Recruiters may have the chance to collaborate with a fresh hiring manager who is inexperienced with either the company or the recruitment process. Such managers may lack a strong grasp of the hiring basics, and will depend on recruiters’ insights and proficiency to fill positions. This could present some difficulties and challenges. In my book titled “Survival Guide for Hiring Managers”, I delve deeper into this subject. However, in this post, I will emphasize how recruiters can use talent mapping data and recruitment funnel metrics to communicate and establish realistic expectations with each hiring manager that you work with.
It all starts with communication
Communication is essential for building and maintaining healthy relationships between recruiters and hiring managers. Effective communication allows both parties to collaborate and work towards a shared goal of finding the right talent for the organization.
Here are a few reasons why communication is crucial in the recruiter-hiring manager relationship:
Establishing clear expectations: Communication helps to establish clear expectations regarding the requirements of the position, the hiring process, and the timeline. This ensures that both the recruiter and the hiring manager are on the same page and can work together towards achieving the same goals.
Providing regular updates: Communication enables recruiters to provide regular updates on the progress of the recruitment process. This helps the hiring manager to have a better understanding of the recruitment status and make informed decisions.
Addressing issues promptly: When issues arise, effective communication allows recruiters and hiring managers to address them promptly. This helps to avoid misunderstandings and delays in the recruitment process.
Building trust: Communication is the foundation of trust in any relationship. When recruiters and hiring managers communicate effectively, they build trust, which leads to better collaboration and successful recruitment outcomes.
Using this process:
Narrative: Discuss your core objectives on goals
+Data: Use talent mapping data and recruiting metrics to present your points
+Setting realistic Goals: Create a follow up plan in your bi-weekly update
+Actionable Requests: What do you need from the hiring manager specifically?
Outcome =Process Improvements / Better Relationships / Fill the Role(s)
Setting up an intake meeting:
An intake meeting is a crucial step in the recruitment process where a recruiter meets with the hiring manager to gather information about the open position and establish a plan for the recruitment process. The following are some of the key topics that are typically covered during an intake meeting:
Job requirements: The recruiter will ask the hiring manager to provide a detailed job description and discuss the specific qualifications, skills, and experience required for the position.
Ideal candidate profile: The recruiter will ask the hiring manager to describe the ideal candidate for the job, including any soft skills or personality traits that are important for success in the role.
Recruitment timeline: The recruiter and the hiring manager will establish a timeline for the recruitment process, including deadlines for posting the job, reviewing resumes, conducting interviews, and making a hiring decision.
Interview process: The recruiter will discuss the interview process with the hiring manager, including the number and type of interviews, who will be involved in the interviews, and the questions that will be asked.
Employer branding: The recruiter will discuss the employer brand and value proposition with the hiring manager to ensure that the job posting and recruitment process are aligned with the company’s overall brand.
Candidate sourcing: The recruiter and the hiring manager will discuss strategies for sourcing candidates, including job boards, social media, referrals, and other recruitment channels.
Evaluation criteria: The recruiter will work with the hiring manager to establish clear criteria for evaluating candidates, including required qualifications, experience, and any additional factors that are important for the role.
Pulling recruiting metric data:
Realistic expectations: Providing data like average time to fill can help set realistic expectations for the hiring manager. They will have a better understanding of how long it typically takes to fill a position and can plan accordingly.
Process improvement: Analyzing recruitment metrics like average time to fill can help recruiters identify areas for improvement in the recruitment process. By identifying bottlenecks, recruiters can make changes to improve the process and reduce the time to fill.
Strategic decision-making: Data-driven recruitment enables recruiters to make strategic decisions. By analyzing metrics like time to fill, recruiters can make decisions about how to allocate resources and which recruitment channels to focus on to improve recruitment outcomes.
Objective communication: Using data to communicate with the hiring manager can help to provide an objective view of the recruitment process. Data provides evidence and facts that can help to support decision-making and communication.
Creating a talent map:
Talent mapping is the process of identifying and mapping out potential candidates for current and future job openings within an organization. Talent mapping involves researching and analyzing the talent market to identify potential candidates who have the skills and experience required for specific roles. This information is then used to build a database of potential candidates who could be contacted for future opportunities.
Talent mapping is important for recruiters and hiring managers for several reasons:
Proactive recruitment: Talent mapping enables recruiters and hiring managers to be proactive in their recruitment efforts by identifying potential candidates before they are needed. This can help to reduce time-to-hire and ensure that the organization has a pipeline of qualified candidates.
Strategic planning: Talent mapping helps recruiters and hiring managers to plan strategically for future talent needs. By understanding the talent market and the skills required for specific roles, organizations can develop targeted recruitment strategies to attract the best candidates.
Competitive advantage: Talent mapping can provide a competitive advantage by enabling organizations to identify and attract top talent before their competitors.
Diversity and inclusion: Talent mapping can help to promote diversity and inclusion by identifying a broader range of potential candidates and expanding the talent pool beyond traditional recruitment channels.
Cost savings: Talent mapping can help to reduce recruitment costs by enabling organizations to build a pipeline of potential candidates who can be contacted when a position becomes available.
🔥 I wrote a book titled: Talent Mapping: A Recruiter’s Guide to Competitive Talent Intelligence that goes more in-depth on this topic.
Bi-weekly updates & follow-ups:
When recruiting for a role, it’s important to keep the hiring manager informed and updated on the progress of the recruitment process. The following are some updates that recruiters should share with hiring managers:
Candidate pipeline: Recruiters should regularly update hiring managers on the status of the candidate pipeline. This includes the number of candidates who have applied for the role, the number of candidates who have been screened, and the number of candidates who are being considered for the role. You should also have the hiring manager source on their own. Have them do outreaches within LinkedIn recruiter – this will ultimately humble them to know just how difficult the market is in specific niches.
Recruitment timeline: Recruiters should provide regular updates on the recruitment timeline, including any changes to the timeline and any potential delays.
Candidate feedback: Recruiters should share feedback from candidates with the hiring manager. This includes feedback from screening calls, interviews, and assessments.
Recruitment metrics: Recruiters should share recruitment metrics with hiring managers, such as time to fill, candidate sourcing channels, and cost per hire. This can help the hiring manager to understand the effectiveness of the recruitment process and make informed decisions.
Challenges and roadblocks: Recruiters should share any challenges or roadblocks that they encounter during the recruitment process. This can help the hiring manager to provide support and resources to overcome these challenges.
Decision-making process: Recruiters should provide clarity on the decision-making process, including who will be involved in the decision-making process and the criteria that will be used to evaluate candidates.
Setting realistic expectations and goals and clearly communicating the full cycle recruiting process using data and funnel metrics can help build trust with the hiring manager. Once you successfully fill a role using these methods, it’s likely that others will follow, and the hiring manager may become more open and helpful in the future.
Recommended Reading:
Creative ways to find talent sourcing jobs in a tough economy
How to prioritize recruiting reqs
Cody Horton Interview: Diversity Sourcing Expert
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- Unlocking the Power of Perplexity AI: Why Recruiters Should Utilize This Revolutionary Tool - February 11, 2024
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