Hiring Manager ExpectationsSetting, Executing and Delivering Hiring Strategies

Chris Hood

11/3/2009

Topics for Discussion

• Establishing Expectations• Issues to Proactively Prevent and Avoid

• Managers wanting to see more than 3 resumes per hiring engagement

• Managers wanting to see additional resumes with no feedback om previous submittals

• Managers liking someone they interviewed, but still want to see more resumes

• Overcoming Roadblocks• Discussion

Establishing Relationships

• Hiring challenges exist across many organizations• Function of decentralized hiring function• Forced change from preferred vendors• Dislike for reviewing resumes, interviewing and making hiring

decisions• Disconnect occurs between what is needed and what is described

in job description• No defined guidelines for feedback and submissions

• How do these characteristics effect our ability to hire?• Recruiting focus moves to quantity over quality• Feedback lacking in useful information• Cumbersome decision making

Identifying and Understanding the Challenge

• We just looked at 3 major roadblocks. • How do we prevent them from impeding the process?

• Anticipate• Recognize• Act proactively, not reactively• Others?

Road Block #1You’re Doing it Wrong!

• What does this tell us?• Lack of process

understanding• Difficulty listening to advice

on best practice• Results in tension

• Leads to even bigger obstacle

Road Block #2Just give me a 1/3 lb of Ham

• Often, the ideal candidate will not be identical to the job description

• Must pose detailed questions in kick-off and calibration meetings

• The right questions will get the right answers

• Make the calls like an interview

Roadblock #3The Point is…Well. I don’t Know.

• Managers often think they can do just a bit better with an additional candidate

• Difficult for them to define “why”

• Explanation can go in circles – with no true understanding reached

Why Does This Happen?

• Hiring managers feel that they are experts in recruiting and interviewing

• Managers fail to convey core necessity of a new position• Managers separate from hiring process

• Leave the heavy lifting to recruiters and HR• Act as final authority – with limited information

• Uncertainty of exactly what they are looking for• Decisions made on factors inconsequential to job• Lack of training on resume review• Decisions based on resume only

• No attention given to cover letters, write ups or referrals

• What else?

How Do We Prevent This?

• Begin new relationship with agreeing on:• Process• Communication standards

• Build confidence in hiring manager• Know the job• Understand the industry and marketplace• Teach and promote objective assessment• Be prepared to justify candidate submissions• Be a partner to the hiring manager

• Team with managers to make this a mutual process

• Let’s Discuss

First Impressions ARE Everything

• Even the most detached HM can recognize recruiter competence and professionalism

• Work to control the “Thin Slice”*• Prevent disengagement by creating positive first impression, and

immediately work to overcome pre-conceptions• Malcolm Glad well asserts that “we think without thinking, we thin-

slice whenever we meet a new person or have to make sense of something quickly or encounter a novel situation.” • Further, he demonstrates that, “Snap judgments are, first of all,

enormously quick: they rely on the thinnest slices of experience … they are also unconscious.”

• The notion of thinking without thinking effects a manager’s approach to hiring• Very important to overcome potential negative preconceive attitude

towards interviewing and hiring

*Source

First Impressions ARE Everything (cont’d)

• Cater first discussions to the target audience*• If working with an IT/Engineering manager, cater your approach to

their language• Example:

• A previous search was conducted for a similar role. After sourcing and screening 40 candidates, 6 were formally interviewed by the recruiter and 6 by the hiring manager.

• This confirms trend of 3% success rate of return in recruiting (also a base standard in other areas)

• Discuss previous search with manager, and ask the sourcing • Instead of asking “How can we narrow this down to a 10% success

rate?”, pose the question as: “What would we need to do to increase the yield 3X, or to 10%”

• Managers will now see this hiring process as engineering challenge – not an HR or recruiting activity

*Source

Use Kick-off Calls to Your Advantage

• Establish credibility immediately• Research the Client and industry prior to call• Read and re-read the job description• Pre-construct questions that will uncover pertinent information

about the job

• Avoid using the Job Description as the discussion agenda• This often leads to “I’m looking for what it says here”• Relying on the document limits flow of discussion and transfer of

information

• Lead discussion on expectations – do not ask for them• Most managers do not come to meeting with expectations pre-set• This could lead to direction which is not well thought out• Takes away from our ability to consult and partner

Use Kick-off Calls to Your Advantage(cont’d)

• Get the manager on your side• Let them talk about their favorite things (what is this?)• Ask them to remember the best hire they made for this role – and

then discuss what made them want to interview the candidate initially

• Discuss characteristics of top performers • Use a previous hire’s resume (if available) and find out what

questions they would have for this person• Ask about the collective personality of his/her team• What types of people tend to do well?

Use Kick-off Calls to Your Advantage(cont’d)

• Sell the importance of a smooth hiring process• Ensure sincere goal to partner with manager• Discuss importance of keeping with agreed-upon turnaround times

for feedback and scheduling• Educate manager on candidate perceptions if a hiring process

extends beyond reasonable time frame• Impart the importance of interviewing QUALITY not QUANTITY• Agree upon a time to re-calibrate early search results

• Remind the hiring manager that their input to the hiring process reflects on the entire company

This is Sounds Great in Theory, but…. What is the End Goal?

• Partner with your managers to encourage an open mind and change in their approach to hiring

• Build confidence that you are an expert in recruiting and that you understand the industry and key components

• Establish open communication to ensure clear, objective feedback and timely response

• Teach hiring managers how to uncover the information they are looking for through effective interviewing

• Create relationship where hiring manager feels like a top priority• Be an agent of change!

Trust, Change, Flexibility, Understanding

• What happens when we convince our hiring managers to give up their “woobie”?• In the end – we want our

partners to rely on us for their hiring needs

• If they are confident in our abilities to perform, they will trust the process and participate actively

• Result will be improved efficiency and revenue

Sources and Additional Information

• Podcast – Dealing with “SeeMores”• Sales Roundup – Podcast

• Article – Working with Technical Managers• How to Deal With Technical Managers and Other (Too) Bright People

• Article – Tips for Interviewers• Interview Tips - For Interviewers

• Essay – Using Assessments as Hiring Tools• Testing and Attracting - Assessment Tools

• Book – Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking• Malcolm Gladwell - Blink

• Article – First Impressions• Why "Blink" Matters - The Power of First Impressions

• Linked In – Industry Professionals Input• Q&A Topic Thread