In-house recruiters & talent acquisition, read this to your hiring managers – especially those who are acting crazy and self-sabotaging.
This past week, yet again, I was chatting to a lovely talent acquisition pro who couldn’t get her manager on a call to discuss his vacancy in more detail. Crazy!
He just kept saying, ‘It’s all there.’ referring to the job spec. ๐
End of. ๐คฌ
It’s never ‘all there’! In fact, recruiter readers, you have seen time and time again that only working off the job description leads to an inefficient hiring experience for everyone, especially for the manager who is hiring!! (Let alone for you, and the poor suckers stuck in that inefficient hiring process!)
I am so fed up with this self-sabotaging behaviour!
Why do you managers think it is ok to waste the company’s time, money and resources?
Sure, I know you managers are far tooooo busy to give your own colleagues (the respect and consideration) of a job briefing call. Much better to leave them slinging mud hoping somebody will stick so you can get on with your other work. (While wasting a ton of time interviewing people who aren’t quite right, and then blaming it on the recruiter who, for some reason, cannot read your mind! ๐ฎ)
To be fair, I get it, you managers have a lot on your plate. The stressors can even be insane. Hiring is your least favourite task. You’ve deadlines. Yadi, yadi, ya.
But… think about it this way!
If your own manager gave you a task – an important task that would decide the success or even fate of the company – and they gave it to you in a Word doc – and said get on with it, would you have questions?
Would you want to probe further before you set to work for hour upon hour to complete the task? Would you want to know who else would be involved? The impact? The relevance? And many more things.
How would you feel if, for this crucial task, they kept refusing to speak to you about it further and insisted it was ‘all there’ in the doc?
Or what about this, would you complete a project for a client based solely on their client-created-brief and no conversation?
Of. Course. Not! That would be crazy.
So what makes you think that your talent acquisition colleague can possibly work from the job description and zero conversation?
You see managers, these people you are hiring are your future team members. Working with you they decide the fate of the company or your team or your work. Why risk messing that up? Your reputation is on the line too – including bonuses, promotions and pay rises.
Because, let’s be honest, you probably put the job spec together fast, or re-used an outdated one you found from 3 years ago, or based it on the person leaving without looking forward, and it most definitely is missing the information recruiters need to grab and hold someone’s attention in 2023.
But you know the really crazy part of avoiding these briefing calls?
It is self-sabotage.
If you give a proper job brief – in as little as 30 minutes – and set your recruiting partner up for success at the beginning, you will save time, money, hassle and reputation.
Your time.
Your money.
Your hassle.
Your reputation.
If you don’t know how to articulate what you want or if your company could be better at this recruitment malarkey, give me a call. It truly can be way easier than you’re making it now by avoiding a kick-off call.
Way.
Easier.
#RantOver
P.S. I’m writing a book for managers and leaders on this very topic. Get on the waitlist here, to save your future time, money, hassle & reputation when hiring.
