Hiring takes precious time and resources: Most companies spend an average of 42 days filling a position and another 90 days to onboard. When all is said and done, it can take up to 12 months for new hires to reach their full performance potential, even when given the most thorough training — so it’s no surprise many companies are on a constant quest to hire faster.

Yet many businesses go about it all wrong, skipping crucial steps for the sake of speed and efficiency. This critical mistake can be even more expensive than a lengthy hiring process, leading to high turnover rates and low performance. 

But here’s the good news: data-driven talent acquisition can solve the problem, allowing businesses to speed up the hiring process and preserve the quality of hires at the same time.

Let’s take a look at the top five ways to hire faster using data.

Of course, it’s impossible to incorporate data-driven recruitment strategies if you don’t have any recorded data. Many businesses find this hard to do manually, so they give up before they’ve even started. But collecting and recording hiring data is the first step to optimizing the hiring timeline, and it’s well worth the effort. Keep in mind that the right tools will make all the difference in this process — an Excel spreadsheet or basic software program may not be enough to properly record and analyze all the data used in the decision-making process.

Not sure what to record? Here are some key hiring data points:

• Resume insights

• Years of work experience

• Personality traits

• Skills testing results

• Answers to interview questions

• Pre-interview screenings

Once you’re recording hiring data, put that information to use by quantifying as much as possible. While some data points have an obvious numerical value (like years of experience), others require a little more effort to transform into usable data (like personality traits). But ultimately, almost everything you look for in an applicant can be quantified when you use the right strategy.

Consider using communication scores and ranking systems to get measurable, quantifiable data that can be tracked over time. This can be difficult when you’re first starting, but as you get into the habit, you’ll discover a wealth of quantifiable data points that will revolutionize the way you hire.

If you really want to speed up your hiring process, it’s important to track data beyond the screening and interview stage. Once those employees are hired, you’ll want to track their performance and regularly review the quality of the hire.

When compared to the hiring data, this information will tell you what you need to keep — and what you need to drop — to make your hiring process more efficient and effective.

Now that you have two quantified sets of data (hiring data and success data), you can compare them to see if the qualities you looked for in the hiring process were actually indicative of success.

What really separates the top and bottom performers? Do the top performers have the most years of work experience, or are there other qualities that predict success? Repeat this process for all performance data you’ve tracked, staying open-minded and flexible about where you may need to adjust your hiring strategy.

After you’ve compared the hiring and performance data, you’ll know which hiring traits lead to a top performer. Then you can reprioritize what you’re looking for in candidates and know when to drop the factors that aren’t indicative of success.

Don’t be afraid to be ruthless in how you alter your hiring approach. For many businesses, as much as 50-75% of their existing hiring process is unhelpful. When these elements are dropped, it will shorten the hiring process and improve the quality of hire. And since time is money, you’ll end up with significant savings. 

Every business wants to hire faster and improve the quality of hires, and data-driven talent acquisition is key to achieving this goal. When companies record, quantify, and compare hiring data with performance metrics, they’ll have a clear view of what’s working in the hiring process — and have the confidence to drop what’s not working.

Want to learn more data-driven recruitment strategies? Check out our 5 Tips to Hire Better Using Data.