Tips to Create a More Efficient Hiring Process

Credly Team

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned hiring into somewhat of a roller coaster, according to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Citing a recent global survey by HR consulting firm Mercer, SHRM reports that as of April, 68% of companies worldwide had closed their offices to guard against the virus, and 63% had put some sort of hiring freeze in place. But as companies begin to slowly open up again, the United States is poised to see a period of increased hiring.

It's not just a matter of calling back or re-hiring furloughed employees. During these months in which employees have been either working from home, laid off, or furloughed, they've been contemplating their job prospects. Many have taken stop-gap jobs in the interim. Your employees may or may not be available to step back into their old jobs when your organization needs them. Alternatively, many may not want to.

Despite those unknowns, when your organization is ready to get back to business, full steam ahead, you'll need a staff of good people, and you'll need them quickly. That means hiring needs to be efficient and focused, now more than ever.

Here are some tips for efficient hiring that you can set in motion now.

1) Look at the existing roles within your organization. Before your organization needs to begin hiring again, it's a good time to examine every role in your company, how they fit together, and the competencies needed to succeed. Keep an eye out for redundancies or where you'll need to bolster staff to maximize efficiency.

2) Focus on skills. If you haven't done so already, consider shifting your organization's focus to skills-based hiring. Rather than focusing on education, degrees, or experience, skills-based hiring focuses on the actual skills necessary for success in each role. When a hiring manager is armed with the knowledge of the skills needed to take your company into the future, it's easier to identify the people who can get you there.

3) Look for the digital credentials that can verify those skills. It's one thing for people to have skills listed on a resume. It's another for them to have earned the digital credentials to verify those skills. In this economy, you don't have time to find out that the candidate who looks great on paper doesn't have the skills to back up those claims. You need people who can hit the ground running. Hiring is time-consuming and expensive. Getting the right candidate in the right role sets everyone up for success.

4) Pare down and streamline your hiring process. The flood of resumes for each opening can seem overwhelming for hiring managers. One powerful way to wade through all of that is to use technology to filter out candidates who don't have digital credentials for the skills that are must-haves for each position. You can also filter the process further on your end by reducing the number of people and steps involved in hiring for each position. If a candidate has verifiable skills, you may not need the rigorous interview process designed to ferret out what you already know.

5) Look at the talent pool within your own organization. Has your workforce been earning digital credentials to verify their skills, improve their on-the-job performance, and move up the ladder? If so, look to your own employees first before casting your net outside your company. By looking within, you'll be certain your candidates are vetted and verified before the hiring process even begins. This will ultimately save your organization time, money, and human resources.

If you're interested in learning more about how digital credentials can enhance your hiring, or about offering it to your employees for their upskilling, learning, and career pathing, fill out the form below and we'll be in touch shortly.