As the market has improved, we’ve seen more candidates in the position of having multiple offers. This is to be celebrated, it means the job market is doing well, and, as a client, whilst it can be disappointing to miss out on your preferred candidate, it shows that you’re identifying talent well (after all, who wants to hire someone nobody else wants?).

However, firms often put themselves into the position of having unnecessary competition through a slow process. Quite often a candidate will have been headhunted for one role, or selectively applied for it, and whilst they haven’t been actively looking until that point, many then decide to consider a number of options. They don’t want to move roles too often and finding the right fit is so important. However, in our experience, if firms had more efficient recruitment processes, many candidates wouldn’t reach the stage of considering other opportunities. Perhaps it’s better for the candidate to do so, or perhaps it’s a waste of time if they’ve already identified their ideal environment, but, to be blunt, the hiring manager’s job is to find the best fit for their team and to win the war for talent, and speed is key in order to do this successfully.

A slow, deliberate, process doesn’t mean a good process. In fact there are many risks involved, namely:

1. Candidates losing interest
2. The organisation looking indecisive
3. It costs more, as candidates need more motivation to move with time elapsing (we can’t prove this, but it seems more common after delays)
4. You lose the candidate to a more speedy competitor, who is perceived as dynamic and decisive

A good recruitment process assesses candidates skills well, it is honest and shows candidates the good and bad points of an organisation, but it also sells the firm’s unique culture and the opportunity to prospective employees.