HR directors in France believe the length of the recruitment process is impacted by economic context, according to research from Robert Half. 

When HR directors were asked how the recruitment process has evolved over the last three years, 53% of respondents say they are longer, 10% of them say they are much longer, 42% said that they are of identical duration, while 6% say they are shorter.

The study showed that the deadlines between the first application form and the employer's reply are steadily increasing. HR directors said that this is due to the unfavourable economic context of recent years, with more CVs received for the same ad and companies committed to controlling costs. 

According to Robert Half, 49% of HR directors who were interviewed confirm that they have already missed a qualified candidate, who eventually moved to another company because of the slow pace of recruitment. HR directors say that a long recruitment process can now be seen as fragility or immobility. In addition to the demotivation of the candidate, the longer the response time, the more the candidate will evaluate the other opportunities offered to him.

"Hiring a new person is an important decision for a company," Noémie Cicurel, Director of Robert Half Interim and OfficeTeam, said. "When one meets the right talent, one has to go with it, without seeking or waiting for the comparison, at the risk of losing this candidate. To shorten the recruitment process, several steps can be taken: to prioritise their expectations in terms of skills and competences and to update them according to their present or future needs. An essential point is to give the schedule of the appointments from the beginning and the final date of answer.”