Many businesses are discovering the length of time it takes to fill a job is longer than ever before. Unfortunately, if organizations want to hire and retain the best talent, it’s crucial they figure out how to streamline the candidate selection process.

If a hiring process takes longer than four weeks, the danger of losing top applicants to a different employer rises significantly. In a job seekers’ labor market, which is what we are dealing with, it’s even more critical to steer clear of a slow process.

Whether it’s miscommunication, too many low-quality applicants or a poor strategy, there are a number of causes for bottlenecks in the talent acquisition process. Think about the following obstacles to a fast process and how to address them.

Indecisive hiring managers

One big bottleneck is a hiring manager who is indecisive, possibly because they are overly critical of candidates. HR must take a proactive role to fix these holdups. When hiring managers are indecisive, they need to be given more confidence in the process and helped through the weeds. If they are critical of applicants to the point of inefficiency, there needs to be a discussion about the loss of time and productivity associated with searching for the perfect applicant that doesn’t exist.

Rejected offers

Often, an employer will get to the end of a process and offer an applicant a job, only to discover the applicant has turned down the offer. A good hiring process is based on the knowledge of what talent is worth, leading to finely tuned offers with an extremely high rate of acceptance. Asking questions early about expectations and responding to hesitation is also key to minimizing rejected offers.

Too many applicants

While having too many applicants can seem like a good problem to have, a flood of applicants can slow down a hiring process.

Before a job posting is even written, hiring personnel must establish the list of requirements that will attract the ideal applicant. Ensure the job requirements are clear in the posting, and use an applicant tracking system to eliminate the worst-fit applicants. These steps will enhance applicant quality, reducing the time spent screening applicants.

Too many cooks in the kitchen

Too many stakeholders in a process can slow down the system and cause the applicant to have significant reservations. Make your hiring system as streamlined as possible. Identify key roles that must be included and let people in those roles know their specific responsibilities. A hiring process will gain trust through transparency, communication and clear expectations.

Lack of a talent pipeline

The hiring process should not begin when there is an immediate need. An efficient hiring process starts with a talent pipeline of potential candidates who might be a good fit for your organization. Keep resumes on file and connect to promising applicants you did not hire over LinkedIn.

Need help hiring?

At Cornerstone, our years of experience results in a streamlined talent acquisition process for our clients. Please contact us today if your company is looking for hiring assistance.