In today’s competitive talent marketplace — where fewer than one in four employees are actively searching for a job, according to a CEB survey involving 40 countries — attracting highly qualified candidates isn’t always easy.
In addition to facing a smaller supply of candidates, companies may face increased pressure to offer more money — which can make the hiring process more difficult if you face budgetary constraints.
More than half of U.S. employers, for example, are expected to raise wages for current employees; two in five will offer candidates higher starting salaries during the remainder of the year, according to CareerBuilder’s mid-2016 jobs report.
Seventy percent of HR managers say that’s due to the increasingly competitive market for necessary skills and labor.
If the recruiters Jobvite spoke to for its 2015 report are right, the job market is due to remain at its current level or become more competitive by the end of the year.
To avoid long-term vacancies that can cause proficiency losses and significant productivity delays, companies need to know how to hire candidates quickly, despite salary pressure and other factors.
If you’re hoping to defeat your competitors and gain the industry’s top talent, consider the following techniques to enhance your hiring process:
1. Broadcast your employer brand
Review your benefits package, company culture and other elements to ensure you’re providing the strongest possible employee value proposition. If you are, make sure you’re effectively promoting it. Consider redesigning or adding content to your career page or site to provide a more in-depth look into what it’s truly like to work at your organization.
2. Encourage employees to promote openings
More than three-fourths of recruiters find their best quality candidates from referrals, according to Jobvite. Employee alumni networks are another way to passively recruit future hires — either former employees who have left or their contacts. (Find out how to set up a communication system for previous employees in our employee alumni network blog post.)
3. Consider other incentives
More employers are using referral, sign-on, spot and retention bonuses as a compensation alternative to higher pay, according to a July WorldatWork report. All four categories have shown steady increases since 2010, with 65 percent of organizations now offering sign-on bonus programs at the end of the job interview process and 55 percent providing retention bonuses — more than twice the amount that did six years ago.
In some instances, companies may be losing out on top candidates because their hiring process simply takes too long.
The total hiring process time, on a global scale, has increased dramatically in recent years, according to 2015 Glassdoor research. In the U.S., the average overall job interview process takes about 23 days. Companies in countries such as France, Germany and the U.K. generally take four to nine days more to vet candidates.
Glassdoor identified some potential causes for the delays — notably, hiring policies that require group interviews, background checks and other steps that can draw out the selection process.
When screening candidates, there are some steps you should never skip. However, if you’re packing too many procedures into your hiring process, a competitor may be moving more quickly to make an offer — prompting your top choice candidate to rule out your organization.
For tips on determining if your job interview process needs some adjusting, read our blog post on how you can find out if your hiring time is too hurried or too slow.