If the hiring manager and the recruiters are on the same page, only then does the recruitment process remain smooth. However, this is rarely the case when the recruiters are unable to meet the expectations leading to the hiring manager’s frustration. The common goal of both hiring manager and recruiter is to find the perfect candidate for the job. The most important aspect to achieving this goal is to improve the candidate success rate as the hiring managers often complain about the poor quality candidate pool.
Most of these problems have the root cause regarding the quality of the candidate, unsaid expectations, hiring strategy etc.
Technical recruiter Blake Stockman, in a conversation with Metaview, emphasised upon why this particular relationship supersedes everything in the process of recruitment: “Recruiting is fundamentally a partnership function, and there’s very little you can do without a healthy relationship with who you’re hiring for. If you have a good partnership with your hiring leader, most other things are solvable.”
Therefore, in this article, we will be discussing methods on understanding the hiring managers expectations with talent acquisition and recruitment tactics.
1. Understanding What the Hiring Manager Needs Better Than Them
It takes several tries to align the skills that the hiring team wants for a role. Figuring out what a hiring manager really wants, even the things they don’t explicitly say can go a long way in forming the quality of the relationship between the recruiter and the hiring team. Understanding the unsaid expectations is extremely important. You can review recordings of the hiring managers’ different interviews to best understand what exactly they are looking for, far beyond the realm of what they say or what is included in the job description. This can lead to the improvement of the efficiency of calibration which leads to the saving of time and increasing chances of hiring the best possible candidate.
2. Go Beyond Numbers
Demonstrate the fact that your goals are synced with your hiring manager. What this means is, you must broaden your horizon from just achieving/hitting numbers and thinking deeper regarding the quality of hire. Putting quality at the forefront is extremely important as forward-thinking recruiters increase their chances of hiring the most well-fit candidate. Recruiting teams should review the important events of interviews in order to understand the candidate better and then make it into a competitive advantage. By showcasing this deep-rooted understanding of the needs of the hiring manager, you may become a very imperative part of the decision-making process. Doing so can help you avoid bad hires as well.
Read also: Cost of a Bad Hire and How to Avoid Bad Hires
3. Agree on a Timeline
Recruiters manage several hiring processes around the same time. Due to this, they need to know the date and timeline by which they must make the hires and fill up the openings. The timeline agreed upon must be realistic in order to source quality candidates. Arrange weekly meetings and ensure you coordinate well with regular updates so the hiring manager is satisfied and it will also help monitor the progress and manage to meet the expectations set.
4. Always Come Prepared
Make sure you come for every single meeting with carefully prepared and clear data in order to answer any questions thrown at you. Make sure to also provide valuable insights and feedback. Read about other candidates, interview numbers etc. Sometimes, it may also be beneficial to use an applicant tracking system to ensure that the hiring manager and the recruiter are both on the same page.
According to an article mentioned on G2, 94% of the hiring professionals strongly maintain that utilising recruitment software greatly improves the hiring process. Using a recruitment software helps in the saving of time, allows capacity planning, reduces the number of administrative tasks and keeps track of the job applications in a cohesive manner.
5. Communicate Well and Grow the Relationship
Well-established communication is ultimately the strong core to a successful relationship that one can have with the hiring manager. Set telephonic calls, video calls, send emails and constantly receive and give updates. Learn the communication preferences of the hiring manager and make sure you do so on a consistent basis. Never inhibit yourself, showcase your personality and be proactive as both of you are aligned to working towards the same goal.
6. Review, Reinforce and Recollect
When the hiring manager has completed the last of the interviews, get together for a discussion on how the candidates did. Remind yourselves that no candidate is perfect. Never try to talk the hiring manager out of their choice, but remember that it is literally your job to ensure they are able to look beyond their own unconscious bias and aid them in making a good hiring decision.
More than anything else, the communication between the recruiter and hiring manager is of extreme importance. It’s necessary for them to have a strong relationship. Barraiser as a company is committed to ensuring that you have the correct information and steps in improving the relationship with your hiring manager. Build trust, have mutual respect with one another and stay consistent in your decision-making regarding the hiring of the best-fit candidate.
