Getting buy in: How do you better engage your internal recruitment stakeholders?

Hiring is a vital part in any business but, in 2020, it’s been an entirely different ballgame. It’s been a crazy year in so many ways and, for some businesses; it’s been an outright disaster. Like all things, there’s always a flipside and, for many businesses, the planning is underway for brighter days ahead.

For HR teams, the hiring process is something that always requires significant tap dancing! Not only are you managing the requirements for your business in terms of attracting the right talent and fit to your culture, but you have to manage the often demanding expectations of your hiring managers across the business. Add in a job market that is being fuelled by those unfortunate enough to have lost their job (through no fault of their own), it also means you’re more than likely wading through more resumes for any open positions.
 
A topic I often discuss with our HR clients is around stakeholder management. Over the years I’ve said to clients that, in reality, the process of engaging and managing your internal stakeholders, such as the hiring manager, is not that different to what we do in sales. A lot of it revolves around communication and relationship management.
 
So here are some tips I’ve picked up that I believe will work best in managing internal stakeholders.

 
Keep the lines of communication open

 
I know it sounds a little cliché and obvious…but, in reality, you’ll save yourself a ton of issues down the line if you spend the time upfront in learning everything you need to know about the stakeholder requirements.
 
It’s an old school approach I know: Talking to people in the digital age! But if you build that relationship upfront and take the time to genuinely consider their job’s specific requirements, it will help you in finding the right candidates. It can get lost in situations where the hiring manager’s expectations are just not aligned with the recruitment process and that friction can be more easily resolved if you have good communication from the minute the role is open.
 

Be rigorous around screening candidates

 
At Referoo this is something we’re obviously very passionate about! There are, however, a few parts to this..
 
Technology can be a real bonus for you here. At Referoo, we obviously have a wealth of experience in running online reference checks and we work with partners such as WorkPro to help you be even more rigorous in your review of a candidates relevant skills and experience. For example, Referoo has inbuilt capability to weed out fraudulent reference checks, meaning that you won’t get caught out on a lie in the hiring process. Being an online reference checking tool, we can also significantly reduce the time and effort it takes to get references for your preferred candidates.

 
Be prepared to be flexible

 
The number of people currently on the job market should be viewed as a positive for companies looking for new talent.
 
A lot of these people lost their current role through no fault of their own. This pandemic forced businesses into making some tough decisions around keeping their businesses alive, meaning that good people were put out of work. This provides an opportunity for your business to grab these talented individuals.
 
One tip I’ve heard from our recruitment friends is around candidate selection and having the ability to look outside the norm. With a higher number of candidates in the job market, it can pay to be a little more open in your approach. For example, how much do you weigh industry experience in the hiring process? For some it’s the be-all-and-end-all but it can mean you miss a perfect candidate that may be right for an industry shift. They might have all the right skills but not the industry experience, so you shouldn’t overlook them, because in reality, you can teach them the industry ropes. On the flipside, just because someone has worked in your industry for a long period of time it doesn’t always make them a fit for your role.
 
Again, technology can help you here. It might mean tweaking your selection process. A tool like Daxtra takes the candidates CV and helps you look at candidates with the skills you’re after, such as leadership experience, but maybe in a different context, and cross matches that with your role. It can be very useful to look outside the square and remove industry bias. Soft skills analysis tools, like Headway DNA, can also be a great way of helping you think differently. Or a solution like Alcami Interactive, which builds on traditional video interviewing by allowing you to shortlist top talent quickly and remove the bias of hiring managers.
 
Keen to see how you can tweak your hiring process through technology? Let me know and let’s chat!