---

So what’s the actual cost?

Let’s break it down. Every open role has a cost attached to it — not just in lost productivity, but in morale and momentum. A sluggish process frustrates your team, forces others to pick up the slack, and slows down delivery. That developer role that’s been open for 45 days? That’s a sprint you didn’t finish, a release that got delayed, a roadmap that’s behind. Multiply that across departments and the impact stacks up fast.

There’s also a cost to your talent pipeline. When candidates go too long without hearing back, they drop out or disengage. Worse still, they may share that experience publicly. In today’s market, candidate experience travels — whether through Glassdoor, Slack communities, or LinkedIn DMs. A slow process tells candidates you’re not serious, or worse, disorganised. It makes them question what it’s like to work there. That kind of reputational damage is hard to undo.

And it’s not just candidates who suffer. Hiring managers often find themselves stuck in cycles of interviews, feedback loops, and delays — all while trying to do their day job. It creates tension across teams and leads to burnout, especially in growing companies where headcount is critical to hitting milestones. Recruitment becomes a time sink, rather than a strategic growth lever.

---

Why do companies slow down?

Often, it’s fear. Fear of making the wrong hire. Fear of moving too fast. Fear of stepping outside the traditional, multi-stage process. But more stages don’t equal better hires — they just create more room for drop-offs and indecision. Many hiring teams confuse “thorough” with “slow.” In reality, the best hiring processes are clear, consistent, and efficient.

Sometimes, the process has simply evolved without much reflection. A stage got added here, another stakeholder got looped in there, and suddenly you’re running a six-stage interview process for a mid-level role. Without regular audits, these inefficiencies creep in and become the norm.

---

What to do instead

Fast doesn’t have to mean frantic. You can keep quality high and make decisions faster — if your process is clear, structured, and intentional. Here are a few steps to help you move in the right direction:

Pre-align internally: Before opening a role, agree on what’s essential, who’s involved, and how decisions will be made. It avoids unnecessary delays and back-and-forth later.

Audit your hiring process: Map every stage and ask if it’s adding real value. Are you collecting the right signals at each point? Can stages be merged, shortened, or cut entirely?

Set expectations with hiring managers: Empower them with clear scorecards, structured interviews, and timelines. When they know what good looks like, they’ll move faster with confidence.

Use SLAs and hiring metrics: Measure time-to-hire, time-in-stage, and drop-off rates. If candidates are getting stuck at the same point, fix it. If hiring managers are delaying decisions, unblock them.

Give candidates clarity: Tell them upfront what the process involves and how long it should take. Follow up when you say you will. A tight, transparent process makes candidates feel respected — even if they don’t get the job.

---

The RecruitMend perspective

At RecruitMend, we’ve seen firsthand how a few small tweaks can shave weeks off your time to hire. When we worked with Currencycloud, we helped reduce hiring time without sacrificing candidate quality — all while maintaining strong DEI metrics and a top-tier candidate experience. The key? Simplicity, clarity, and trust in the process.

If you’re struggling to fill roles quickly — or worried your process might be turning off great candidates — it’s worth taking a step back. A fast process isn’t just about efficiency. It’s a competitive advantage.

---

Let’s talk about how we can reduce your time to hire and increase your offer acceptance rates – while delivering a candidate experience that sets you apart.