Dear Barb:
There is a problem in our office and I have no idea how to resolve it. We send resumes, get interview times, yet no offers. This has been going on for about four months and now my cash flow is running low. I can’t afford the team to continue like this. Can you help redirect me? I am completely lost and don’t know which way to go from here onward.
We have hot specs, we get interview times, but then our candidates are not offered, but some other recruitment companies do get the offers. I am trying to establish what on earth is wrong, what are we doing wrong, what do we need to improve? We need your advice.
Eva I., Johannesburg, S. Africa 
Dear Eva:
Sorry you’re facing this problem, but I believe my answers will help you resolve this situation. You need to backfill every screened out candidate. If you start out by sending three candidates on an interview and one is screened after the second interview, you send in someone else. If someone is screened out in a third interview, you submit a new candidate. You have to cover your Job Order until an offer is extended!
Your goal should be to get two to three candidates to the final interview. What you described is going on in the US as well. We solved it by continuing to submit candidates until we received an offer. When we get two to three people in final interviews, we do get offers and have the backup candidate as well.
Clients hire the most qualified candidates. Review your current sources for candidates. Your sales team needs to constantly network for new talent and find new resources for talent. Encourage your sales team to make networking calls daily to identify new top talent! Also develop a candidate referral program where you pay some sort of referral fee for candidates who are referred and placed. Most employers want to hire individuals who are currently employed and possess the required skills, stability, and experience.
If you want to double your candidate flow today, have your recruiters gather the application forms of all the candidates they have interviewed for the past six months. Call their past (not current place) of employment and ask for them. Obviously they are not there so they will be transferred to their replacement. This person has the same skills as your candidate. You can either recruit this individual or network with them to obtain additional referrals.
Make some of these subtle changes and you problem will be solved!
Barb Bruno, CPC, CTS
Would you like to Ask Barb a question? Email her at support@staffingandrecruiting.com. Each month in The Fordyce Letter print edition, Barbara Bruno answers questions from individuals in the Recruiting Profession. We will bring you some of these Q&A responses from Barb each week on FordyceLetter.com.