Bottlenecks in the hiring process are a major discomfort point for organizations throughout practically every industry and size. Even CEOs and CIOs say that their biggest obstacle connects to talent acquisition. The rocky relationship between recruiters and hiring supervisors is a primary source of the discomfort. Although employers and hiring managers goal to accomplish the very same goal, their relationships can be laden with miscommunication and problems that eventually develop obstacles to acquiring the very best talent in a timely way.
A current survey of 375 hiring managers and 600 recruiters by the iCIMS Hire Expectations Institute suggests that 80 % of employers think they have a “high” to “extremely high” understanding of the jobs for which they recruit – while 61 % of hiring supervisors say that employers have, at best, a “low” to “moderate understanding” of the jobs for which they recruit. That’s quite a contradiction.
How do we bridge this obvious gap between employers and hiring managers, and strengthen this vital working relationship? Best practices concentrated on a collaborative, technology-enabled relationship between recruiters and hiring managers are important to eliminating hurdles in the talent acquisition process.
The Bottleneck
Organizations with a shorter time-to-fill demonstrated significantly less time invested in hiring manager review. But the average resume, once sent to an organization, spends 37 % of its time with the hiring manager, the highest percentage on average among the five stages of the hiring process. It is because hiring managers are re-screening candidates due to a mismatch between their requirements and the candidates provided? It could be. 77 % of hiring supervisors state that recruiters’ candidate screening is “insufficient.” At the same time, 51 % of employers said hiring managers “need to do a better job communicating what they are looking for in a candidate” and “provide related examples.”
Hiring managers and employers must recognize that finding the right talent is a group effort. They have to communicate and work collaboratively in order to reduce their time-to-fill.
Possible solutions
Organizations that implement the following four best practices to support more streamlined recruiting will certainly be able to address the bigger problem and eliminate process traffic jams collaboratively.
Building deep relationships
A crucial however often neglected step in the recruiting process is that first in person meeting with the hiring manager. Learn more about your hiring supervisors 3/4 their personalities and priorities 3/4 so you can customize recruitment strategies to their requirements, build interest, and engage them into the process. It will likewise permit you to walk them through the tools and support available to them to make the hiring process simple, transparent, and efficient.
Increased use of Tools & Technology
When hiring supervisors can easily view prospects, approve jobs, prospects and offers from their mobile devices, or connect with recruiters via email with all communications instantly tracked within the system, everything ends up being simpler and efficient for all parties included. And they will be able to acquire exposure into the hiring process and take a more active role in solving bottlenecks.
Video screening
Current data from SHRM suggests that the average interview lasts 40 minutes, and that 33 percent of hiring managers know within 90 seconds of an interview whether or not they will hire that person. Video screening can provide a quick, easy, and affordable way to strengthen the recruiter-hiring manager relationship since it eliminates the risk of losing time and cash on interviews with unqualified candidates.
Increased social sourcing
A recent study by CareerXRoads states that one of the top sources of external hires is employee referrals, making social networks recruitment a big opportunity for hiring managers and recruiters to team up on sourcing. This allows hiring managers to leverage their own networks for candidates and actively participate in sourcing as a team effort.
In the end, recruiters have enormous influence on the effectiveness of their hiring manager relationships, and are in the best position to establish best practices and advocate for the technology that will help in reducing the organization’s time-to-fill. Together, hiring supervisors and employers can remove the traffic jams that impede their ability to acquire the ideal talent rapidly and effectively.
