Articles From the Team

The importance of maintaining momentum during the recruitment process

Recruitment is a fairly long process for all parties involved. There are a number of key milestones and no one expects things to happen overnight. However, unnecessary and avoidable delays occur all too frequently. The result: each party misses out on their ideal outcome.

Taking the pain away

In the in-house market we recognise that our clients have businesses to run and that recruiting new team members is a distraction. It’s at this point where recruitment consultants take the pain out of the process and allow businesses to continue as normal with minimal disruption. Once we receive a job brief, we apply it to the market, screen candidates and send relevant CVs for clients to consider, alleviating the most time consuming and costly stages of the hiring process.

Avoiding delay

The major and avoidable delays that have the potential to derail the process occur between CV feedback to interview stage, and interview to offer stage. It’s at these stages where the decision to progress or reject applications is often bogged down by the need to get approval from Heads of Legal or other senior management who’ve incredibly busy diaries. A transparent and direct line of communication between recruiter and decision-maker minimises any disruption and delay; both parties should mutually recognise that the process is a joint effort.

A joint effort

Recently, I’ve found delays in decision-making lead to a decision being made for us: it’s an extremely tight market and candidates can be turned off by a role or look elsewhere simply because they feel unwanted by the business/prospective employer. I spoke with another lawyer recently about a role with a major business and he chose not to apply based on how he’d been treated by the company in the past. Once candidate lawyers are part of the process: informed of the role and had CVs submitted, or interviews arranged, the clock is ticking. Prompt feedback sends a positive message about your business and ensures we’re moving forward.

Always get in quick

As well as delays due to oversight and other work getting in the way, I’ve had experience of businesses asking us to hold off on progressing candidates in the hope of other viable options. Usually businesses have attempted to recruit directly before instructing us so they should understand how tight the market is. My advice is if you have a candidate lawyer who you like, act on what’s right there in front of you as opposed to what else is (potentially) out there. Otherwise you’re at risk of missing out altogether.

Your opinion matters most

The key to the entire recruitment process is strong communication between all parties, and this is where recruiters, as the bridge, play such a pivotal role. If you’re recruiting for your business, it’s your opinion that matters most, and conveying this in a timely manner is crucial and often overlooked. Scheduling a five minute call with your recruiter to discuss your thoughts on applicants can save hours of work that’s otherwise incurred later down the line. A quick call ensures you secure the right person for the job, and fill the gap in your team in the quickest time possible.

For more information please contact BCL Legal.