Want Ridiculously Talented Hires? Make Your Recruitment Process More Collaborative

Eighteen percent of respondents to a survey from employer branding agency Ph.Attraction said the receptionist at their last interview seemed to care more about them than the interviewer did. This red flag suggests some companies are failing to deliver the right kinds of recruitment experiences.

Applicants who know their worth evaluate the recruitment process with a keen eye. If they feel a business won’t value their input, they’re more than willing to knock on someone else’s door.

Make no mistake: Candidates scrutinize possible employers from the initial touchpoint onward. Consequently, organizations that are determined to compete in the talent market must make the right moves from first contact and provide overall positive candidate experiences to woo superstars.

The members of your hiring teams — often a mix of HR pros, hiring managers, and recruiters — need to be aligned on desired goals and processes. Day-to-day demands on all parties can make this a challenge, but improved collaboration between all members of the hiring team allows you to speed up the hiring process while creating the kind of positive candidate experience necessary to land top talent.

Streamline Hiring for Better Outcomes

Your organization can take some simple steps to improve the hiring process, and it can start by reducing the number of people who need to interview candidates. Putting interviews in the hands of only one or two key decision-makers made an enormous difference when we reevaluated our own processes at RAPP.

It’s tempting to give everyone a seat at the interview table, but most workers don’t belong there. Many employees don’t have experience asking probing, important questions, and some end up focusing more on cultural fit than the company’s needs. This can lead to biased decisions, and besides, interviews aren’t the best use of most employees’ time. Too many chefs in the kitchen can lead to a poor candidate experience caused by last-minute cancellations by overextended staff and endless rounds of interviews with unnecessary waves of workers.

Speaking of interviews, we made a pact to keep them sacred; I suggest you do, too. Interviews should be priorities, not “get it done when we have time” events. Plenty of excellent candidates are lost because interviewers don’t hesitate to cancel scheduled interview sessions.

Hiring should also be treated as a joint effort. Why make the recruiter shoulder the entire burden of finding candidates? That load should be shared by the hiring manager and other key internal players. The more applications you solicit, the more likely you are to find the right person for the seat.

When we find someone who belongs in the job, meshes well with everyone, and will likely drive results, we don’t dawdle. Why risk losing a terrific candidate in the hopes of finding someone better? Pull the trigger; make the hire.

Another important change we made to our recruiting process at RAPP was prioritizing conversations between hiring managers and recruiters about what we seek in candidates beyond the flat job description. When recruiters have a fuller understanding of who the hiring manager wants for the role, they can find better all-around fits — not just skilled drones. We enrich these conversations with immediate follow-up discussion after all interviews so that hiring managers and recruiters can analyze and tweak the process as needed.

Transform Hiring Processes to Better the Bottom Line

Interested in filling the gaps in your recruitment process? Good for you — and good for your bottom line.

When you start down this path, you’ll notice a few outcomes. First, you’ll have an easier time securing the best talent available. You’ll also improve your reputation. Don’t be surprised to hear great feedback from candidates who were turned down but appreciated being treated respectfully! Perhaps most exciting of all, your critical positions won’t sit unfilled for long, and the new hires who fill them won’t be as likely to jump ship.

Unless you’re fully satisfied with your recruitment protocols and outcomes — and who is? — you owe it to your company to revamp and modernize your systems. Focus your attention on high-level, transparent collaboration between recruiters and hiring managers. You’ll secure more suitable talent to keep your team strong — and your overall productivity even stronger.

Perri Grinberg is responsible for providing strategic guidance for human resources across RAPP US.