3 Ways to Improve the Recruiter / Hiring Manager Partnership

• Posted on June 20, 2016
• by Lisa Sperow
• in Hiring
• No Comments.

The average time to fill a job at a large global organization has increased by 62 percent in the last five years, according to research from management and technology consultancy CEB.

Roy Maurer, talent acquisition editor at the Society for Human Resources, shares this and many more statistics about the climbing time-to-fill metrics in his HR Magazine article Slow Motion Hiring.

Maurer cites a number of the hiring speed bumps that are blamed for the rising numbers, but singles out one reason in particular: A lack of communication between the recruiter and hiring manager. Matt Doucette, director of global talent acquisition for Monster, say it’s “the single most common reason it takes longer than usual to fill an opening.”

Acknowledging this critical relationship, Maurer says, “A strong, cooperative relationship between recruiters and hiring managers is essential to a successful hiring process, and that spirit of collaboration must be fostered from the very beginning of the recruitment cycle.”  He goes to share three tips for building an effective partnerships.

1. Come together on job profiles

Filling out a job requisition and passing it on to the recruiting team is simply not enough. “Go over the job description line by line with the hiring manager and distinguish between the “must-have’s” and the “nice to haves, ” Maurer suggests. Move beyond the laundry list of skills and requirements to dig into the true mission of the job and the desired outcomes for the position. Develop a shared profile of the candidate who will be the best fit for the role.

2. Get targeted.

Don’t settle for the generic job posting that leaves candidates wondering what they are really supposed to do in the job that you’re seeking to fill. Lou Adler, CEO of The Adler Group, says “To attract better fits that lead to hires, don’t use skill-based job descriptions and postings. If you want to attract the best people, use more compelling advertisements that focus on challenges and career growth and not skills and must-have requirements.”

Sure, it may be easier to just pop a canned job description up on the job boards, but the extra time spent on the front end will pay off. According to Maurer, “Well-written job postings can be a recruiter’s most effective screening tool.” Conversely, poorly written ones can attract the wrong people and lead to lots of false starts.

3. Manage expectations

One of the most common complaints that I hear from recruiters is that they experience long delays between submitting candidates for review to their hiring managers. Many applicant tracking systems can also pinpoint these lag times as a leading culprit in those rising time-to-fill numbers.

Nicole Belyna, a SHRM member and strategic recruiting business partner, recommends discussing timelines and expectations during the initial meeting in order to set and manage expectations properly. “Ask the hiring manager to commit to days or windows of time for interviews of follow-up conversations,” she says.  Clarify roles, responsibilities, and turnaround times for each step in the interviewing and hiring process.  One quality conversation can save both the recruiter and the hiring manager hours of frustration.

LEGEND Talent Management assists organizations with strengthening the partnerships between recruiters and hiring managers. Want help optimizing your recruiting and hiring processes? We’re here when you need us!