For almost 2 decades I have been interviewing recruiters. I have met with and interviewed hundreds upon hundreds of recruiters all over the world. If there is one thing a recruiter loves to talk about, it’s how many people she/he hired. “Last year, I hired more than 50 people”. No you didn’t, because recruiters don’t hire people, hiring managers do.

A great recruiter is likely highly skilled in sourcing and spotting great talent but also partnering and educating the people and teams that actually make the hiring the decisions. There are two parts to the equation and it’s an equation that needs to be balanced. A crazy statistic says that 57% of recruiters feel hiring managers do not understand recruiting, while 63% of hiring managers feel recruiters do not understand the jobs they are trying to fill.

 

That’s a pretty big divide considering we are in one of the most competitive employment markets in history.

 

A study by Bersin and Deloitte found that the single biggest factor contributing to recruiter performance is their relationship with their hiring managers

Here are 3 simple tips you can incorporate to improve hiring at your company right now. 

1. Have your hiring manager and recruiters create an accountability list. This isn’t just an intake meeting or kick-off (which not getting the most out of is also often overlooked.  An accountability list is a simple list of what the recruiter is going to do and commit to and the hiring manager is going to do and commit to in terms of making the hire(s). This list should be reviewed weekly or whatever meeting cadence you are in.  Just by creating and reviewing this list you may flush out any grey areas or misalignment in the hiring process. Hold each other accountable.

2. Are your hiring managers and teams well-versed in spotting and evaluating talent?  What does your selection process look like? Implement interview and selection training for your hiring managers and their interview teams. Tip: You don’t have to boil the ocean, get started by focusing on the hiring managers and teams that have a majority of the openings at your company. Ninety-nine perfect of hiring managers who get interview training say they truly need it! (SHRM 2020). While most hiring managers have not had interview training, almost 100% of those who through it agree and that they have more knowledge about the company’s hiring process and feel more confident about conducting interviews and selecting talent.

3. Any CEO will tell you that hiring is a key virtue of leadership and a true difference maker for a leader. So why do so many companies not include “recruiting, interviewing, and selection” as part of their leadership development program? Are your leaders accountable to hire? Make sure recruiting and hiring is integrated into your companies leadership and management development program. The worlds top companies are invested in how they hire and build an entire culture of recruiting and hiring.

So before you buy that new AI sourcing software or invest more time and energy into recruiting tools and technology, ask yourself this question “Do my hiring managers know how to hire?”