Recruiting is a misunderstood art form. For the shortsighted hiring managers out there, the word recruiting brings to mind hours of distraction that could be better spent on their “real job”. One thing the recession has taught us (particularly the mortgage crisis) is that any decision based solely on short term ramifications will generally get us nowhere in the long run. This tendency to hunker down and avoid any tasks not directly associated with personal job performance is only further exacerbated by the troubled economy. People are being asked to do more with less and certain critical business functions are suffering as a result.

The recent economic turbulence has exhibited some interesting side effects across a number of industries. Management has been forced to trim “non-critical” personnel while still being tasked with trying to compete in a cut-throat international marketplace. This difficult position can result in strange corporate hiring trends. In some cases support staff, the people who grease the wheels of process, are being trimmed while new jobs are opening for specific competitive skill positions. These conflicting scenarios put a tremendous amount of pressure on traditional corporate mechanisms such as human resources and more specifically recruiting.

Generally, when it comes to making cuts during a recession, corporate recruiters do not have much to look forward to in terms of job security. When it becomes clear that profits are on a major down trend, all functions associated with hiring take one step closer to the chopping block. The drawback of this philosophy is a general reduction in talent acquisition capabilities. Despite the fact that the economy might be on the rocks, many companies still have a department that requires a consistent level of talent acquisition to stay competitive. The bottom line is that the economy is putting pressure on increasingly limited internal hiring resources while demanding that those same hiring managers outperform the competition. This predicament is the perfect recipe for a major headache resulting in reduced efficiency and overall wellbeing for everyone involved in hiring.

So what steps can companies take to get rid of the headache? Keep it simple. Evaluate your candidate review process and remove any redundant steps including interviews or tasks that do not add critical feedback about the fitness of the candidate in terms of capability and cultural fit. This might mean reducing the number of screening interviews or even reducing the number of contact points required to fully screen a candidate. Sometime scheduling adjustments can lead to a reduction in the number of onsite interviews required to fully screen a candidate.

Focus on streamlining internal communication. Technology can be a godsend in situations where improvements in organizational efficiencies are required to make up for a reduction in the number of employees dealing with a job process. Find a technology solution that matches your approach. Modern applicant tracking software can deliver vast efficiency improvements in your recruiting process and allow less people to do a better job. Find a simple, flexible framework that serves your corporate recruiting needs and you are guaranteed to produce results without the hassle of a steep learning curve.

If you view the current economic situation as an opportunity, you are sure to emerge from the recession with an optimized recruiting process that is even more effective than ever.