Lean recruiting – how to find the perfect employee in just 3 weeks.

Filling vacancies always means an enormous amount of work: many applications – sometimes several hundred – need to be viewed, evaluated, sorted and processed. Recruiting decisions have to be made, rejections sent out and interviews arranged. That takes up a lot of manpower. Ultimately, only the quality of the application is checked, not the qualities of the applicant. For efficient and up-to-date recruiting, it is advisable to have the recruitment process supported by recruiting software. This saves a lot of time, effort and costs. However, the range of recruiting tools is unmanageable.
In the article “How to find the right recruiting tool“, we looked in detail at the requirements that recruiting tools should fulfill: An optimal tool is able to perform administrative as well as diagnostic tasks. This means that it handles applicant management, i.e. it can manage, sort and respond to applications, as well as analyze applicant potential and create a ranking. We have tested the suitability of a large number of recruitment tools. The result: Lean Recruiting offers the broadest range of high-quality services. In this article, we will take a closer look at how this smart software works.

The perfect employee in 14 minutes

An ideal scenario for a recruiting process could look like this: You receive 76 applications in response to your job advertisement. You spend 14 minutes processing them and then have a ranking of the 5 best candidates. All less suitable applicants have received respectful rejections – and you have an individual interview guide for each of the 5 interviews. Sounds unlikely? But it is not. This is how the recruiting process of one of our clients was organized with the support of Lean Recruiting. It’s not the only success story: one of our clients went from placing an advertisement to signing an employment contract in just 3 weeks. And we, the berliner team, have also found the perfect maternity cover for our back office internally – out of 72 applications, 3 substantive job interviews were conducted. We only had to deal with the application process for 5 minutes every 2 days and were able to fill the position after a month.
So how does this tool work?

How lean recruiting works – the process in 7 steps:

Using various recruiting processes from our client EagleBurgmann Espey, we illustrate how the tool works.

Preparation

Before the recruiting process starts, the following preparations must be made:
The requirements that applicants should bring with them must be defined and entered.
The advertisement – the so-called “reinforcement request” – is written. The difference to a conventional job advertisement is great: the reinforcement request appeals to the target persons in an attractive way, there is room for employer branding here. This type of recruitment marketing aims to channel as many candidates as possible into the process.

1. communicate job advertisement 3.0 / reinforcement request

The interactive job advertisement appears on the company’s website, the reinforcement request of future colleagues. Here, applicants first receive information about the job and the company, and then start the recruiting process online. The request for reinforcement is advertised on relevant platforms on the Internet, and some potentially interesting applicants are contacted directly via Xing, for example. Here, too, the focus is on receiving a large number of applications. Lean Recruiting does the extra work!

2. filter A) Electronic interview checks basic requirements

Applicants start the process by clicking on the link. In the first step, Lean Recruiting checks basic requirements such as required training, studies, experience, professional expertise and mobility. Around 50% of applications are already rejected at this stage:
An electronic interview asks questions that check with the candidate whether their basic requirements match those of the position – quickly, thoroughly and without effort,
Approximately 30 % stop the process on their own, a further 20 % do not have the most important prerequisites. The applicant management of the system respectfully thanks you and wishes you every success elsewhere.

3. filter B) Potential check and ranking of applicants

Immediately afterwards, the remaining 50% undergo an in-depth potential analysis – in effect, empirically based benchmarking with the best. For applicants who have answered a sufficient number of the questions on the basic requirements in the desired way, this happens seamlessly. Cheating doesn’t work here: Lean Recruiting checks the unrealism/credibility of the statements made.
As a result, the company receives a ranking of the applicants:
According to the quality of the basic requirements and on the basis of a potential assessment from A+ to E.

The feedback

are interested or even enthusiastic about this type of application.
Here is the reaction of one applicant:

4. filter C) Potential analysis / recruiter questionnaire

Based on the ranking, the recruiter becomes active for the first time.
Having already been filtered by basic skills, he now has the choice after being additionally filtered by potential in the next step.

5. invitation to a personal interview

Another 5% of applicants are still active in the selection process. Your analysis results and documents are evaluated. Lean Recruiting suggests particularly suitable candidates. After reviewing the available detailed results on basic requirements and potential, HR decides who will be invited to make a brief telephone call to arrange an appointment.
The HR manager makes the decision and communication takes place automatically from the system,
The phone call follows. The most promising candidates are invited to a personal interview, which serves more to get to know each other than to have the charm of a highly embarrassing interview.

6. interview guide

In addition to the applicant’s profile and a list of his/her basic requirements, Lean Recruiting will provide you with an individual interview guide with questions that relate to or expand on the information provided. This way, the interviewer is well prepared for the interview. Here is an example:

7. job interview/first date

The interview is all about finding out whether the chemistry is right. We get to know each other in a relaxed atmosphere. The line manager / HR talks about the company and expectations of the applicant, the applicant talks about their experiences and their desire for change. If this is the case, there is a tour of the company during which contact can and should be made with the employees.

Example of a recruiting process at Espey:

09.06. The reinforcement request is published.
11.06. 150 potential candidates are contacted via Xing.
18.06. A total of 57 people fulfill the basic requirements.
01.07. 5 telephone calls take place.
07.07. The decisive interview is held.
01.08. Start of work for the new employee

Why we think lean recruiting is the best recruiting tool

• A good application does not make a good employee. – Lean recruiting checks the actual potential.
• It significantly minimizes the response times in which high-potential candidates could commit elsewhere.
• The time saved leaves your employees more time for other work.
• No interviews with only mediocre applicants.
• Optimal interview preparation with minimal preparation time – for interviews with the best applicants.
• The distribution of time and effort is turned on its head: Minimal time spent on unsuitable candidates, 90% of the time spent on interesting candidates – with enormous time savings.
• HR managers deal with people instead of processing artistically designed application folders or mass mailings of less qualified applicants.
• Fewer incorrect placements – resulting in high cost savings.
• Obtains missing documents independently and deals with correspondence.
• Meets all requirements for admin tools AND diagnostic tools. (See article “How to find the right recruiting tool”)

Are you interested in recruiting tools and lean recruiting or are you looking for support in your search for the perfect employee? Then contact us – we look forward to hearing from you!

Here is a video of what recruiting can look like with a good tool: