Introduction Collaborative hiring | Hire Smarter, Together
Hiring the right talent is essential for the success and growth of any organisation. It’s great to see the way we work going through such an exciting transformation, thanks to technological advancements, a changing workforce, and evolving employee desires as 91% of recruiting pros say they focus on being agile to adapt to hiring needs.
Companies are always adapting, dealing with potential skill gaps, and the challenges of managing remote teams. But one of the most important things to consider is finding the perfect cultural fit.
This is where collaborative hiring steps in, transforming the approach companies use to discover and choose their employees.
What’s collaborative hiring?
Collaborative hiring is a recruitment approach where multiple stakeholders within a company work together to select suitable candidates for positions. This method varies based on company size and role nature, but it’s often used in candidate interviews and assessments.
For example, when a software development team hires a new programmer, team members work with HR, providing input on technical skills and culture fit. In addition to assisting in creating job descriptions and conducting technical interviews. HR ensures compliance with policies, offers guidance on candidate evaluation, and selection of best practices.
Collaborative hiring Vs traditional hiring
When contemplating a change in recruitment practices, hiring managers and HR departments often ponder the compelling question of “What prompts the switch?” The comparison between collaborative hiring and traditional approaches emerges: Is the former genuinely superior to the latter?
To answer this question, we compare collaborative hiring and traditional hiring:
Traditional Hiring | Collaborative Hiring | |
Communication | little to no communication between departments and HR | clear and constant communication between HR and relevant departments |
Decision making | Single hiring manager or recruiter | Team effort involving hiring manager, recruiter, and relevant team members |
Process structure | Linear, with defined steps completed by specific individuals | Agile, with tasks shared and feedback incorporated throughout |
Workload distribution | Recruiter shoulders most of the tasks (screening, interviewing, scheduling, etc.) | Recruiters delegate tasks like assessments, scheduling, and specific interview questions to relevant team members. |
Legal Compliance | Less complex if standard HR practices are followed. | Requires ensuring all interviewers are trained in avoiding bias and legal compliance during the interview process. |
Collaborative hiring Vs traditional hiring
When considering a shift in recruitment practices, hiring managers and HR departments often ask, “What drives the change? The comparison between collaborative hiring and traditional approaches emerges: Is the former genuinely superior to the latter?
To answer this question, we compare collaborative hiring and traditional hiring:
Traditional Hiring | Collaborative Hiring | |
Communication | little to no communication between departments and HR | clear and constant communication between HR and relevant departments |
Decision making | Single hiring manager or recruiter | Team effort involving hiring manager, recruiter, and relevant team members |
Process structure | Linear, with defined steps completed by specific individuals | Agile, with tasks shared and feedback incorporated throughout |
Workload distribution | Recruiter shoulders most of the tasks (screening, interviewing, scheduling, etc.) | Recruiters delegate tasks like assessments, scheduling, and specific interview questions to relevant team members. |
Legal Compliance | Less complex if standard HR practices are followed. | Requires ensuring all interviewers are trained in avoiding bias and legal compliance during the interview process. |
Collaborative hiring Vs traditional hiring
When contemplating a change in recruitment practices, hiring managers and HR departments often ponder the compelling question of “What prompts the switch?” The comparison between collaborative hiring and traditional approaches emerges: Is the former genuinely superior to the latter?
To answer this question, we compare collaborative hiring and traditional hiring:
Traditional Hiring | Collaborative Hiring | |
Communication | little to no communication between departments and HR | clear and constant communication between HR and relevant departments |
Decision making | Single hiring manager or recruiter | Team effort involving hiring manager, recruiter, and relevant team members |
Process structure | Linear, with defined steps completed by specific individuals | Agile, with tasks shared and feedback incorporated throughout |
Workload distribution | Recruiter shoulders most of the tasks (screening, interviewing, scheduling, etc.) | Recruiters delegate tasks like assessments, scheduling, and specific interview questions to relevant team members. |
Legal Compliance | Less complex if standard HR practices are followed. | Requires ensuring all interviewers are trained in avoiding bias and legal compliance during the interview process. |
Why adopt collaborative hiring?
Increases the chances of hiring a culture fit candidate
91% of US managers Prioritise a candidate’s cultural fit over their skills and experience. Involving multiple team members in the interview process provides a more complete picture of how well a candidate aligns with the company’s values & culture. This approach allows both the candidate and the recruiters to learn more about each other, leading to a more accurate assessment of cultural fit.
Limits bias
Biases are a natural part of who we are and can be quite challenging to overcome, but a helpful approach is to bring them into the light and share your reasoning with others—this is where collaborative hiring plays a key role. When multiple representatives are involved in the hiring process, they can collectively evaluate a candidate to ensure a fair and unbiased assessment.
Enable Referrals
As your team members become more at ease with the recruitment process, they will discover that it’s easier to suggest individuals they know. When handled properly, employee referrals can become a recruiter’s go-to method for finding top-notch talent. As employee referrals can lead to:
- Faster Hiring
- Enhanced Employer Branding
- Improved Employee Engagement
- Reduced hiring cost
Improved candidate experience
Recruiters often feel stressed when entering a candidate interview unprepared due to busy recruitment duties, which can leave a negative impression. Collaborative hiring, involving multiple team members, ensures better preparation, focuses on the candidate, and provides a broader view of company culture for setting realistic expectations and enhancing the overall experience, ultimately attracting top talent by creating a positive candidate experience in today’s job market.
How to Optimise your collaborative hiring for success?
Give your team recruitment and interview training
Successfully integrating new team members into the hiring process requires some training and coaching to help them grasp the fundamental interviewing principles, be mindful of biases, and comprehend their responsibilities.
Standardise Candidate Evaluation
Ensure team members evaluate candidates based on the same standards by setting clear evaluation criteria, avoiding potential friction within hiring teams and maintaining fairness and objectivity. It’s crucial to create an environment where everyone feels heard and their opinions matter, to prevent any resentment or erosion of confidence in the collaborative hiring process among peers.
Minimise scheduling friction
Ensuring availability for interviews can be tough, causing recruitment delays and potential candidate disinterest. Transparency, shared calendars, clear communication, flexibility, and technology like scheduling software are key to a smooth and efficient hiring process. Setting deadlines and maintaining open communication help create a collaborative and positive experience for everyone involved.
Leverage the right tech
Collaborative hiring thrives with the right technology, making the process more efficient and enabling seamless collaboration among dispersed teams. Software solutions such as Novasmart facilitate real-time communication, sharing of candidate profiles, feedback exchange, and collective decision-making, ultimately leading to better hiring outcomes.
Conclusion | Collaborative hiring | Hire Smarter, Together
In conclusion, collaborative hiring helps organisations in creating a talent acquisition strategy that promotes a team-based approach, recruits top performers, and fosters a welcoming environment. Embracing innovative technologies like Novasmart streamlines communication, shares candidate profiles, exchanges feedback, and makes collective decisions efficiently.