People are not the only ones getting on the scale as staffing and recruitment firms across the globe are trimming the fat as a catalyst for growth. Lean Recruiting initiatives across the globe are focusing leaders to eliminate wasted time, resources, energy, and effort. The results benefit everyone as clients have talented people working more quickly, candidates land better opportunities with less effort, and their providers are rewarded for their efforts while also be able to serve more people.

Patterned on some of the best attributes of Lean Manufacturing, a systematic method for eliminating waste within a manufacturing process, Lean Recruiting addresses some of the persistent challenges in our business, including those focused upon productivity and execution. To trim organizational fat, here are five questions to begin identifying the waste in your sales, recruiting, and leadership systems?

• Which processes are taking longer today than two years ago?
• In which aspects of the business are leaders having to constantly remind people to take action?
• For which customers is time-to-fill staying the same or even increasing?
• How often are recruiters recruiting ahead, acquiring talent before its needed, versus recruiting behind, looking for people after an order has been placed?
• Which customers have committed to deadlines for responding to submittals? What’s being done to enroll the rest of the customer base in that same lean practice?

While the holidays may be a time that we all gain a few pounds on seasonal goodies, it can also be a time of leaner business by shedding waste, making the delivery and experience of our business better for everyone. That’s a pretty nice holiday present.