Dive Brief:

• A new Gartner study found that three-quarters of hiring managers are indecisive, resulting in lower-quality hires and longer time-to fill rates.
• According to the study, decisive hiring managers hire 10% more higher-quality candidates and hire 11% fewer lower-quality candidates than non-decisive hiring managers, and cut time-to-fill rates by 17%.
• The research also found that a 33-day lag occurs from the interview to the job offer, an 84% rise from 2010 to 2018. "This longer decision-making stage is causing a 16% reduction in candidates' accepting offers," Lauren Smith, vice president in the Gartner HR practice, said in a media statement. "Ultimately, hiring managers are losing out on prime candidates because of this lag in decision-making."

Dive Insight:

Hiring managers face a large challenge in today's talent market; with unemployment at a 50-year low, there are more jobs than people available to fill them. If managers prolong the hiring process by failing to make decisions in an efficient way, they may hurt their chances of finding and winning over needed talent.

It's not just managers' indecisiveness that slows time-to-hire, however. Recruiting tools, outdated processes and impersonal tactics can inhibit the process, experts previously told HR Dive. "Candidates expect a high tech, high touch experience," Montage President and CEO Kurt Heikkinen previously told HR Dive. "They want their job seeking experience to match their own consumer experiences — fast, transparent and easy." A hiring process that is too long can drive a good candidate directly to the competition, he said.