Collaboration isn’t an unfamiliar concept when it comes to solving problems in the employee selection process. However, the integral part collaboration plays in hiring top talent is often disregarded in the name of speed.
When it comes to talent acquisition on a massive scale, frustrations can arise among those responsible for hiring top talent and those responsible for making sure the revenue driven by those employees is in line with the company’s goals. Oftentimes, these frustrations can be boiled down to a lack of communication and lack (or complete absence) of collaboration among the decision-makers about the best way to find, recruit, and retain top talent.
In fact, 97% of employees and executives believe lack of alignment within a team impacts the outcome of a task or project. Collaboration is key, and when it comes to hiring top talent that is the right fit for both the position and the culture, companies cannot afford to ignore this crucial element of problem-solving. Here are a few steps to get the collaborative wheels spinning.
Decide on a Talent Selection Process Together
What are the biggest areas of weakness for your organization: Employee turnover? Dark side retention? Hiring candidates who don’t quite have the right set of skills?
It takes more than a few hiring managers or a handful of executives to determine potential solutions to these problems; it takes collaboration and cooperation among departments at all levels to make decisions that will keep processes running smoothly for the organization as a whole.
Though there is no perfect or instant way to instate a collaborative culture, one way to start is by getting buy-in from all the essential team players including the management team, as well as the teams each member of the management team oversees. The leadership should set clear goals that give team members the guidance they need for moves they should be considering.
If an organization is experiencing a breakdown – whether it’s in the form of attrition, dark side retention, or turnover – it’s important for all key stakeholders to get together and ask broad questions regarding the problem, like:
- What are the goals of our hiring process? Are they being met?
- How are our current processes causing us to lose revenue? How is that affecting quarterly results?
In the process of asking macro-level questions, steps to solutions can also be examined. It’s just as important to focus on potential solutions as it is to acknowledge the problem. Ask:
- What would happen if we could make this particular process happen more quickly?
- What steps can be eliminated in this process?
Answering these questions will help establish a concerted effort that helps create the vision needed not only to strategize talent acquisition solutions, but to set the stage for application of a process that can engage employees across the company in finding solutions for common hiring problems.
Don’t Keep Recruiting Process Information Hidden in Silos
Employees tend not to like having mandates handed down to them without warning, reason, or explanation. In fact one survey by Fierce, Inc. shows that 90% of employees believe decision-makers should seek other opinions before making a final pronouncement. When a department lacks transparency, it lacks accountability, however both are crucial in uniting teams. Without them, both productivity and the bottom line suffer.
Keep an Eye on the Results and Tweak when Necessary
Creating and maintaining a collaborative hiring process takes work. Once a new process is put into practice, it may be tempting for leaders to sit back, relax, and let the new process run on autopilot while they focus on other duties. However, it is important to create opportunities to review feedback regarding the implementation of the new strategy, practices, or technology.
If an organization chooses to implement enterprise-level talent solutions like assessments, it is imperative to make sure they are doing the job they are meant to do: help streamline the workload for hiring managers, and pinpoint candidates who can provide excellent customer service and generate revenue.
The time after implementation is the time to review what is working well in the hiring process and what’s not. The most valuable feedback decision-makers can receive is from those working on the front lines. When HR personnel and hiring managers can speak honestly about the effectiveness and the real results they notice from a newly-implemented program, it benefits the entire organization. This type of feedback is an effective way for everyone from supervisors to executives to identify any hurdles that may be undermining the process.
Once executives know how talent selection processes can be improved, they can have the conversations necessary to refine and perfect those solutions. Learn more about finding the best methods to streamline and expedite the hiring process by downloading your free copy of 15 Must-Ask Questions Before Implementing a Pre-Hire Assessment, or speak with a talent selection specialist to discuss the right talent acquisition solutions for your needs.
