candidates who are currently looking.
 
Even when you don’t have a position open, keep an eye out for candidates who would be a good fit for your company. That way, when a position does arise, you already have a pool of talent ready.
 
“Many of our best hires were people we met over a year prior”, says Ryan Farley, co-founder of LawnStarter.
 

Sometimes your own employees can be your greatest hiring resource. As Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said in a 2007 meeting with advertising executives and reporters, “Nothing influences a person more than a recommendation from a friend.”
 
Good talent knows good talent, and according to LinkedIn, companies can expand their talent pool 10 times by recruiting through their employees’ networks. So if you already have quality employees, they probably know others who would also make quality employees. Implementing a referral program can help you get a head start on the hiring process and make it more likely that a candidate will become a quality hire.
 

Candidates need to be treated with respect. If you drag out the hiring process, reschedule interviews multiple times or don’t respond to emails, that candidate will likely be hired by another company, and it will take you even longer to fill your position.
 
When hiring, it’s important to be respectful of the candidate’s time, not just your own. When you schedule an interview, stick to that date and time. Do your best to keep the hiring process as short as possible to ensure you stay top of mind with candidates, and offer the job to the very best one.
 
What part of the hiring process takes you the longest? Why does it take so long? Let me know in the comments below.

Sujan Patel is an Entrepreneur and Marketer and Co-founder of Web Profits and Mailshake. In his 14-plus years as a marketer and entrepreneur, Sujan has helped hundreds of companies boost online traffic and sales and strengthen their online brand reputation. Connect Sujan Patel Follow @sujanpatel