Top tips to enable a more seamless recruitment process
Time waits for no one - neither do strong candidates…
For most hiring managers, recruitment is often on the periphery of everything else that needs to be done - but without filling the gaps in resources, life can be much more stressful. So, when going into a phase of recruitment for a replacement, a totally new role, or even an entirely new team, enough resources need to be dedicated to getting the job done properly.
A good candidate is a good candidate and if they are on a mission to find a new role, the likelihood of them waiting around is small. The lack of planning as an employer can seriously affect your ability to get the best people. So, just like the preparation required to write the job description, brief HR or your recruiter - take the time to plan.
Who needs to be involved in the interview process? When are they all mutually available? Do we need to put a closing date on this to keep ourselves accountable? Some managers and their interviewing wingman may be agile in their work and its demands but if managers are wanting to work with candidates’ availability and candidates are having to wait for managers, it becomes messy, long-winded and ultimately can affect the reputation of the business and the all so important employer branding.
So, to enable a more seamless recruitment process here are our top tips:
Agree on how long you have to attract talent
This could be 2 weeks promoting it yourselves before working with an agency for another 2 weeks. Is an interim needed in the meantime to allow time to find the ideal candidate? It's likely you will know how long it takes to find the level of candidate you need from previous hires.
Block book time
Once shortlisting has taken place, before even approaching the candidates, have your calendar mapped out. Allow more time slots than you ideally want to give up to show slight flexibility to the candidates, colour code them for your recruiter so all green slots are perfect timing and all orange are suggesting you can be available but isn’t your preference. Once these dates are in, prioritise this before anything else. You can always pre-warn colleagues that you are dedicating the time to recruitment - someone has to.
Do your research
Just as a candidate is expected to research the organisation, try and be well versed on the candidate’s CV and the role they have applied for - know exactly what it is you are hoping to draw out of them and decide with your co-interviewer who is asking what. If your co-interview can no longer attend and someone else steps in at the last minute, unless they are equally qualified to be there, don’t ask them to actually interview, but simply be there to take notes, listen, and observe behaviours. It's not a good look when you have a nervous interviewer!
Always provide feedback
Interviewing can be intense and nobody wants to feel it’s been a waste of time! When the candidate is unsuccessful, explain why. Did they simply not interview well but had the skills? Were you not able to establish their fit from their responses? Giving detail allows the candidate to improve or at least gives them closure on not getting the job - it can be a tough pill to swallow.
Don’t wait around to make an offer
When you feel you have found the right person, go get them. If you are not in a position to provide a written offer on a Friday afternoon for example, get on the phone, get a verbal offer over and prepare them to receive the paperwork. Very few people will resign without something on paper, so the longer this takes, the longer you will be without your new superstar!
Happy (time-managed) interviewing!
