Remarkably, companies with hiring times of less than a week are looking to trim down their time to hire even further.
Source: z_wei / iStock / Getty
In fact, over half (51%) of companies surveyed for the 2018 Growth Hiring Trends in the United States report, by our team at Spark Hire, are looking to shorten their hiring times.
Expediting the hiring process is a challenge in itself. What’s throwing an even bigger wrench into the mix is that 77% of our respondents said they plan to grow by at least 25% in the coming year. Even though recruiters are looking to shorten their time to hire during rapid growth, improving the quality of hires remains a top priority for 2018.
But in true recruiter fashion, they’re not backing down. Instead, they’re getting down and efficient with the latest hiring trends.
Seek Out People Already on Your Team
Having strong sources of talent in your pocket at all times is crucial for decreasing time to hire and improving the quality of candidates. In our survey, 67% of respondents say finding more reliable talent pipelines is a top priority.
Hiring trends like this aren’t going away anytime soon, so start arming your pipeline now. One of the fastest ways to find valuable talent is through sources you’re already using—just not for recruiting.
A prime example is your company’s newsletter, blog, and social media. Subscribers who are interacting with your content and staying updated on company happenings are already invested in your mission. They have a glimpse inside your culture and believe in the future your product or service is trying to create.
Share your job opportunities with these connections. Let them know you’re interested in speaking with them or their referrals. Put urgency on the matter by adding an expiration date on specific roles. However, stay connected, and continue nurturing these networks for future opportunities.
Find Top Talent, and Then Interview
This seems like an obvious statement. However, when new hiring trends aren’t implemented, it’s easier for unqualified or unfit talent to sneak through to the interview rounds. Weeding through these applicants takes you away from spending time with your top talent.
Use skills tests and personality assessments to quickly narrow candidates down. Both only take a few minutes, so you’re not scaring applicants away with more time-consuming tasks.
Each skills test should be altered based on the role. The tests can be technical to show candidates the abilities needed to do key role responsibilities, or they can show necessary soft skills, like communication.
Personality assessments are used to determine cultural fit. While you want a diverse set of candidates, it’s also important to ensure they’ll feel welcomed and comfortable in your environment. Talk to your team to find out what cultural aspects are important to them and which made it hard for them to get settled with the company. Use these as guidelines for your questions.
End the Annoying Back-and-Forth
“Anytime works best for me!”
We’ve all seen this reply when trying to schedule interviews. But somehow, this still results in an endless chain of back-and-forth. While scheduling issues seem especially nightmarish for you because you deal with them frequently, they’re also a turnoff to top talent.
Use an automated interview scheduling tool to get your interview invitations out en masse. This allows you to quickly notify all candidates that they’re moving through to interview rounds and ensures fast and smooth scheduling. Candidates are able to directly view your calendar, which updates as appointments fill up. This ensures you will get to interviews and be able to extend job offers faster.
Josh Tolan is the CEO of Spark Hire, a video interview solution used by more than 4,000 companies across the globe.