Don’t hog the hiring!
by Miki SaxonContinuing on with hiring thoughts. Want to make filing your openings easier? Want to use staffing itself as a way to strengthen your organization and build ownership? It’s easy—get others involved.
Few companies would consider doing a major project using individual contributors instead of teams. Hiring is a major project, one that has substantial long-term impact on the group, department, and company. So, why are teams used in every part of business today—except staffing. Why is it assumed that the various parts of staffing are a function only of managers and HR? In today’s fast-paced work environment, it’s hard for managers to block out several consecutive minutes, let alone the hours, needed to source candidates, read resumes, screen, etc.
Speaking as an ex-headhunter, I’m here to say that the mechanics of recruiting aren’t rocket science; they may not be intuitive, but anybody can learn them. And when it comes to recruiting, there is no manager, no HR person, certainly no headhunter who is as impressive to an outsider as employees excited about their company.
Candidates really respond positively to being recruited by a peer! A peer who likes her company so much she is willing to put time into the staffing process? A manager to whom hiring is not about control but rather about empowerment? Who sees hiring as a chance to shine, not a necessary evil? Who not only understands the desire to make a difference but actually gives people extra opportunities to do so? Wow! That is the kind of manager most good candidates want to work for! Nobody can sell the company or the group or the project or the manager with the same intensity and passion as the company’s own people!
Sadly, some managers are not comfortable with any form of staff involvement. The reasons range from control issues (involvement in staffing is very empowering) to fear (the manager feels insecure) to disinterest (staffing has a low priority).
More bodies ease the load, as well as supplying creative ideas and fresh energy to the staffing effort . Further, teams
- empower and give your people a feeling of ownership;
- they learn critical managerial skills;
- it spreads the workload; and
- helps minimize new employee friction.
With the exception of technical interviewing anybody in your company can be on the team, whether they are from that department or not. Sure, it takes a well written job req, but almost everybody in your company knows as much technically as most headhunters—and they certainly know more about the company. Best of all, they really care!
December 15th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
[…] To accomplish this it’s important to remember that interviewing doesn’t mean eyeball-to-eyeball. Your interviewing team can use in-depth phone interviews to make sure that you never invite candidates in to interview who don’t meet all your minimum hiring requirements—they won’t grow new skills between the time you set up the interview and the time it happens. If a critical interviewer is traveling, use additional phone interviews rather than lose the candidate by waiting. […]