Why speed is of the essence in a candidate-led market

The continued candidate-led market remains one of the key challenges faced by businesses in 2023. Increased demand, coupled with the ramifications of the pandemic and Brexit, has seen employers grappling for talent in an attempt to meet current and future demand.

The current workforce crisis is felt across multiple industries, and the highly competitive hiring environment is further exacerbated by ever-lengthening hiring and onboarding processes. In fact, in a recent survey, half of businesses admitted to losing quality talent due to a poor interview process, and only a quarter of candidates stated they were satisfied with the most recent process they were put through.

So, in an environment where top talent is in high demand and where candidates have more choice than ever, why is speed an essential consideration for your hiring strategy?

1. Attract the best talent

Top candidates are in high demand and often receive multiple job offers. If you have long interviewing processes and are therefore unable to make offers quickly, you risk losing the best-fit talent for your business.

2. Improve candidate experience

A slow and lengthy recruitment process can be frustrating, especially during the critical stages of offers and onboarding. Candidates may lose interest in the job and feel as if they are not a priority. By having a faster recruitment process, which is central to the candidate, you’ll not only provide a better experience for them, but ultimately improve the reputation of your brand.

3. Save time and money

The longer your hiring process, the more time and resources are spent on them. By streamlining your processes, you reduce the amount of time and money spent on recruitment. In addition, remember that any delays in hiring will cost your business money due to a loss of productivity while the workforce gaps are waiting to be filled.

4. Stay ahead of competitors

Recruitment is highly competitive across all industries, as companies are always looking for the best talent. By reducing your time-to-hire you can stay ahead of your competitors and secure the best talent before they do.

5. Improve employee retention

Taking a long time to fill positions can result in overburdened current employees, decreased productivity and ultimately, increased staff turnover. With retention another current challenge, making sure you have the right employees in place to meet demand is paramount.

Arguably the most critical stage in the hiring process, where speed is of the absolute essence, is during the offer and onboarding stage. After all, there is nothing more frustrating than believing you have found the right candidate to meet your requirements, only to have them back out somewhere between the offer and the start date. Enhancing the experience during this stage is key. Completing pre-employment background checks is a laborious (but essential) part of this process, so simplifying and speeding this up for candidates is a great place to start. Efficient and easy-to-use software, like VettingGateway, will help you achieve this.

By moving quickly, you avoid losing out on the best talent, improve the candidate experience, stay ahead of competitors and avoid costly processes. Next week VettingGateway will be publishing a free guide on creating your Employee Value Proposition (EVP) to help you recruit and retain the best talent. If you would like to be notified when we release this, please sign up here.