In Talent Acquisition, the focus is almost always on the candidate/recruiter relationship. But before we even get there, there is another relationship which needs tending to – the recruiter and hiring manager relationship.

Like a clownfish and an anemone, recruiters and hiring managers need each other, but (to be brutally honest) it’s often the hiring managers who don’t understand this. They’re busy leaders with their own team or department and BAU demands. But if they want to continue operating at capacity with a strong team then they need the best talent which demands a little time investment and accountability on their part.

At the In-House Recruiter Conference 2024, Tom Hacquoil from Pinpoint articulated this perennial issue for recruiters:

“When we speak to hiring managers they’ll describe recruitments processes as this black box, this mystical creature that they don’t really understand… If they don’t understand what you’re doing they don’t understand the value you bring to the business and they’re not going to proactively collaborate with you.”

Research shows only 12% of talent acquisition leaders say other functions around the business have ‘a lot’ of visibility into what they do.  This great unknown is what Hacquoil calls the ‘black box’. He argues that without that visibility, recruiters can’t expect accountability from hiring managers – and we agree.  The onus is on recruiters to communicate exactly what the Talent Attraction team does, and what expectations there are for the hiring manager.

So, let’s open the black box.

The kick-off meeting

When the request for a new hire comes through, set up a meeting with the hiring manager to:

• Explain the role of the recruiter and the hiring manager.
• Have the hiring manager detail the technical skills required for the job.
• Have the hiring manager identify examples of the kind of person they’re looking for – this might be existing colleagues or people from LinkedIn.
• Agree on a scorecard so the recruiter and the hiring manager are working from the same rubric.
• Agree on a timeline which you are both accountable to

Make it easy for them

This one is a simple best practice step. Make sure that candidate information is easy for the hiring manager to access, that it’s all in one place and doesn’t require a complex ecosystem of logins to access. It’s also important that they can easily compare candidates’ documents.

Accountability

You don’t need us to tell you it’s a competitive market out there. As recruiters, you know the imperative to act quickly – but does the hiring manager? They must understand that prompt responses to candidates is crucial for catching the best talent. With good communication and the collaborative relationship you now have, this shouldn’t be a problem, but reiterate and reiterate the gravity of it. If a pattern of interview cancellations is emerging, it might be time to check in and remind them of the important role they must play. Hiring should be a priority as it has significant bearing on the hiring manager’s team’s future success.

Hiring the best person from the job demands close collaboration between recruiter and hiring manager – neither can be successful without the investment of the other. The slippage, the gap in understanding of each other’s positions, remains a perennial problem. Communicate clearly, don’t assume, and be aligned on what you’re looking for and how to get there.