How engaged hiring managers can improve the hiring process

Working together for a better experience: How engaged hiring managers can improve the hiring process

Hiring managers play a vital role in any successful talent acquisition strategy. While curators often own the hiring process, it’s important to involve hiring managers every step of the way, from the preparation to the hiring and onboarding stages. Engaged managers lead to a positive candidate experience and often influence higher retention rates once top talent is found.

Step by step: Working collaboratively throughout the entire talent acquisition process

While curators are crucial to finding the right fit for open positions, hiring managers can act as a missing link. Without their involvement in every stage of the curation process, it’s often harder to attract top talent.

Step 1 – Pre-hire

The first step when filling any position should be a pre-hiring meeting, or job scope call, between curators and the hiring manager. An open, transparent relationship will help avoid a disconnect between both parties. During the call, both managers and curators should set their expectations and get a better understanding of the market, the position and the ideal candidate. This will avoid any dissatisfaction with short-listed candidates – a common pitfall that can affect time to fill.

Step 2 – Hiring

When actively searching for candidates, hiring managers can often make or break successful hires. If the interview process is overly long, complicated or discouraging, top talent will often jump ship before an offer is extended. According to the latest hiring stats, 60% of applicants have had a negative candidate experience, and 80% said they would openly talk about that experience to friends, family and colleagues. Efficient communication is important as well. Candidates expect to be updated on the hiring process, regardless of whether or not they were successful. Using talent acquisition software, like TalentNet’s TalentBench, allows managers, curators and candidates to communicate effectively through emails or SMS, as well as keep track of each applicant’s process.

Step 3 – Onboarding

The onboarding process not only affects time-to-productivity for new hires, it also heavily influences retention rates for top talent. New hires are more likely to appreciate a company with a smooth, effective onboarding strategy, and hiring managers play a huge role in this process. According to recent onboarding stats, positive onboarding experiences increased retention by 82% and improved productivity by over 70%. Still, only about 10% (1 in 10) of workers said their company does an excellent job of onboarding new hires.

At this point, it’s the hiring managers’ responsibility to ensure employees have the technology, resources and support they need to excel.
A helping hand: Finding top candidates faster

As a hiring manager, you likely have a plethora of resources and experience that can help enhance the job search. Benefits of an engaged manager include:

Expanding the company’s reach. By posting (or reposting) about an open position on social media, hiring managers can use their networks to increase the amount and quality of candidates aware of the opportunity.

Creating a positive interview experience. Hiring managers are often the candidate’s first real view into the company’s culture, values and overall initial impression. Managers who treat interviews as a respectful conversation rather than an interrogation are more likely to attract high quality candidates.

Leveraging the company’s brand. As a literal brand ambassador, hiring managers know the most about what makes their company a top contender in their industry. Managers should make use of this knowledge in all forms of communication, from initial job descriptions and emails to social posts and the interview itself.

Why talent acquisition software isn’t just for curators

Talent acquisition software platforms allow for a seamless, efficient hiring process. Curators often use platforms – such as TalentNet’s TalentBench – to manage applications, organize candidates, keep track of each applicant’s status, and communicate with talent.

In a recent survey, 68% of recruiters admitted that investing in new recruitment tech is key to improving hiring performance, which is why hiring managers should be active users of their company’s chosen platform.

Not only does manager involvement increase company-wide adoption of new technology, it also allows for curators and managers to collaborate more efficiently, decreasing the chances of a disconnect that could cost the company time and money.

A stress-free hiring process

Hiring managers who are actively involved in all aspects of talent acquisition are able to establish positive relationships with new hires, which increases time-to-productivity and retention rates.

TalentNet’s intuitive platform allows curators to effectively collaborate with managers to find the best fit for each role. To test drive our solution, click here.