As with any other business process, team cooperation is also crucial in successful hiring. While teamwork is an old and established concept, it is only recently that collaborative recruitment has reached the mainstream.
What is collaborative recruitment exactly, and how is it different from other traditional recruitment models? In this article, we’ll discuss the advantages and best practices of applying this hiring strategy to your business.
What is collaborative recruitment?
Also called collaborative hiring, collaborative recruitment refers to the process of assembling a group of individuals from different departments to assist in recruitment. They are not limited to team managers and, instead, may include staff in lower positions.
This means the responsibility is no longer limited to the hiring personnel or recruitment manager.
The hiring process is similar to your usual scenario — the only difference is that the interviewing group is more diverse, and a job candidate may interact with employees they may potentially work with.
Top 7 advantages of collaborative recruitment
There will always be benefits from encouraging team collaboration in various areas of business. In the case of recruitment, here are the top advantages of implementing collaborative hiring.
Realistic candidate profile
A realistic candidate profile should be able to show the applicant’s strengths, weaknesses, personality, and skills. Multiple inputs about the candidate by other employees can help the hiring manager create an impartial and realistic candidate profile.
Cost-efficient
With this recruiting strategy, companies will not need to hire more recruiters and interviewers than they need to. Without the extra headcount, overhead costs will lessen—no more extra workstations needed.
The sourcing process can also be done virtually via job boards, social media, and referrals.
Stronger work culture
With collaborative recruitment, candidates can pick up the general workplace atmosphere right off the bat. Highly collaborative activities reflect the work culture and employee morale.
Team-based recruitment strengthens the culture by founding a unit that’s based on trust, respect, and unity among co-workers. And if the candidate thinks that they fit in the company culture, they will accept the job offer.
Employee referrals
Someone in the recruiting unit may have a lead for the open roles. This can introduce a faster way of recruiting a talent—the referrer can vouch for their candidate while the others can evaluate the candidate’s profile.
Even people outside of the recruitment group can refer leads to assist in sourcing candidates.
Employee retention
A collaborative recruitment process ensures that each input from the group is valued. Employees who feel involved in processes are more likely to stay in the organization.
Working with peers helps reduce conflicts of interest. A healthy work environment makes it easier for senior leaders to determine which initiatives will have the greatest impact on individual careers.
Less pressure on the hiring department
Traditionally, when companies ramp up their hiring efforts, all the pressure goes straight to the recruiting department. With a team-based recruitment process, the pressure and the stress can be alleviated by proper task delegation.
Higher offer acceptance rate
Candidates have a keen sense of whether the company they’re applying for is worth their time and effort. By showing off the healthy dynamic between members, you can give prospective employees a peek at what it’s like to work there.
Dos and don’ts of collaborative hiring
Before assembling a group of recruiters and department members, here are some dos and don’ts in team-based hiring. By following the best practices, you’ll be able to ensure a smooth process for everyone involved.
Do: create a transparent hiring process
This will ensure that the people you bring into the team have already developed an understanding between each other.
Everyone should have access to the talent pipeline and be encouraged to share insights on the improvement of certain processes.
Don’t: leave a candidate hanging
Consider sending updates to the candidates even if they didn’t pass the interviews. Even a simple email would suffice—by doing so, they can move onto the next job posting.
Leaving a candidate waiting for an update and ignoring their follow-up doesn’t make the company look good.
Do: work with the team
Collaborative recruitment is all about working as a unit. While miscommunication can’t be avoided, it can be lessened by implementing proper communication channels. Respect others’ input and opinions, and they will respect yours.
Don’t: encourage candidate bias
If the candidate is a referral from another member, keep the decisions impartial and free of bias. This allows other applicants to have a fair chance of getting hired.
If you think your teammate is being prejudiced, make sure that others can voice their opinions on the candidate. This helps challenge and neutralize any existing biases.
Do: acknowledge each other’s inputs
While working with a team, remember that opinions may vary, and as long as they are not harmful or malicious, they should be acknowledged.
One of the factors why people work in groups is that they value other perspectives besides their own.
Don’t: decide alone
Deciding alone is not a wise choice unless the situation calls for it. Collaborative recruitment calls for cooperation and thinking as a unit. Before taking any major steps, be sure to consult with the rest of the team first.
Improve your hiring process with a collaborative approach
Working with a group entails being honest and transparent. Without proper communication and respect, the team effort may go to waste.
When improving your hiring process, remember that collaboration is not limited to your organization. If your teams are small and your staff swamped, it may be difficult to engage them in recruitment duties.
In that case, you can also acquire the help of outsourcing specialists to scale your teams and operations more efficiently.
