Hiring Manager is the person responsible for hiring a new employee in response to the organization’s needs. The recruitment process itself is overseen by a professional recruiter. This can raise some questions about the role and responsibilities of the Hiring Manager. The most challenging task they face is selecting the right person, but they also have other responsibilities. Below is some information about what a typical collaboration with a Hiring Manager looks like and how to make the final decision to hire the chosen candidate.
Expanding the team! What’s next?
Getting the green light for hiring is great news. It signifies team and company growth and presents new challenges for the leader. However, it’s not the end of decisions that can be headache-inducing. Fortunately, from this point forward, the Hiring Manager can rely on the full support of recruiters who are willing to assist in determining the necessary details. It’s important to leverage their expertise and prioritize the actions they request. This ensures that both the recruitment process and the experiences of candidates applying to the company are of high quality.
Step one: Before the process begins
The Hiring Manager is responsible for defining the need, budget, and timeframe for the new hire. After this stage, control of the recruitment process can be handed over to the recruiter. However, this doesn’t mean that the manager is relieved of responsibilities.
First and foremost, it’s necessary to consider the requirements for the future employee, desired qualifications, as well as the challenges and prospects they will face. This allows for the creation and verification of an accurate profile and, for certainty, aligns financial matters with the desired level of specialization. Once the competency profile is created and clear for recruitment, it’s time to establish an action plan after receiving applications.
Consider:
-Who will verify CVs and how?
-Any tasks for candidates?
-Determine the manager’s availability (for application verification, tasks, and recruitment meetings).
-Develop a conversation scenario that allows for competence assessment and, equally important, candidate comparison.
Step two: During the process
Plans are crucial, but their effectiveness can only be assessed when faced with reality. Even the best recruitment flow won’t survive if the Hiring Manager doesn’t allocate time for the assigned tasks. Although it may sound obvious, it often proves challenging. Recruitment is an additional and relatively time-consuming duty for the Hiring Manager within their tight schedule.
Furthermore, since these are team-coordinated activities, it’s easier to assume they have a lower priority compared to tasks one performs independently. However, without collaboration, nothing will happen. It’s important to remember that HR is a supporting department, not one that does the work for others. The Hiring Manager possesses specialized knowledge that allows them to assess the quality of a candidate’s prior experiences mentioned in the application or demonstrated during an interview. Ultimately, the manager will be working with the individual and must evaluate the prospects of a successful collaboration. This is another reason why their participation in the recruitment process is crucial.
Of course, obtaining CVs and their initial verification fall under the recruiter’s responsibility. However, encouraging information about the role, or “insights,” must come from the Manager. It’s also the recruiter’s duty to assess soft skills and the previously defined fit with the team. These matters must be discussed in advance. Finally, don’t forget about scheduling meetings and communicating with the candidate, which is time-consuming and highly responsible. These actions influence the experiences of applicants and, consequently, their willingness to work with the organization in the future. To ensure that these activities are carried out with quality, the Hiring Manager must efficiently verify applications, provide feedback, and be available for meetings.
Step three: After recruitment. Whom to choose?
Well-defined requirements, the market rate for the proposed salary range, and professional recruiters who have delivered suitable candidates, along with the Manager’s cooperation with HR, are the recipe for recruitment success. This means that almost every time, one or more candidates worth considering will emerge. Sounds great, but it’s often the most stressful moment. The Manager faces a tough question: is a particular candidate good enough?
The age-old recruitment truth says that there are no perfect candidates. Experience tells a different story – sometimes, there’s a person who seems like a perfect match. However, such situations are genuinely rare. Most of the time, something is missing. Therefore, the decision to be made isn’t easy. What should be done then?
- First, it’s worth revisiting the previously defined candidate profile. Verify which competencies were initially considered essential and would strengthen the team.
- The next step is to determine which of the identified candidate shortcomings during the recruitment process can be overcome and how long it will take to address them. Is the answer to this question acceptable in the context of the team’s needs?
- After the analytical part, it’s essential to consider emotional aspects. What was the feeling during the interview? Don’t get me wrong; I’m not advocating for decisions solely based on emotions – the human mind plays tricks, including cognitive biases. However, feelings matter. Ultimately, the manager will spend a lot of time with this person, working closely. Moreover, if there’s an intuition during the interview that serious issues might arise, it’s worth looking into them. Ideally, revisit the troubling topics and discuss them with the candidate. If the concerns persist despite this, it’s probably not worth the risk. Serious reservations during recruitment often cast a shadow on future collaboration. Throughout this process, it’s important to listen to the recruiter’s opinion if they were involved in the process and discuss any doubts with them.
- Finally, it’s essential to confront and consider whether the available candidates are good enough, even if not perfect. The recruitment process is often a business compromise – between endlessly searching for the perfect fit and deciding to invest in someone who will adapt to new responsibilities more quickly.
With these thoughts in mind, it’s time to make a decision.
The recruitment process can be a tiring and chaotic endeavor, but it doesn’t have to be. To avoid such situations, it’s crucial to start by planning your own work, ensuring that daily responsibilities allow for active participation and collaboration with recruiters. This will make the process smoother and more effective, as well as help build a positive impression of the organization, even for the most attractive candidates. Learning about the career paths of various individuals in the same industry and then listening to their stories and having substantive discussions are another way to broaden horizons. With proper collaboration with the support of professional specialists, the stage of finding a new employee can become a pleasant and valuable experience, culminating in an important decision based on strong arguments of both the heart and the mind. Then, it’s a matter of waiting for the new person to join the team and facing the challenges that lie ahead!
