10 Fast Hiring Strategies for Talent Acquisition Leaders

Despite tech advancements and the adoption of best HR practices, most employers struggle to hire quality talent fast. Only 30% of employers fill roles within 30 days, while the remaining take 44 days to hire. The average interview process lasts for 23 days and costs $4,700 per hire. It could take even longer if managers schedule one-on-one sessions. Because of the extended recruitment process, a staggering 92% of job seekers quit at the application stage. 

Quality hiring at speed is tough. To succeed, talent acquisition managers need to adopt effective recruitment strategies. This article looks at fast hiring strategies that can ensure your organization finds the best talent quickly.

Streamlining the Recruitment Process

Technology and automation can reduce subjective bias, save time and lessen HR workloads for talent managers, leading to an efficient recruitment process.

Use Applicant Tracking Systems

An applicant tracking system can help TA leaders track candidates from the moment they apply for the job all the way to hiring. It helps to streamline recruitment in the following ways. 

• Creates strong job descriptions
• Extends reach and reduces hiring friction 
• Automates job postings, communication and interview scheduling.
• Screens and parses resumes 
• Improves visibility and collaboration along the hiring funnel

Implement Pre-Employment Software

Pre-employment tools can streamline tech hiring for talent leaders. These tools help evaluate candidates’ skills, personalities and cognitive abilities. They also bring efficiency to hiring, leading to better outcomes. As a result, talent acquisition leaders can quickly find candidates with the right skills and values.

Optimize Job Descriptions 

Crafting and optimizing job descriptions is the key to attracting suitably qualified candidates. Talent managers should create descriptions that use strong, human-centric language and action-driven words. Use headings and bullet points to improve readability. Job descriptions should be concise, outline primary duties and focus on requisite skills and qualifications. To improve search visibility, use relevant keywords and phrases to attract clicks. 

Build a Strong Talent Pool 

Recruiters can use these strategies to develop a talent pipeline.

Create and Maintain a Strong Talent Pool

It pays to have a robust talent pool of previous applicants and even passive job seekers. Whenever a position arises, talent managers can quickly fill it from the pool of prescreened candidates. Proactive sourcing reduces the time to hire and leads to higher-quality hires.

Implement an Employee Referral Program

Talent managers can also find top tech talent by seeking employee referrals. In this arrangement, employees refer candidates with the required skills and who understand the company’s culture and values. Such programs are not only cost-effective but can lead to better hires. Encouraging employees to refer candidates also creates a sense of involvement among existing staff, bolstering commitment to the company.

Use Niche Job Boards for Tech Recruitment

Whether hiring a computer engineer or an IT analyst, talent managers can quickly find candidates on tech-focused job boards such as Dice. The platform matches candidates with jobs tailored to their skill level and experience, which makes it easy to find potential fits. Plus, they share hiring resources, including employer advice.

Tech-oriented boards feature candidates from various tech backgrounds, including software development, information technology, web development, cybersecurity and data. They’re perfect for scouting candidates to fill tech-related positions. 

Implementing Efficient Screening Techniques

Talent managers can use these strategies to quickly identify top candidates without compromising quality. 

Use AI-Powered Screening Tools

Artificial intelligence has revolutionized many industries, including HR and recruitment. Thanks to AI talent acquisition, TA leaders can enjoy speed and efficiency in tech recruitment. AI-powered software can collect and analyze data and provide actionable insights to recruiters. Because AI can mimic human intelligence, it can perform mundane tasks, speed up screening and overcome hiring challenges associated with traditional recruitment. However, talent managers should not over-rely on AI tools at the risk of losing a human touch.

Implement Video Interviewing Software 

Video interviews are extremely popular and even helpful when searching a global tech talent pool. Video tools such as HireFlix, Google Hangout, Microsoft Teams and Skype can make these interviews possible. For busy TA leaders, video interviews have many advantages. They’re easy to schedule and conduct, provided there’s a stable internet connection. 

Utilize Skills-Based Assessments

Talent managers should also adopt skills-based recruitment when hiring technology talent. This strategy focuses on selecting candidates with the skills to perform the job rather than merely experience. A state of skills report by TestGorilla shows that 94% of employers believe skills-based hiring is more effective than resumes. 78% of employers say using skills-based hiring reduced the cost-to-hire. Candidates hired based on their skills are not only happier, but they also perform better and stay longer in their roles.

Use Structured Interviews

Talent managers can also use structured job interviews to evaluate candidates for tech roles. With structured interviewees, managers assess candidates objectively and consistently with specific questions. A standardized approach ensures the hiring team is on the same page. It also reduces unconscious bias and improves the accuracy of hiring decisions. The result is that talent managers can feel confident they’re selecting the best candidate for the position.

Measuring and Optimizing Recruitment

Talent managers need to measure the effectiveness of their recruitment strategies. 82% of companies believe data is crucial in talent acquisition. Data can help talent managers identify bottlenecks and update their recruitment strategies. Some vital tech recruitment metrics to track hiring quality and speed include:

• Time to fill
• Time to hire
• Source of hire
• Quality of hire
• Offer acceptance rate
• Time to productivity
• Candidate diversity
• Application completion rate
• Cost per hire

Achieve the Balance Between Speed and Quality 

It’s possible for talent acquisition managers to strike a balance between speed and quality during recruitment. Hiring success hinges on utilizing HR technology, optimizing the hiring process and making data-driven decisions. Talent leaders can achieve better outcomes by conducting ongoing evaluations and fine-tuning recruitment strategies based on well-defined metrics.

Key takeaways:

• HR technology and tools such as ATS can help automate job posting, candidate tracking and resume filtering.
• Video interview tools make it possible to conduct remote interviews. 
• Having a strong talent pipeline allows talent managers to fill technology positions quickly.
• Employee referrals are a great way to find tech talent with the desired skills.
• Structured interviews allow for an objective assessment of candidates’ hard and soft skills.
• Key performance metrics allow talent leaders to evaluate recruitment effectiveness and optimize strategies.

Use the above strategies to improve hiring speed and quality. For more tech hiring advice and insights, explore the resources on Dice.com.