11 Proven Tactics for Hiring Faster

Did you know, the bigger the company, the longer they take to make a hire? In the UK, this means that for firms with over 1000 employees, hiring can take anywhere from 22 to 36 days!  And the smaller companies aren’t far behind.

Shocking?

Absolutely!

But, while the big organisations are still reviewing CVs, all the best talent is being snapped up fast by agile companies with enlightened hiring managers.

If you are hoping to hire quickly, you need to move as fast as humanly possible. In my 19 years of recruitment experience, this is the biggest factor that stops offers going through. Competition is fierce for top talent, and if you don’t move swiftly, someone else will! Time kills offers.

Top performers are at a premium. Companies who understand this urgency are actively hunting them down. Recruitment is hard, and it’s especially hard for small firms with limited resources trying to employ quickly. Getting it wrong can be a costly mistake.

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If you need to hire fast, here are 11 ways to expedite your recruitment process.

1. Agencies or headhunters

This route can be a quick but expensive solution!  These service providers do the grunt work so you don’t have to. Having a recruitment partner can help save time and ensure the best applicants make it onto your shortlist. The caveat for this kind of professional input is that companies needing to recruit fast will have to commit ample funds to the process.

2. Competitive pay

Employers who offer competitive salaries will always attract better candidates. It’s a classic method to recruit top-quality people quicker. Make sure your pay is market-related, the key factor in setting salary levels, and then offer a little more to get the best. High wages will always get the attention of outstanding candidates. Currently, the market is candidate-driven, intensely competitive, and vying for skilled applicants. Understand your competition, and tailor your offering to appeal to newcomers.

3. Unbeatable benefits

A survey by Glassdoor reveals that 79% of employees would value new or added benefits over a pay increase. Because of this, benefits can make the difference to candidates looking at higher paying offers with fewer perks. In the battle for talent, businesses can gain a competitive edge by offering outstanding benefits to their employees.

For potential hires deciding between companies, perks such as flexible work arrangements, holidays or even professional development training can be the deciding factor. Many of these high-value benefits for employees are fairly low-cost for employers.

4. Referrals and networking

One 2016 survey has shown that 85% of all jobs are filled via networking. Referrals from your network or employees are one of the most economical methods of getting an exceptional candidate. This is considered an excellent solution, benefitting both the employee who refers a candidate successfully and the new hire. Those who refer tend to stay at their job longer than the usual hire, while those who are referred onboard faster. They are also quicker and more cost-effective hires than traditional candidates.

5. Better job advertising

The job advertisement is the very first touchpoint most candidates will have with your firm. Of the entire recruiting process, getting the ad right is probably the most crucial step in successful hiring. Your ad should target the ‘persona’ you would most like to hire. Persona is a marketing term, but it’s the best way to identify your ideal candidates and write your ad to grab their attention. Writing a great advert is an art; keep in mind that job seekers have wants and needs. If your job was a product, how would you get top talent to buy? What do the language and tone say about your company and the position?

6. Post to maximum job boards

By posting to all the top job boards, you get maximum coverage for your offering.  Posting to one board will get your advert in front of a few interested eyeballs. Conversely, a well-written advertisement on multiple job boards will get many quality candidates in the shortest time frame possible. The drawbacks are costs and time, whereas using an online recruiting system like Jobheron gets your advert on many job boards fast.

7. CV searches – Access 10 million

Searching online databases such as Reed, indeed or Jobsite will yield over 10 million top-quality candidate CVs to review. The problem with this system is it isn’t quick. Reviewing CVs takes a lot of time and some financial outlay. Top tip: On top of reviewing CVs, Jobheron will access these databases for you to find top talent faster (all included in the price!)

8. LinkedIn outreach

LinkedIn is a helpful tool for sourcing candidates for your offering. But unless you have a big network of contacts, it can be a slow process. Some online recruitment providers even offer to reach out to candidates, saving you the cost and time of doing it yourself. Using LinkedIn, you can send invites to people or sign up for Recruiter Lite. This is a simplified version of Recruiter, LinkedIn’s most powerful candidate search tool. LinkedIn Recruiter Lite starts at £84.96 per month when billed annually and is tailor-made for recruiters and HR managers.

9. Using press or PR

PR has to be an ongoing strategy. It isn’t a quick solution. Establishing your company brand online and on social media takes time – as long as 18 months. Could your company use PR or press to attract and keep top talent? Only if the employer brand is already established, although this should be a key strategy to attract the right kind of candidates going forward.

10. Shorter interview processes

For faster results, you may want to streamline your interview process. The best, most desirable applicants won’t hang around. Companies that can make faster decisions will snag the top candidates.

• The telephone interview is tremendously valuable for speeding up the interview process and removing unsuitable candidates at the outset.
• Face-to-face interviews are time-consuming. Pre-qualify with a quick chat to assess suitability before meeting up. With all that said, a face-to-face interview is an effective way to assess the candidate.
• A one-stage interview saves time. This can work if you can trust your early instincts after one meeting. Meeting your candidate in person gives you the chance to get to know the person behind the CV and suss out their business style.

11. Fewer decision makers for quicker hiring

Streamlining recruitment begins with simplifying each step in the hiring process. After eliminating unnecessary interviews and removing needless steps, having fewer decision makers will increase output and efficiency for future hires.

The takeaway

Hiring can be made easy, even without the budget for a headhunter or the contacts for a referral. You just need to know how.

If you need a cost-effective solution for faster hires, there’s no substitute like the online recruitment provider, Jobheron. Use us for advice on the salary and benefits you should be offering, for writing a standout ad for you and placing it in front of 5 times the number of job seekers, for weeding out non-starters, and take advantage of our CV databases and LinkedIn network.

Sound like a relief?

Absolutely!