Ten Hallmarks of a Great Recruitment Process

Every company thinks they have a great recruitment process until something goes wrong, and the soul-searching begins. For the best part, most recruiting processes today are manual and require human input. Specific tasks fall by the wayside, leading to poor candidate experience. However, AI-driven improvements in recruiting and HR tech will augment the role of recruitment and HR teams. However, behind the tech lies a solid recruitment and hiring process based on foresight and learning from mistakes. It’s not rocket science but about putting the right building blocks in place. Here are ten key areas which allow for a stellar recruitment process for recruiters, hiring managers and candidates.?

1. Quick feedback on CVs:?In this competitive marketplace, speed is of the essence when attracting candidates to your vacancies. Getting CVs reviewed by the Hiring Manager promptly is where the quickest wins can be had as you compete for talent. If CVs sit with the Hiring Manager review for weeks, that is a clear sign you don’t have a process where candidates are a priority. Aim for a 48-hour to 72-hour turnaround from hiring managers on CVs.
2. Interview dates are blocked off from the start: Get an upfront commitment from the Hiring Manager(s) on the dates they will interview candidates. Have them block out specific dates and times for the interviews.?
3. Candidates are given meaningful feedback: Commit to providing every candidate who has applied honest feedback. Refrain from giving general responses that are vague. If a candidate was not shortlisted, say why they were not shortlisted. If a candidate had a good experience but didn’t get shortlisted, say why you believed them to be good but did not shortlist them. If a candidate was shortlisted for an interview, tell them what led to them being shortlisted. Candidates need actional feedback that they can use for their development. Do this, and you’ll be appreciated.?
4. The search follows strict timescales: Have a timeline for when the vacancy will be filled. Specify the duration spent on sourcing and advertising, screening candidates, hiring manager review, interviewing and when an offer will be made. Time-sensitive recruitment breeds discipline and encourages commitment among the internal participants of the hiring process.
5. Compensation and benefits challenges are addressed upfront: You should know what salary and benefits package you will attract potential candidate with. When recruiting for a role, you shouldn’t be using this time to carry out a salary survey of potential applicants. You should already have all the salary and market benchmarks to pitch the role to the right level of talent you are seeking.
6. The hiring team knows what they are looking for: When sourcing and advertising for a vacancy, you should know what profile you want to attract. It would be best if you were not using this time to fish for candidates hoping that you catch the right one. This spray-and-pray method of recruiting is counterproductive and wasteful.??
7. A robust screening process is in place: Once you’ve shortlisted the candidates that meet the minimum requirements, you should have an appropriate and reliable system in place that screens out the candidates whose background and experience don’t match the needs, values, technical and soft skills you’re looking for. Only the candidates that are a 90% fit should warrant an interview.?
8. All stakeholders know what they are doing in the process: The recruiter, HR team and Hiring Manager(s) understand what is expected of them throughout the hiring process.
9. Risks have been identified: All factors that could impact the success of the search have been identified, and mitigating strategies have been put in place.
10. Plan B: If your entire search process fails to deliver a successful candidate, be prepared to implement your backup plan B.

Putting recruitment processes in place seems straightforward, but the reality is different. You need to bring various other parties together and get them aligned to the same goal: hire the best person for the job. A carefully designed recruitment process in which everybody plays their part will always deliver a winning outcome.