The hiring process can be riddled with challenges every step of the way. Even when you are finally ready to select a candidate, there is a huge leap of faith involved in choosing someone who is virtually unknown to you. And in the middle of all of these challenges, just one simple mistake can prove costly for the entire business. A wrong hire can become more expensive than the entire recruitment process.

In this case, how do recruiters make sure that their recruitment process is impeccable? How can you mitigate hiring mistakes? 

How TO streamline your hiring process for better results

Use Your Network

The final decision of the hiring process is the most crucial one. Can you trust the candidate to deliver good results? Generally, the final hiring decision is based on faith. But not always. As a recruiter, you should know how to make the most of your networks to source the best talent. If an existing employee at your company can vouch for a candidate, the chances of his or her success increase tenfold. A vouched for candidate therefore becomes less of a stranger, therefore diminishing some of the risk factor. However, hiring managers should weigh the existing employee's own performance and reputation at your company, when trying to gauge the quality of their vouched for candidates/referrals. You should also consider your network beyond your company's four walls. Get in touch with professionals on LinkedIn and ask if they have any suggestions for the role you are looking for. If you can trust the person vouching for the candidate, you should be able to trust the candidate too. Using your networks optimally mitigates the chances of a wrong hire, and should be the first thing you should do while sourcing candidates.

Use Screening Tools 

Screening candidate applications is a tiring and tedious process. You get so many types of resumes and cover letters that it becomes exhausting to look at them after awhile. This disinterest and tediousness can result in a lot of silly mistakes, that can prove costly in the long-term. Therefore, leave the work of screening to online apps and tools. You can even develop your own customized tool to do the screening for you. These tools filter out unqualified candidates and let only the desired candidates come through. This process reduces a lot of the manual work, and mitigates the silly mistakes hiring managers make due to tediousness.

Create a Standard Interview Form

Interviews are the most crucial part of the hiring process. This is the part where you make many of your ultimate hiring decisions. Hence, if you do not have a standard interview process, you could end up running in circles. It may also result in a waste of time for both you and the candidate, and result in a lapse of judgments. Therefore, create a standard interview form, where you predetermine the nature of questions asked (based on scientific studies and your company’s work methods), and create a standard grading system. By doing this, your hiring process will become quicker and more efficient.

Use Tech Wherever You Can

The hiring process isn't finished after you have selected the candidate. You still have to bring them on-board as an employee. Now, this process alone has a lot of paperwork and the paperwork can be difficult to deal with. Therefore, use technology to save and store the papers you need from the candidate. Create online forms for the candidates to provide their information, including their banking details, address and other relevant employee data.

Technology is the best way to streamline the recruitment process. It is true that hiring is primarily focused on human interactions. But in this day and age an effective hiring manager has to leverage all available tools. And where technology’s role can be to take care of everything else in the hiring process. If you have the resources, use technology wherever you can.

Adela Belin is a private educator and a writer at Writers Per Hour and editor at ResumeWriter Review. She shares her teaching experience with colleagues, students, and writers