According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Trade, Transportation, and Utilities is the industry segment with the second largest number of workers quitting in the Great Resignation, following only Leisure and Hospitality. If your utility is experiencing the pain of this phenomenon, there are many remedies available, including increasing pay and benefits, providing remote work options, and offering more support for career advancement.
Another is rapid hiring. In the past, rapid hiring was typically performed at job fairs where multiple companies set up tables and applicants came by to explore employment options. Now companies are also doing it on their own, with application-to-job-offer processes taking as little as one day. Here are a few tips for speeding up the hiring process and getting your staffing issues resolved.
Make It Easy
Many companies don’t have standardized hiring processes but doing so has benefits. One is that it presents a unified front to job seekers. While not all candidates will end up being hired, all will walk away with an opinion about the company they applied with, and those opinions — good or bad — may be shared with others, especially in online spaces. Enough people experiencing a disorganized or unpleasant process, and sharing their thoughts, could add up to other candidates deciding not to apply at all.
Other benefits are making life easier for hiring managers and cutting down on the time needed for hiring overall. Utilities should templatize job descriptions, interview questions, and other repeatable processes. These items can be included in an interview kit that also contains an item review checklist and a scorecard for each candidate. The scorecards can help hiring teams quickly identify top contenders for each open position.
Streamline Processes
In addition to adding the helpful steps mentioned above, utilities should consider removing those that don’t add value. One example is eliminating the offer step by presenting this information upfront. Not only will it speed the process if the hiring team wants to hire a candidate, but it will also screen out candidates for whom the benefits package isn’t a good fit and communicate transparency, which helps smooth out the entire process.
Another strategy is eliminating candidate search avenues that don’t typically result in new hires. For instance, going back to the job fairs mentioned above. They may be a good place to meet new talent. But do they really result in filling roles?
One more idea is to consider removing the interview process entirely. Some companies are now opting instead for an audition scenario in which candidates are brought in to temporarily perform the job they’ve applied for. While unorthodox, this method could demonstrate candidates’ capabilities better than traditional interviews.
Take Advantage of Technology
Apps that make use of artificial intelligence (AI) are available to help with rapid hiring. They include features like a conversational AI assistant to ask screening questions, schedule interviews, and send interview reminders to interviewees. They can also analyze past job candidates and employees to find matches for current openings and generate reports on hiring progress. These tools are just one more way to reduce hiring time. Â
What is your experience with rapid hiring? Please share in the comments.