Hiring a new employee is an exciting experience. Yet, it can also be daunting, especially if you’re a first-time hiring manager who hasn’t been through the process before. With so many factors that go into selecting the right candidate for your company’s open role — and so many stages and sub-stages of the hiring process — it’s crucial to have an organized plan of attack. With that in mind, The Doyle Group has prepared this how-to guide for new hiring managers.

This guide will provide helpful tips and pointers about understanding the hiring process, collaborating effectively with a recruiting partner, knowing what to look for in a candidate, and monitoring your new employee’s progress after the hire.

What Initial Steps Must Hiring Managers Take?

When you’re tasked with hiring a new employee, your first instinct may be to immediately contact a reputable recruiting firm for help. While it is very useful to have an experienced resource like that in your corner, nailing down some important pieces of information first will ensure success and enable you to work seamlessly with your recruiting partner. 

The initial steps to take can be sorted into three main categories:

1. Define the role, salary band, and hiring strategy.

The first fundamental step is to clearly define the role for which you’re hiring. What are the responsibilities involved? Have you identified the skills and qualifications needed? What type of hire is needed: full-time employee, project-based consultant, contract-to-hire, or offshore/nearshore? (If you’re unfamiliar with the differences in these arrangements, check out this article written by The Doyle Group that explains everything you need to know.) Will the role require a candidate to come into the office, or is a hybrid/100%-remote position feasible?

As you define the scope and needs of the role, make sure you separate the “must-haves” that you’ll end up including in the job description from the “nice-to-haves.” If you make your list of required qualifications too restrictive, you may end up cutting yourself off from a large pool of talented applicants. For example, a classic study cited in the Harvard Business Review found that women tend to apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the required qualifications, whereas men tend to apply if they meet at least 60%.

Once you’ve pinned down the role’s responsibilities, you’ll need to create a job description that’s engaging and attractive to top candidates. (This article provides some tips on how to craft an appealing job description.) Finally, make sure to work with your organization’s HR or your leadership team to determine and approve a competitive salary range and benefits package for the role.

2. Structure the hiring process.

Segment the overall hiring process into distinct stages, and identify all the steps that each stage should contain. Make sure that you set clear timelines and targets along the way, especially if you need the role filled by a strict deadline.

It’s important to maintain alignment among key internal stakeholders in this process. Everyone involved should understand the process, questions, and evaluation rubric that’s being used.

One of the most critical aspects of planning involves the interview process. It’s vital that you determine how interviews will be conducted, who will be involved, and within what timeframe the entire process will take place. It’s equally vital to determine the specific questions candidates will be asked, and how they should be scored. A clear evaluation system is key here, whether that includes a scoring system, a rubric, or something else.

Some companies incorporate behavioral assessments like PI (Predictive Index) within their interview process, while others focus on technical evaluations — and some organizations include both. Moreover, some organizations prefer one-on-one interviews with potential hires, while others subscribe to panel interviews as part of the process.

Whatever you decide for your own company, it’s crucial that you streamline the interview steps as much as possible. Make sure your interviewers (or interview panels) are available and well-prepared. A smooth, efficient process will position you to win over top candidates who may have multiple opportunities on the table. As a good rule of thumb, try to limit the duration of the entire interview process to one week or less for contract roles, and two weeks or less for FTE roles.

Also, consider which sourcing strategy would work best for the role you’re trying to fill. For instance, should you utilize job boards like DICE, social media platforms like LinkedIn, and/or diversity-focused platforms?

Finally, ensure that your brand values are reflected in your job description and overall recruitment process. Keep in mind that candidates are interviewing your company at the same time you’re interviewing them; so how will you convey your core mission and values to them during those conversations?

3. Research and select your recruiting partner.

It’s crucial to do your due diligence when researching recruiting firms. Find a reputable firm that specializes in your industry and has a proven track record of success. For instance, The Doyle Group has helped hundreds of client companies source productive, sustainable talent in the IT sector.

You should also look for a recruiting partner that is responsive and promotes open communication with their clients. Do they offer transparency into their process? Do they outline realistic expectations that will help you accurately measure success?

Your recruiting partner should also be flexible, have access to a broad pool of talent, and have the capability and desire to build a long-lasting business relationship with you. It’s important to look at all of these factors, and more, when choosing which recruiting firm to work with.

If you need some assistance in implementing  any of the steps discussed above, keep in mind that The Doyle Group can provide you with helpful guidance. This includes advice on best practices, bringing your job description to life, and offering effective techniques in structuring the hiring process and winning the attention of highly qualified candidates.

How Should You Communicate With Your Recruiting Partner?

Once hiring managers have established the scope and parameters of their candidate search, their in an excellent position to bring in a recruiting partner. You want this partner to be an extension of your hiring team, and as such, it’s vital to maintain clear, transparent communication with them. Here are some key points to keep in mind:

• Be sure to communicate your expectations openly and honestly with your recruiting partner. If expectations change, let them know immediately. Provide your partner with continuous feedback about the candidates they’re sending your way.
• To ensure the best results, provide your partner with details about what the new hire will be doing when they start. What project will they work on? What will their team and management hierarchy look like? Your partner will need the “story” in order to effectively sell the role.
• Your recruiting partner should be able to manage expectations with candidates. For example, when should candidates expect to hear back from the company after an interview? How will changes to the timeline be communicated to them? A reputable recruiting partner will mitigate or eliminate the risk of talented candidates falling through the cracks.
• Communication with your recruiting partner should be a two-way street. At The Doyle Group, we strongly believe in the benefits of setting up regularly scheduled touch points with our clients. The mutual feedback that’s shared in these discussions can help you to answer key questions about your hiring process: What are we seeing? What are we missing? Do we need to make adjustments, or even pivot to another solution?

Keeping the lines of communication open with your recruiting partner is a vital factor in ensuring the ultimate success of your candidate search.

What Questions Should Hiring Managers Ask?

As you flesh out the details of your hiring process, there are several helpful questions you can ask, either internally, to your recruiting partner, or to candidates during an interview. For example:

Internal Questions

• What benefits do we offer, and what should be shared with candidates?
• What is our approved salary band?
• Why is this role open in the first place?
• How does this role fit within the organization, and what expectations do we have for it?
• What will the onboarding process look like?
• What should our feedback and performance review structure for this role look like? (For instance: 30, 60, or 90-day reviews?)
• Who will the new hire collaborate with, and how will introductions be handled?
• If we don’t find the right candidate within a specific time frame, what’s our backup plan: do we extend the deadline, or pivot to another solution?

Questions To Ask Your Recruiting Partner

• What does your talent sourcing strategy look like (e.g., where and how do you find candidates)?
• How do we manage the logistics of remote work (such as shipping equipment)?
• Who handles contracts and payments?
• What communication cadence do you recommend?
• What is your preferred method of working with hiring managers?

Questions To Ask Candidates

• Why are you looking for a new role?
• Why are you interested in this job and our company?
• Why do you feel you are qualified for this role?
• Based on the role, what would you want to accomplish in your first 30, 60, and 90 days if you join the team?
• What type of work environment are you most successful in?

How Should You Make the Job Offer and Onboard the New Hire?

Once you’ve found the right candidate for the role, hiring managers need to make them a strong job offer. Clarity is key here. In your offer letter, include all the information your candidate would naturally want to know, such as:

• The role’s salary or hourly rate.
• Its associated benefits (healthcare coverage, PTO, sick time, etc.).
• What the work environment is like.
• If any bonuses can be earned, and how to do so.
• Who is their point of contact for HR-related questions?

It’s also important to provide the candidate with a time frame in which they need to accept the offer, provided they want to pursue this opportunity, and next steps on how to accept it.

Once the candidate accepts your offer, the onboarding process begins. Hiring managers must ensure they are personally familiar with their organization’s onboarding process, as well as their recruiting partner’s onboarding process (in situations like a contract role where they will onboard the new hire). You want to clearly communicate to your new hire important details like where and how to submit their time, what their benefits include, and so forth. If you don’t have the answers, you want to direct them to a contact with your recruiting partner who does.

What Should Hiring Managers Expect After the Hire?

Once the candidate has accepted the offer and started, it’s essential for hiring managers to monitor their progress. Even the best hires may take some time to acclimate to a new work environment, new team, and new management structure. Here are some steps you can take to help them succeed:

• Assess their performance in the first month. Look for early indicators of success or struggle. Does it seem like they’re learning new tasks and processes quickly? Are they communicating with their direct reports and peers?
• Set up regular check-ins. At the beginning, you may want to set up weekly 1:1s to monitor your new hire’s progress. Then, stick to the feedback and review structure you originally planned for the role, whether that involves a 30, 60, or 90-day cadence. Make adjustments to the cadence as needed.
• Be prepared to address issues. If performance concerns do arise, have a plan in place for feedback and potential course correction. Consider bringing in a more experienced employee as a mentor to the new hire. Look for ways to support them through any “growing pains” they may experience.
• Be patient. There are certain things you should expect your new hire to accomplish within the first month or so of filling their new role. These include establishing clear lines of communication with team members, laying the foundation for relationships with peers, and handling the basic tasks they were hired for. At the same time, keep your expectations realistic. No new hire will be the most efficient version of themselves after one month on the job. As long as your employee is demonstrating personal and professional growth, exercise patience with them, even if they do make some mistakes along the way.

Good Preparation and Communication Are Keys to Hiring Success

It’s true that becoming a hiring manager for the first time can feel overwhelming at times. However, good preparation and communication will ensure positive outcomes. By taking steps such as those outlined above — defining the role you’re hiring for, maintaining clear communication with your recruiting partner, asking the right questions, and setting realistic expectations for new hires — you can play a key part in driving company success.