When it was an employer’s marketplace, you heard the term “hire slowly, fire quickly,” and that was sound advice in that environment. Following that advice now, however, can cost companies in competitiveness, reputation, and bottom-line results.
Instead, companies should investigate adopting a “hire by date’ for each critical hire candidate.
To illustrate the concept of a “buy by date,” Imagine that you’re at the farmers’ market and need to buy top-quality produce. If the market was open from 8 to 5, you could probably find good produce at any time.
However, if you need exceptional quality produce, your best chance will come when the market first opens. And chances are, by the end of the first hour, that last bit of extraordinary produce would likely be gone.
Recruiting exceptional quality talent works on a similar model. If you don’t make that hiring decision quickly, every bit of the top “exceptional” talent will be done.
Unfortunately, many managers and recruiters mistakenly assume that top talent will still be around when they are “ready” to decide. And while hiring times have increased to an average of 34 days, typically high in-demand candidates are off the market in 10 days.
5 Benefits of a “hire by date.”
Educating everyone involved in the recruitment process at your company ensures that they understand the benefits behind the “hire by date.” Some of these benefits include:
1. Improved quality of hire
The overall average performance on the job of your new hires will improve because you will now be able to hire many top performers who you would’ve previously missed. After all, they weren’t targeted as an immediate hire.
2. You’re missing them now
If the average hiring times are 34 days and top candidates are off the market in 10 days, then speeding up your hiring can help you attract the top talent you were missing.
3. Value of top performers
Although it does vary with the job and the industry, numerous firms have found that a top performer routinely produces 5, 10, and even 25 times more than the average employee in technical jobs. With an ROI that high, a top-performing hire is worth millions.
4. Fast hiring is a reputation builder
Top candidates view their experiences with the recruiting process as a reflection of how the company operates. And those that hate bureaucratic processes will view slow hiring decisions as an indication that the company will also be slow at making decisions on their new ideas and projects.
5. Being first can save you money
Being first to make an offer has its advantages, like reducing new hire salary costs by avoiding the “bidding on top talent” that occurs when a candidate remains on the market long enough to receive multiple offers.
Don’t skip hiring steps to meet your “hire by date.” Instead, use an expedited process. Expediting is alerting hiring managers that they are about to lose a top candidate. This will motivate them to find the time to speed up their interview scheduling and their finalist decision processes.
If you are experiencing a problematic hire or are building your recruitment strategy, we would love to chat!
