Hiring is starting to pick back up after the pandemic. Though there is no shortage of people looking for jobs, many employers are still having trouble finding qualified candidates for their open positions. The reason? There continues to be a growing skill gap — the difference in the skills required for the job and the skills a candidate possesses. Since there are fewer skilled professionals available, there is increasing competition for qualified talent. 

With this in mind, how can you ensure your company is hiring the best possible people?

There are a lot of things you can do to attract talent — offer competitive wages, attractive benefits and other perks. But if your hiring process drags on too long, you could miss out on the best candidates. Here’s why:  

Candidates Will Find Something Else

As an employer, you want to hire the best talent available for your open position. But if your hiring process takes forever and a day, you risk losing your best candidates to another company. The more time it takes you to hire them, the better the chance someone else will come along with a more lucrative offer. 

You Will Lose Revenue and Productivity

The longer your position remains open, the more revenue you lose. This is true not only for producer roles but for those in your company that rely on the vacant position. And if others are forced to take on extra work until the position is filled, then productivity will suffer as well. 

Slow Hiring Could Damage Your Brand Image

When a candidate has an unpleasant experience resulting from a slow hiring process, they may take to the internet to vent their frustrations. Other candidates could see it and be deterred from applying. If they read that it takes a long time for you to make a hiring decision, they may decide they aren’t willing to wait. Not only is your reputation damaged, you missed out on a top-tier candidate. 

Customers will be negatively affected

Your employees and brand image aren’t the only ones affected when you have a vacant position. Your customers will feel the pain too. Extended vacancies can seriously hurt your customer service efforts. There aren’t as many employees to handle customer needs, and customers may look to the competition for better service. 

How to speed up the hiring process

Now that you know how a slow hiring process can negatively affect your recruiting, how do you fix it? 

Be more selective about your candidates

First-round interviews take up a lot of the time during the hiring process. By being more selective about who you interview during the first round, you will save time weeding out those who are unqualified.

Be proactive

Before the need to hire presents itself, have a plan of action. Devising a hiring strategy before you have an open position will help tremendously when you face a talent gap in the future.

Outsource your hiring efforts

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Staffing firms like Burchard & Associates have deep talent pools of high-quality candidates they can contact for your open position. We take care of the initial interviews, only sending you the most qualified candidates. While working with a staffing firm is an investment, you will save valuable time and administrative costs associated with the hiring process. 

If you need help finding and hiring talent, contact us to discuss how we can assist you.