How Recruitment Metrics Improve Recruiter-Hiring Manager Relationships

The U.S. unemployment rate fell to a 50-year low this year, and hiring teams are scrambling to be more proactive in understanding candidates today. 46% of employers are still seeing an increased difficulty in filling jobs, and the truth is, hiring teams are going to need more than just automated processes to conquer the current talent shortage.

As the time-to-fills for roles climb steadily, it’s necessary for hiring managers and recruiters to collaborate effectively for maximum productivity. Recruiters and hiring managers alike need to strategize how they devote their recruitment resources, and who they should devote them to.

With the emergence of Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and more, data-driven recruiting is equipping teams with recruitment metrics that can be used to assess and improve hiring performance in accordance with talent pool behavior.

How will recruitment metrics help strengthen communication with hiring managers? 

Clearer, more efficient intake meetings

Having access to comprehensive data helps recruiters conduct thorough preparations before an intake meeting. With the help of today’s technology, recruiters can build samples of complete candidate profiles and analyze industry benchmarks prior to a meeting. Intake meetings can then be used more efficiently to receive feedback and identify areas of improvement.

For example, tweaks to a candidate profile can be made during a meeting for hiring managers to visualize how the addition or removal of specific criteria can affect the pool of available talent. When recruiters present enough material to spearhead a deep-dive conversation, it encourages a consultative relationship with both sides being on the same page.

Helps hiring managers and recruiters set realistic goals

Recruitment data empowers recruiters with the ability to accurately analyze talent pool availability. This provides insights toward an achievable roadmap for building the recruitment funnel. Depending on how big or small the talent pool is, recruiters can discuss restructuring strategies to yield better results. If the talent pool is limited, recruiters and hiring managers could decide to be more flexible on certain qualifications, develop a more enticing job description and benefits package, or devote more time to a better talent brand for attracting passive candidates.

This would be the best time to weigh the cost and benefits of allocating a certain amount of resources for hard-to-fill roles. Organizations will be able to prepare for longer periods without a filled position or decide to opt for agency recruitment. It also prevents a lack of productivity stemming from overworked recruiters trying to meet unrealistic demands from hiring managers.

Build and manage hiring manager satisfaction

With the right tools that provide a holistic set of data, recruiters will be able to analyze candidate behavioral patterns from the sourcing stage all the way to their performance as an employee. Not only does this help recruiters identify how they execute their recruitment strategies, but it also helps strengthen credibility and trust from hiring managers who are skeptical about the quality of incoming candidates or a recruiter’s performance in sourcing for a role.

Higher response rates, better candidate experience scores or shorter durations to accept an offer are just some of the factors that contribute to a well-oiled recruitment machine. With these in mind, recruiters can transform and test-run different practices to encourage the intake of candidates who are more enthusiastic about the company brand or work ethic. These candidates are also more motivated to meet key performance indicators (KPIs) as a new hire.

Increase transparency with hiring managers about the hiring process

Ensuring that the hiring process is transparent among all hiring teams is the key to avoiding most forms of miscommunication. When hiring managers and recruiters are both equally aware of how the hiring process is moving along, it becomes easier for both sides to rationalize and come to a consensus on differing opinions.

I send [hiring managers] reports via Slack. They were very interested to know that some of these roles actually don’t have a lot of people out there. And I say yeah, that’s why we’ve been spending a lot of time recruiting on this role.

Claire Berkley, Senior Technical Recruiter at Poshmark

ATS systems may be able to unify certain recruitment metrics to keep everyone informed, but we now have tools that allow teams to view more detailed insights on pipeline and project performance, as well as the data recorded by each recruiter on the team. Have your key numbers displayed in a dashboard view for easier access. Keep hiring managers in the loop about recruiter challenges and limitations, and use these numbers as a way to be upfront and open about the next steps that have to be taken.

With recruitment timelines becoming a more pressing matter of urgency for organizations across most industries, measurable performance indicators will influence hiring manager decisions more than anything. We live in a time where data is at an abundance, so recruiters should ensure that their hiring workflows are adapting to reap the benefits that this would bring to the HR space. As talent becomes harder to reach, the best thing hiring teams can do is work together to understand and leverage common patterns in candidate behavior.