What is the hiring manager satisfaction?

• Why is hiring manager satisfaction important?
• How is hiring manager satisfaction measured?
• How can hiring manager satisfaction be improved?

Why is hiring manager satisfaction important?

Finding and hiring employees is a complex task that takes up a lot of resources (especially money). The longer the recruitment process takes, the more expensive it becomes.

For example, Glassdoor found that for many companies as many as 80% of applicants drop out of the recruitment process if it’s too long, which can make it even longer. That’s why the effectiveness of the recruitment process is becoming increasingly important.

This is where hiring manager satisfaction comes in. It provides recruiters with information about the quality of the hiring process and can help to optimise it.

Note: For more information on the difference between a hiring manager and a recruiter, see our hiring manager glossary article.

While candidate satisfaction provides insights into the satisfaction of applicants, hiring manager satisfaction provides information on what might still need to be improved internally. For example, the coordination of appointments or communication between departments.

Measuring hiring manager satisfaction can also help you to:

• Improve the quality of job descriptions/advertisements,
• Increase the quality of incoming applications
• Optimise the effectiveness of the collaboration between the Hiring Manager and the Recruiter

Only when all goes smoothly internally can candidates who are not only professionally but also culturally fit be approached and recruited in the long term.

How is hiring manager satisfaction measured?

Unlike many other recruiting metrics, hiring manager satisfaction cannot be calculated using a formula. Instead, it’s a subjective assessment. However, this can also be converted into figures.

The basis for this is a survey that recruiters can encourage the hiring managers in their company to take part in. It is built up, for example, from statements about the quality of internal processes, which managers can agree or disagree with.

Here are some examples of what a hiring manager satisfaction questionnaire might contain:

1. The recruiter was very familiar with the requirements of the position
2. The recruiter responded quickly and helpfully at all times throughout the process
3. I felt well advised and supported throughout the recruitment and interview process
4. The quality of the proposed candidates met my expectations
5. I am generally satisfied with the performance of the recruiter and the recruitment process
6. The newly recruited team member meets my expectations and enriches my team

Response options can include statements such as “completely agree” or “strongly disagree” (preferably with some gradation).

The result of each question can then—depending on the context—be presented as a positive or negative value on a scale of, for example, 1-5 and subsequently evaluated without any problems.

However, in addition to hiring manager satisfaction, various conversion rates recorded during the hiring process can also be used to assess the effectiveness of internal processes.

How can hiring manager satisfaction be improved?

Recruiters are often involved in several hiring processes at the same time and, in addition to their expertise, often have to invest a lot of time in recurring tasks.

Checking inboxes in multiple tools, collecting and matching candidate data to open positions, and sending out rejections are just a few activities that make it hard to keep track of everything.

However, there are several ways to improve hiring manager satisfaction with the internal hiring process.

One of them is to use an applicant tracking system (ATS) like JOIN. It helps recruiters to streamline internal processes, increase the efficiency of the recruitment process, and spend more time on their core tasks.

JOIN offers a number of valuable features such as automated messages, a way to directly communicate with candidates, and the possibility of team collaboration in the ATS.

Further useful suggestions on how to optimise internal processes and increase hiring manager satisfaction can be found in our blog articles:

• Must-dos in the hiring process
• Feedback after rejection

You can find even more resources in our blog sections Hiring process and Organisation & processes.