Why inaction is deadly in the talent war.

It seems that recruiters are regularly fighting to get companies to move on strong candidates in a timely fashion. Our industry regularly "loses" good candidates because the client company couldn't or wouldn't move quickly enough.

Many times the delay is because the hiring manager is already buried with other work, and has to make the difficult decision to keep digging the hole, or take time out to evaluate people who may or may not be able to help him dig faster. It is a tradeoff with no certain payoff. However, in economic times like this, it may be simply that the need exists, but the "visibility" on economic improvement is murky. There is never a simple answer as to why a hiring entity would not move with a sense of urgency on good candidates. Whatever the reason, the old adage that "People only change when the pain of changing is less than the pain of staying the same" proves true.

Here are some reasons that you may consider as you evaluate the delays in your hiring cycles.

1. Candidate enthusiasm diminishes the longer you take between the introduction of the opportunity and the end of the interview cycle - Striking while the iron is hot is never more evident than in the hiring process. Timely action combined with clear indication of interest will keep an "A" player interested in you. Beware, however, of appearing too desperate.
2. Believe it or not, even in this economy, you have competition - There are many companies that currently are in a talent acquisition mode, and even more that are taking a "topgrading" approach to replace low performers with top performers.
3. Delays cause unnecessary anxiety - No feedback is often times worse than bad feedback as the imagination generally creates only negative scenarios as to why the process has stalled, which may not reflect your actual interest level.
4. An "A" candidate is likely evaluating you as much as you are evaluating them - Delays and poor communication will likely reflect as indicative of your management style to a strong candidate with multiple opportunities.

Remember to keep the process moving and provide the candidate with feedback on where they stand in the process and you will minimize the chances of lamenting "the one that got away".