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When a job opening occurs, one of the first things talent acquisition professionals should do is have a recruiting strategy meeting with the hiring manager. Sometimes this meeting is called an intake meeting. Personally, I like recruiting strategy meeting better because it’s a reflection of the actual purpose of the meeting – to develop a recruiting strategy for this newly open position.
Even when you regularly recruit for the same position, it makes sense to have the recruiting strategy meeting. It doesn’t have to be a long meeting, but it does need to cover five essential topics.
- The job. This is a perfect time to confirm that the job description is current. The last thing any recruiting professional wants is to start recruiting for an open position only to find that there have been some small updates to the job. That can delay the entire process. In addition to confirming the job description, discuss must-have knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs). It’s possible in a competitive job market that organizations might find a great candidate who has 95% of the KSAs for the job and can train them for the remaining 5%. This conversation should happen at the beginning of the hiring process, so organizations do not risk losing a great candidate because they didn’t think of it sooner.
- The work team. The recruiter and hiring manager should talk about the team from two standpoints. First, is there anyone on the current team who might be a good fit for this role? Many organizations have job posting programs to encourage internal mobility. If there’s a strong internal candidate, then there should be a discussion about the best position to recruit for – the current opening or backfilling the internal candidate’s role. The second thing to consider is any team dynamics that aren’t noted in a job description. The new hire will want to be a part of the team, so it only makes sense to factor that into the interview.
- Potential sources. A recruiter will want to ask the hiring manager if they know of any potential sources. There are managers who do a great job of staying on top of what’s happening with their competitors and can provide information about sources to focus on. In addition, this is a good time to share with the hiring manager some data about the effectiveness with current sources. The recruiting team should be tracking by source time to fill, cost per hire, and quality of hire. This information can help hiring managers understand the level of resources available for recruiting this opening.
- The interview process. This ties into the previous topic of potential sources. The recruiting strategy meeting is a good time to discuss the timeline for recruiting this position. It gives the hiring manager an opportunity to think about how they will manage their operation while the interview process is taking place. If they need to hire temporary staffing, that discussion can happen early in the process. Sometimes organizations find themselves frustrated because they simply say, “Oh, well just pay overtime.” Not thinking about how much time the interview process takes. Current employees get frustrated and stressed because they didn’t realize how much overtime they would be working. And that pushes the hiring manager to rush the process, which
might notprobably won’t end with the best results.
- Future opportunities. Some people might say that candidates should stay focused on the job they are applying for and not think about the next job. Truth is, candidates want to know that they will be set up for success and have a future with the organization. The recruiter and hiring manager should confirm the onboarding and training plan for the position. Will the new hire have a buddy or mentor? This is also a good time to discuss 30/60/90-day goals. Even if there’s not a lot of conversation about career paths, letting the candidate know that there’s a well-thought-out plan for their success can set the organization apart.
After discussing these topics with the hiring manager, the recruiter can follow-up with a short recap email. Basically, the email now becomes “the recruiting strategy”. The recruiter and the hiring manager are in sync with what will happen and when. And if for whatever reason, the plan needs to change … the recruiter and hiring manager can do that knowing the original strategy.
One last thing, a common practice after hiring a new employee is for the recruiter to follow-up with the hiring manager and find out how the new hire is doing. The recruiter can use the information from the recruiting strategy meeting to ask “What went well? And what could we do differently next time?” to get additional feedback from the hiring manager and make the overall recruiting process even stronger.
Even when recruiters and hiring managers are busy and they’ve recruited for this same position dozens of times, it makes good business sense to have a recruiting strategy meeting.
Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of Weston, FL
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