Spring 2016
Page 3
a Strong Hiring Manager relationship is like a Successful Marriage! Deb Vargovick, lEAN Human Capital
We consistently hear that the key to having a successful marriage or relationship with your significant other is communication . Not only is communicating on a regular basis important, but the quality of the communication and understanding what the other person is saying is critical! In order to do that, we need to understand how our significant other likes to be communicated with. This could include tone of voice, the type of language we use, when we communicate with them, how often we communicate, etc. All of these qualities influence whether or not we hear and comprehend what it is that our partner is sharing with us or us with them . It is easy to draw a correlation between building personal relationships and how, as recruiters, we build strong and lasting relationships with our hiring managers . Let’s look at some key steps to effective communication with your hiring managers: 1 . Ask your hiring managers what method of communication they prefer . Does phone, in person, email or texting work best for them? 2. Establish a Service Level Agreement (SLA) around response timeframes . Is an immediate response required for all communication (which is unrealistic), or is 24 hours a reasonable response time? I recommend providing managers with a commitment around response timeframe as well as being clear about the method you will be using. 3 . Use language that your hiring managers can relate to and that makes sense in their world . This also helps build credibility in your managers’ eyes. 4 . Do you display empathy to your hiring managers regarding their open position? It is important that you let them know that you understand how important it is to fill their opening quickly with a high quality candidate, and that this is also very important to you as their recruiter . 5 . Set SLAs for key steps in the hiring process . Especially important to your hiring managers is knowing when they can first expect to see candidates to review. For you, it’s important to communicate a realistic start date . If you would like an example of a detailed SLA, please email us at info@leanhumancapital.com. 6. Establish a weekly communication rhythm with your hiring manager. Our research suggests that a weekly update (via email) satisfies 72% of hiring managers surveyed .
There is nothing better than meeting with your hiring managers face to face in order to build a strong relationship. Think about your personal relationships . You may communicate regularly via text, phone or email, but how much better is it when you can talk with that individual in person? It may be challenging from a time standpoint to meet with every hiring manager in person on a weekly or even monthly basis, but think about what you can do, versus what you can’t . Prioritize your hiring managers’ visits in order of importance or how critical their job opening is. I recommend using the following criteria to assist with prioritization: Does the open position impact Cost of Vacancy because they are using agency or overtime to backfill the opening? Is the vacancy having a direct impact on lost revenue? Is there high turnover in the department? Is the position highly visible within your organization? Is this a department or business line that regularly needs a little bit more attention and communication? Is this a hiring manager with whom you need to work on building a better relationship? During a recent LEAN Think Tank meeting made up of key thought leaders in recruitment across the country, we asked hiring managers their view of the importance of their recruiters being visible to them and the department. They overwhelmingly shared that when they do not see a recruiter regularly in their department, their view and evaluation of the recruiter’s performance diminishes significantly. Building relationships requires a commitment to regular, effective communication that both parties can relate to and understand . For more tips, I invite you to visit our Recruitment Resources page at http://www.recruiteracademy.com/resources.php. Reprinted from Summer 2013 issue Vol. 37 No. 2
NAHCR 913.895.4627 •• Fax: Fax:913.895.4652 913.895.4652• •Email: Email:nahcr@goAMP.com nahcr@goAMP.com NAHCR• P.O. • P.O.Box Box14365 14365• •Lenexa, Lenexa,KS KS66285-4365 66285-4365 •• Phone: 913.895.4627