How do you reduce the time to fill and cost per hire for tech roles?

The reason why most companies are trying to get time-to-fill lower is that they are always hiring too late. If you go from ad-hoc recruitment to proactive you won't have this problem as much. Your goal should always know who will be the next add-on to your tech team when you can hire. This means having an always-be-recruiting mindset and building talent pipelines. That way your time-to-hire can be actually longer. For an example from our recruitment function: we always know who is the next person starting, and it might be actually 3-4 months before they start, but when we need them to start, they are willing to sign the contract right away.

For tech hiring process, we need to keep certain criteria in mind. Kick off meetings: During the intake connect with business/ hiring manager, we need to be clear about the tech stack, role details (mandatory & good to have skills), key contributions & impact of the role, USP of the team, interview rounds, evaluation criteria, etc Talent mapping: We need to start working on the market intelligence to know the talent insights, availability, landscape of the skills to set the right expectations with the business and work on solutions. Process: Hiring process needs to be short and effective if it is for entry-mid level roles. Streamline: Continuous and timely connects with business will help us to be transparent and collaborate.

- Identify and eliminate unnecessary steps. Automate tasks like scheduling interviews and sending candidate updates. - Encourage current employees to refer qualified candidates. Referrals often result in faster hires and better cultural fit. - Post job listings on niche boards and online communities frequented by tech professionals. This helps reach qualified candidates quickly. - Build a pipeline of pre-screened, qualified candidates for future openings. This reduces the time needed to fill roles when they become available. - Ensure a positive experience by providing timely updates, setting clear expectations, and making the process efficient.

To reduce time-to-fill try: >> Reduce the number of hiring stages. Try to conduct 1-2 main stages (technical and managerial interviews). That is usually enough to get to know the candidate. >> Be effective in your processes. You don't need to interview 20 candidates to find the best of the best. Select the most promising candidates based on their CVs and interview 4-6 of them. Invite the best to your team. >> Provide quick feedback. Give feedback to candidates in 1-5 days and don’t delay in deciding who you would definitely like to give a job offer to.

I help companies save time and find better-matching candidates by organizing Tech to Tech talks before the vetting process begins. Recognizing that recruiters may lack technical expertise, I bridge the gap by involving our Director of Engineering. Instead of speaking with recruiters, our Director communicates directly with the Team Lead seeking new talent, ensuring clear understanding of the role's technical requirements and candidate suitability. This approach streamlines the hiring process and leads to more successful placements.

- Take advantage of free sites like LinkedIn, GitHub, and Stack Overflow to reach a wide audience without additional costs. - If using agencies, negotiate better rates and terms. Consider performance-based pricing structures to align incentives. - Utilize internal HR and recruiting teams to handle as much of the hiring process as possible. This reduces reliance on external agencies and their associated fees. - Build a strong employer brand to attract top talent organically. This reduces the need for costly job postings and recruitment efforts. - Streamline the process to minimize the time and resources required. This reduces the overall cost per hire.

We need to look for multiple hiring strategies and channels to create an effective cost per hire. Understand if the role is niche, difficult, vanilla skills to work on the sourcing criteria. Explore options like internal mobility, employee referral programs, online campaigning, Hackathons, etc which can help the process and create impact. Utilise different sourcing channels like LinkedIn, network, community groups, LinkedIn tech groups, job postings in multiple platforms to attract right talent. I also involve hiring managers, ask them and their team to post about the job on their LinkedIn feed to reach out to wider & potential network.

A successful hiring process calls for the outcome of quality of hire. It reflects the value and suitability of your new hires, as well as the effectiveness and alignment of your hiring criteria. Its is measured by metrics like performance, productivity, proactiveness, engagement, ownership, feedback. To make it effective for tech roles, we need to create clear JDs, reliable and resourceful assessment tools & platforms, conduct streamlined interview process with feedback systems, include behavioural & situational based interviews to evaluate critical thinking, problem solving, approach, thought process, communication & strategic thinking skills.

In addition to the above suggestions, there are some things we can do to improve the quality of a hire. Clear performance appraisals, a strong feedback-oriented culture and healthy onboarding processes give all candidates the tools they need to succeed. Half of the time, quality of hire is down to nurture as much as nature. We shouldn’t over-indulge here as it can lead to coddling, but there is value in providing resources designed to set the hires up for success.

- Develop detailed job descriptions that clearly outline the required skills, experience, and qualifications. This helps attract the right candidates. - Use a combination of technical assessments, coding challenges, and interviews to thoroughly evaluate candidates' skills and fit for the role. - Look for candidates who align with your company's values and culture. A strong cultural fit leads to higher job satisfaction and retention. - Build diverse teams by actively seeking candidates from different backgrounds and experiences. Diversity leads to better problem-solving and innovation. - Invest in the growth and development of your hires. Offer training opportunities and mentorship to help them succeed in their roles.

- Encourage current employees to refer qualified candidates. Referrals often result in better hires and higher retention rates. - Establish relationships to source entry-level talent. This helps build a pipeline of skilled candidates. - Participate to network with potential candidates and showcase your company's brand. - Leverage platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and GitHub to reach and engage with tech professionals. Share content that showcases your company culture and job opportunities. - Partner to share job postings and referrals. This helps expand your reach and access to a wider pool of talent.

Some studies show that referred hires are highly likely to succeed in a new company, as they respond to their ‘friend’ vouching for them, for example. That being said, a company with large swathes of referrals in the team runs the risk of no diversity of thought, which would result in lower company performance overall.

??Simplify application procedures and eliminate unnecessary steps to speed up hiring without sacrificing quality. ??Keep candidates informed throughout the process with timely updates, feedback, and clear expectations to build trust and engagement. ??Regularly gather and act on candidate feedback to continuously improve the recruitment process and address any pain points. ??Research market rates and provide competitive salaries and benefits to attract top talent more effectively. ??Build relationships with potential candidates even before positions open, reducing the time needed to fill roles when they do.

- Keep candidates informed throughout the hiring process. Provide regular updates on their status and next steps. - Ensure candidates have a welcoming environment, relevant questions, and constructive feedback. - Create a smooth onboarding process for new hires. Provide them with necessary resources, training, and support to help them succeed. - Collect feedback from both successful and unsuccessful candidates to identify areas for improvement. Use this feedback to continuously optimize the candidate experience. - Tailor the experience to each individual. Acknowledge their unique skills, experiences, and career goals throughout the hiring process.

In addition to this, a great candidate experience is reliant on the length and simplicity of the process as well. How easy is it to apply for a job? Are there many screening questions? Are you asking them to input data into your ATS that is also on their CV (such as their experience)? There is a debate around whether a more complicated application system weeds out weak candidates or deters strong ones. Both are likely true, but it’s worth reviewing regardless. - The same can be said for the interviews in place. Some interview processes are 4-7 stages long, which is too many. A screening stage, a culture-oriented interview, a technical interview and (at most) a leadership-based interview are sufficient.

??Use diverse job boards and partner with organizations promoting tech diversity. ??Avoid biased language and highlight your commitment to diversity. ??Standardize interviews to reduce bias and use tech for faster screenings. ??Create diverse panels for varied perspectives, enhancing candidate trust. ??Promote diversity initiatives on social media to attract inclusive candidates. ??Track diversity metrics and refine strategies based on feedback.

- Create a comprehensive strategy that outlines your company's commitment to building a diverse workforce. - Provide training to all employees involved in the hiring process. This helps mitigate bias and ensures fair and equitable hiring decisions. - Collaborate with diversity-focused organizations and job boards to reach a wider pool of diverse candidates. - Review job descriptions to ensure they are inclusive and do not contain language that may discourage diverse candidates from applying. - Foster a culture of inclusion by celebrating diversity in the workplace. Organize events and initiatives that promote understanding and appreciation of different backgrounds and perspectives.

As aforementioned, technical-based interviews are a great way to do this. Understanding the way a candidate thinks and works is incredibly valuable, and will help in a big way to gauge their likelihood of succeeding at your company. It allows you to understand their skills more easily than a conversational interview would. It’s worth saying that some technical interviews can be unfair against candidates with disabilities, and there are conversations ongoing about the bias certain language models have in favour of white men. In addition; in a world of AI, take-home tasks are likely to become obsolete as candidates are able to have an AI do their homework.