What is taking so long to hire, and what I am seeing.
A few things happening in the market right now. The spillover of layoffs from companies who over hired post pandemic, the acceleration of AI, a generational shift of boomers continuing to exit the market and these roles not getting backfilled, and an economic market re-correction.
In this article, we’ll dig into today’s job market and the lengthy hiring process that exists. What creates the bottlenecks and delays? How can we understand what these factors are and what solutions can we implement to streamline?
A few factors that slow the hiring process can include:
- Tests, assessments, and projects. While these tools can effectively validate a candidate’s skills and fit, they add complexity and length to the hiring process.
- Poor planning, lack of communication and budgeting resources can cause unnecessary delays. A well-defined hiring process is crucial. Without clear roles, responsibilities, and timelines for each stage, the process can become confusing and inefficient.
- Multiple interviews & perspectives. While having several interviews can provide diverse insights, it often leads to scheduling delays and decision paralysis. Candidates will lose interest when the process involves too many steps and repeated questions. In addition, multiple stakeholders may disagree on potential candidates’ skills, experience and cultural fit. These differences can cause delays in reaching a consensus. Larger organizations especially often have more steps and bureaucratic delays, extending the time it takes to hire.
An overly lengthy hiring process can result in losing top talent, and increased costs the longer it takes to hire. Average costs and time to hire are rising each year, making it financially crucial to optimize the process. Candidates who experience a prolonged or ineffective hiring process may share their experiences, reflecting negatively on the employer’s brand recognition.
How can we speed up the efficiency to hire?
- Value hiring and retention! By creating a culture that prioritizes people first and fosters open communication and collaboration. This will ensure a shared commitment to the hiring process. According to Glassdoor, 77% of candidates research a company’s culture before applying for a job.
- Map the process to establish the skills criteria. Take time to write an effective job description, including details about your organization, as well as salary and total compensation packages. Transparent and realistic job descriptions can help to reduce turnover, increase diversity, and improve the candidate experience. This in turn amplifies your business and brand!
- Shorter interview cycles reduce costs, increase candidate satisfaction, and improve hiring quality. Prioritize communication to hiring managers and applicants, on status, timelines, changes or delays.
The hiring process can be frustrating for both employers and candidates. Managing key aspects such as the quality of the recruitment process, ensuring white glove customer service at each step, managing expectations and deliverables, will yield optimal results. By addressing the common bottlenecks and implementing new and effective strategies, employers can create a shorter, more efficient hiring process that benefits both themselves and their candidates. Streamlining the process not only helps in finding top talent faster but also ensures that candidates feel engaged and valued throughout their journey.