English is important, but math is importanter: Balancing Hiring Manager and Candidate Needs

When it comes to internal Talent Acquisition (TA), the debate over whether recruiters (and TA operating models) should be focussing more heavily on supporting hiring managers or candidates seems to have gone on for decades.?

We have all been at the conferences where candidate experience appears 8 times on the agenda and hiring manager enablement maybe hits once. But either way, the narrative seems to be it’s ultimately a Solomon’s choice between the two areas of focus - one seemingly always has to take precedence.

So which is 'importanter' - candidate or hiring manager focus?

In the real world, away from the conference stage, all of us in in-house TA know that to be successful recruiters must balance the needs of both parties in order to create successful hiring outcomes. But what does this balance look like in practice?

At its core, a successful approach to TA requires a real balance of operational efficiency and strategic thinking. Good recruiters need to be skilled both at being able to identify and attract top talent, while also building strong relationships with hiring managers (and providing them with the support they need to make those successful hiring decisions).

While effective communication is important for building these relationships, data analytics is equally crucial for supporting the communications - driving informed decisions about talent acquisition. According to a report by Deloitte, "data-driven HR departments are more effective, efficient, and strategic than those that don't use data in their decision-making." By leveraging data analytics, recruiters can identify trends in the talent market, track recruitment metrics, and make more informed decisions about talent acquisition.

However, it's important to remember that TA is ultimately about people. A human touch is essential for building relationships with both hiring managers and candidates. As recruiting expert Lou Adler puts it, "the heart of recruiting is not the process, it's the people." By balancing the importance of data and human connections, recruiters can create successful hiring outcomes.

So, what happens when recruiters fail to balance the needs of hiring managers and candidates? The consequences can be dire. Poor communication between recruiters and hiring managers can lead to a longer time to fill positions, resulting in lost productivity and revenue for the organisation. A negative candidate experience can also lead to a damaged employer brand and difficulties in attracting top talent in the future.

To avoid these negative consequences, recruiters need to establish clear communication channels with hiring managers and candidates, and prioritise the needs and expectations of both parties - including educating and advising when their expectations are misaligned with reality as true business partnering (or candidate partnering) does not mean being a 'yes person' in the hope it will just work out somehow. By having that strength of relationship and intelligence of approach recruiters can create a positive candidate experience and help hiring managers attract and retain top talent for their organisation.

To summarise- today’s internal TA functions require recruiters with a balance of operational efficiency, strategic thinking, and a human touch. By placing equal value on the importance of data and relationships, recruiters can create successful hiring outcomes while helping their companies in avoiding the negative consequences of a poor hiring experience.

Hey - nobody’s said it was easy eh!

Join Talent do this well and our door is always open to help - whether that’s with capability assessment, capability management, bespoke training for internal TA teams, or augmentation of existing TA delivery team capability.?

Messaging to [email protected] is how to reach us for a chat - but also check out our free recruiter capability eBook for more topic relevant tips, insights and tools!