Your hiring managers have other full-time jobs, and rarely have the knowledge and experience to create a great recruitment process for your candidates. As a result, they may be losing out on top candidates.
Be a hero to your hiring managers by sharing internal and third-party HR data that will allow them to become more strategic in their recruitment process. Key insights can help them source, interview and close the talent they need to build a strong team.
Source
Set expectations for the recruitment process with your hiring manager by sharing insights on the level of difficulty for your candidate search. Data from sources like the BountyJobs Direct Hire Agency Benchmarking Report or Manpower’s 2015 U.S. Talent Shortage Survey will help you identify the most in-demand job categories and industries.
Use this data to determine the best course of action for sourcing candidates. Less in-demand candidates may be quickly found via job boards or referrals, while in-demand candidates may require the use of a direct hire agency and can take more time and budget to recruit.
When using a direct hire agency, share performance benchmarks with your hiring managers. Time to submission should be inside two weeks, your interview rate should be 20-30%, time to interview should be within 30 days, and time to fill should be between 6-12 weeks.
Sharing this HR data upfront can ensure that your hiring manager has realistic sourcing expectations.
Interview
According to LinkedIn’s 2015 Talent Trends report, 97% of professionals said that their overall interview experience was important in their decision to join a company. 83% said a negative interview experience could change their mind about an opportunity they liked, and 87% said a positive interview experience could change their mind about an opportunity they doubted.
When the interview experience can make or break a candidate’s perception of your brand, you may need to coach your hiring managers to provide the best possible candidate experience. Common interview mistakes hiring managers make include showing up late, coming unprepared and making the interview too one-sided. The candidate is evaluating your company as much as you are evaluating them, so your team should treat them as they expect to be treated.
You also need to be respectful of your candidate’s time. Two of the most common pitfalls in the interview process are taking too long to hire and involving too many steps – which are directly related. Research has shown that more than 4 interviews has diminishing returns, and can have a negative impact on your candidate experience.
Furthermore, the best candidates may receive other offers, making it more difficult for you to hire them. It’s crucial for your hiring managers to understand this, so they can keep the interview process moving along.
In addition to the data offered by HR research, keep an eye on your own interview metrics to optimize for time to hire. Work with your hiring manager to reduce unnecessary steps in your recruitment process, gather internal feedback faster, and be prepared to put together a competitive offer soon after your final round of interviews.
Close
Your offer acceptance rate is one of the most critical pieces of data you can share with your hiring managers. A high offer acceptance rate means that you’re hiring your top choice candidates, while a low acceptance rate means there could be issues with your recruitment process. Every hiring manager wants the best possible hire for their team, and you can help them get closer to 100%.
Coach them on understanding and addressing their candidate’s motivations. Each candidate has their own reasons in pursuing your opportunity, which should be uncovered and discussed throughout the interview process. When the offer is presented, the hiring manager or recruiter should focus on how the opportunity meets the candidate’s motivations.
Regardless of whether a candidate cites money as a motivation, the offer should include a salary increase. According to LinkedIn, 49% of candidates say better compensation is the top reason they accept a job. However, most candidates have been trained not to mention money as a motivator or to discuss their current salary, so this may require you to take a deeper look at market data (such as Glassdoor’s salary data) to create a competitive offer.
As more of your candidates accept your company’s offers, your hiring managers will see you more as a strategic advisor – and a hero.
