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 recruiter’s’ 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’:
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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 Manager’s 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].
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Working on your hiring manager’s 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 – We’re hiring Software Engineers, connect with me!]
Also, include content under the published section that promotes the employer brand.
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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.”
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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!
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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.
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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.
