How Your Hiring Process Could Be Costing Millions

Jeremy Tiffin • June 29, 2016

Every year companies spend millions of dollars on marketing and employment brand development. And a company’s public perception is very important to how effectively they compete in the talent market.


All that time and money poured into marketing and employment branding could be wasted by someone in the hiring process who hasn’t been engaging effectively and representing their company in the best possible way. Most of the time this breakdown is the oversight of the three basics to candidate engagement.


Response time, two-way communication, and the sell.


If your hiring process doesn’t utilize these three basics, candidates may not be interested in working for you or your company and sometimes they will walk away with a very negative perception of your brand.


So let’s break down the basics.


Response time. Contacting a candidate in a timely manner to provide some sort of feedback is critical.


The number one thing that frustrates people during the hiring experience is long times between responses or no response at all and I’m not even talking about a simple application I’m referring to candidates who have been engaged and have interviewed. In fact, 60% of candidates who have gone for an interview will never receive any kind of follow up. No email, no phone call, no carrier pigeon. That’s a lot of people left hanging, wondering what happened. Am I still under consideration or did I miss the mark?


The professional courtesy of following up after an interview in a timely manner goes a long way to ensuring those dollars spent building the employment brand don’t get wasted. Let the candidate know if they’re still under consideration or not. You’re not going to hurt their feelings if you’re professional and they’ll appreciate being able to move on with their job search.


The next thing to consider is two-way communication in the interview setting.


During the interview process, hiring managers can turn a candidate off if they go on a power trip and don’t connect. Perhaps you’ve seen this before with someone in a position of authority and oversteps and turns you off. In many cases when this happens, the interview becomes an interrogation instead of a conversation.


A two-way street of communication, exploration and evaluation is key. This helps determine the long-term legitimacy of a candidates fit. If you’ve got top talent in the interview process and there isn’t a professional connection, it may very well mean the difference in them selecting your job offer over your competitors.



The last thing to remember during the hiring process is the sell.


This is your opportunity to impress the candidate, and make them want to work for you and your company. We frequently tell people that picking a great boss is as important as the company itself. In order to convey this, know your competitive advantage as a leader and outline the future of the organization and what it could mean for their career. You’re the company’s ambassador so sell them on why it’s so great.


For a lot of smaller organizations who don’t have big marketing budgets, or a well-developed employment brand, this is a very effective way to promote your company and spread positive word of mouth.




With all three of these areas, make sure candidates have a positive experience during the evaluation process, whether or not they get the job. You never know where people are going to end up, and a negative experience only hurts your company’s employment brand.


A good recruiter/search consultant can be a huge help in this area because they should know how to market you and your company and place it appropriately in the mind of the talent that matters to you. They are experts in candidate engagement and can maintain or improve on your overall employment brand.

Share Blog
Latest Blogs

The Value Multiplier: Why ELTV Is the Metric Finance Leaders Can’t Afford to Ignore

By Jeremy Tiffin • October 21, 2025
Finance has always been about the numbers. But in a world where speed, insight, and adaptability define performance, one number stands above the rest: Employee Lifetime Value (ELTV). Every finance leader knows the challenge. Budgets are tight. Talent is scarce. And the demand for faster, smarter insight never stops. But here’s the question few stop to ask:  How much value does each hire actually create over time? That’s the premise behind The Value Equation. When you look at hiring through the lens of value creation instead of seat filling, everything changes. 1. What ELTV Really Measures Most hiring metrics tell you how efficiently you hire, not how effectively. Time to hire, cost per hire, and offer acceptance measure activity, not impact. ELTV flips that. It focuses on what happens after the hire, the value a person generates from onboarding to peak performance to the point they exit. Think of ELTV as the ROI of hiring. What ELTV Looks Like Over Time The ELTV curve shows how the right hiring, onboarding, and management decisions increase productivity and extend retention over time. When ELTV is high, employees ramp faster, stay longer, and make a measurable impact. When it’s low, it usually traces back to one of three things: Expectations weren’t clear Onboarding was weak Growth pathways didn’t exist The lesson is simple: hiring isn’t complete when an offer is signed. It’s complete when results show up. 2. How to Build ELTV Into Finance Hiring To raise ELTV, finance leaders need to think like investors. You’re not just spending salary dollars. You’re allocating capital in trust, time, and training. The goal is to earn a return. Hire for outcomes, not resumes. A technically capable candidate isn’t always a high-value one. The right hire moves the business forward, improves forecast accuracy, tightens the close, and strengthens decision-making. Structure onboarding around value creation. Most new hires spend their first 60 days trying to figure out what “good” looks like. A clear 30-60-90 plan tied to business outcomes shortens the ramp and compounds contribution faster. Create ownership, not just access. In finance, clarity creates confidence. When people understand their decision rights and deliverables, they move with autonomy. That autonomy fuels performance and raises ELTV by reducing friction and rework. 3. Why ELTV Matters More Than Experience Experience tells you what someone has done. ELTV tells you what they’ll do for you. In finance, a single mis-hire can erase months of progress. That’s why hiring for value alignment matters more than years of experience. Top performers connect their work to measurable outcomes. They see how improving one process or forecast compounds across the business. The best finance teams design every hire, process, and system to compound value. That is how they turn talent decisions into business advantage. 4. Measuring What Matters Modern finance teams no longer define performance by headcount or cost. They measure value per person and how it grows over time. That shift changes hiring from a transaction to a leadership decision. It positions finance as a strategic enabler of growth, not just a reporting function. When every hire is measured by the value they deliver, not just the tasks they complete, you stop managing payroll and start managing performance multipliers. Final Thought Employee Lifetime Value isn’t a hiring metric. It’s a leadership mindset. Finance leaders who adopt it will build teams that scale faster, stay longer, and deliver outcomes that last well beyond a fiscal year. Because great hiring isn’t about filling roles. It’s about multiplying value.

Why Soft Skills Give You a Competitive Edge in an Automated World

By Jeremy Tiffin • May 22, 2025
We hear a lot about the importance of technical skills - and for good reason. Technical expertise has always mattered - but in today’s environment, where automation is taking over the routine, it’s the human skills that are becoming the main point of differentiation. It’s no longer just leaders who need to think strategically, communicate clearly, and influence outcomes - those expectations are moving down into roles at every level. Communication. Adaptability. Emotional intelligence. Critical thinking. These are the abilities that help professionals stand out, especially as repetitive tasks get absorbed by technology. Soft skills are no longer supplementary - they’re essential. Automation Is Reshaping Roles, Not Just Replacing Tasks Across industries like finance, supply chain, and accounting, automation has changed the nature of work. AI systems now handle much of the data entry, reconciliation, and transactional processing that once consumed hours each week. In the accounting world, for example, firms are leveraging AI to pull data from receipts, invoices, and bank statements - eliminating the need for manual entry and dramatically improving speed and accuracy ( Invensis ). The result isn’t just increased efficiency - it’s a shift in focus. What’s being asked of professionals now goes beyond executing tasks. It’s about applying judgment, interpreting insights, and influencing decision-makers. These responsibilities require strong interpersonal and analytical abilities - things automation simply can’t replicate. Soft Skills Are Becoming the Differentiator A recent LinkedIn study shows that soft skills now rank among the most sought-after competencies in hiring decisions. Communication, leadership, and adaptability top the list, signaling a clear pivot in what employers value most. This growing emphasis reflects what organizations are dealing with every day: hybrid teams, fast-changing environments, and the need for strong collaboration across functions. In this context, professionals who can clearly express ideas, respond to change, and build alignment across departments are the ones who consistently create impact. Soft skills are also increasingly visible in how professionals navigate conflict, make decisions, and influence outcomes. These aren’t soft in the sense of being secondary - they’re powerful tools that create trust, drive clarity, and elevate execution. Leadership Expectations Are Evolving The profile of effective leadership is changing in lockstep with technology. While domain expertise and operational know-how are still important, they’re no longer enough on their own. Leaders today are being measured on how well they engage people, adapt to change, and manage complexity. Emotional intelligence, for instance, has emerged as a critical leadership skill. It includes self-awareness, empathy, and the ability to stay composed under pressure - traits that make a tangible difference in how teams perform. In fact, Forbes recently reported that emotional intelligence now ranks as the number one leadership skill for 2024. Today’s leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about fostering alignment, communicating vision, and creating the kind of trust that allows teams to take initiative and follow through - even when the path forward isn’t perfectly clear. This shift is particularly relevant for those in cross-functional roles. Finance leaders need to communicate priorities to operations. Supply chain executives are collaborating with IT. HR professionals are influencing cultural transformation. None of this happens effectively without strong interpersonal capability. Soft Skills and Career Mobility For professionals aiming to grow their careers, soft skills offer a real and lasting advantage. They’re often the deciding factor between candidates with similar technical credentials. And in a world where tools and platforms evolve quickly, it’s these human strengths that carry over from one role - or industry - to the next. Research from Washington State University echoes this, noting that soft skills are now a cornerstone of long-term career development. As organizations evolve, they're increasingly prioritizing traits like adaptability, emotional intelligence, and resilience when making hiring and promotion decisions. The takeaway is simple: soft skills help people perform better, connect better, and lead better. They show up in the ability to listen carefully, manage a difficult conversation with tact, or adapt quickly when the landscape changes. These aren’t personality traits - they’re competencies that can be developed, practiced, and refined. Conclusion Technology will continue to change how we work - but not why we work or how we connect. The ability to influence, adapt, and communicate effectively has always been important. What’s changed is that now, it’s essential. As automation takes care of the transactional, soft skills will define who moves forward. The professionals who prioritize these capabilities won’t just stay relevant - they’ll become the ones who drive progress. In a world increasingly shaped by AI and automation, human connection, emotional insight, and critical thinking aren’t being replaced. They’re becoming the edge. Whether you're actively searching or just exploring your options, we support professionals like you in taking the right steps toward meaningful career growth. Search current opportunities.