Spotlight for recruiting Professionals

Developing a quick, efficient, and effective hiring process for top talent includes a blend of approaches—high tech with an eye focused on the candidate experience—according to Steve Tiufekchiev of Yello.

The trick is finding the best mix to maximize results. A crucial first step is analyzing your current strategy to determine the processes that can be standardized, streamlined, or eliminated entirely, Tiufekchiev suggests.

“Processes are often inherited over time and sometimes outlive the original purpose, so it’s important to validate the need for any process that adds delay or administrative overhead,” he says.

Next, Tiufekchiev says, consider the technology that will automate these processes, speed up the hiring timeline, and reduce the amount of unnecessary administrative work for recruiters.

“If employers are collecting candidate data manually and storing that information across multiple shared files and reports, this will significantly impact the efficiency of the recruiting process, resulting in a longer interview cycle that will likely lose candidates,” he says.

“By moving elements of the recruiting process—such as data collection, evaluation, communication, and reporting functionality—to a digital approach, employers can track and evaluate candidates in less time and more efficiently.”

But beware: Any considerations should heavily value candidate experience in your process. Tiufekchiev points out that a candidate’s experience starts with the job-search process itself and the ease in which candidates can find and apply for a position.

“The candidate experience is also affected by how quickly they move through the hiring process,” he adds. “The longer it takes to move a candidate from ‘hello’ to ‘hire,’ the more likely an organization will lose that talent to the competition.” 

It takes more than a trendy office space to attract top talent to an organization, Tiufekchiev says. More importantly to candidates, they want to know how they can grow within a company and further their skillset.

“Employers who can draw out a career roadmap for candidates and show the ability to grow within the company will stand out to potential candidates,” Tiufekchiev says.

And there are effective avenues for sourcing candidates—such as employee referral programs—that tend to be effective and efficient.

“Establishing an employee referral program is a great first step to hiring qualified talent quickly,” he notes. “Referrals often make the best hires. Encouraging employees to tap into their personal networks allows employers to source high-quality candidates quickly while reducing the cost-to-hire.”

Tiufekchiev stresses that when developing a quick and efficient hiring process for top talent you view all of your potential decisions throughout the entire process through the candidate’s eyes.

He says: “A candidate’s experience should be top of mind for companies when designing the recruiting and hiring process because every touchpoint a candidate has with an organization will help determine whether he or she accepts an offer.”