In most cases, your efforts to hire come from an urgent reaction to a situation that has left you with a hole on your team to fill. Can I get a show of hands from those who think this is fun? How about those who love it so much they want to do it on their own? Nobody? Okay, that’s what I thought.
Something that I’ve learned over the past 20 years from working with both HR managers and hiring managers for building products companies across the country is that hiring managers too often do not treat HR managers as their partners. A reality check for hiring managers (from the heart) – hiring can be a lot less stressful if you work with HR as your teammate.
It’s important to remember that HR is constantly juggling multiple things. In fact, it’s unusual that recruiting is their only focus. They are also responsible for payroll, benefits, safety, putting out fires, etc. There are a lot of critical matters that HR may be focusing on in addition to your urgent hiring matter. Recognize this and give them grace.
The second thing that I want you to remember is that you (as the manager or hiring manager) have an essential role in owning the success of the applicants that you get in. Sure, HR can put together a job description, copy and paste it onto a job board. Easy peasy. But they don’t live in the job or oversee the job like you do. You inevitably are going to understand the nuances of the job better. You’re going to have a stronger understanding of exactly what your ideal hire looks like and the language that will excite and entice them. Take time to work with your HR team to create a compelling and enticing job ad that speaks to the person you want to fill this role. If you do this, you’re going to get much more qualified candidates coming in the door.
Remember, HR is your partner – you have the same goal. The more active and supportive you can be in the hiring process, the more success you will see. Work together and you will achieve more!
Want to learn more about how you can partner with HR to optimize results and get more applicants in? Watch this video!
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