Speeding up hiring without sacrificing quality

The diagnostics industry is in need of new talent. And it needs it fast.

With the increased uptake of AI and software in the diagnostics space, there were concerns that the need for headcount in the industry would diminish. This is one of the occasions where the opposite is true; more people are needed in diagnostics than ever. This is particularly true in areas of the world like India, where offerings are being expanded at a rapid rate. The need for new people in crucial roles is clear.

But how do you speed up a recruitment cycle without sacrificing the quality of candidates being hired? Here are a few thoughts…

Dropping the number of interview rounds

Nothing kills momentum in a process more than a few too many interview stages. Not only does it lengthen a process, but it also greatly increases the risk of candidates dropping out. So as a simple first step to speed up recruitment, removing 'unnecessary' interview stages is a great way to start.

By unnecessary stages, I mean any interviews that could be combined together rather than making a candidate come in two or three separate times. If your usual process has two separate hour long interviews a week apart and a skills-based activity somewhere else in that week, consider combining them all into an hour/hour and a half long process all in one day. Whilst it may feel like a lot to do at one time, it will speed up how well you can understand each candidate, leading to a quicker decision about which candidate to hire.

Improving candidate experience

It's worth putting in effort to ensure all candidates have a positive overall experience for many reasons, but one of the key ones is that it may actually help you to speed up the recruitment process as candidates are likely to be more engaged. After all, happy candidates are responsive candidates! You may find it easier to book in interview stages and get these done more quickly one after another.

There are plenty of other benefits that come from investing time, effort, and resources into creating a brilliant candidate experience. We've recently written a blog all about this which you can check out here. 

Skills-based screening

Still a relatively recent development in the recruitment space, but an important one. Skills-based hiring has become a much discussed topic in our world, particularly around its practicality - but when done right, it really can speed up a process. In short, skills-based hiring turns the focus away from experience and education in favour of the skills a candidate possesses that would make them a fit for the role. If you want a bit more insight into what it is and how to implement it, we've also recently written a blog all about this. It's here.

In terms of speed, it ups the tempo of the recruitment process by helping to highlight which candidates have the ability to fulfil the job requirements, thereby potentially reducing the number of candidates you take through to further stages as you'll only bringing the candidates that are the most capable in the skills assessment.

Clarity before recruiting

This is a step that can easily be forgotten when hiring, particularly if the need for new headcount is unexpected. For everyone involved in the hiring process, sitting them down to go through exactly what's required can bring much needed clarity to the situation. There are important things to align on including the salary banding for the role and the nice-to-have vs essential skills; getting on the same page about these can immediately streamline the initial assessments before even beginning interviews. Then there are the elements that are a bit tougher to quantify, such as soft skills and cultural fit. They might be harder to define, but these are still important to get as much clarity as possible on before beginning.

Having these expectations and parameters laid out as plainly as possible at the start of a process should do wonders for the speed of decision making as the hiring team will feel empowered to make a choice on a candidate without the need to consult with others beforehand; they know what the right candidate will be when they see it.

The other alternative when you need someone quickly is to work with us on a Full Search project! Check out our Services page for more details on how we can work together, or reach out to me directly on adam.leeder@fmctalent.com and I'll be more than happy to talk through how we can help.