How to Partner with the Business as a Recruiter

Recruiters are often seen as the gatekeepers of talent acquisition, responsible for finding and attracting the best candidates for their organizations. However, recruiters cannot work in isolation from the business needs and goals. To be effective, you need to partner with the business and act as a strategic consultant who understands the market, the industry, and the company culture.

In this blog post, we will explore how you can effectively partner with the business and ensure you hire great talent. 

What is a recruitment business partner?

A recruitment business partner (or Talent Advisor) is a recruiter who works closely with the hiring managers and other stakeholders to align the talent acquisition strategy with the business objectives. They are not just transactional service providers who fill vacancies, but a trusted advisor who helps shape the overall hiring process and outcomes.

According to Workable, some of the responsibilities of this role include:

• Partnering with hiring managers to identify current and future needs in personnel.
• Determining optimal job advertising mix, including job boards, careers pages and social networks.
• Crafting sourcing strategies through online channels.
• Hosting and participating in recruitment events and job fairs to network with potential candidates in-person.
• Reviewing job descriptions to ensure they capture role requirements and use inclusive language.
• Advising recruiters and hiring managers on interviewing and evaluation methods.
• Calculating recruiting KPIs (e.g time-to-hire and time-to-fill).
• Preparing and monitoring turnover and retention rates (company-wide and by department).
• Designing succession plans and internal promotion policies.
• Overseeing onboarding for new hires.
• Developing and distributing candidate experience surveys.

Learn more: What is the Difference Between a Recruiter and a Talent Advisor?

A Talent Advisor or recruitment business partner is expected to have in-depth knowledge of full cycle recruiting, as well as the ability to network, communicate, and collaborate effectively with various stakeholders. They should also have a data-driven mindset and use evidence-based HR practices to enable decisions.

Why should you partner with the business as a recruiter?

Partnering with the business as a recruiter can bring many benefits for both you and the organization as a whole. Some of these benefits include:

• Improved quality of hire: By understanding the business needs and goals, you can better define the role requirements, source the right talent pools, and assess the candidates’ fit for the position and the culture. This can lead to hiring more qualified candidates who can perform well and contribute to organizational success.
• Enhanced employer brand: By working closely with the hiring managers and other stakeholders, a recruiter can create a consistent and positive candidate experience throughout the hiring process. This can help build a strong employer brand that attracts more talent and reduces hiring costs.
• Increased retention rate: By partnering with the business, you can also support the retention of existing employees by designing career paths, providing feedback, recognizing achievements, and offering development opportunities. This can help reduce turnover and increase employee engagement and loyalty.
• Higher business performance: By aligning the talent acquisition strategy with the business objectives, recruiters can help achieve better business outcomes such as revenue growth, customer satisfaction, innovation, and competitive advantage.

How to partner with the business as a recruiter?

Becoming a Talent Advisor requires a shift in mindset and behavior from being a reactive service provider to being a proactive strategic partner. Here are five tips on how you can better partner with the business as a recruiter:

1. Build trust and credibility: 

The first step is to establish trust and credibility with the hiring managers and other stakeholders. This can be done by demonstrating your expertise, delivering on your promises, providing honest feedback, listening actively, respecting confidentiality, and being transparent about your processes and challenges. You have to show up as an expert, as a coach – you must have answers and show your commitment to achieving the hiring goals.

2. Understand the business: 

Next, you must understand the business context, goals, challenges, opportunities, and culture of your organization. Whether you do this by conducting research or asking questions of key stakeholders, attending meetings, reading reports, following industry trends, or learning from your peers, this comprehension is paramount. How can you make the best hires for your company if you don’t understand its present DNA? 

3. Align your strategy: 

The third step is to align your talent acquisition strategy with the business objectives. Do this by defining clear hiring criteria, setting realistic expectations, prioritizing critical roles, allocating resources efficiently, measuring results effectively, and being agile enough to adjust your plans. According to a 2023 LinkedIn report, 87% of recruiting professionals believe that TA has already become a more strategic function over the last year – leverage this influence to make more holistic hiring decisions.

4. Communicate regularly: 

Regular communication with your business partners and hiring managers is an integral element of this relationship. Remember to:

• Provide consistent updates – Be this through quick message updates or scheduled meetings, ensure all stakeholders are up-to-date.
• Share insights – Found a gold-star candidate? Undercovered a potential pitfall in the hiring process? Bring these insights to the table early. 
• Seek feedback at every stage – As a recruiter you understand how important feedback is so ask how things are going, if there are any alterations that need to be made, etc.
• Report on your progress –  At every stage of the hiring journey give a concise and accurate account of the situation.
• Address issues promptly – There is no point sweeping things under the carpet. If you’re facing difficulty with a particular hire, bring this to attention so a solution can be found.
• And celebrate the wins – Hiring is tough! Make sure you and your stakeholders celebrate those successful hires, amazing interviews, and positive feedback.

Clear communication is the linchpin of the Talent Advisor / hiring manager relationship. Charlotte Cantu, Head of Global Talent Acquisition at Tokio Marine HCC, told us on our podcast that: “over-communicating is a gift because it takes away the opportunity to have that hump or that question at the end.”

5. Collaborate effectively: 

The fifth step is to collaborate effectively with your business partners. This can be done by involving them in every stage of the hiring process, from sourcing to onboarding. You can also leverage their networks, referrals, testimonials, or expertise to attract more candidates. You should also work together on creating a positive candidate experience that reflects your company culture. Remember – hiring is a team sport! The best recruiters understand that EVERYONE in the business has a role to play when it comes to successful hiring.

Conclusion

Partnering with the business as a recruiter is not only a best practice, but also a necessity in today’s competitive and dynamic talent market. By working closely with the hiring managers and other stakeholders, recruiters can ensure they hire great talent that can add value to their organizations. 

To partner with the business effectively, recruiters need to build trust and credibility, understand the business context and goals, align their talent acquisition strategy, communicate regularly, and collaborate effectively. By doing so, recruiters can not only improve their own performance, but also enhance their employer brand, increase their retention rate, and boost their business performance.

Looking to become a trusted Talent Advisor? SocialTalent’s Recruitment Training is tailor-made to do just that! Get in-touch with our team today.

The content in this blog is influenced by SocialTalent author and Recruiting Toolbox CEO, John Vlastelica.