Chances are that if you’re a business who employs people, you’ve got a handful of your workforce considering (or at least eyeing) other opportunities.
Recruiters are facing increased pressure to reverse the employee churn and burn we’re seeing as part of the great resignation, but as the hiring floodgates open, sometimes doing less is more.
A shorter, sharper, more strategic interview process that mixes the best systems-driven and human components is the sweet spot of a successful application process. Of course, it’s critical that recruitment efforts support finding the right candidate for the role, but a dragged out interview experience can do more harm than good in retaining your first choice candidates.
Why?
Because one more interview round can be the difference between a cautiously optimistic job candidate vs. an exasperated or even disengaged one, and that in itself is a costly problem for businesses desperately in need of good talent.
In a function that’s becoming increasingly more focused on employee experience (EX), there are many factors to an optimized application process, but as table stakes, here are five ways to streamline and strengthen your interview process.
Five Ways to Strengthen Your Interview Process
1. Set a hire-by date at the outset of the process.
Breadcrumbing is bad practice, and top talent will absolutely sniff out businesses looking to do so. If you’re serious about filling the role, you should be able to set and stick to a hire-by date for potential candidates to plan around. It’s important that recruiters remember this is a two-way transaction, and there are moving parts on both sides of the table once an offer is made.
2. Don’t take interviews past four rounds.
In today’s competitive talent market, a streamlined process will give you a leg up. Of course, there’s reason to plan for between two and three interviews, but even hiring for senior-level roles should rarely extend beyond a fourth round. Consider where there is excess within your process, and how you might be able to condense to still acquire the answers you need.
Still worried that limiting interviews isn’t conducive to making the best choice? Recent data from Google suggests that four interviews was enough to make a hiring decision with 86% confidence, and that interviewer feedback beyond that point showed diminishing returns (Source:re:Work).
3. Cut down your internal interviewer numbers.
While it’s nice to have different perspectives from those you value within your organization, it’s worth leaving the hiring decisions to your key decision makers. Too many interviewers can be both intimidating for the candidate, and distracting to the process overall.
4. Ensure interviewers are fully briefed on the expected outcomes.
Feedback loops and information sharing are necessary for an application process with multiple interviewers to ensure that all individuals involved are on the same page. Consider a quick briefing in advance of meeting with candidates to review critical KSAOs to look for, and the sort of candidate the organization is after. If interviews are done on a one-to-one basis, debriefs are useful to ensure all parties have the information they need, and subsequent rounds of interviews don’t end up repetitive.
5. Provide timely feedback and follow-up to all potential candidates.
Nobody likes being ghosted, especially after multiple rounds of interviews. Regardless of outcome, it’s imperative to provide timely feedback and follow-up to all involved in the process – emphasis on timely. Big consequences come with a zero transparency, lazy approach to feedback. Recent research from global staffing firm Robert Half suggests that 62% of US professionals lose interest in a job if they haven’t heard back within 2 weeks or 10 business days (Source: BBC). Beyond that, you’re looking at poor interviewer feedback that could extend into their network.
