iCIMS Susan VitaleIt’s a true business irony – despite sharing a common goal, hiring managers and recruiters don’t always see eye-to-eye. Both parties are invested in identifying quality candidates for open positions, but their working relationship is historically tumultuous. Telling of this dynamic is a Corporate Leadership Council study of 8,000 recruiters and hiring managers, where recruiters cited the involvement of the hiring manager as the most critical component of hiring quality employees. On the other hand, only a third of hiring managers reported they were satisfied with the recruiter’s role in the hiring process.

This is not an isolated finding, but rather, illustrative of an ongoing business dilemma. In fact, according to ERE’s 2014 State of In-House Recruiting Survey, wherein both recruiters and hiring managers were asked to grade one another’s performance – both parties received a C+ rating from their counterparts.

Mutual dissatisfaction between these professionals, who are meant to operate as a team, is a problem that can cost businesses precious time, resources and – most pointedly – good candidates. The solution lies in both parties regarding the collaboration as a genuine relationship, not a static business transaction. This relationship that can be further supported by technologies that are designed to facilitate and expedite collaboration.

Managing Hiring Managers: 3 Guidelines for Success

Savvy organizations value open communication and introduce innovative recruiting tools into their processes to strengthen the relationship between recruiters and hiring managers, and thereby build better teams across the company.

A foundation of respect and productivity can be created between these parties by following these simple guidelines:

  1. Having a seat. Recruiters and hiring managers should meet in-person or virtually before diving into the candidate pool. A study by American Sociological Association found that hiring managers often value personal feelings of comfort, validation, and excitement during interviews over technical or cognitive skills – so getting to know the hiring manager’s nuances could be a recruiter’s secret weapon to finding the right candidate.
  2. Managing metrics. An interesting finding in ERE’s recent study indicated that recruiters and hiring managers have different perceptions of key recruiting metrics, such as requisitions-per-hire, interviews-per-hire, and cost-per-hire. It is nearly impossible for both groups to work together if they have conflicting ideas for what their targets should be. At a high level, corporate recruiting metrics should align to business objectives and more tactically, recruiters can simply include KPIs as an area to discuss and agree upon during that initial intake meeting.
  3. Leveraging technology. According to a recent survey by CareerXRoads, the top source of external hires is employee referrals, so a smart recruitment marketing strategy will take advantage of technology that extends the hiring network. The latest talent acquisition solutions can automate job postings directly to employees’ social networks, making it easier than ever for hiring managers to leverage existing employee networks in the search for best-fit talent as opposed to solely relying on recruiter-driven sourcing activities. Businesses today can also give candidates the option to submit a video of themselves during the screening process, which allows recruiters to pre-evaluate a candidate’s communication and presentations skills. This insight can help reduce hiring manager frustration, as it removes the chances of a manager devoting time for a live interview that is quickly shown to be a mismatch.

There are plenty of relatively simple, cost-efficient ways to put more muscle behind a company’s recruitment efforts. Businesses should invest in strong hiring manager-recruiter relationships because they translate to a healthy pipeline of talent, stronger hires and, as a result, a stronger business.

Want to learn more about maximizing your recruiting ROI? Click here to download iCIMS’ Hello to Hired Kit to find out how a full talent acquisition suite can streamline your recruiting process so you can recruit smarter, not harder.

 

susan_vitaleAbout the Author: Susan Vitale joined iCIMS in 2005 and serves as the company’s Chief Marketing Officer.

As CMO, Susan oversees direct marketing efforts as well as business development across a network of strategic alliances around the globe. Susan also plays an active role in portfolio strategy, helping to ensure iCIMS’ products, power-ups and services remain on the pulse of the ever-changing HR technology landscape.

Follow Susan on Twitter @Susan_Vitale or connect with her on LinkedIn.

 



By Susan Vitale

Susan Vitale joined iCIMS in 2005 and serves as the company's Chief Marketing Officer. As CMO, Susan oversees direct marketing efforts as well as business development across a network of strategic alliances around the globe. Susan also plays an active role in portfolio strategy, helping to ensure iCIMS’ products, power-ups and services remain on the pulse of the ever-changing HR technology landscape.