Did you know that hiring and training a new employee costs up to five times more than retaining an employee?

It doesn't need to be so costly, however to add to your talent team. When you streamline your hiring, you not only cut hiring costs dramatically, but you make it easier to replace current employees who may not be performing up to par.

As the following article looks at, there are at least 5 ways to streamline your employee hiring using a variety of methods, which you can read about.

Here are some that are the simplest to implement, starting today….

Turn Hiring Into a Process

Henry Ford perfected the assembly line method of manufacturing automobiles.

One of the primary reasons for Ford's success was that he understood that streamlining the complicated process of making cars was the key. He knew that every step needed to be automatic and simplified.

You can do the same with your hiring process.

Think of the hiring process like a conveyor belt. Your candidate must be entered into the process, and moved along the conveyor belt.

At each stop, something new must be done.

Step one can be the first contact with the candidate. Step two can be matching the candidate's qualifications with the job requirements. Step three can be checking the candidate's references, and so on.

Once you have your process in place, you'll be able to know exactly where each candidate is in the hiring process, why they were moved to the next stage, or why they were removed from the conveyor belt altogether.

Use Available Technology

There are lots of technological tools available today that can help with your hiring process. Instead of asking one of your employees to create a spreadsheet or make candidate manila folders, invest in a recruiting software package.

These software services are often available for reasonable monthly subscription fees. They can be accessed by all of your recruiting staff, and the data can be mined, shared and broken down into reports that will prove useful in all your hiring decisions.

Many of the software services also integrate recruiter/candidate communication, so your job candidates will know exactly where they are in the hiring process.

This type of transparency has been shown to be an attractive benefit for job seekers.

Utilize Video

Take a page out of Google's playbook and videotape your candidate interviews.

Doing so will help to weed out candidates based on broad brushstrokes, and will widen the cast for your hiring net.

You'll be able to interview candidates that live far away, and only entertain serious candidates after finding out what they are actually like to have a conversation with.

Video interviews can be easily shared with hiring managers.

You'll still want to interview in person any candidates that pass the first level of video interview, but this will give you even greater insights into their suitability for any position.

When you streamline your hiring, you'll save money, time, and end up with better employees.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Kate Supino writes extensively about best business practices.