How to reduce your time to hire

Your time to hire is the number of days it takes between having a new role internally approved and a candidate accepting the job. Keeping this time as short as possible is beneficial to everyone involved in the hiring process as it means you aren’t wasting valuable resources such as time, energy and money, on your search for a new employee.

We’ve filled roles for some as our clients in a little as a matter of days, while other searches have lasted for several weeks, occasionally stretching into multiple months. The cause of the latter is usually a result of slow decision making on behalf of the hiring team, resulting in good candidates being snapped up by other companies. There are a few simple and effective measures you can take to reduce your time to hire and with over 30 years of experience in the recruitment industry we have detailed below our top tips for hiring great employees as quickly as possible.

Be Prepared

Initially, reducing your time to hire is all about being prepared. Good candidates don’t stay available for long and if you aren’t prepared to move quickly once you’ve started your search then you will find that you miss out on the best candidates as they are snapped up by other companies while you are still making your decision.

Define a clear line of command at the beginning of the process and make sure everyone is aware exactly what is expected of them and why this process needs to happen quickly. Having everyone on the same page will reduce the time it takes to hire a new employee as everyone is accountable to the actions they agreed to at the beginning of the process, such as making time for interviews, delegating decision making and how far you are willing to stretch the salary for the right candidate.

Define a clear job description

When working with a recruiter it’s imperative that the job description you provide them with is as clear as possible and they understand exactly what you are after. A good recruiter will ask lots of questions and delve into your company culture, office environment and all side of job perks and opportunities so they can get a comprehensive understanding of exactly the kind of person you are looking for. Think about soft skills as well as hard ones and chat these through with your consultant. Doing this initial phase well will reduce your overall time to hire considerably as it means the shortlist of candidates your recruitment consultant provides you with at the beginning of the process will be more accurate and more likely to fit your spec.

Streamline the hiring process

Think ahead and consider how to make the job application and interview process as easy as possible for everyone involved. Candidates are put off by lengthy application processes and multiple forms to fill out while senior hiring managers will resent being involved too early in the interview process. If you’d like any advice on how to streamline your hiring process our consultants are always happy to chat and you can reach them here.

Ask for help or outsource part of the process

You might be a small company with limited HR facilities or a big company making multiple hires, either way outsourcing part, or all, of your hiring process to a recruitment consultant can reduce your time to hire considerably. Recruitment is something you are likely to only do when you need to, therefore it’s not a process you are trained in or something you are used to doing, meaning the process is unfamiliar and you will be learning as you do it while still trying to do your day job. A good recruitment consultant will be used to meeting candidates daily and will therefore be a pro at identifying talent and getting to the heart of a candidate and what makes them tick. They’ll be able to take your brief and think outside the box, introducing you to a huge array of candidates from their pool of people actively looking for jobs exactly like yours.

Use technology

While we would never recommend offering someone a job without meeting them, you can reduce your overall time to hire by utilising technology at the beginning of the process. If you’re struggling to decide between CVs and who to bring in for an interview Skype, Facetime or a Video Call can be a really great way to have a quick chat with a variety of candidates without having to waste time coordinating meeting them in person.

Ultimately, the best way to reduce your time to hire is to be fully committed to the hiring process from the outset. Make sure everyone is on the same page and that the team involved are willing to dedicate time to the process. If you’re looking to hire a new EA, PA or assistant and would like the help of a recruitment consultant then you can get in touch with any of our consultants, even if it’s just for some initial advice, here.