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The Complete Guide To Full Cycle Recruiting In 2024

David Rice

QUICK SUMMARY

Discover how a full cycle recruiting approach can change your talent acquisition efforts.

TABLE OF CONTENTS What Is Full Cycle Recruiting? Businesses That Use Full Cycle Recruiting Full Cycle Recruiting Stakeholders The Full Cycle Recruiting Process Full Cycle Vs. On-Cycle Recruiting Benefits Challenges Full Cycle Recruiting Technology

Key Takeaways

Streamlined Hiring Process: Full cycle recruiting creates a seamless and efficient hiring experience by having one recruiter or team manage the entire process from job requisition to onboarding.

Improved Candidate Experience:: By providing a single point of contact throughout the recruitment journey, candidates receive a more personalized and engaging experience.

Increased Efficiency and Accountability: Utilizing recruitment technology, prioritizing tasks, and leveraging recruitment analytics are crucial strategies that help overcome challenges such as time management, high workload, and resource constraints, ultimately leading to better quality hires.

In 2024, full cycle recruiting is an essential strategy for many businesses looking to streamline their hiring process and improve the quality of their hires.

In this article, I will explain what full cycle recruiting is, the benefits it offers, and best practices to ensure success.

What Is Full Cycle Recruiting?

Full cycle recruiting, also known as end-to-end recruiting, refers to the entire recruiting process being handled by a single recruiter or a dedicated team, from the initial job requisition to the onboarding of the new hire. Most often, that person or team is doing so with the help of a specific recruiting software.

This approach ensures consistency and accountability throughout the hiring process.

Business value

Full cycle recruiting provides significant business value by creating a seamless hiring experience, reducing time-to-hire, and improving the overall quality of hires. It allows recruiters to build strong relationships with candidates, enhancing the candidate experience and increasing the likelihood of successful placements.

Businesses That Use Full Cycle Recruiting

Full cycle recruiting is common in various industries and business sizes, including:

Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs): SMEs often use full cycle recruiting to streamline their hiring process and manage costs when working with a smaller recruitment budget.
Technology Companies: Tech firms utilize this approach to quickly adapt to fast-changing talent needs.
Healthcare: The healthcare industry relies on full cycle recruiting to fill critical roles efficiently.
Retail: Retail businesses use full cycle recruiting to manage seasonal hiring spikes and high turnover rates.

Full Cycle Recruiting Stakeholders

Key stakeholders in the full cycle recruiting process include:

Recruiters: Manage the entire recruitment process from start to finish.
Hiring Managers: Collaborate with recruiters to define job requirements and participate in interviews.
HR Teams: Provide support for compliance, benefits, and onboarding.
Candidates: Engage with the recruiter and hiring manager throughout the process.

The Full Cycle Recruiting Process

Now that we’ve established who participates in a full cycle recruiting process and what sort of businesses are typically deploying this approach, it’s time to dig into the process.

Even with it's simplicity in terms of personnel, creating a recruitment process flowchart to map out the steps within the process is still helpful.

Step 1: Job requisition and approval

Creating and approving a job requisition is the first step in the full cycle recruiting process. This involves identifying the need for a new hire, drafting a detailed job description, and obtaining approval from relevant stakeholders. Here’s how you do it.

Identify the need: Assess your team's current workload, project demands, and future needs to determine whether a new position is necessary. For example, if your customer service team is consistently overwhelmed, look at metrics like customer service wait times and customer satisfaction survey results to show a need through data and customer feedback.
Draft a job description: A well-crafted job description includes the job title, responsibilities, required qualifications, and skills. Be specific about what the role entails and refine your recruitment SEO strategy to attract the right candidates.
Obtain approval: Present the job description and justification for the new hire to relevant stakeholders, such as department heads to get their approval. This ensures everyone is aligned on the need and expectations for the new role.

Step 2: Sourcing and attracting candidates

Once the job requisition is approved, the next step is sourcing and attracting candidates. This can be done through various strategies:

Utilize job boards and social media: Post the job opening on popular job boards like Indeed, LinkedIn, and specialized industry sites. Use social media platforms to share the job posting and reach a broader audience.
Leverage employee referrals: Encourage current employees to refer qualified candidates. Employee referral programs often yield high-quality candidates who fit well within the company culture.
Job fairs and networking events: Participate in job fairs and industry-specific networking events to meet potential candidates in person. This can help build a talent pipeline and create awareness of your company as an employer of choice.

Step 3: Screening and interviewing

Screening and interviewing candidates is a universal step in any recruiting process. It’s no different in full cycle recruiting where it’s a key step to ensure you select the best fit candidate for the role.

Resume review: Start by screening resumes to identify candidates who meet the basic qualifications. Look for relevant experience, skills, and education. While systems like applicant tracking systems (ATS) can help you do this, it's important to note that fine tuning it and quality checking the results of its work should be an ongoing effort.
Conduct phone or video interviews: Initial phone or video interviews can help narrow down the pool of candidates. Use this opportunity to ask about their experience, skills, and interest in the role.
Organize in-person or panel interviews: Once you have a shortlist of candidates, schedule in-person or panel interviews. Prepare a set of structured interview questions to assess their suitability for the role and what they can bring to your organizational culture.

Step 4: Offering and negotiating

After identifying the ideal candidate, the next step is extending a job offer and negotiating terms. This is an area you want to get right, showing the candidate your interest and how you’ll value them.

Present a competitive salary and benefits package: Ensure your offer includes a salary that matches market expectations and a benefits package that aligns with the candidate’s experience.
Communicate job expectations and growth opportunities: Clearly outline the job responsibilities, performance expectations, and potential career growth opportunities within the company.
Be prepared to negotiate: Be open to negotiating salary, benefits, and other terms to meet the candidate’s needs. Effective negotiation can help secure the candidate and start the employment relationship on a positive note.

Step 5: Onboarding

A smooth onboarding process is essential for integrating new hires into the company and setting them up for success. Here are some standard steps to follow:

Documentation and Equipment: Ensure all necessary paperwork, such as employment contracts and tax forms, are ready. Provide the new hire with the required equipment, such as a laptop and access to necessary software.
Introduce the new hire to the team: Arrange for the new hire to meet their team members and key stakeholders. A welcome lunch or team meeting can help them feel part of the team from day one.
Training and support: Provide comprehensive training on company policies, procedures, and job-specific tasks. Assign a mentor or buddy to guide them through their initial days and answer any questions they might have.

Full Cycle vs. On-Cycle Recruiting

Full cycle recruiting varies from other recruiting strategies in that it isn't tied to a timeframe. On-cycle recruiting fills positions with a specified time frame or "hiring cycle." Off-cycle recruiting is different in that it happens outside of what the business defines as a typical hiring cycle.

Explanation of on-cycle recruiting

On-cycle recruiting may involve separate recruiters or teams handling different stages of the hiring process, such as sourcing, interviewing, and onboarding. This is done to ensure that the hiring is done within a set timeframe.

Full cycle recruiting offers consistency, while on-cycle recruiting can lead to distributed workloads, but each have their drawbacks. Let’s take a closer look at some of these.

Pros and cons

Full cycle recruiting

Pros:

Streamlined process: With one recruiter managing the entire process, there is a seamless transition between stages, reducing delays and miscommunication.
Consistent candidate experience: Candidates interact with a single point of contact throughout the recruitment journey, which builds trust and ensures a consistent experience.
Accountability: The recruiter is accountable for the entire process, leading to higher quality and efficiency.

Cons:

High workload: Managing the entire recruitment cycle can be demanding for individual recruiters, potentially leading to burnout.
Limited specialization: A single recruiter may not have the same depth of expertise in each stage of the recruitment process compared to specialized recruiters.
Resource intensive: Full cycle recruiting can require significant resources, especially for high-volume hiring needs.

On-cycle recruiting

Pros:

Specialized recruiters: Different recruiters handle different stages of the process, allowing each recruiter to specialize and bring expert knowledge to their stage.
Potentially faster hiring process: With multiple recruiters working simultaneously on different stages, the overall time-to-hire can be reduced to meet a hiring cycle.
Flexibility: It allows for scaling the recruitment process more easily by adding additional recruiters to handle specific stages during peak hiring periods.

Cons:

Lack of consistency: Candidates may experience a disjointed process due to interactions with multiple recruiters, leading to potential miscommunication and a less personalized experience.
Higher risk of miscommunication: With multiple recruiters involved, there is a greater risk of information being lost or miscommunicated between stages.
Fragmented accountability: Responsibility is divided among multiple recruiters, which can lead to less accountability for the overall candidate experience and outcome.

Benefits Of Full Cycle Recruiting

As we’ve mentioned already, full cycle recruiting creates a seamless hiring experience by having one point of contact throughout the process, reducing bottlenecks and ensuring efficient communication. Here are some other benefits:

Comprehensive candidate evaluation

Full cycle recruiting allows for a more comprehensive evaluation of candidates. Recruiters who manage the entire process can better assess candidates' skills, cultural add value, and potential for long-term success within the company.

Enhanced candidate engagement

Candidates often prefer interacting with a single point of contact who understands their journey and can provide personalized updates. This engagement leads to higher acceptance rates and a more positive impression of the company.

Research from CareerBuilder indicates that 78% of candidates say the overall candidate experience they receive is an indicator of how a company values its people.

Stronger employer branding

Managing the full recruitment cycle allows recruiters to convey a consistent and positive message about the company, enhancing employer branding.

Challenges

Recruiters need to manage job postings, screen candidates, conduct interviews, and handle onboarding. Without proper time management, the quality of the recruitment process may suffer.

Here are some common challenges for full cycle recruitment.

Resource constraints

Full cycle recruiting requires adequate resources, including time, technology, and personnel. Smaller companies or those with high-volume hiring needs may find it difficult to allocate sufficient resources, leading to bottlenecks and inefficiencies.

Candidate pipeline management

Maintaining a robust candidate pipeline can be difficult when a single recruiter handles all stages. Keeping track of candidate interactions and ensuring timely follow-ups requires meticulous organization and effective use of technology.

Strategies to overcome challenges

Here are some tips and tricks to overcome these challenges:

Utilize technology

Invest in an recruiting software with features you need to automate repetitive tasks such as resume screening and interview scheduling. This can free up time for more strategic activities.

Continuous learning

Attend webinars, workshops, and conferences. Subscribe to industry publications and join professional associations.

Leverage recruitment analytics

Use data to identify bottlenecks in the recruiting process and make informed decisions. Regularly review recruitment KPIs such as time-to-hire, cost-per-hire, and candidate drop-off rates. Use this data to improve processes and allocate resources more effectively.

Build a talent pipeline

Engage with potential candidates through networking events, social media, and talent communities. Keep in touch with passive candidates who may be interested in future opportunities.

Full Cycle Recruiting Technology

If you’re thinking of deploying a full cycle recruiting approach, the recruiter who handles each one of your prospects is going to need a helping hand from a viable recruiting software platform.