While the hiring process may vary widely among companies and depend greatly on the position that is trying to be filled, in the end, it is every employer’s goal to be able to conduct these procedures as quickly and efficiently as possible so as not to unnecessarily waste time and resources in the process. For this to be possible, companies will need to begin looking at the future of their hiring efforts as opposed to handling these issues on a case-to-case basis as they arise. Executive search firms, having a great deal of experience in these areas, have here provided a few guidelines companies should seek to follow in order to improve their own hiring methods.
To start, companies will need to begin their planning process by having a few systems already in place as a contingency for the inevitable need to hire comes around. When a position becomes available and it is time for companies to begin seeking candidates to fill this vacancy, the first place they should always look is within the ranks of their preexisting employees. Internal promotion is a valuable system for companies to have in place and yet also one which seems to be overlooked all too often. Not only does promoting employees internally allow companies to cut down on the executive search and candidate sourcing process, but creating such opportunities can serve as a morale booster and motivational tool for employees, driving them to perform and succeed in hopes of being promoted for their efforts.
Employers should also start making use of new technologies, namely social media networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, to start building and developing a wide-reaching professional network which can be tapped for candidates. By having internal promotional measures and social media networks in place before a position opens up, the time it takes to begin searching for candidates can be dramatically reduced.
Another tool that employers should begin using to expedite their hiring procedures is a timeline. To begin with, employers will need to decide on start and end dates with which to frame their hiring process. Creating such a time-frame is a highly useful means of preventing these efforts from being drug out for an unreasonable amount of time and wasting the company’s resources. This is where having prearranged systems in place can help as the need for candidate sourcing efforts are dramatically decreased. Within this time-frame, employers will need to work out the time they spend sourcing candidates, reviewing resumes, and conducting interviews in order to meet their self-assigned deadlines.
As important and useful as a timeline can be however, employers should not let themselves become overly constrained by it. That is to say that should the set date for the completion of the hiring process be drawing near, and a satisfactory candidate hasn’t yet been located, employers should not simply settle for someone sub-par, as this will only lead to complications which will cost the company more time and resources down the line.
Published by Conselium Executive Search, the global leader in compliance search.
