How to Hire Exceptional Talent Without Wasting Time

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If you’ve spent time on either side of the job hunt recently, you’ll know things are rough out there. The process is a grind for employers: job listings go live, and suddenly, you’re inundated with a flood of applications. You spend hours sifting through resumes, end up hiring someone you’re not entirely sure about, and just have to cross your fingers that it’ll work out.

Meanwhile, candidates face vague job descriptions and unclear expectations, leaving them guessing at what employers truly want. After spending hours crafting tailored resumes and cover letters, it’s disheartening to be met with silence — or to discover there are hundreds of other applicants vying for the same role. 

With many employers resorting to questionable AI screening platforms to deal with a deluge of applications, job seekers have started doing the same: using chatGPT to spin up cover letters. This leaves employers sifting through generic applications, making it harder to spot genuine talent. The result is a hiring process that feels impersonal, frustrating, and discouraging for everyone involved.

The Castle HR team has hundreds of years of collective HR experience. In all that time, we’ve learned a thing or two about hiring. And we like the taste of our own champagne. 

In August, we set out to hire a new Head of Operations. We filled the role in just over 15 days, dedicating only about 20 hours of collective effort from our team. Fifty-six applicants led to five screening interviews, three second-round interviews, and two final interviews until we extended one offer that was accepted on August 21st. We did it all without burning hours of senior leadership time — and 5 weeks in we couldn’t be more pleased with the results. 

Here’s a look behind the scenes at our process — plus tips to help you secure top talent while saving time and resources.

Transparency Is The Secret To Hiring Success

One of the biggest pitfalls in hiring is overcomplication. Companies often stretch out their recruitment efforts with endless umming and ahhing over who to hire. To save yourself from all that stress and wasted time, you have to be transparent: decide exactly what you need for the role, communicate it clearly, find the person who matches that vision, and tell them that you want them. And yes, it is that simple. 

You Need To Decide What You Want

Before drafting a job posting, the Castle HR team had a candid conversation about what the company truly needed from our new Head of Operations. That conversation centered around the outcomes we wanted that person to achieve and led to a surprising decision: we agreed we needed an excellent operations leader, and that person didn’t necessarily need a background in HR. 

While that might seem counterintuitive, we already have a team of HR experts who can lean on each other for HR support. That meant we didn’t need someone to advise on HR, but someone “to give us the tools and the processes that we need to be successful,” explains Stephanie Burns, the Castle Senior HR Business Partner who oversaw the hiring process. 

Getting that clarity meant we didn’t waste time looking for a candidate with unnecessary qualifications. Instead, we focused on finding a strategic, process-driven leader. 

Job postings need to be as specific and short. When you’re upfront about your expectations, people can self-disqualify — that means fewer applications to sift through and higher quality candidates to choose from. Keeping things concise also means you don’t waste people’s time. Strong job postings cover three main areas: the role and expected outcomes, the values of the company, and details of the hiring process, including the salary range.  

Here’s an excerpt from our job posting: 

Here are the expected outcomes from this role 

  • Lead, manage, and hold the service team accountable to targets and Castle Standards, ensuring high productivity and engagement. 
  • Develop, optimize, and continuously update the service offerings to maintain high quality and profitability. 
  • Implement and document efficient processes and standards for delivering services, and regularly audit and enhance these processes. 
  • Collect, track, analyze, and proactively report key metrics to inform business decisions and maintain a client NPS score of 9+. 
  • Select and implement technology solutions to enhance service operations, conducting quarterly audits to ensure effective use and cost-efficiency.

These are our values; they must resonate with you to ensure a great cultural fit: 

  • Come as you are: You will need to be an authentic leader; you will not be perfect, but be consistent in who you are. 
  • Adulting: You will lead by example and make decisions with the mindset “What is best for Castle HR?” 
  • Stay Flexible: You must stay updated on the market needs, Modern HR and industry trends to maintain a high quality of service. 
  • Take out the Trash: You are not afraid to roll up your sleeves to get things done and win. 
  • Lemon Hunting: You are always asking “how can we improve our processes?” by testing. 
  • Earn a Seat at the Table: Our business is built around delivering exceptional results for our customers. You represent all things service delivery and quality and are held to high standards.

Deanna Callahan, who ultimately took on the Head of Operations role, recalls that the Castle job posting was about one page long, “It wasn’t seven pages, it wasn’t full of jargon. It was just really easy to understand, and it was so clear what they needed. As I was reading it, it felt like it was written for me.”

If It’s Not a Hell Yes, It’s a No

Stephanie notes another common hiring misstep she has seen teams’ make: taking on candidates they feel lukewarm about. “They say, ‘I’m not sure about this, but I think they could do the job.’ And my response to that is, if it’s not a hell yes, then it’s a no,” explains Stephanie. In your application questions and interviews, look for someone who shows they can achieve your expected outcomes and match your values. 

In Deanna’s first interview with Stephanie, that’s exactly what happened: “[for all of my questions about the outcomes] not only did she have an answer, but she also gave an example,” remarks Stephanie. 

Companies typically ask for references only from candidate managers. Because this was a leadership role, we asked for a subordinate reference from someone Deanna has managed — that also helped confirm she’d be perfect for this leadership position. This is an important step frequently overlooked by hiring teams bringing on managers. 

It’s important not to compromise on matching values either — they’re essential for your company culture. “If I didn’t fit the values, none of this would be working as well as it is,” says Deanna. 

How To Treat Superstar Candidates Like VIPs

When you find someone exceptional, you can’t afford to wait. Superstar candidates won’t stay on the market forever, and if you mess them around, you risk losing them to another employer. 

Playing Hard To Get Is Not Worth It

Stephanie explains, “I’ve been in workplaces before where they say ‘we don’t want to seem too eager. We want the ball in our court.’” But at Castle, we don’t play games. If we find someone great, we let them know we want them on board and move quickly to make it happen. “If you’re taking too much time, especially now in the job market, people will find another job,” says Stephanie. 

Tooling plays a role here — we use the Collage HR portal. It’s set up with all our hiring steps and templates for interviews and emails to make it easy to move candidates through the process.

Stephanie recalls how this played out with Deanna. “I met with Deanna on a Tuesday, and by Monday, she had gone through three interviews and received a verbal offer. That’s how fast we wanted to move,” she says. We didn’t want to risk losing her to another company. 

Deanna recalls that she ended up getting offer letters from the other companies that she was also interviewing with. “What’s funny is, even though I started the interview process weeks later with Castle, I got the verbal offer [from Castle HR] before I got the offer letters from the other companies,” Deanna notes. 

Personalize the Offer

Moving quickly is important, but so is how you extend the offer. A standard, impersonal offer letter wouldn’t cut it for Castle HR. Instead, we made the offer via a personalized Loom video, explaining why we wanted Deanna on the team and highlighting how her skills and values aligned with the company’s vision. “It felt so personal, and it was so validating,” Deeana recalls.

Alongside the video, we also showed flexibility in our compensation approach. Even though we had a pay range specified in the job posting, we ended up offering Deeana above that band. “I also appreciated that they did that because a lot of companies don’t in Canada,” explains Deanna,  “A lot of companies don’t even tell you what the pay range is for a role.” 

Deanna accepted the offer on August 21st, less than three weeks after the initial job posting. We’re excited to have her on the team! 

Transform Your Company With The Ultimate Dream Team

Imagine if every member of your team were a high performer — what would that mean for your business? Increased productivity, smoother operations, and a stronger, more cohesive culture. That should be your reality. If it’s not, we’re here to help. Our hiring process can bring top talent to your organization with minimal time investment. Book a call with Castle HR today. 

 

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