By Rob Cullum – Senior Practice Manager
TTH, or Time-To-Hire as it’s more commonly known, is something that everyone (clients and recruiters) need to be thinking about when it comes to making new hires.
I speak with a lot of clients who say that they are waiting for the world to settle down before they make their next hire, already knowing what they need right now – but are not doing anything about it. What I find is that if you understand TTH then it can take away a lot of pain that can come from the recruitment process and make the overall planning much simpler.
It is easier to work backwards…
For example, if you need someone to start in September – you really should be aiming to have all interviews and offers done and dusted by mid/late July at the latest to allow for notice periods (assuming the successful candidate is on 1 months’ notice).
So, to ensure that interviews take place in July, you will need to allocate a suitable time to review candidates that have applied, respond, and to set up interviews. For argument sake, let’s give that 2 weeks. So now, you are reviewing applications at the beginning of July.
To get a good response, you need to ensure that your advert is spot-on and running for a good period of time – call it 1 month.
Taking all that into consideration – you need to ensure that your advert is running at the beginning of June.
Your TTH? 3 months at least*.
- Advert goes live in June.
- Sifting candidates, responding to everyone, interviewing, offering candidate – July
- Candidate notice period – August
- Candidate start – September
(* not counting preparing the JD, advert etc. Also, if it is a senior position the candidate may be on 3 months’ notice, 6 months’ notice… lots of things to factor in which could make the process even longer. Let’s not think about the prospect if you don’t appoint, eh?)
Now, it is possible to cut that down, shorten the advert time, condense interviews, use contingent recruiters, search job boards and harvest CVs etc. You could even smash it out in 2 weeks for example, but at what cost? Lower quality of candidate? More expensive fees? Shoddy on-boarding? Zero commitment and engagement?
Think about your TTH, think about how to do it effectively. Planning is key. How will the wrong hire impact your business, your clients’ business, your customers, students and staff?
If you plan it properly and understand your TTH, the process will be easier.
If you are unsure, work with someone who knows what they are talking about who will give open and honest advice and manage the whole process for you.