ExecutiveChronicles.com | 5 Tips for Streamlining Your Hiring Process | Human resources management can be a huge challenge for any business, especially smaller ones that may not be able to afford an HR department. HR professionals face a variety of common challenges including keeping up with changing laws and regulations, protecting employees, and compiling competitive benefits packages. Of course, none of this even touches on the difficulty of recruiting new employees. The hiring process can be a long one, even at the best of times. And, if it’s a difficult job market, recruiting teams will need to actively look for ways to make their own jobs easier while providing a great candidate experience. Here are some of the best actions you can take to speed up your hiring process.
Prioritize the most relevant skills.
You may miss out on candidates early on simply because they’re not sure what you’re actually looking for. Many job descriptions are long and vague and list skill sets with years of experience that few candidates could actually live up to. Make sure your job descriptions are listing the primary skills needed for the role in a clear and concise manner. This makes it much easier to find quality candidates from the start.
Optimize your applications.
Applicants have a limited amount of time they can spend filling out applications, and they’re usually applying to multiple companies at once. It’s a common practice to require long employee applications in an attempt to “weed out” candidates who aren’t serious about the job. But this can be a big mistake, especially in the digital era where everyone expects convenience. You can miss out on great candidates who simply won’t continue with a tedious or outdated application.
Most candidates will want an autofill option for applications where they can simply upload their resume. It’s also important to optimize your process for mobile devices since 58% of workers now look for jobs on mobile. Unfortunately, these candidates are 53% less likely to complete an application due to how challenging it can be.
Use an applicant tracking system.
The majority of large companies use some form of ATS these days to store candidate information, but the best systems can also help you keep track of all your conversations with candidates. They can also save a great deal of time during the recruiting process by automatically filtering out applicants who don’t meet the job requirements. Additionally, they can automate scheduling for the interview process so hiring managers have more time to evaluate promising candidates. You may also want to look into platforms that offer hiring and onboarding software so you can automate the entire hiring process.
Conduct virtual interviews.
Most candidates have conducted a video interview with services like Skype or Zoom in the past, and with the current pandemic, virtual interviews are essential. Interviews are often the most time-consuming part of the hiring process, and recruiters may have dreaded the problems that could arise during phone interviews in the past. Reliable live video ensures real-time and personalized interviews with all of your top candidates.
With modern virtual interview software, you can design an engaging and seamless experience that comes as close to an in-person interview as possible. Recruiters can easily schedule interviews with a single click, or candidates can even be allowed to select from interview times that work for them. Presentation and panel interviews can automatically be set to automatically add every interviewer, cutting down on time wasted due to technical difficulties. Video interviews allow for more flexibility than in-person interviews, and you may even find that their ease of use makes them your preferred method.
Adopt OKRs.
Objectives and key results is a goal-setting management framework that can actually help improve every aspect of your business. OKRs software helps you communicate your ideas with all team members, which can increase productivity, ensure company alignment, and encourage transparency.
Objectives are your overall organizational goals. They should be easy to understand, and it’s best to focus on just a few at a time. An example objective could be for your human resources department to complete 20% more interviews per week starting in the next quarter. Key results are the metrics you use to measure progress toward your objectives. If you started using a new video interview platform at the start of the next quarter and found you had completed 10% more interviews in the first month, you would be on track to exceed your objective. OKRs are used by many successful companies including Microsoft, Uber, and Google, and they can help you streamline processes across your entire organization.
The hiring process is one of the most essential and time-consuming aspects of any business. Take these actionable steps to streamline your hiring process and improve the way your human resources team functions.
