When your company needs to have a position filled and you’re in charge of finding the right applicant, you really need to speed things up. Every day you dally means that person’s job isn’t getting done. You can miss goals, delay projects, and have your other workers griping about the lack of help. 

The problem, however, is that often the hiring process takes too darn long. So how do you shorten the time period between deciding to hire a new employee and having a new employee actually working at your workplace? 

Streamline Your Hiring Process to Attract Top Talent

Make It a Priority

Sometimes people dilly dally because they think they have more important things to do. If you’re relying on a department head to get a replacement for a team member, they may think that their other duties may take precedence. So the task of getting a new employee gets pushed back in the schedule. 

If this is a problem in your company, make sure that your managers recognize that it’s a vital part of their duty. It has to be their top priority. 

Use Modern Tech

More specifically, use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) such as JazzHR, Greenhouse, Workday, and BambooHR. These programs can do a lot of work that can speed up the hiring process. They may be able to sift through resumes to look for particular keywords or qualifications, use your filters to eliminate non-qualified applicants, or perhaps even keep track of the interview process. 

Don’t Have Too Many Steps

Your hiring process may include submission of a resume, then maybe some written tests, and afterward a whole series of interviews. Are those steps really necessary? Maybe you can do a panel interview instead of having 4 separate interviews, so the same questions aren’t asked over and over. 

Create a Proper List of Candidate Skills and Qualities

Sometimes you have a list of “requirements” that aren’t realistic for anyone except for imaginary people like Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne. While it may be nice to have an employee with all the skills and qualities you want, perhaps you can focus on the skills and qualities you really need. 

Make It Mobile-Friendly

If you’re like most companies, you probably have your want ads online. But are you customizing your ads for a mobile screen? Just as commercial websites now accept the need for a mobile-friendly version of their website, your want ads should mobile-friendly too. That means you need to keep your ads short, as mobile users aren’t really all that patient.  

Maintain Communications with Applicants

If you interview someone and then don’t contact them for a long time afterward, they may go with another job because they thought they were passed over. That’s bad news for you when you contact them too late to say they got the job. 

At least send them an email once every one or two weeks. That’s to help maintain their interest. 

Describe the Downsides Too

When you’re interviewing an applicant and trying to entice them with the benefits to the job, try to describe the negatives too. Those negatives may be too hard to overcome for the new hire, and then they may resign. That means you’re back to the first step of the hiring process!