- Nicky Webster-Hart
How can you recruit better, meet those time to hire KPIs and find the best talent?
Why you need to recruit better
Post-pandemic hiring is a very different animal to that before Covid. To find the best talent businesses need to have an agility of mindset and approach, adaptability to shifting markets and understanding the candidate-led hiring process. Glassdoor have stated that they believe that 2022 will focus on navigating the new normal and employees’ elevated power. Employee retention is now also fully at the forefront of businesses and it stands to reason that the employers who are agile and adaptable are rethinking old ways of hiring, employee engagement and talent retention and working to recruit better. If you want the best talent, simply put, the need to recruit better.
We say this a lot, because it is true - working with amateurs is not a sensible thing to do. You will lose time and money so let the experts handle your recruitment. Recruit well and you will save money. Retain your talent and you will save more. Use recruitment consultants who are the experts in their field, listen to their advice. Use a hiring timeline so you stay on track and you will find the best talent. Unfortunately a lot of organisations are still working with out of date hiring methodologies, long processes and are struggling to hire. They need to recruit better.

Meet those time to hire KPIs
As recruiters, we see this all the time - clients complaining about their ‘bad luck’ with hiring and yet they have an over-complicated, over-long recruitment process, keep changing their goal posts as to what they are looking for and often do not respond for weeks. Time to stop this. If you want talent you need to be open minded as to talent, have a slick process with a timeline agreed in advance and responsive and fast moving hiring managers.
Of course, it’s important to thoroughly vet your potential candidates, especially if the role requires specific knowledge and expertise. However, a lengthy and convoluted recruitment process can be off-putting to your candidates, while not always producing the desired results for your company either. When faced with a war for talent, there isn’t the time for a 3 stage interview process at the moment.
To solve this issue, really try to hone in on what’s actually necessary to get to the hiring stage and ensure that the hiring manager and HR department are all working from the same page and are able to move quickly and be responsive.
Why speed helps you find the best talent
Good candidates get snapped up quickly. If you are taking your time to review CVs or set up interviews then you will lose talent and probably directly to your competitors. Candidates who dip their toe in the market are overwhelmed with options and opportunities so move fast, very very very fast if you want to find talent for your business and be the best in your sector.
Here’s the thing also – that perfect candidate rarely exists. It’s like house hunting, you have your dream home but in the end you have to focus on what is available within your price bracket and if you dither, someone else comes along and snaps it up.
Top tips for talent retention
Again, this is another regular from Auxeris - treat your candidates as if they were clients and they will never leave:
Respond quickly and politely.
Sell/pitch your business.
Offer all calls/video call options to fit in with the candidate’s schedule.
Ensure the right people are talking to the candidates - can they effectively assess talent and cultural fit? Is there someone better suited (if this was a client then only the best would be interacting with them).
Appreciate and be respectful and mindful that the candidate may have other options and that essentially they are looking for the opportunity that is right for them.
Communicate and keep on communicating.
Pay attention to market rates on salaries and pay what the role is worth, not what you want to pay.
Do not play games when you get to the offer stage. It will backfire on you and they will walk away. If you are still an organisation that does this then you are tragically out of touch, and no matter how good your benefits package is remember most candidates want to be paid what they are worth, will absolutely know the market rates and rarely change jobs without an uplift in base.
Working with Auxeris
If you are looking for specialist support for your next hire or you would like to talk to us about proactive recruitment and how Auxeris can help - get in touch here for a confidential conversation today. We're an agency that has a network of experienced, specialist recruiters who will work with you to help you identify and recruit top talent for your business. We'll become an extension of your business, an experienced consultative ear, to help you build successful teams that boost your bottom line.