How Recruiters and Hiring Managers Can Get on the Same Page

March 13, 2018

 

iCIMS Staff

3 min read

What keeps CEOs up at night? A lot of research and studies support that top executives are most concerned about staffing challenges. In order to achieve business goals, executives need to hire and retain quality talent. That puts a lot of pressure on the recruiting and hiring managers.

As HR professionals, we know how hard recruiting can be, with various systems and recruiting tools to help us source, recruit and hire talent. In addition to managing a handful of tools and technologies, we may also be faced with a tightened labor market which makes it harder to find talent, dealing with skills gaps when hiring to hard-to-fill roles, or challenged with hiring in large volumes.

Although executives, recruiters and hiring managers all share the same goal – to hire the best possible candidate for a position – sometimes it doesn’t feel that way, which can cause frustration. To effectively hire the right people, recruiting and hiring managers need to get on the same page from early on and have an open line of communication throughout the entire process. To help smooth the relationship between recruiters and hiring managers and to achieve the best possible results, here are a few tips:

• Schedule a strategy intake meeting: Before getting started with the recruiting and hiring process, the recruiter and hiring manager should schedule an intake meeting. This will help the hiring manager set clear expectations from the start. In the strategy session, the hiring manager should lay out the role and responsibilities of the position, and discuss what an ideal candidate would look like. Both hard skills and soft skills needed for the role should be discussed in this meeting. Laying out expectations on both ends upfront will ensure there aren’t any misunderstandings, and can help to fill the role quicker and more efficiently.
• Collaborate on the job description: After the intake meeting, recruiting and hiring managers should create the job description together. Identify the “must haves” and the “nice to haves” and get aligned on which details should be included in the job posting. Instead of using an old job description with stale content and outdated skills and responsibilities, take the time to develop a new one, to ensure that you are attracting qualified candidates, and that the recruiter is only serving up candidates who meet the requirements and needs of the hiring manager.
• Lay out the interview process: The recruiting and hiring manager should discuss what the recruiting process and interview process will look like from start to finish, who will participate in the interviews, how hiring decisions will be made, and establish timelines. Although timelines can (and may have to) shift, it is important to set expectations to keep both parties accountable. Both parties should adhere to deadlines to the best of their ability, and avoid being a bottleneck, to maintain a positive relationship and provide a great candidate experience.
• Provide real time feedback: As a hiring manager, if you aren’t receiving the kind of candidates you were hoping for, speak up and be transparent with the recruiter. The recruiter will appreciate the feedback, so they can pivot and adequately fulfill the company’s needs.

Recruiting and hiring managers are constantly challenged to find and hire top talent, and the only way to accomplish that goal is for these parties to build relationships with each other, and to get on the same page early on. Not only with the alignment improve processes for employer, but as a result, the candidate will also have a much better experience.