I read an article last week about a company that took an average of 3 weeks to get candidates through the interview process and more than a month to finally extend offers. As an experienced staffing professional having managed mid to large-size clients for the past 10 years I understand the importance of doing your due diligence on candidates at any level. While it’s true that some recruiters are simply in this business to “make deals” (some out of greed and some because of quota pressure) – any true staffing PROFESSIONAL wants their clients to be happy and that means placing candidates that withstand the test of time. That is much easier said than done and for any candidate to stand a chance you and your client – and the candidate – better make very sure that there’s an all around fit. The criteria for someone being a “fit” includes many things and that criteria changes depending on the level of that candidates career. I’m not going to go over it here because that’s not what this post is about. But – a good staffing firm – or let’s say any good client manager – is going to set expectations in the beginning as to the process: The search, identification, screening, qualification, courtship, salary negotiation and finally the offer presentation. That’s the process from the client’s side (the company that’s hiring for the position).
But – many companies simply don’t understand that - at this level of staffing – they need to treat all candidates as they would their own employees (or at least treat them very well and keep them interested) because they are very likely going to be presenting them an offer.
One of the quickest ways to turn a candidate off is to subject them to a relentless interview process that goes on forever with steps spread out over weeks instead of days. Now – if you’re looking for the next CEO of General Electric – the process is going to take a little while. That’s also a fee that will pay the bills for a few years so – if anyone from GE is reading this – I’m taking on new clients. However – if your hiring for mid to senior level technical resources there is no reason for the process to take more than 2 weeks. Even if there is 5 or 6 steps (though that, in my opinion, is about 3-4 steps too many) you should be able to schedule them in a time period that will allow you to make an offer in not later than 10 business days. I understand that sometimes companies have many different positions – possibly all of the country – that they are hiring for at any given time. Be that as it may, if you’re looking for top-shelf candidates you need to take into consideration that those candidates have MANY different choices and THERE ARE companies that are moving quicker, possibly giving them a better dog and pony show, that have better benefits and given a long enough period of time – THEY ARE GOING TO FIND A BETTER OFFER. I don’t mean JUST more money (but you can rest assured there are companies paying more than you), but possibly a shorter commute, nicer people, better career path…whatever.
It’s easy to see that the shorter time it takes you to move a candidate through the process, the fewer options they are going to have. I’m not talking about pulling the wool over the candidates eyes – I’m just saying that if you have a great candidate – recognize that and recognize that if that candidate wants to come to work for your company – the longer you keep him or her waiting – the more likely it is that he/she is going to look elsewhere and without a doubt will find another offer…possibly better.
Looking at it another way - if your compensation plan isn’t the best in the business – it’s EVEN MORE important to keep this process short. First of all, you won’t waste YOUR time courting candidates that won’t take the offer anyway. Second – a shorter process ensures that you keep up the momentum during the process – there is more excitement and that candidate feels wanted – and if you make a candidate really feel wanted, they are much more likely to take your offer and feel good about it!
