How Can You Streamline the Recruitment Process?
In the quest to perfect the art of recruitment, we've gathered insights from six HR professionals, including Founders and a Head of Human Resources. They share effective methods ranging from optimizing application submissions to organizing Super Interview Days. Discover the strategies that are streamlining the recruitment process for companies today.
- Optimize Application Submission
- Pre-Plan Recruitment Timelines
- Implement Automated ATS
- Introduce Pre-Screening Assessments
- Engage Stakeholders Early
- Organize Super Interview Days
Optimize Application Submission
In our research, we found that 92% of applications are lost when redirecting a jobseeker from a job site to a career page. That's because job seekers feel career pages are used as an extra, unnecessary step in the application process, contain loads of irrelevant copy, or have technical issues.
Some common issues involve: asking the applicant to register with a password; asking for a cover letter or supporting document; and requiring references when applying.
The best option is to accept applications directly via a job site, or allow applicants to apply via email. Even if you solve many of the issues with career pages, applicants still perform a transderivational search, remembering all the bad experiences they've had, and so are less inclined to make the same potential mistake again.
Pre-Plan Recruitment Timelines
To streamline the recruitment process, one method that has consistently worked well for me is collaborating with hiring managers to pre-plan the entire timeline. As soon as they identified their hiring needs, we'd set clear deadlines for each phase—from application submissions to interview schedules and the final decision. This approach not only kept the process organized but also ensured everyone was on the same page. As a result, we were able to reduce the average time-to-hire while making the entire experience smoother and more predictable for everyone involved.
Implement Automated ATS
I implemented an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) that includes automated features to handle tasks like resume screening, interview scheduling, and candidate communication.
How It Worked:
1. Automated Resume Screening: The ATS automatically filters resumes based on specific keywords and criteria, quickly identifying the most qualified candidates.
2. Interview Scheduling: The system integrates with our calendars to automatically schedule interviews, reducing back-and-forth communication and speeding up the process.
3. Automated Communication: The ATS sends out automated emails to keep candidates informed about their application status, interview details, and next steps.
This streamlined our recruitment process, significantly reducing the time to hire and improving the candidate experience. By automating repetitive tasks, we were able to focus more on engaging with top candidates and making better hiring decisions.
Recommendation: For HR professionals looking to streamline recruitment, invest in an ATS with automation capabilities. It will save time, reduce manual errors, and enhance both efficiency and candidate experience.
Introduce Pre-Screening Assessments
We've introduced pre-screening assessments into the application process to speed things up. These are designed to test the specific skills and competencies required for each role—technical knowledge, problem-solving, communication skills, etc. By doing this, we can quickly eliminate those who don't meet the minimum requirements and spend less time reviewing applications that don't match our needs. We can focus more on the top candidates for the role.
And it's not just sped up the process but also improved the quality of our candidate pool. By only allowing those with the required skills to progress, we can have more meaningful interviews and make quicker, more confident decisions. The process has also improved candidate experience, as those who progress feel their qualifications are being properly recognized. Overall, the pre-screening assessments have made our recruitment process more efficient and effective for our HR team and candidates.
Engage Stakeholders Early
One effective method we've implemented to streamline the recruitment process is involving key stakeholders from the start. By engaging managers and leaders early on, we ensure everyone understands their role in the hiring process and is aligned with the goals.
This collaboration not only speeds up decision-making but also improves the quality of hires, since stakeholders feel invested in selecting candidates who will best fit their teams.
Organize Super Interview Days
In my former HR Manager role in aviation, we used to do Super Interview Days (SID). These are days when we would bring candidates in groups of 30-40, present the role and organization to them, explain compensation and benefits, give them an opportunity to ask questions, then split them into two groups.
One group would network with current individuals working in the role so they could have informal conversations and ask what they really wanted to know. (Do you feel like there are growth opportunities here? How is management? Would I really be working weekends and holidays?)
Meanwhile, the other group would go through speed interviewing, where they would have five minutes with each interviewer before rotating to the next. There were five rotations. Then the two groups would switch.
We'd bring them all back together afterward to explain the next steps before wrapping up. This was a two-hour process. We could run three to four SIDs in a day, resulting in 80-90 offers per SID. It made for a streamlined recruiting process and meant we weren't taking a bunch of resources out of the business at random times of the day but could be very planful with our asks and see a large return. This naturally works better where you're recruiting for multiple of the same position or know you need a healthy pipeline for a specific role.
