With several COVID-19 vaccine options being rolled out and more states opening up vaccine eligibility to all adults, economic recovery appears to be on its way. More people are feeling comfortable going out, which means employers need to bring employment levels up quickly to meet this rapidly recovering demand.
How can employers hire quicker without sacrificing quality, especially given that there’s more competition than ever?
Tips to Hire Quicker
Here are some tips to speed the hiring process and bring people on board quicker:
- Throw more money at the recruiting budget. If you’re only paying to post a job in one place, pay to post it in more places. If you’re not paying to sponsor your job posts, find ways to do so, and consider paying to advertise in places you haven’t used before.
- Increase the size of your recruiting team. No matter the team’s current size, consider bringing in more help if you have an unprecedented need to hire. Having more people on your team will increase efforts and result in quicker review times, resulting in a shorter time to hire.
- Consider automating as much of the process as possible. With so many options today, it’s critical that potential employees stay engaged, so employers must be quick to communicate and act. Automation can help.
- Be as clear as you can in job posts. Although not everyone reads the job posts they apply to, those who do will know whether the job is a good fit. This will increase the number of candidates who are better-suited to the role so you can spend less time vetting and more time hiring.
- Consider whether there are additional places where you can reach new people, such as industry-specific publications, which are often overlooked.
- If you have too many applications, use technology to help you create a shortlist. For example, consider adding qualifying questions to your applications to determine whether a candidate meets your minimum requirements.
- Consider a phone screen for the first interview, which can help reduce time wasted on unqualified candidates and enable you to more quickly identify those who are most qualified.
- Determine what aspects of the recruiting process can be done in groups. For example, mass messages can be sent to applicants being rejected, and, when appropriate, interviews can sometimes be conducted in group settings.
- Don’t forget to use your network. Ask current employees for referrals, ask new employees for referrals, and use your social media networks.
This is yet another unprecedented component of the pandemic: More employers than ever want to hire in greater-than-usual numbers all at once. More competition for the same talent pool means more work for employers, despite lots of people needing jobs. Employers should do everything they can to streamline the process to bring new people on board quickly.