How to improve your recruitment process 101

Recruitment never stops - and it never stops changing, so staying ahead of the curve is essential. Many organisations from enterprise-level to SMEs face challenges daily. From huge influxes of poor-quality candidates (after the candidate drought of Covid) to slow hiring processes and costly job advertising that fails to deliver. If these problems sound familiar, it might be time to consider auditing your recruitment process.

Common recruitment headaches

Before diving into the solutions, let's identify some common issues that might be plaguing recruitment efforts:

1. You're seeing a huge uplift in the number of candidates 
   You might be wondering what the problem is if you're receiving a good volume of applications. But across the market, organisations are complaining that the quality of applications has taken a hit. With the number of applications jumping by more than a third per job in 2023, it's no wonder quantities have increased.
   With recruitment teams already stretched, spending hours sifting through irrelevant applications can be frustrating.
2. Slow time to hire
   A drawn-out or poorly structured hiring process can put top talent off or lead to them quitting not long after starting, ultimately leaving you and your team with empty chairs. This issue often stems from inefficient onboarding and compliance processes that don't prepare or inform candidates well enough ahead of starting.
3. Costly and ineffective job advertising
   Pouring money into job ads without knowing what works is an obvious budget drain. And if you can't track and report what's working and what's not, then that's disastrous to stand any chance of improvements and refine your strategy.
4. High employee turnover
   Are new hires not sticking around for long? It might indicate a mismatch in what they're expecting versus what the reality is on day one.
5. Poor communication
   Slow (or non-existent) or unclear communication with candidates leads to a poor experience and damages your employer brand.

Strategies to improve your recruitment process

Now that we've highlighted some of the most common pain points, let's explore some strategies you can use to start improving your recruitment process.

Define clear job roles and requirements

One of the first steps we recommend is to ensure your job descriptions are clear and concise - and ultimately are honest. There's little point in writing truth-bending content just to attract volumes of candidates. It will only hurt your organisation in the long run if you're not describing the true reality of what a job involves. Including content that accurately shows the job responsibilities and culture will help attract the right candidates and deter those who aren't a good fit. Collaborate with your hiring managers to define the key responsibilities, necessary skills and desired experience for each role.

Use your ATS

Using a robust applicant tracking system (ATS) for your recruitment will significantly streamline your recruitment process. Our ATS, for example, manages all aspects of the recruitment and onboarding journey, including managing job posts, adverts and reports, tracking applications and efficient and personalised communication with candidates. Additionally, incorporating AI-driven tools can enhance candidate screening and reduce time-to-hire. Download our free guide on using AI in recruitment.

Optimise your job advertising strategy

Evaluate the performance of your job adverts to determine which platforms yield the best results. Use analytics to track metrics such as application rates and cost per hire. When you've narrowed down using data which are the better performing platforms, think about the timing of adverts when they're posted. When are your preferred candidates likely to be online - strike when they're active!

By taking a data-driven approach, you can allocate your budget more effectively, prove at board-level what's working and refine your strategy over time.

Take candidate experience to the next level

Seems obvious, but a positive candidate experience is crucial for attracting top talent - but so often organisations get it wrong. There is so much to the candidate experience, but firstly we recommend checking your application process. How easy is it to apply? Can candidates apply using a mobile? How long does it take? In our Q3 2024 Candidate Insights Report, 29% said they completed the application in 15 minutes. Can you say the same? Try it out for yourself and apply for one of your jobs.

Candidates have dedicated time and thought into applying so providing timely updates to keep them informed is the least they should expect. Many ATSs automate much of this communication.

Streamline onboarding and compliance

Efficient onboarding and compliance processes are essential for a new hire to get started without a hitch. Automate repetitive tasks and ensure they have everything they need to be fully informed and ready for their first day. It not only speeds up the process but also helps new employees feel welcome and prepared. In fact, a good onboarding program can improve employee retention by 52% and productivity by 60% (SHRM).

Build a resilient employer brand

Your employer brand is a powerful tool for attracting and retaining talent. Showcase your company culture, values and employee success stories on your website and social media channels. Engage with candidates and get employees involved too to build a positive reputation.

Carry out process audits

Regularly reviewing and auditing areas of your recruitment process can help identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement. For full-scale end-to-end recruitment audits, our Talent Intelligence services offer comprehensive recruitment process and candidate experience audits based on over 20 years of recruitment experience to help you pinpoint and address issues.

The power of Talent Intelligence

We understand that navigating the complexities of recruitment can be daunting - and that's why we offer a host of Talent Intelligence services designed to optimise your hiring process and improve outcomes.

Candidate experience audit

Our candidate experience audit helps you identify and address pain points in your application process. Learn more about what a candidate experience audit can help you with.

Recruitment process audit

A recruitment process audit provides a comprehensive review of your hiring practices. We'll help you uncover inefficiencies, streamline processes and implement best practices to achieve better results. Learn more here.