Time to Hire

With the average time to hire at a record low of 30 days in the USA and 34 days in the UK, it’s clear that companies are moving incredibly fast to fill their tech vacancies. If your turn-around time is longer than this, what can you do to speed up the process?

Over three-quarters of start-up tech decision makers say that their main challenge is attracting the right quality candidates. Once you’ve sourced your potential employees it’s essential that your recruitment process, from interview to contract signing, is both streamlined and swift. If it’s not you run the risk, in these days of a candidate-driven market, of losing your perfect hire who may be tempted with another, more speedy offer.

Preparation

Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance: nowhere does this resonate more than in tech start-up recruitment. Hiring any member of staff is a weighty decision and can be costly if it’s not done correctly, so prepare well.

Define what you want – a precise and clear definition of the role you want to fill is essential, both for you and for any prospective candidate. If you’re working with a specialist tech recruiter they’ll be able to offer advice and guide your choice, but you need to be completely certain in your own mind about who and what you’re looking for.

Consider the job title and the functions that the person will be expected to perform. Your brief to your recruiter will need to be succinct while encompassing everything you need from your ideal candidate. List your desired experience and qualifications and mention the type of work the candidate will be performing, as well as anything else on your wish-list (Are they prepared to undergo further training in the future? Do they need to relocate? Have you outlined your company’s vision and ambitions? Are they excited about working for a start-up?) The clearer you are the more chance you have of attracting your perfect fit.  

The Interview Process

Having worked with your preferred recruiter to source a list of potential candidates, the next step is the interview process. This should be as slick as your own operation and give candidates a glimpse of what it would be like to work for your company both in terms of the type of work you do and your own company culture. 

A lengthy and drawn out interview process will deter people, however, it’s essential that both you and your prospective ideal candidate have enough information to make value judgments about each other, so getting the balance right is vital.

For ‘mid-level’ roles experts suggest that two or three interviews are appropriate, and in these days of remote working, the first couple of these could be via video, both to speed up the process and to allow all involved to participate – scheduling in-person interviews can be logistically difficult and technology removes these barriers. 

Again, preparation is essential – interviewers should have a list of questions to ask potential employees designed to draw out responses which will give them a fuller picture of the applicant’s skills, experience, aspirations and personality. Interviews should be a two-way process where both employers and candidates can take the measure of each other and decide whether they are compatible.

Post-interview

In a candidate-driven market, time is of the essence. Delays can mean that you lose your ideal candidate, especially if they have more than one other offer to consider, so if you’re thinking of making an offer, don’t wait. Of course, references may take time to obtain, but a post-interview process that takes longer than two weeks can be off-putting for the candidate and the sooner your offer comes through the sooner they can hand their notice in to their current employers and begin to work for you. 

Communication is key to candidate engagement and offering constructive post-interview feedback to both successful and unsuccessful candidates will mean that when you’re in a position to hire again, your company will be favourably regarded. If you’re looking to make the right hire for your business, whilst minimising risk and maximising effectiveness, get in touch with JIE Search.