Trying to get an executive that doesn’t understand hiring and recruiting like you do off your back? Talent pool development takes time now, and candidates aren’t necessarily chomping at the bit (or desperate) to start their next gig tomorrow. Recruiting and hiring takes wooing for candidates in such a passive market. Shouldn’t higher level hiring managers get that by now?
Probably not. They have deadlines and people breathing down their neck for status updates and that is why they are looking to you. Plus, they aren’t in the recruiting trenches day in and day out.
Here are a few ways you can gently remind your hiring managers that you’re the expert recruiter and they should cool their jets while you’re wrangling those secret squirrels.
If you’re an expert, you shouldn’t be missing the mark
Do you have a history of over-promising and missing out on billets? You’ll have a tough time telling your hiring managers to back off and trust you if you do. Ensure that your recruiting past performance is up to snuff and you are not over-promising on filling yours.
Make it a habit to focus on filling the roles you know you can, focusing on the tougher roles for a time, but move on to the next project if nothing is working. Prioritizing your recruiting to increase your profits is key, not wasting time on best athlete positions that you know you’ll never achieve.
***I’m not telling you to disobey your hiring manager’s priorities, either. But if you submit three candidates that are almost there requirements wise, but the customer is hard set on a qual you are not finding – talk with your hiring manager about moving on to other recruiting priorities.
Give them details on why…for everything
Data, data, data. To change their minds, you will need concrete evidence. If it takes more documentation – which can be tedious – just do it. For each candidate you or your team members speak with for a program, notate why candidates are saying no. Is it money? Is it the location? Is it the experience required? Quality of class matters, so if it’s money, get market data on compensation and where you sit in the food chain of offers for the specific roles you’re hiring for. Ghosting is high, and a $1 increase can make a difference per hour. If pay seems to be the deterrent on losing candidates, let the hiring manager know that.
Notating your rejections will also help you devise a plan of attack on tacking your recruiting issues.
Tell them Hiring volume matters
Hiring at scale? With the candidates that are somewhat active in the market, they can come on and off the market quickly, so you don’t have the time to mess around. If you’re hiring for an entire program, let hiring managers know that Rome wasn’t built in a day… or maybe inform them that you need more manpower and hire a few temp / contract recruiters.
Politely reminding hiring managers of these items should be a slow drip education – set realistic expectations for yourself in your executives and hiring managers so they understand that they need to back off. Keyword is to GENTLY tell them why their proposals don’t work – you are the expert, but you need to have the confidence (and don’t forget proof) to show them that.
THE CLEARED RECRUITING CHRONICLES: YOUR WEEKLY DoD RECRUITING TIPS TO OUT COMPETE THE NEXT NATIONAL SECURITY STAFFER.
