Without alignment between talent acquisition and hiring managers, you end up with a slow, miss-aligned process that even the best candidate experience can't fix.

Organizations continue to solve for the candidate-driven job market through a strategic focus on their employer brand and candidate experience. But your company’s ability to successfully recruit top talent depends on how well you manage the hiring process both for your external stakeholders, the candidates, and your internal stakeholders, hiring managers. According to our Talent Acquisition 360 research, only 18% of hiring managers rated their talent acquisition teams as effective in implementing standards of service and process for hiring leaders. Hiring managers are key in making successful hires, but without alignment and a strong relationship between talent acquisition and these leaders, you could end up with a slow, miss-aligned process that even the best candidate experience can't fix.

According to Glassdoor, the average overall job interview process takes 22.9 days in the U.S. – in that time, you may be losing top talent to competitors. This number can be attributed to the process and dialogues that happen internally between talent acquisition and hiring managers. Here are three simple ideas that can help you improve that efficiency by driving more transparent internal communication, speeding up your time-to-fill and making both your candidates and hiring managers happy.

Hiring Process FAQ

There will always be new hiring managers inside your organization. Help them be successful in their role AND position yourself as a consultative resource by creating an FAQ document that answers common hiring process questions. You can cover everything from how a job scope call is scheduled after a requisition is approved, to the company's average time-to-fill for the most common positions. This document will help set expectations and clarify roles and responsibilities – getting new Hiring Mangers up to speed faster and in-turn speeding up time-to-fill.

Candidate Slate “Cliffs Notes”

It's not uncommon to work with hiring managers who are booked back-to-back with travel, conference calls, presentations and during this time of year – vacation! In today's hiring climate, your process must be efficient. Help your hiring managers expedite the process by giving them “cliff notes” of the top candidate slate, rather than passing along full resumes and audio files of interviews, which would be cumbersome for a Hiring Manager to review and digest. This quick one-pager can outline the top candidates’ relevant previous work experience and motivation in seeking or applying for the job. This will help hiring managers quickly review their options and expedite the follow-up interview scheduling.

Silver Medalist Strategy

We all know an offer extend never comes with a guarantee. Don't let your process lose steam when the hiring manager's favorite candidate turns down the offer, for whatever reason. Work with your hiring manager throughout the process to select a runner-up, and keep them warm through consistent communication and updates. Your hiring manager will appreciate knowing that there is a backup plan and you won't have to start over if things don't go according to plan. Ensure you are transparent with this candidate, however, as you want to provide them with an optimal candidate experience but don’t want to be misleading.

Our primary research has shown that when leaders were asked about the most important business impact a talent acquisition partner can have, hiring manger experience was in the top three. So as we continue to invest the much needed time and energy into crafting the candidate experience, let's not forgot that without strong satisfaction and alignment from our internal partners, we run the risk of losing out on top talent.

 

Post contributed by Annamarie Andrews, Senior Marketing Manager.