While the number of steps in a hiring process varies significantly between organizations, so does the number of people on the interview team. Some organizations involve teams spanning multiple roles and departments, including recruiters, hiring managers, team members, and even executives. Others delegate the entire responsibility of interviewing to a single hiring manager.
Although it is becoming more common to see organizations involve multiple interviewers and treat interviewing as a collaborative process, the benefits of doing so tend to be overlooked and are not fully appreciated.
Involving multiple interviewers in the hiring process is important for many reasons and can benefit candidates, team members, and the organization on a broader scale.
What is collaborative hiring?
Collaborative hiring, also called recruitment collaboration, is a hiring process wherein the candidate meets and is interviewed by multiple members of an organization. When practicing collaborative recruitment, there isn’t one person deciding whether or not a candidate should be hired. Instead, team members who have met and interviewed the candidate collaborate to determine if a candidate is the right choice for a role and team.
Ideally, the candidate should interact with potential future teammates during the interview process. This approach ensures that the hiring decision is informed by insights from those who would work closely with them, providing diverse perspectives and a clearer understanding of team fit.
How does collaborative hiring work?
Collaborative hiring involves conducting interviews with multiple members of the company, including the specific team responsible for the position. The initial stages typically comprise a candidate undergoing a phone screen with a recruiter, followed by an interview with the hiring manager. These interviews serve to assess basic qualifications, clarify resume details, and gauge the candidate's level of interest.
In later stages of the hiring process, it is essential to arrange an interview with another team member who the candidate might potentially join. These interviews are designed to evaluate the candidate's technical skills, using situational and behavioral questions, as well as to determine if the candidate would be a valuable cultural fit for the team.
In some instances, assignments or work trials may also be considered extensions of the collaborative hiring process, especially when they are assessed by team members who would eventually work alongside the candidate.
5 key reasons why you should use a collaborative hiring process
Increases fairness in hiring
When a single interviewer evaluates a candidate, that evaluation is based on one person's perception. While that perception likely includes some accurate information about a candidate’s skills, it also likely includes some bias about the candidate as bias is inherent in human decision-making.
Including multiple interviewers leads to multiple evaluations which allows you to aggregate scores. Aggregating scores directly limits the extent to which one person’s bias influences the overall hiring decision. This results in a fairer outcome for candidates.
Gives candidates more insight into their future
As candidates progress through your hiring process, they begin to form expectations about what it's like to work at your organization. When they meet their future team members in interviews, candidates develop greater insights into how they will fit with the team and what to expect.
With more realistic expectations, you help them make a more informed decision about whether your organization is the right fit for them. The better decision they can make about fit, the more likely they are to make a successful hire who performs well and is more committed to your organization.
Makes team members feel valued
Involving your team in interviews signals that you care about your team and their outcomes. Employees value the opportunity to provide input on organizational processes and decisions. Being involved in decisions that will have a direct impact on their outcomes is especially important.
Hiring a new team member represents one of these decisions. New team members can have a substantial impact on the day-to-day workings and operations of a given team. Research shows that allowing employees to exercise their voice in this way is directly related to how fair they perceive their managers and their organizations.
Provides decision-making experience to future leaders
Your team members will likely move formally into leadership roles as they develop and move up in your organization. These members will then adopt more responsibility over decisions such as hiring.
Giving your team members formal exposure to not only interviewing but also the whole hiring process will allow them to develop their skill set and learn how to make high-quality decisions.
This directly prepares them for success by allowing them to learn and exercise their skillset, contributing to both their professional development and the development of the organization.
Allows your employees to take ownership of the new hire’s success
The level of accountability employees feel about their work is directly proportional to their amount of involvement with that work. If an employee is allowed to be involved in a hiring decision, they will feel personally invested in the outcome of that decision and will be motivated to help them succeed.
The result is a team that supports the chosen candidate and shares responsibility for that candidate’s success.
As you seek to achieve these outcomes and involve multiple team members in your interview process, there are a few other best practices you should follow:
· Ensure the process is structured and consistent so that every candidate goes through the same set of interviews with the same people
· Prepare and collaborate beforehand to ensure candidates are not asked the same question (by different interviewers) multiple times
· Inform candidates of who will be involved in the process ahead of time so they have clear expectations and can prepare accordingly
The benefits of involving multiple interviewers extend beyond the quality of the hiring decision. It results in fairer hiring decisions, a more engaged and satisfied team, and a greater likelihood that the chosen candidate will succeed on the job. Hireguide allows multiple team members to be included in multiple interview rounds, share candidate scores, and comment on specific responses from the candidate. Collectively, these results yield benefits for your candidates, your team, and your organization.
How to create a collaborative hiring committee
1. Define the committee's objective
Clearly defining the committee's objective is crucial, even if it seems obvious. This step becomes especially important when some members of the hiring committee are new to the collaborative hiring process. Having the committee's objective documented allows members to easily refer back to it if they lose focus during the collaborative hiring process. An example of an objective could be: "The purpose of this committee is to conduct fair candidate interviews for the [x] position, evaluating skills such as [x], [x], and [x], assessing alignment with company values [x] and [x], and selecting the most qualified candidate within [x] timeframe."
2. Selecting a small but dynamic group
When forming a collaborative hiring committee, it's crucial to carefully choose members who will work closely with the candidate, possess a thorough understanding of the position and its responsibilities, and can impartially evaluate the candidate's skills and experience. Creating a shortlist of 'must-have' criteria can assist in member selection, including specific skills, years of experience, and prior hiring experience.
Diversity among committee members, encompassing a range of backgrounds and experiences, is advantageous to encourage multiple perspectives and minimize bias. However, it's essential to maintain a small committee size. Opt for a maximum of 4-5 members, as larger teams can introduce complexity and hinder efficiency.
3. Defining roles and responsibilities
To establish a structured process, some teams assign specific roles to different committee members. For instance, one member may serve as the leader, while others may handle inquiries about specific skills, participate in evaluating assignments, take notes, or maintain communication with the candidate throughout the process.
After each step in the process, the leader of the collaborative hiring committee should compile information from all members through notes or scorecards, determine the next course of action, and delegate tasks accordingly.
4. Review the position and establish clear duties
Now that you have established your objective, assembled your team, and allocated clear responsibilities, it's time to delve into the details. Each member of the hiring team should possess a comprehensive understanding of the position and its specific duties. It's essential that every team member comprehends the role's purpose, its primary responsibilities, and the qualifications required. This in-depth knowledge equips team members to identify the requisite skills in candidates and evaluate them in alignment with the position. Ensure that this understanding extends beyond what is merely listed in the job description, involving substantive discussions and a comprehensive outline of how this role contributes to the overall success of the company.
5. Conduct training sessions
It is likely that some members of the hiring committee have never participated in a collaborative hiring process before. As a proactive measure, offering basic hiring training to align expectations and ensure consistency in candidate evaluation is incredibly important. Basic hiring training may encompass topics such as reviewing company values, understanding legal considerations like anti-discrimination laws, formulating effective interview questions, evaluating candidate's responses, and implementing strategies to mitigate bias.
6. Develop evaluation criteria
With a comprehensive understanding of the position and its responsibilities, establish a single set of criteria that the committee will use to evaluate each candidate. Having a unified set of criteria for the entire team increases the likelihood of rational and impartial candidate evaluations. Your evaluation criteria could include proficiency in two to three technical skills, competence in two to three common skills, specific experience, and alignment with company values.
7. Communicate regularly and debrief after each stage
Frequent communication is pivotal to the hiring process, ensuring that the team remains aligned with objectives, minimizes bias through collective discussion, and provides timely feedback to candidates. After each interview stage, conducting debrief sessions enables the hiring committee to refine their process and enhance team collaboration for future hiring endeavors. An effective debriefing method is to ask every member the same set of questions after each interview and seek their thoughts on the candidate's qualifications vis-à-vis the established criteria.
Create a Collaborative Hiring Process with Hireguide
Use Hireguide to seamlessly incorporate multiple team members into your interview process. With Hireguide, hiring team members can effortlessly participate in interview rounds, follow your selected interview plan, rate and provide feedback on candidates, share candidate scores, and make hiring recommendations. Collectively, these results offer benefits to candidates, your team, and your organization.
Ready to get started? Schedule a free demo today.
References
Catano, V. M. Hackett, R. D., & Wiesner, W. H. (2019). Recruitment and selection in Canada (Seventh edition). Nelson Education.
