The longer your recruitment process, the more candidates you will see dropping out as they get picked up by competing organisations. This may have a detrimental effect on your procurement processes, operations and profitability. On top of this, you may end up hiring the wrong professionals, causing them to leave the organisation more quickly than you hoped.
Research by Glass Door has shown that the entire interview process in the UK takes approximately 28.9 days: much too long by today’s modern standards. However, this does not mean that you should rush blindly through the process. Your aim should be to more selective in the early stages so that you can move swiftly when you find the right procurement talent.
Importance of streamlining the recruitment process
If you have an organised recruitment process from the start, you should be more successful in hiring the right procurement talent and ensuring that your organisation benefits from the talent that you hire. Usually, organisations that have a two- to three-week phase from application to offer letter are the ones who end up with the cream of the crop with lower attrition rates in the long-term.
In contrast, a month-long recruitment process is far too long and will likely result in you losing the best candidates. Remember, candidates apply to multiple organisations and if they get a good offer from a competing company within a couple of days of applying to your organisation, they will accept the offer.
How to hire procurement talent
Here are some ways that you can be quick with your hiring process and ensure you get procurement professionals who can cut costs and maintain superior supplier relationships:
Make sure that the procurement professional in charge provides feedback on CVs within two days of submission
Connect with the candidate over the phone to ascertain their suitability and explain the next stages of the recruitment process
Ensure that the interview process occurs within two or three weeks of a candidate submitting their CV
Promptly issue offer letters to desired candidates taking into account their notice period
Following Brexit, supply chains and supplier relations will be under tremendous strain and pressure. Therefore, it is important you have a short but thorough recruitment process in place to secure the best talent in the market. This will not only make your procurement recruitment hassle-free but will also help you to get the best candidates who can boost profitability by managing spends efficiently.