Guest Author

As a recruiter, I want to send a message to all the busy hiring managers out there: some of us want to be your new best friend.

No, seriously! No one gets it quite like us. We understand the frustration that comes with sifting through hundreds of resumes, all with the added pressure of trying to find the perfect candidate for your team.

And let’s face it, you have a lot on your plate already. You’re running a team, managing projects, and making sure everything is running smoothly. To put it bluntly, you simply don’t have the time to dedicate to the hiring process that it deserves.

We are well aware that recruiters and hiring managers have a long-standing relationship with some mixed reviews. We might not see eye to eye but at the end of the day, we’re working towards similar goals—filling a position correctly and placing the perfect candidate.

Like any healthy relationship, for this bestie match to be successful, there has to be immense trust between both parties.

What’s with the disconnect between recruiters and hiring managers?

Recruiters and hiring managers share the same goal—to hire top-tier candidates for their company. But each of them goes about it in a different way, which is where the problem arises.

They tend to have a strained relationship due to a number of reasons, such as:

• Vague job descriptions are given by the hiring manager
• Hiring managers are unsatisfied with the quality of candidates the recruiter brings
• Recruiters are given unrealistic hiring expectations and timelines by hiring managers
• Recruiters and hiring managers have differing opinions on how they should hire or how long it should take to hire someone
• No proper communication between both parties

Let’s face it. There’s no way recruiters can source and hire candidates alone as they need a hiring manager’s approval. And there’s no way hiring managers can source, attract, and recruit candidates as they simply do not have that kind of time.

To foster better teamwork, both recruiters and hiring managers have to tackle the most common differences and start building stronger relationships. As Katrina Collier says in her newsletter,

Get behind the superficial to the REAL cause of why it’s difficult to work with hiring managers.

Also read: How Engineering Managers Can Help Recruiters Improve Developer Hiring

Recruiters and hiring managers need each other. Here’s why

It’s high time recruiters and hiring managers started getting along. To put it simply, it improves productivity and helps bring in better-qualified candidates. A few more benefits include –

1. Recruiters can fill the role with a candidate that will fit on every level

Recruiters understand that you’re not looking for just anyone to fill a role. You’re looking for the right person with the right set of skills, experience, and personality. When you bring us on during the hiring process, we become an extension of your hiring team.

We as recruiters research not only your company’s specific needs and requirements for the position, but also immerse ourselves in your company’s culture and see what types of personalities are already thriving.

You don’t have to waste time with the “wrong” people because we rigorously screen for and identify candidates that fit your ideal profile.

2. We promise to scale your organization quickly if needed

As tech recruiters, we get that the world of tech is constantly evolving. One minute you’re fully staffed, the next you need to fill a bunch of roles ASAP. That’s where we come in— invite us to your events, introduce us to your team, and let us soak up your company culture. Leverage us in a way that benefits your company. That way, when you need to bring on new talent, we’ll have a pool of candidates ready to go who is a perfect match for your organization.

I’ve seen this work wonders firsthand with a local company. They brought me in, we got to know each other, and when it was time to scale up, I successfully placed over twenty candidates. And the best part? Most of them have stuck around because I knew the company and knew they’d be a great fit.

Also read: Spend A Day With A Tech Recruiter

3. We help you cut down on the time and resources you spend on the hiring process

It’s called a process for a reason, right? Step one is looking at an inbox with 200 resumes, and it only gets more time-consuming from there. Imagine a world where you only have to review 5 perfectly curated resumes and show up for the interview calls.

As your hiring BFF, recruiters are there to walk you through the entire hiring process. This means we can take over screening candidates, sending out calendar invites, preparing for interviews, and all the other parts that tend to take up a little more time than you expect.

Not only that, but recruiters are there to follow up with you, assess how the interviews are going, and pivot accordingly. We know all your other tasks don’t stop when hiring starts, so use our services to your advantage. If you’re looking for a space to prove our value— utilization of time is a great space to start.

4. Allow us to keep you on track with market trends

If it’s been a while since you last had an open position or if you’re looking to fill a new type of role, tech recruiters can provide valuable insights into the current job market and how your company is perceived within it.

We keep a close eye on recruitment trends and can offer objective feedback on your hiring practices. Whether it’s identifying areas for improvement or simply providing a neutral sounding board, recruiters can help you get the most out of your hires.

We also have a deeper understanding of what top talent is looking for in their next job and what drives them.

Also read: Forecasting Tech Hiring Trends For 2023 With 6 Experts

5. We promise to not poach your employees

That may be sounding like one of those “unlikely friendship” videos of a snake and a hamster or an elephant and a sheep, but if you bring on a recruiter we can sign a contract to not pull from your company.

In the spirit of recruiting, the same can’t really be said otherwise. This also doesn’t mean that you need to bring on tons of recruiters to retain your people. What’s most important is that you find a recruiter that’s doing things differently in a way that you like. There are tons of recruiters out there, so it’s important to find someone that’s successful in going about things from a different angle. If they’re standing out to you as a recruiter, they’re most likely standing out to potential candidates as well.

Finally, we’re not just here to fill a role and then disappear. We want to build a lasting relationship with you, one that is built on trust, honesty, and mutual respect. We’re here to help you succeed, and we’ll work tirelessly to ensure that you get the results you’re looking for.

Ways Recruiters Can Improve Their Relationship with Hiring Managers

Building a strong, collaborative relationship between recruiters and hiring managers is crucial for the success of any organization’s hiring process. Here are several strategies recruiters can use to improve their relationship with hiring managers, ultimately leading to more efficient and effective recruitment outcomes.

1. Establish Clear Communication Channels

• Set Regular Meetings: Schedule periodic check-ins to discuss open positions, candidate profiles, and other recruitment-related updates.
• Use Collaborative Tools: Leverage technology like shared documents, project management software, and communication platforms to stay aligned and transparent.

2. Understand the Hiring Manager’s Needs

• Deep Dive into Job Descriptions: Work closely with hiring managers to understand not just the job requirements but the soft skills and team fit that would make a candidate successful.
• Tailor the Recruitment Process: Customize the recruitment strategy based on the specific needs of each position, taking into account the hiring manager’s preferences for candidate qualifications and experience.

3. Provide Constructive Feedback

• Feedback Loop: Encourage a two-way feedback loop where both parties can express their views on the recruitment process, candidate quality, and interview outcomes.
• Actionable Insights: Offer insights into market trends and candidate expectations to help hiring managers adjust their expectations or offers accordingly.

4. Educate on Best Practices

• Training Sessions: Organize workshops or training sessions on the latest hiring trends, effective interview techniques, and diversity hiring practices.
• Policy Updates: Keep hiring managers informed about changes in recruitment policies, labor laws, and compliance requirements to ensure a smooth hiring process.

5. Demonstrate the Value of Recruitment Analytics

• Share Metrics: Regularly share key recruitment metrics such as time-to-hire, quality of hire, and candidate sourcing channels to highlight successes and areas for improvement.
• Strategic Planning: Use data-driven insights to advise hiring managers on strategic decisions like optimal hiring periods, salary benchmarks, and skill set availability.

6. Foster Trust and Transparency

• Honest Communication: Be honest about the challenges and limitations in the recruitment process, and work together to find solutions.
• Celebrate Successes: Acknowledge and celebrate when a great hire is made, reinforcing the value of the partnership between recruiter and hiring manager.

7. Engage in Strategic Talent Planning

• Future Needs Analysis: Work with hiring managers to understand not just immediate but future staffing needs, helping to build a proactive talent pipeline.
• Succession Planning: Assist in identifying internal talent for succession planning, emphasizing the role of recruitment in long-term organizational growth.

Improving the relationship between recruiters and hiring managers requires commitment, open communication, and a shared goal of finding the best talent for the organization. By employing these strategies, recruiters can become invaluable partners in the hiring process, contributing significantly to the overall success of the organization.

At the end of the day, recruiters don’t have to be the bad guy

All we ask of you, hiring managers, is to think of us in a new light and try your best to not discount our potential value. Whether it’s filling a single role or scaling your entire organization, we’re here to be your trusted partner and friend.

So why not take a chance on us? Let’s be BFFs!

Like this article? Subscribe to Taylor’s newsletter through which his goal is to help as many job seekers and hiring managers as possible in tech!

You won’t attract most candidates – no matter how hard you sell or how much employer branding content you drown them in (even if it’s dipped in caramel chocolate).

They’re just not your piece of cake.

If candidates aren’t impatiently picking up what you’re throwing down, know this:

You don’t have a funnel problem.

Or a reputation problem.

You don’t have a recruiting strategy problem.

No, it’s not a candidate outreach problem either.

You don’t have a candidate experience problem.

Neither do you have a talent market or competition problem.

These are all symptoms of a bigger problem.

The problem is a threatening, scary, bleak (but easily fixable) VALUES-SHAPED crater in your recruiting. A crater you can turn into the hottest destination for top talent – yes, even if you work at the most boring, basic company on the planet.

But you have to be ready to show the real company…by embracing your company’s unique values and communicating them. By adopting values-based recruitment.

What is values-based recruitment?

Values-based recruitment is a recruitment strategy that focuses on matching the values of the current and envisioned company culture with the values of the applicants. This strategy turns communication in recruiting upside down. Instead of evaluating the values in the later stages of the recruiting process, the organization communicates its values starting at the first touch point with candidates. That means job profiles turn into values-ambassadors of the company and create meaning for candidates.

Advantages of value-based recruitment strategy

A values-based recruitment strategy is a method of hiring that focuses on finding candidates who share the same values as the company. This can be done by incorporating values into the job description, interview process, and pre-employment assessments.

There are many advantages to using a values-based recruitment strategy, including:

Improved employee engagement: Employees who share the same values as their company are more likely to be engaged in their work. This is because they feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves and that their values are aligned with the company’s mission.

Reduced employee turnover: Employees who are happy and engaged in their work are less likely to leave. This can save companies a lot of money in recruiting and training costs.
Stronger company culture: A values-based recruitment strategy can help to create a strong company culture. This is because it brings together employees who share the same beliefs and values. A strong company culture can lead to a number of benefits, such as increased productivity, improved customer service, and a more positive work environment.

Better decision-making: Employees who share the same values are more likely to make decisions that are in the best interests of the company. This is because they are all working towards the same goals and objectives.

Enhanced employer brand: A values-based recruitment strategy can help to enhance a company’s employer brand. This is because it shows potential candidates that the company is committed to its values and that it is a good place to work.

Process of setting up a value-based recruitment strategy

Here are some tips for implementing a values-based recruitment strategy:

1. Start by defining your company’s values. What are the most important things to your company? What kind of work environment do you want to create? Once you have a clear understanding of your values, you can start to incorporate them into your recruitment process.
2. Include your values in your job descriptions. This will help potential candidates to understand what your company is looking for and whether or not they would be a good fit.
3. Use pre-employment assessments to screen for values. There are a number of pre-employment assessments that can be used to assess a candidate’s values. This can help you to identify candidates who are a good fit for your company culture.
4. If you’re working with external recruitment agencies, ensure they understand and align with your company’s values so they can pre-screen candidates effectively.
5. Ask values-based questions during interviews. Develop structured questionnaires or surveys that evaluate a candidate’s alignment with company values. Use these during the application or interview process. This will help you to get to know the candidate’s values and how they align with your company’s values.
6. Frame questions that prompt candidates to describe past situations where their values influenced their actions. For instance, “Describe a time when you had to make a difficult decision that tested your core values.”
7. Present candidates with hypothetical, but realistic, job-related scenarios that challenge their values. Observe their problem-solving approach and decision-making process.
8. When checking references, ask specific questions about the candidate’s values and how they’ve manifested in previous roles.
9. Introduce new hires to the company’s values from day one. Use onboarding sessions to further assess their alignment and adaptability.

Also read: What Leadership Means To Us At HackerEarth

Values-based campaigns excel

Data best reveals the power of this strategy. We analyzed LinkedIn outreach campaigns with the goal to attract senior talent for HR, marketing, legal, and IT roles. On one side, we looked at best practice campaigns. You know the ones that everyone is doing.

On the other side, we had campaigns that communicated values first. These values-based campaigns achieved 20 times higher application rates than best-practice campaigns. From 100 prospects, more than 30 responded, and of those more than 20 applied. But they did much more than that.

Even people that were happy with their current employer applied (“I was not looking for a job, my application just happened”).

There were people that applied that you never see in the open job market. The top 0.1% of talent with CVs that leave you shocked in awe, make you wonder if conspiracy theorists are right. Maybe aliens are amongst us after all, because no human being is able to achieve these results.

Candidates were so excited about the possibility of landing these jobs. They even took the time to write 1 to 2 pages about what they need to be productive and happy as the first step of their application.

The magnetic effect of those values-based campaigns was so strong that top candidates even kept applying 6 months later. They knew that the chance to get a job advertised 2 seasons ago was 1/∞ (“I know when you divide 1 by infinity the universe might collapse, but I had to risk it because your company is what I have been looking for all my work life”).

Aside from communicating values first, how were the values-based recruitment campaigns different?

1. The job profiles were designed like landing pages, not like boring requirement lists
2. The value proposition of the job profiles was derived from the company’s culture
3. The LinkedIn messages were very concise (3-5 lines maximum) and had a non-intrusive tone of voice

Before we can understand how values-based recruitment works, we need to understand how the world has changed.

Also read: Go Beyond Compensation – 10 Employee Benefits for Developers

Why aren’t you happy?

“Quiet quitters” make up at least 50% of the U.S. workforce. And the number is increasing, especially among younger generations.

But what’s behind this? Think about all the desolate and gray workplaces that exist. Those employers believe that a solid paycheck satisfies all work needs (Why aren’t you happy? You’re getting paid on time).

At these places, the individuality of an employee isn’t what counts. They force employees to fit into a structure designed by last century’s mechanic management theories. There, employees sit out time to wait for their paychecks. If they have not found their best friend in the organization with whom they can make fun of bad leaders, they suffer in silence or leave the company.

Why are you so lazy?

Let me tell you: there are two fundamental ways of looking at humans. You can assume that everyone is lazy by nature. That’s wrong as it’s damaging. It leads to a management style of control and a culture of distrust. The cost of control is exceptionally high. Think about all the surveillance systems you need to install and manage!

Management of control replaces intrinsic motivation with extrinsic “carrots and sticks”-motivation. People only jump as high as they need to avoid the stick or to catch the carrot.

Today, many companies are complaining that millennials are lazy. They assume that millennials tend to speak out more about their needs than previous generations, so they want the benefits without working.

That’s absurd. Actually, they are doing exactly the opposite. By telling you what they need to be sustainably productive and innovative in a world of digital overwhelm. They help you to create a work environment in which productivity can flourish.

Older generations communicate their needs less because their upbringing left them believing they have no right to ask for individual needs. As businesses set the rules of the game. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t have needs. When you adopt values-based recruitment, you’ll see that people of all ages are excited to apply.

Also read: 10 Key Employee Retention Strategies In Tech

Define your blue talent ocean with values-based recruitment

Simon Sinek explains that people don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it. That’s the foundation of why Apple attracts loyal customers and is one of the most valuable companies on the planet. The same applies to recruiting and talent marketing. People don’t apply for tasks. They apply for why they should perform them.

In other words, people crave to contribute to something larger than themselves. They want to be with people who share their beliefs and feel a sense of belonging. Your people want a workplace where they are NOT treated as exchangeable machine parts. Recognize and embrace their weird individuality. The people want to be seen, heard, understood, and respected. They want to enrich their lives with meaning.

This is great news for you. Because if you can turn your recruiting activities into “values windows” of your company, you’ll stop fishing in the pond of meaninglessness like everyone else. You’ll be fishing in the blue ocean of meaning.

It’s a market that you create with your identity. And if on top, you can make people feel appreciated and valued, you’re going to drown in applications. Then you’re offering a way of life, a committed community, a home, a destination. This comprehensive guide on values-based hiring can help you walk the first steps.

This article was written by Travis Gravette, CEO of Abenity—an employee perks program

In today’s modern world, the benefits package of old that our grandparents and even parents (depending on the age) raved about is no longer enough for today’s workforce.

As a business owner or HR manager, keeping up with the perks that engage and motivate today’s developers is an ever-evolving task. Developers are in higher demand than ever, so there’s a lot of competition for the good ones.

Losing top talent to a competing company is a huge concern and a major financial hit to any company. The cost of recruiting, hiring, and training a new employee can be well over $60,000!

So, providing employee perks that really speak to today’s recruits and current developers is no longer just an additional benefit, it’s imperative to the overall prosperity of the business.

These days, it goes a long way with people to exceed the traditional benefits we’re all accustomed to and add additional perks that speak to the type of employee you would typically hire.

So, here are some additional perks that will really speak to your developers. Showing that you care, you’re innovative and you listen to your developers can be one of the most profitable things to your company if it keeps your best people around indefinitely.

Employee benefits to attract and retain developers outside of compensation

Fact: Compensation is not the *only* component that attracts best people to your company and work with you. Here are 10 benefits beyond a paycheck that drive developers to work with your company:

1. Personal growth potential: Providing the path to more money, mentorship programs, and ultimately a higher role in your company

If you are hiring motivated employees (which is always the goal), you’re going to want to provide them with opportunities to grow.

Finding developers in today’s world that care about your product and/or company can be similar to catching lightning in a bottle – not the easiest task. And when you do catch that lightning, you want to give them every reason to believe they can grow. Why? Because talented people want to grow.

Use this as an opportunity to mentor them yourself or, provide a mentorship program where they can learn, grow, and ultimately become a bigger asset to you and your company.

Mentorship programs are a powerful way to pay it forward. Not only that, statistics show that ALL Fortune 50 companies provide mentorship programs, and 97% participating in those programs say it is a valuable experience.

Almost 90% of individuals who have been mentored say they will pay it forward by mentoring others coming up in their industry. Sadly, only 37% of working professionals today actually have a mentor.

Professional development programs fall into this category as well. Typically, a professional development program offers the opportunity for developers to attend extracurricular training like management and leadership courses or technical skills training.

It can also include additional professional certifications and even team building and interpersonal development-related conferences.

These employee assistance programs can help to expand the knowledge base and abilities of your developers while also promoting teamwork and overall positive culture in the office.

Also read: How to Assess Programming Skills Before Hiring

2. Making an impact

According to a recent study, approximately three-fourths of the entire U.S. population donates to a charity or non-profit on a regular basis.

People want to be a part of giving back and helping those in need. If an employee knows their company also shares and supports this passion, they develop a deeper loyalty and respect for the organization.

In fact, this same study shows that 84% of millennials give to a charity on a monthly basis and 64% volunteer in their community at a local level.

As a company, showing a strong commitment to a certain non-profit organization that aligns with your organization’s beliefs, convictions, and values will not only encourage and motivate the members of your organization, it will also speak volumes to new prospective hires who want to join your team.

3. Technology stipend

A technology stipend is a huge perk for today’s developers. There really aren’t many jobs in 2023 that do not require some form of technology to run the day-to-day.

And in a post-COVID world, most developers work from home. So, providing a stipend for things like computers, phones, and internet access can go a long way.

If you don’t have a physical office, providing an opportunity for developers in the same area to meet together and work as a team can be a great added benefit. It can even be considered a crucial part of mental health as we saw the depression and overall loneliness statistics during COVID.

4. Above and beyond: Providing unique health benefits

Providing additional health benefits over and above the typical health benefits the average company makes provisions for will really speak volumes to prospective top talent.

You may be wondering what those additional benefits could be, so let’s talk about them.

Childcare

There is a considerably large portion of the working population that are single mothers and single fathers.

And childcare is expensive!

Providing financial support to parents (even those that are not single) goes a long way. And can even be a key determining factor in whether a prospect will move forward with a position in your company.

Financial assistance and flexibility in working from home when children are sick provide relief and security for the working parent.

Adoption

On the flip side, there is another large portion of the population that cannot have children for one reason or another.

Providing care and financial support throughout the process of adoption is a huge deal for those that want children but cannot have them naturally. Being able to have a family can be a huge stress point and financial concern for many. A company that shows support through that process is a considerable employee benefit.

5. Wellness benefits

Today’s average American is very concerned and educated on overall mental and physical wellness.

More and more people are seeking non-traditional forms of treatment including chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, and other forms of treatment. Providing an opportunity for your developers to seek alternative forms of healthcare that would otherwise not be covered in a traditional healthcare plan shows that you care about their values. There is no one-size-fits-all solution in the healthcare industry.

On a separate note, providing mental health care has also become a more outspoken need and an additional benefit that many companies are offering today. In a post-pandemic world, this need has become recognized. People are encouraged to seek counseling and other mental health care provisions.

Shedding light on this issue and providing a solution can set you apart in the hiring process.

If a staff member is going through a divorce – for example – providing counseling is not only a benefit to the employee but also a benefit to the employer.

If a developer is (rightly so) focused on a personal issue like a divorce, and doesn’t have an outlet to seek counsel, advice, and grief support, it will carry into the workplace and affect their ability to focus and truly be a connected part of the team.

Providing support and showing that you are invested in an employee’s overall mental health is not only a ‘benefit’, it’s a goodwill service that shows you truly care and want to celebrate the ‘ups’ and support the ‘downs’ in life.

Also read: 7 Ways to Reduce Burnout in Your Tech Teams

6. Gym memberships and company workout programs

When creating your up-to-date employee benefits package, providing a discount for gym memberships or an on-site personal trainer can ultimately be extremely beneficial to the health of your company.

The sedentary lifestyle of an employee behind a computer all day can decrease overall motivation. Providing an opportunity for developers to join a gym where they can exercise before or after work or even having a trainer come into the building to offer private and group training sessions can exponentially increase productivity.

Exercise increases endorphins in the body. When this particular “happy hormone” is activated, employee efficiency kicks into overdrive. This increase can positively affect your company’s bottom line, quotas, and overall attitude in the workplace

7. Educational assistance

Educational assistance can actually be two-fold. There’s the educational assistance that benefits the employee themselves and then there’s educational assistance that benefits the children of the employee.

As we mentioned earlier, finding top talent that wants to grow in their careers is the ultimate goal for every company. So, providing ways for those people within your company to be promoted is a great way to ensure your developers stick around.

One of the ways to show that you are invested in your developers is by providing educational assistance so that they can further their education and career possibilities.

Whether it’s a discount or scholarship to a local community college or university, it goes a long way in showing developers you want to invest in them, and this attitude from the top makes people ultimately want to join your team.

Another opportunity that some employers and larger companies provide is education assistance to the children of an employee, once they are eligible to apply for college. This is a huge way to retain your developers for the long haul!

If an employee has middle school-aged children, you can guarantee they are already starting to think about college funds and how to support that child when the time comes to go to school.

If the company they are working for provides financial support and scholarships to their children, they’re more than likely not going anywhere.

8. Lunch stipends

Everyone gets excited about lunch at the office and a free lunch is even better! Whether you decide to offer lunch stipends or lunch catered to the office, it’s still a great addition to your employee benefits package.

If lunches are catered, that provides instant community in the office. Developing a “team” culture can be challenging but it is critical to the health of your company. People build relationships and community over food, and this is a great way to do that in your office.

9. Employee recognition programs

When your developers feel appreciated and recognized for their contributions to the workplace, it creates a desire and drive to continue to go above and beyond.

Any company, no matter the size and budget, can quickly and easily implement this. It provides a great way to affordably let your developers know you recognize their hard work and you consider them a valued asset to your team.

Also read: 7 Employee Engagement Strategies For WFH Tech Teams

10. Work-Life balance

Another easy and cost-effective way to show your developers that you care is to encourage, implement and respect the boundaries of a healthy work-life balance.

Show them you respect their time away from work and with their family and loved ones.

Encouraging them to turn their phones off and enjoy their vacation time or time away from work is not only ideal but continues to prove that your organization is a company worth staying with.

Take care of your developers and they’ll take care of you

Ultimately, taking care of your developers is essential to the health and longevity of your company.

There are so many ways to create an attractive employee benefits package that speaks to the type of developer you want on your team.

Maybe you’re like Mars Pet Company, the culture of your community is 100% pet friendly, so you allow them to bring their furry friends to work.

Or, you’re a company like Lululemon with a passion and pursuit for mind//body health so you provide free workout opportunities.

The bottom line is to listen to your current developers, find out what matters to them and then provide a package that speaks to the person you want to hire in the future.

Unique life benefits like discounts on insurance, subscriptions, and other discounts where your developers are going to shop on a regular basis are also great ways to provide further financial assistance.

Give your developers real discounts and financial assistance on everything from pizza, to family fun activities and even discounts on CPAs, home security systems, and other real-life, hard expenses.

Adding perks and discounts on typical day-to-day purchased items not only provides an attractive benefits package but also makes you a highly sought-after company to work for.

Host 20 meetings, record everything and report to your boss, find 10 developers for a brand-new project, help newcomers find their place in the office…sounds like a lot, but it’s an ordinary working day for the modern recruiter. So, how to find time for all of that? Thankfully, nowadays, there are lots of automation tools to plan, optimize and ease your workflow. And for such busy bees as we, recruiters, they can come in handy. In this article, we’ll share 6 planning tools for recruiters and show how you can save time and energy while completing as many tasks as they usually do and even more.

Recruitment productivity hacks

Let’s start with a few useful time-management tips. Time management, in general, is a priority skill for a recruiter, so every one of them tries to find their own groove to follow. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for better productivity, however, these little hacks could save you the day.

Understand your workflow

First, study your entire working process. Try to understand the dynamic of your workflow and its separate parts.

• What tasks can be divided into smaller ones?
• What is the best order to complete them?
• What do you personally feel comfortable doing?
• What causes problems or delays?

Answers to all of these questions will help you see the aspects of your time management that require more of your attention and some kind of improvement.

Embrace prioritization

The best way to never feel anxious about deadlines is to prioritize tasks. When you know that some things can wait and that now you’re doing exactly what you need to, your work becomes much more productive and enjoyable. A pretty popular technique is to use a Prioritization Matrix, where you divide all your to-dos into Urgent-Important, Urgent-Not Important, Not Urgent-Important, and Not Urgent-Not Important. Thus, you will see which tasks can be delegated, delayed, or removed.

Don’t forget about your metrics

KPIs are not just about having control over team performance, but also a wonderful way for a person to set goals and monitor their personal productivity. When the objectives are clear, and the path to achieve them has milestones, it’s going to take a lot lesser time and effort for your initial results.

Also read: 7 Best HR Communities You Must Join in 2023

Top 7 Planning Tools for Recruiters to Boost Productivity

The digital world has offered recruiters thousands of options to improve their work performance, and the choice is pretty hard. But sure enough, it only expands the capabilities and guarantees that there is a tool for each and everyone, for whatever requirements and objectives they need to accomplish. So, here are six planning tools for recruiters to choose from.

1. Sortd

Sortd is just a godsend for those of you who hate digging into your inbox and filtering what is important and what is not. Especially when many tasks and meetings are often arranged via email. Sortd won’t help you just sort mails out, but also manage tasks while surfing through Gmail and contacting all possible employees or your team members. It’s like having everything you need to communicate with people and plan your day in just one app. So, how does it work? You create boards, which are categories for your inbox. For example, you can categorize them by department (Marketing, Human resources, Project Management), or by projects. By adding your team members to each category, you can not only sort emails for yourself but also automatically send them to your colleagues. You don’t have to take the extra step of forwarding messages anymore.

2. Smartsheet

This one is an entire project management platform. Teams often use Smartsheet to collaborate. However, it can be helpful for personal use as well. Dashboards, reports, and integrations with various applications, including Slack, Gmail, Zapier, DocuSign, Google Calendars, and Google Forms will definitely make recruiters’ lives easier. In addition, Smartsheet offers tools to automate repetitive tasks, like scheduling calls, replying to emails, and even publishing social media posts. So, if you’re a pretty active social media user (which is very likely, since we’re talking about recruiters), the platform gives everything required for better performance.

3. Trello

There is probably no person in the world who has never heard about Trello. It’s also a project management tool. It has a simpler and more user-friendly interface than Smartsheet and offers a popular Kanban technique to plan your working hours. Again, it’s mostly used for team collaboration, but having all your tasks’ progress visually presented can greatly improve productivity.

Also read: Effective Workplace Communication Tips for Remote Teams

4. Calendly

Calendly is the best friend of all business people who are constantly tied up with meetings. Here you don’t have to do much: just set your working hours, send the link to your Calendly to anyone you need to schedule a meeting with, and let them choose the most convenient time from the available slots. As easy as pie. And the best thing about it is that you don’t have to create events separately in your Google calendar or modify your Calendly every time there is a holiday or another event. The tool will synchronize with your calendar and automatically exchange all the data.

5. Toggl

Toggl is a pretty universal platform. There are three main products it offers: TogglTrack, TogglPlan, and TogglHire. Let’s talk about each of them a little. The first one is TogglTrack. If you’ve ever felt like you haven’t done anything or spent hours for nothing, it will help you think otherwise. TogglTrack is a tool to track everything you do or even your team does. Just press the button next to your task to start tracking, and press stop whenever it’s completed. Then, you can get a comprehensive overview of your workflow and analyze it later. It will make you feel productive and get insights about what in your daily routine is the most time-consuming. ToggPlan, in turn, is a project management tool where you can plan your day, create projects and collaborate with your team on them. With its help, you can stop worrying about deadlines or miscommunication between team members. And last, but not least, TogglHire. Here, you can compare the applicants using testing tools for any skill required right inside the platform. This feature helps you make more informed decisions and be sure about your candidates’ expertise.

6. Recruit CRM

And, of course, how not to mention a CRM specially created for recruiters. Here you will find an applicant tracking system, various integrations, reporting, invoice management, and even tools for easier sourcing and job posting. Moreover, recruiters can get all the required information about candidates right from LinkedIn. No more days spent on data entry. RecruitCRM, just like many other complex tools, has Kanban boards, mentioned above, integration with your email, Google Chrome extension, dashboard, and automated reports. You can also integrate RecruitCRM with Slack and Google Sheets, which makes communication and collaboration much easier.

7. Jotform Tables

Collecting and organizing data is perhaps one of the most challenging tasks for the modern recruiter. Without the right tool, everything can get quite messy and very hard to keep track of. Luckily, Jotform Tables offers an all-in-one workspace to collect, organize, and manage data. There are endless possibilities as to how you can utilize Jotform Tables as a recruiter. You can create custom online forms with Jotform to collect the responses you need from your applicants and auto-populate your tables with submission data. You can also import CSV or Excel files to work with your existing data or add new entries manually. It is also a very useful tool to keep your team on the same page. You can share your tables to easily collaborate with your colleagues by assigning entries to your teammates and tracking progress.

Planning tools for recruiters—which one is on your tech stack next?

We hope this article helps you take your productivity to a new level, and understand what technologies can be useful in your line of work. The six planning tools for recruiters we suggested, as mentioned before, are not the only options, however, they are worth trying. You can use them all, use a few, just one, or find other alternatives. Anyway, good luck, dear recruiters, and may your productivity rise to new heights!