When you have several good candidates, it’s tempting to take your time with a hiring decision.
Delays or indecisiveness, however, can have multiple negative effects on your team and your organization. Waiting takes time, which translates to lost productivity and money. Worse, your top candidates may accept an offer from another law firm or legal department instead, forcing you to start the process again – and waste even more time and money as a result.
Here’s how to scrap indecisiveness and make sound, quick decisions that encourage the best candidates to accept your job offers.
Plan for the end at the beginning.
Choose a date by which you want to receive a response from your top candidate, and work backwards. Build in time for the candidate to consider your offer, time for interviews and time to review applications. Put these dates on the calendar.
Then, carry out your hiring process so it fits within this timeline. At each step, communicate with candidates about the next date on the calendar. For instance, when you interview, tell candidates “we expect to make a decision by [offer date].”
Stay on schedule. If a conflict arises that forces you to push a date back, communicate with your recruiter so they can update the candidate and let them know they’re still in consideration for the position.
Build a long-term strategy.
A strategic staffing plan can help you reduce indecisiveness by providing a “road map” to the type of candidates you need and the moments you are most likely to need them. It can also help you fill in the gaps, so you can build an employment brand and engagement strategy that keeps top candidates interested, even when you are not currently hiring.
Work with a recruiter.
Staffing firms specialize in helping their clients reduce time to hire. Your recruiter can shorten this time by handling tasks like reading resumes and calling references. Recruiters also focus on creating customized strategic staffing plans with clients, helping you ensure all your bases are covered. And with your recruiter’s care and attention to finding candidates that mesh well with your internal culture and needs, you’ll also improve the quality of your candidate pool by building a strong relationship with your staffing firm.
At Kent Legal, our recruiters can help improve the quality of your candidate pool and streamline your hiring process, allowing you to make quicker hiring decisions with more confidence. To learn more, contact us today.