From Advert to Onboarding – Why Speed Matters to a Successful Hire.

Have you ever gone down the route of hiring a new team member only to lose the ideal candidate during the process?

It’s frustrating, it’s costly and it’s time consuming when it happens. There are many reasons why it happens and, of course, some are unavoidable. One way to reduce the chances of losing that ideal candidate though is make the process of hiring as fast as possible.

Why ‘Time to Hire’ Matters

The time taken to reach important milestones and the speed of the whole employment process are key to a successful hire. In fact, the more important the hire is and the more specialised or skilled the role, the more significant the time scale becomes.

At the risk of stating the obvious the longer the time taken from initial contact to successfully onboard the new employee the more time there is for something to go wrong. However, there is another factor to consider. In a candidate driven employment market, such as Fintech or IT where specific skills or experience can be in demand, the prospective employee may have competing offers. The speed and precision of the hiring process could therefore be helping to shape the candidate’s perception of a role and their view of the potential new workplace. In short, a competitor may get in ahead of you despite the candidate being perfect for the role.

This can be true of more passive candidates as well. We do need to accept that changing jobs is a big life event and some candidates will naturally be nervous of the change. That is not to say they will not be fully committed to their new role if they accept it, but rather that the longer the employment process, the more time they have to make a potentially bad decision to stay where they are.

A further factor is the worry about a counteroffer. Again, the further down the track towards the move, the less likely they will be to accept should their current employer counter.

Where Things Can Slow Down

In our experience there are a few common issues that can slow down the hiring process. The more of these hiccups we can iron out the more likely it will be that the top candidates not only choose your company, but will be ready to hit the ground running from day one.

Define the Role Clearly

A clear and accurate job description is the foundation of an efficient recruitment process. Ensure clarity on the skills, qualifications, and experience needed for the role. Remember to include any soft skills that align with your company’s culture. These are easily overlooked at the initial stage but can save a lot of time later.

Usually, it’s better to avoid long wish list style person specifications though. At the initial stage it is all about the balance of hitting the right candidate requirements without overloading them with secondary concerns that will be ironed out later.

Partner with a Specialist IT Recruitment Agency

Well, yes, I know, we would say that wouldn’t we? The bottom line though is that collaborating with a recruitment agency like ours that specialises in IT roles can significantly speed up the hiring process. We have access to pre-screened talent pools, understand the nuances of your world, and can quickly match candidates to your requirements. We can also pre-screen candidates for skills and culture matches and shortlist to save time reviewing applications. We can provide valuable insight into salaries, talk about what makes competitive employment terms and bring our experience of the skills market to the table. All that removes a fair amount of time from selection and allows you to focus on quickly finding the right person.

Simplify the Interview Process and Decide Quickly

Where possible make the interview process as easy as possible for the candidate. Could you interview out of hours for example? Or remote interview initially? Anything that means the candidate gets to see you faster and more easily, will help.

Once you have seen the candidates it’s important to select as soon as you can. I appreciate the need to deliberate, and we would never underplay the importance of not rushing a decision, but in demand professionals are unlikely to wait long for an offer. Sadly, sometimes the gap between interview and decision is too long and employers lose the candidate.

Keep Warm Communications Can Really Help

Recruiting is a little bit like a sales process in that following up is always a good idea. A quick email to confirm timescales to the next step and a thank you for attending the interview and so on, will keep you in the forefront of the candidate’s mind and make them feel valued.

Offer and Respond to their Answer ASAP

Once a candidate has accepted an offer, they are very unlikely to change their mind. So, once you have made your choice, we need to get the offer out to them immediately. The other thing that will help at this stage is to release the key information about starting the role. Keep the nitty gritty for the onboarding process though. Just send them the key facts and confirm the important (and usually therefore exciting) parts of the job.

Once the candidate confirms acceptance, follow up again with a welcome and confirm when the contract, further details and so will be sent out to them. These milestones matter to the candidate and help move them forward.

Start the Onboarding from the Point of Offer

A seamless onboarding experience not only helps reassure candidates that they chose the right company but also sets them up for success from day one in their new role. If you can, provide access to any materials and training they need, or perhaps let them have a contact email for someone within the company who can answer questions. If you have a buddy or mentoring process now is a good time to start.

We all have to accept that there is no absolute guarantee that something may not go awry before your candidate starts in the role, but we will do everything we can to prevent that from happening. We also know from experience that the speed of the hiring process is one of the most significant factors in ensuring you get the right team. By defining roles clearly, leveraging recruitment partners, and maintaining clear communication, we can significantly reduce time-to-hire without compromising on quality.

Call us and let’s see how we can help you get the perfect team in place with as little delay as possible.