How to Get Hiring Managers Involved in the Recruitment Process

How to Get Hiring Managers Involved in the Recruitment Process A topic of conversation at Sourcecon Fall 2015 (a national conference for recruiters and sourcers to learn about different recruitment tools and strategies) was: how to get hiring managers involved in the recruitment process. Here was my advice on how to do this… First the challenge. Many hiring managers say: “Why do I need to send a message to my connections regarding job opportunities, isn’t that the recruiters’ role?” Yes, it is the recruiter’s job but recruiting is a team sport and managers cannot just sit back and wait. They must be involved. The Solution. I’m fortunate to work with many proactive hiring managers; here is how I’ve turned them into ‘sourcers’ and ‘recruiters’: Start with the simple stuff: give everyone a voice. Practically speaking, this involves having hiring managers promote the roles you’re working on together. Give your Hiring Managers instructions on what to write; for example: “We’re hiring and growing into 2016.” “Check out our career page” “I’m hiring a team of (fill in the blank) #JoinUs” Provide job related content your Hiring Manager can easily copy and paste into their social media channels [i.e. LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook]. Working on your hiring managers LinkedIn profile. Some easy things to do in the Summary section include: Adding: “We’re Hiring” Under the headline of your LinkedIn profile you can include: [ie. CEO Were hiring Software Engineers, connect with me!] Also, include content under the published section that promotes the employer brand. Create a social media calendar for your Hiring Managers. Another part of the ‘push back’ thing most Hiring Managers say: “I would post updates online but I don’t have the time.” I create a calendar for them with specific pre-written posts including: where to post [which social media channel] and on what day. A simple copy and paste- similar to what’s noted above: “We’re hiring and growing into 2016.” Lunch and Source. Have your recruitment team host a lunch and source day: recruiters sit with your Hiring Managers during a ‘catered’ lunch and begin sourcing through their LinkedIn connections. The idea here is, some Hiring Managers forget they’ve worked with some pretty remarkable people throughout their professional career we want these people! Arranging for your hiring managers to speak at meet-ups and events. Groups, meet-ups and associations are always looking for content and speakers. Work with your Hiring Managers to create a short list of topics they can speak on and help create their bio. Reach out to the leaders of these groups and pitch your Managers as presenters. Remind your Managers. This helps with the engagement and connection part it also helps with their own professional brand. The Payoff. Engaging Hiring Managers in the recruiting process will bring a larger talent pool, greater employer branding and a hopefully a quick and easier hiring process.