Finding the perfect match for your vacancy and your team is a time-consuming task. So, to avoid wasting your energy, time and money, it’s best to reduce the recruitment time as much as possible. In fact, according to a study by Glassdoor, France tops the list of countries with lengthy recruitment processes. Problem: this can put candidates off. Or worse, they’ll have found another job if you don’t move fast enough.
So, how can we reduce the recruitment time in concrete terms?
The most common mistakes that slow down a recruitment process
Having ill-defined goals
Many ads are published with a poorly identified profile or vague missions.
👉 The result: you receive less targeted resumes and decisions are more difficult to make. So it’s all about accurately assessing your needs and goals to write a quality offer as we’ll discuss later in this article.
Taking too long to make a final decision
Many human resources managers are slow to make a decision when recruiting. It is quite normal to hesitate between several candidates whose profile is a perfect match for the position or who have different but relevant assets.
👉 Problem: In the meantime, affected candidates may have received a positive response for another position and therefore decline your proposal.
Over-assessing candidates
Sometimes, some recruiters conduct multiple interviews to decide between candidates and assess their skills. However, this method is time consuming for everyone and does not always add value. Focus on the quality of the meetings, rather than the quantity, to reduce the time it takes to fill the position.
👉 Our advice: If you want to know more about the candidates, opt for tests or analysis of their softskills for example.
5 things you can do to reduce recruitment time
Create a quality job posting
This is the foundation! A well-written job offer will attract quality profiles. It is therefore essential to include precise information on skills, remuneration, the tasks to be carried out and your company’s values. To catch the attention of talents, you can even add an attractive visual to stand out.
👉 Our advice: Be empathetic and put yourself in the shoes of the person you’d like to recruit and list the information most likely to convince them to apply to your company.
Manage a talent pool to anticipate future recruitments
What if the perfect candidate is in your resume bank? Always keep the interesting resumes you receive or offer candidates to register in your talent network to receive job opportunities in your company. By doing so, you create and strengthen relationships with potential recruits. Even if the candidate has already applied for your company and was not selected, he or she might be interested in the job offer.
👉 Our advice: Before posting a job offer, always check your CV library to see if there are any profiles that might be suitable for the vacancy. Time saving guaranteed!
⚠️ However, be careful to comply with RGPD laws!
Making reports
Statistical monitoring of your recruitment processes can save you a lot of time. The analysis of the results will allow you to build a recruitment strategy and optimize your methodology.
👉 This will help you discover (and correct):
- The average time it takes to fill a position;
- The time it takes to validate each step;
- The number of applications received;
- The number of interviews;
- The duration of the interviews (telephone, video or in person);
- The time needed to make the final decision…
👉 Our advice: Don’t hesitate to use a recruitment software /ATS (Applicant Tracking System) that has reporting such as our Jobaffinity tool.
Invest in an application management tool to reduce recruitment time
Many specialized software programs allow you to optimize your recruitment campaigns. Their main advantage is to digitalize and centralize all the steps of the process. Indeed, a job offer to be filled can generate hundreds of applications (even thousands, for large companies). The time spent managing resumes is therefore considerable.
👉 With a ATS, you can, for example:
- widely distribute your job offers,
- group the applications you receive,
- automatically select the most relevant profiles,
- create tests or ask questions to talent
- or schedule interviews (by videoconference or in person).
💡 This type of software also offers the possibility to exchange about the candidates. This makes the communication more fluid between the different departments and to be able to make the final decision more quickly.
👉 To take it even further, we recommend installing a chatbot on your career page.
Conducting video interviews
Finally, why not conduct video interviews? Video recruiting has become very popular since the Covid-19 health crisis. If during this period it was essential to avoid physical contact, it has a major advantage: it allows to speed up the recruitment process. This can be very practical in the case of pre-selection of candidates or for candidates who are at a distance. Moreover, this method is more human and warm than a simple phone call.
👉 The offline video interview can also save you time. The principle is simple: the hiring manager asks a few questions and the candidate answers them on video. The former can watch the video according to his availability. While the second can prepare and refine his answers in the best conditions. This also means less stress for the candidate.
You now have all the tools you need to reduce the time required for your recruitment processes. All you have to do is put it into practice! This will only improve the candidate experience and your employer brand.
