One of the fundamental principles of recruiting is that it’s a two-way decision. The candidate is selecting the company as much as the company is selecting the job seeker. And that selection process is getting more complex every day. Today’s candidates are doing their homework when it comes to the organizations they consider.
Part of that homework includes looking for information and recommendations from friends and colleagues. Which is why it’s no surprise that the most common source of hire remains employee referrals? However, technology is taking part in a large role also. Websites like Glassdoor, Indeed, and other social media platforms are popular places for candidates to research what’s being said about a company.
If job seekers are using multiple sources to make a decision about the company, then maybe organizations should consider the same thing. Collaborative hiring is the idea that the company would have multiple people involved in the hiring process, in addition to HR and the hiring manager. This “team” would include the other individuals – both inside and outside of their department – which the candidate would interact with most often.
5 Reasons to Consider Using Hiring Teams in Recruiting
1. You get more diversity in viewpoints-Hiring collaboratively will give diverse and wide-ranging perspectives on what your new role ought to look like, how potential candidates measure up to expectations, and what problems could occur in the future. This drastically decreases the chance of bad hires and ensures that any new hire will slot in well with the team culture. Hiring collaboratively also will inform your current team of the unbelievable price value added by a quality new hire.
2. The candidate gets realistic jobs preview-Let’s face it, sometimes the recruiter and the hiring managers can sugarcoat the job. Or leave something out. It’s not to trick a candidate. Recruiters and hiring manager don’t always do the job they’re hiring for so their impression of the work can be different. By including other people in the process, the candidate can get the “inside scoop” about the work.
3. Because more people are involved in the process, there’s more buy-into the candidate’s success. Occasionally, the company will hire someone that colleagues will not support. Behind the scenes, peers will say, “If we would have interviewed Leonard, we could have told the company he wasn’t a good fit.” Giving co-workers a chance to meet the candidate puts them in a position where they should support the final hiring decision.
4. The candidate has a larger informal network when they start. Every organization has unwritten rules. New hires don’t want to ask their boss or HR about these things. New hires need to have a network of people that they can ask “off the record” questions about policies or company culture. Some organizations are addressing this via a new hire buddy program. Consider including the buddy in the interview process.
5. The Company creates a greater opportunity for employee engagement. The last thing a company wants is to hire an employee and have them leave six months later. Having positive, trusting working relationships is the key to employee engagement, productivity, and retention. Collaborative hiring allows candidates to start building relationships with co-workers.
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