Faster switching in selection: How to efficiently avoid dropouts.

The real problem

At many Structure Makers, the inflow is there, but follow-up remains manual and fragmented. Emails disappear between tickets, someone forgets to call back, and a candidate who is enthusiastic today feels ignored tomorrow. Not because no one cares, but because there is no cadence is.

Without a quick selection turnaround, you see the consequence immediately: candidates drop out, hiring managers lose time rescheduling and your best profiles choose those who communicate first and clearly. This plays out just as much in engineering, healthcare, logistics as in office roles.

An example

You look for service profiles in East or West Flanders. The inflow comes via VDAB, referrals and a campaign. Candidates sometimes get an answer within an hour today, sometimes after four days. Meanwhile, an applicant with potential plans an interview elsewhere. When you respond, the agenda is full or the motivation sags. Not the market, the moment costs you quality.

The minimal rhythm that works everywhere

Don't think in tools, think in periods. Three fixed touch points greatly reduce dropouts, regardless of your sector or role.

1) First response within 24 hours
Confirm welcome and set expectations. Not novel, but clear: when will you hear something, who are you speaking to and what is the purpose of that conversation. Those who do not reply will automatically receive a short reminder after 48 hours.

2) Intake within 7 to 10 days
Block fixed slots in the calendar: for example, every Tuesday and Thursday from 2pm to 4pm. Candidates choose from those windows. That way, you avoid endless puzzling and the turnaround time remains predictable.

3) Decision within 5 working days after interview
Send a clear yes or no. In the case of a yes, immediately follow the next step with date. On a no, give two sentences of feedback and thank for the time. Respectful endings keep your reputation warm.

Candidates judge your organisation not on your promise, but on your response time.

Make it frictionless for your team

The biggest gains are in repeatability, not in complexity.

• Templates that sound like you
  Four short templates will suffice: acknowledgement, invitation, rejection with feedback and reminder. Put them in your e-mail and in your messaging app. This makes the threshold for replying zero.

• A kanban that everyone sees
  New, Called, Conversation, Assignment, Reference, Offer, Completed. One board, one truth. It doesn't matter whether you use Trello, Notion or your ATS, as long as the columns remain identical.

• Micro-automations where it counts
  Auto-reply with expectation, a no-show reminder two hours in advance and a thank you email after the call. Three small automations deliver more peace of mind than a new system.

• Evidence over gut feeling
  Replace the third interview with a short, realistic 60- to 90-minute assignment. Candidates know where they stand and you decide faster with better evidence.

What you do measure

Forget likes and views. These three figures drive your operation.

1. Time to first reaction
   Aim for within 24 hours. Each day's delay lowers your show-up rate.

2. Time from application to first interview
   Guideline 7 to 10 days. Slower means loss to competitors, faster only works if your slots are already fixed.

3. Show-up rate on calls
   Improve with clear confirmation, a brief summary of the role and a reminder with practical info.

When these three improve, your quality automatically rises. You feel it in conversations: less explanation, more substance.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

• Anyone can email, no one feels ownership. Point one Recruitment coordinator to that rhythm monitored.

• Find new tool instead of agreeing one board. Choose something you can use tomorrow and leave it there.

• Unnecessary rounds. Replace talks 2 and 3 with one talk plus a short practical assignment.

• Too long radio silence. Also when in doubt: send an interim message. Silence is always entered negatively.

First ten days, concretely

Day 1: Choose your coordinator and record the three moments of contact.
Day 2: Write four message templates that fit your tone of voice.
Day 3: Set up your kanban and make the columns visible to everyone.
Day 4-5: Block two set interview blocks per week in the diary.
Day 6-7: Test an automatic reminder and thank you email.
Day 8-10: Run two jobs with the new rhythm and note time to response, time to conversation and show-up.

After two weeks, the difference is palpable. Less rescheduling, fewer dropouts, more focus on content so a better selection turnaround time.

Universally applicable

Replace service profiles with nurses, project managers or customer advisers. Replace East or West Flanders with your region. The principle remains identical: rhythm over incident. Those who react predictably gain not only speed but also reputation.

Book a meeting with Tarquin, founder of MediaGuru, to solve your challenges.