We’ve all been there, preparing to meet hiring managers to get them to understand that the profile of hire they want isn’t easily available in the market and can’t be attracted from the companies they want to hire from, to get them to understand that there are competitors in the market for the talent they seek that are drawing talent away from them, and that events in the market place are affecting the market place constantly, and the only ever constant is change.
Stress and Friction
And the outcome of the meetings is typically increasingly stressed talent teams and increasingly frustrated hiring managers.
This friction between talent teams and hiring managers is caused by hiring managers expectations being too high, and talent teams being unable to take the strategic lead in setting those expectations.
Still, you can remove this friction. And it can be achieved by Talent Teams using data and insights to become knowledgeable about the market so that they can propose strategies on how to hire successfully in it. Understanding and monitoring the market you’re hiring from is crucial for managing expectations.
Market Knowledge is Power
If you can show evidence of competition, demand, skill availability and market events, hiring managers will recognize the complexity of the market and the complexity of the process.
If you can show them the market maps of the companies you’re targeting and the why, and unveil the talent pools that your competitors are drawing upon, you can adjust a hiring managers bias away from the companies they had initially set their expectations on.
If you alert the hiring managers to events happening in the market that may impact the process positively or negatively, you can collaborate with the hiring managers and agree on adjustments to the recruitment process and strategies.
In other words, if you can become knowledgeable about your market you can start your journey from being a tactical recruiter to a trusted strategic talent advisor.
Advocacy and Trust
Knowledge is power and empowering your TA team with market knowledge will turn your Hiring Managers into advocates for TA, because knowledge demonstrates expertise, expertise leads to trust, and trust is core to establishing authority and managing expectations.
