Marie Kondo is increasingly becoming a household name with the success of her book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and new Netflix Series focused on home organization. But, I’m here to tell you to use it in a different way… on your hiring process.
One of the biggest complaints we hear about from candidates and hiring managers is about the actual hiring process being too lengthy or complex. Typically, many people contribute to the hiring process and it can be difficult to navigate which ones are necessary and which ones can be eliminated – sometimes feelings can get in the way, too. In the end, the candidates are asked to schedule numerous rounds of interviews – potentially taking them away from their current job duties. Not to mention the time it takes your internal team to schedule and follow up. Given that we’re in a tight “candidate-centric” labor market, it’s becoming more common for the ideal candidate to “get away” because the process takes too long – and then nobody wins.
I have several ways that you can improve your hiring experience, adapted from Marie Kondo’s KonMari principals.
1. Commit yourself to cleaning up your processes. Pull together the folks necessary in hiring and level set. Get buy-in from the group to make your process clear so that everyone understands their role, timing, and outcomes.
2. Imagine what the ideal hiring experience look like. Ask yourself and your hiring team what the ideal process would look like for a candidate. Don’t worry about specifics. Just have everyone dream big. Is it first interview to decision in 5 days? Could it be a blend of technology and human interaction to streamline things?
3. Discard the pieces of the process that don’t work. Gather feedback from your most recent hires and your hiring team about what worked (and didn’t) . You may start to see some common threads!
4. Categorize your process – don’t get lost in the details but be intentional and methodical about what needs to be done. Break your process down by role/division and see where you can cut the fat. For example, how many people need to interview someone before a decision is made? Do you have more than enough people in the room?
5. Follow the right order. Lay out the new hiring/interview plan. It should be an improvement over the previous process and introduce new efficiencies.
6. Does this spark joy with the job seeker and hiring manager? Get buy-in again. Sit down with your team and see how everyone is feeling. Invite your most recent hires to provide feedback on your new process. In the coming weeks, ask new candidates for feedback on your process.