How to engage hiring managers in your recruitment solution; 7 considerations

HR and Procurement often demonstrate the best intentions and efforts to facilitate, manage and structure the hiring of talent. Despite this, getting the buy-in from hiring managers can be a struggle. The designed solutions to attract, identify and recruit talent aren’t always the way hiring managers like or expect them to be. We often see existing recruitment eco-systems next to the established (formal) solutions both for perm and contingent hiring. Most of these eco-systems arise from the hiring manager’s demand, domain expertise, personal network and perceived lack of speed and expertise of the solutions in place.

Although organisations usually advocate process compliance, hiring managers still feel the need – and find ways – to organise talent hiring more effectively. At least in their opinion.
So where do things go wrong?

Below are 7 considerations when improving your hiring managers’ buy-in for a talent solution.

1. Involve them early: While (re)designing your solution, make sure the hiring manager’s voice is heard. Even (or maybe especially) the ones with a critical attitude towards your solution. Make sure you understand their needs and their business and take that into the solutions. Don’t just rely on the expertise of a dedicated domain recruiter.
2. Allow flexibility in your solution: A solution set in concrete is a risk when confronted with a change in demand, a shift in business dynamics or a reorganisation. Technical evolution and the recent pandemic demonstrate the need for agility of businesses. Recruitment models need to be just as agile and flexible to meet the organisation’s pace
3. Keep the User Experience simple: Many organisations will recognise the broad array of systems their employees need to use. ATS-, VMS-, HR-, finance- and procurement systems are not necessarily well connected, which doesn’t invite hiring managers to embrace a solution. Give the design of your technical landscape a dominant position over your desired solution. It will be appreciated.
4. Unlock the hiring managers’ networks: Especially when required roles are very specific, hiring managers typically know how and where to recruit the best people. Map out these sources for both perm and contingent and facilitate hiring managers to make use of these sources, instead of forcing them to use a solution that isn’t completely there yet. Take away any administrative burden and co-operate with their ecosystem.
5. Build up expertise: We can’t blame recruiters for having insufficient knowledge of a specific department, especially when they are expected to cover various disciplines. It is in the interest of both recruiters and hiring managers to organise and facilitate a frequent exchange of input and data on the requirements needed to hire the best people.
6. Share information frequently: Provide insights to hiring managers on labour market dynamics, supplier performance and trends. This will influence their behaviour when it comes to planning and timing of hiring talent. Well informed hiring managers are more open to adjusting their way of working.
7. Team up: This is essentially a summary of the points mentioned above. But there may be additions that improve the overall effectiveness of the solution. Take the example of interviewing candidates. Not all hiring managers are well equipped to review a CV or an assessment or conduct a good interview. That’s where a recruiter can support and help improve the results.

The points mentioned above are based on experience and may seem logical to industry experts. Still, it’s critical to take these points into account in the earliest stages of the design to ensure they are all part of your future solution.

If you would like to discuss ideas on this topic or if you are looking for advice, please feel free to reach out.