The slow speed of many company recruitment procedures means that they lose out on top quality candidates, according to a new survey.

The research, carried out by Parity Software Services, reveals that it takes an average of two months for a company to source, interview and select a candidate. While waiting for the company to resolve its paperchase, many sought-after candidates become impatient and go elsewhere, says Parity.

Despite this, many companies are unaware that the speed of their recruiting has a direct effect on candidates, says Rick Bacon, managing director at Parity Software Services: “The job market is as competitive now as it was in the boom period, if not more so. If a company wants the best staff, it needs to execute the recruitment process professionally. The successful companies are those who know exactly who they want and don’t stop until they’ve got them.”

He continued, “If recruitment is treated like an unco-ordinated series of haphazard meetings in corridors, it’s no surprise companies feel the pinch of the skills shortage. In shortening the project lead times associated with recruitment, companies can significantly reduce the total cost of their IT operations. For instance, by having staff in place at the beginning of a project, it’s less likely that it will over-run and cost the company more than was budgeted.” Parity sites the case of a company recruiting 50 IT specialists, which had only filled six positions after two months, despite recieving 100 applications. It revealed that 92 of those applicants had secured new jobs, but that the company in question had been too slow to attract the majority.

If your recruitment process is taking too long, there are a number of ways you can speed things up.