You snooze, you lose

You have interviewed dozens of candidates and conducted three rounds of interviews to find the perfect fit for your organisation. You then decide to offer the job and find out that the person you want was hired a week and a half ago by someone else! What can you do? Here are ways to make your recruitment process faster and more efficient so you do not lose out on top talent in the future:

1.  Make sure the job description and salary have both been reviewed and you know exactly who is going to be involved in the recruitment process and what the actual process is before you begin. Before you put together the job description and start inviting candidates for interviews, take time to do a full analysis of the business needs so you can be certain about what you are looking for in your hire. Make sure you understand what responsibilities they will be accountable for both short and long-term and understand what skills will they need to have to help your business move forward. 
2. Streamline the interview process as much as possible – do you really need 3 stages to fill a Receptionist role? Get multiple people to interview at the same time, instead of scheduling repeat meetings. You may even by able to use technology to shorten the process, by holding video interviews for the first stage round.
3. Of course you want to find the most qualified person to fill the position, but holding out for the perfect candidate can grind the process to a halt. Event the most experienced candidates are going to have some weaknesses. Perhaps there is a computer program your business relies on that they are not familiar with or their expertise in a certain area is lacking. Remember that most skills can be taught. Do not hold out waiting for the 'perfect candidate' who might not come along and end up losing other strong candidates in the meantime.
4. Make sure that you communicate from the onset with candidates what the hiring process looks like and the length of time it usually takes. Helping to manage a candidates’ expectations makes it much easier when you have to communicate that things are taking a little longer than expected. Timely and personable communications give the candidate an idea of how they will be treated as an employee. When communication is delayed or non-existent, you might just push the best candidates to stay exactly where they are or right into the arms of your competition. If a candidate has done well at a first stage interview and you would like to invite them back, let them know straight away, even if you do not necessarily have a set time yet.

And finally...

You need to think about how your hiring process is impacting your overall ‘Employer Brand’ within the job market. To improve quality of hire and strengthen employer branding, organisations need to rethink their approach to candidates and treat them with the same attention they place on prospects and customers. Impressions that are created during the recruiting process have a significant impact on what that candidate thinks of you - as a place of work and possibly a current or future customer. During the recruiting process you are able to shape the perception of who and what you are - your brand!