Hiring fast vs. hiring slow—recruiting employees can take too long!
Author: Scott Fiore
The average amount of time for recruiting employees—from first posting to accepted offer—increased 62 percent at large global organizations from 2010 to 2015. The hiring time for white-collar positions reached, on average, 68 business days in 2015. That’s 26 days longer than in 2010.*
Hiring can definitely take too long, dragging on for weeks and weeks and even months with no real benefit to anyone—employer, their employees, and job candidates. Among the reasons: more people involved in the hiring process, increased testing and background clearances, and managers loaded down with hiring duties as well as day-to-day administrative responsibilities.
So, how quickly should companies hire? While we generally advocate for hiring fast, especially in the currently tight job market, there are sometimes legitimate reasons for hiring slow. But not often.
When recruiting employees, what’s the harm in routinely hiring slow?
Top candidates can lose interest if the hiring process takes too long; meanwhile, they get other competitive offers, and you can lose them. In fact, some companies keep looking for the perfect candidate—”this one looks really good, but maybe someone even better is out there.” Then, they lose a great candidate and settle for less in the end. So, more time and deliberation doesn’t mean a better hire.
Hiring slow also can create a bad situation for employees, as an open position means they take on additional work in the interim. This can result in poor employee morale as they resent picking up the slack, generally with no additional compensation.
And of course, a vacant position over time can mean a loss of work productivity and revenue overall for the department and company.
On the other hand, hiring fast means the work flow keeps moving, other employees are not inconvenienced, and the company limits its loss of revenue. Plus, it may mean landing a better, more in-demand candidate.
Is hiring slow ever a good idea? Sure, namely for positions that can require a lot of testing and background checking, often those with a high-security clearance. But, companies can save time there by engaging a recruiting firm, such as TriStarr—we can check on former employment, references, criminal background, credit history, driving record, fingerprints, and more.
Is hiring fast ever a bad idea? As with any activity, being too hasty may result in a poor hiring decision, which can then cost you more in the end with a new search, rehiring, and retraining.
Save time and find great candidates with professional job recruiters
A great strategy for saving time when recruiting employees is to start before you actually need someone. By building relationships in advance, you can fill the position faster when the right position opens. That’s what we do at TriStarr—contact leaders of professional associations, talk with people at trade shows and monitor online professional forums and networking sites. That’s how we get to know high-level professionals who excel in their fields.
At TriStarr, we also assess for personality and compatibility as part of our six-step candidate evaluation process. This is one reason for our industry-leading placement rate. And when you hire right the first time, you save money as well as time.
Recruiting employees can be time-consuming and frustrating. Professional recruiters can find you candidates, interview and assess them, check references, and communicate regularly with them.
The recruiters and employment specialists at our staffing and recruiting agency can assist and advise you, whether you’re hiring for full-time positions or need temporary staffing services. Our team of professionals can help you find candidates who are highly qualified for your positions.
TriStarr is a professional staffing, recruiting and HR consulting agency in Lancaster, Pa., also serving Harrisburg, York, Lebanon, and Reading. Contact us online, or give us a call at (717) 560-2111.
*These findings from management and technology consultant CEB were reported by the Society for Human Resource Management.
The average amount of time for recruiting employees—from first posting to accepted offer—increased 62 percent at large global organizations from 2010 to 2015. The hiring time for white-collar positions reached, on average, 68 business days in 2015. That’s 26 days longer than in 2010.*
Hiring can definitely take too long, dragging on for weeks and weeks and even months with no real benefit to anyone—employer, their employees, and job candidates. Among the reasons: more people involved in the hiring process, increased testing and background clearances, and managers loaded down with hiring duties as well as day-to-day administrative responsibilities.
So, how quickly should companies hire? While we generally advocate for hiring fast, especially in the currently tight job market, there are sometimes legitimate reasons for hiring slow. But not often.
When recruiting employees, what’s the harm in routinely hiring slow?
Top candidates can lose interest if the hiring process takes too long; meanwhile, they get other competitive offers, and you can lose them. In fact, some companies keep looking for the perfect candidate—”this one looks really good, but maybe someone even better is out there.” Then, they lose a great candidate and settle for less in the end. So, more time and deliberation doesn’t mean a better hire.
Hiring slow also can create a bad situation for employees, as an open position means they take on additional work in the interim. This can result in poor employee morale as they resent picking up the slack, generally with no additional compensation.
And of course, a vacant position over time can mean a loss of work productivity and revenue overall for the department and company.
On the other hand, hiring fast means the work flow keeps moving, other employees are not inconvenienced, and the company limits its loss of revenue. Plus, it may mean landing a better, more in-demand candidate.
Is hiring slow ever a good idea? Sure, namely for positions that can require a lot of testing and background checking, often those with a high-security clearance. But, companies can save time there by engaging a recruiting firm, such as TriStarr—we can check on former employment, references, criminal background, credit history, driving record, fingerprints, and more.
Is hiring fast ever a bad idea? As with any activity, being too hasty may result in a poor hiring decision, which can then cost you more in the end with a new search, rehiring, and retraining.
Save time and find great candidates with professional job recruiters
A great strategy for saving time when recruiting employees is to start before you actually need someone. By building relationships in advance, you can fill the position faster when the right position opens. That’s what we do at TriStarr—contact leaders of professional associations, talk with people at trade shows and monitor online professional forums and networking sites. That’s how we get to know high-level professionals who excel in their fields.
At TriStarr, we also assess for personality and compatibility as part of our six-step candidate evaluation process. This is one reason for our industry-leading placement rate. And when you hire right the first time, you save money as well as time.
Recruiting employees can be time-consuming and frustrating. Professional recruiters can find you candidates, interview and assess them, check references, and communicate regularly with them.
The recruiters and employment specialists at our staffing and recruiting agency can assist and advise you, whether you’re hiring for full-time positions or need temporary staffing services. Our team of professionals can help you find candidates who are highly qualified for your positions.
TriStarr is a professional staffing, recruiting and HR consulting agency in Lancaster, Pa., also serving Harrisburg, York, Lebanon, and Reading. Contact us online, or give us a call at (717) 560-2111.
*These findings from management and technology consultant CEB were reported by the Society for Human Resource Management.
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