When You Train Hiring Managers On The Changing Talent Marketplace, You Win

Michele Ellner, Talent Acquisition Director, Americas, Clarios

Introduction:

In today’s rapidly evolving job market, companies face a significant challenge: adapting their hiring and interviewing techniques to meet the expectations of modern job candidates. With the landscape of talent acquisition undergoing dramatic shifts in recent years, it is essential for organizations to ensure that their hiring managers are not trapped in outdated practices.

Understanding today’s Candidates:

The first step in bringing hiring managers along for the journey with Talent Acquisition is to familiarize them with the expectations of today’s candidates. It doesn’t matter what level or function. Most of this is true for everyone. Job seekers are no longer solely focused on compensation and job security; they seek purpose, growth opportunities, work-life balance, flexibility, and a positive organizational culture.

Most importantly, when interviewing with a company, they expect speed, forward momentum, constant communication, and respect for their time. Training sessions with hiring managers need to support these changing mindsets coming from our candidates. Include insights into the shifting priorities and motivations of job seekers in the current job market.

Emphasizing the Candidate Experience:

Providing an exceptional candidate experience is paramount in attracting and retaining top talent. Recruiters know that their interaction with candidates from the first touchpoint matters. They are setting the stage for long-term engagement. Hiring managers need to join us and recognize that engagement with candidates begins from that first conversation, not from the first day of work. Add that topic to your training: it is crucial to educate managers on the significance of every touchpoint, from initial contact to the final decision. Training sessions should focus on what it means to deliver a positive candidate experience, ensuring candidates feel valued and respected throughout the recruitment process.

“Job seekers are no longer solely focused on compensation and job security; they seek purpose, growth opportunities, work-life balance, flexibility, and a positive organizational culture”

Navigating Legal Boundaries:

Outdated interviewing techniques can inadvertently lead to legal complications. Your hiring managers need to be trained on more than just the topics and questions to avoid. Go one step further as many innocent questions as simple as “What do you like to do in your free time?” or “Did you have a nice weekend?” have a high potential to lead the candidate into territory and topics that you don’t want to know. Can you share details of your weekend without mentioning family or religion? Covering the obvious questions to avoid is not enough. It’s the not-so-obvious that requires more finesse, awareness, and training. For example, we are all taught (or should be) that interrupting others while they are speaking is rude. We are patient and wait for the proper time to chime into the conversation. However, during an interview, we all need to master the art of interrupting politely. That may be an oxymoron to many: interrupting politely. Train your hiring managers to take control of the interview and practice polite interruptions, “Sorry to interrupt you, Jamie, I really don’t need to know about some of these details as they are not related to the job.

I’d really like to know more about this though.” Emphasize the importance of getting back on track to the real crux of the question and away from personal details. Ideally, train them to avoid these open questions in the first place. It helps to stick to the standard behavioral interviewing questions that are tied tightly to the job and its necessary competencies.

Interview questions and techniques that focus on assessing skills and qualifications are the only way to go.

Bringing the Employer Brand to Life:

Job seekers today want to gain insight into a company’s culture and work environment. Hiring managers should be aware of the role they play as brand ambassadors, helping candidates understand what it’s truly like to work for the organization. Training sessions can highlight employer brand through tangible actions and examples that take barely minutes to execute. This can include participating in videos, sharing employee testimonials, organizing workplace tours or open houses, or leveraging social media platforms to provide an authentic glimpse behind the curtain. When your hiring managers are posting, speaking, and getting out there into the community or into their functional community as an expert, they are becoming the type of manager that others want to work for. After all, what is Talent Acquisition’s “product”? It’s not just employment at the company and the variety of open jobs. Our product is also the hiring managers at the company.

Collaborating with Recruiters:

Hiring managers must recognize the value of working cooperatively with recruiters – no matter if those recruiters are internal colleagues or external third parties. Recruiters possess deep knowledge and expertise in the candidate world, having direct contact with candidates daily. By fostering open-mindedness and respecting recruiters; insights, hiring managers can benefit from their expertise and make more informed hiring decisions. Neglecting this collaboration can result in missed opportunities and a reputation as a difficult manager to work with. The days are long gone when the hiring managers’ full must-have checklist will be easy to fulfill. Train your hiring managers that partially meeting the most important must-haves is a win – and bring your HR colleagues along for these important discussions. On-the-job training or the training resources within the company are more important today than ever before as new hires may be perfectly and ideally qualified for the job with one or two small gaps to fill during their first few months.

Conclusion:

In the face of a rapidly evolving job market, it is crucial for companies to prioritize the ongoing education and development of their hiring managers. By hosting training sessions on topics such as candidate expectations, the candidate experience, legal implications, and employer branding, organizations can equip their hiring managers with the necessary tools and knowledge to adapt their practices to the modern talent landscape. Embracing this corporate imperative will not only attract top talent but also create a positive and inclusive work environment that fosters long-term success. Every company is seeking that competitive differentiation. Having well-trained and aware interviewers and hiring managers is one of the best ways to win.

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