Best Practices for Keeping Hiring Managers Engaged in the Interview Process
Hiring managers play an important role in the recruiting process. Keeping them engaged throughout hiring helps ensure timely feedback, better hiring decisions, and a more efficient candidate experience.
The following best practices can help your hiring team stay involved and collaborate effectively in Trakstar Hire.
Assign Hiring Managers Early
Assign hiring managers to job openings as soon as a position is created.
Adding hiring managers at the beginning of the hiring process allows them to:
- Access the candidates assigned to the opening.
- Review applications as they are received.
- Participate in candidate evaluations.
- Stay informed throughout the hiring process.
Providing access early helps prevent delays later in the recruiting cycle.
Encourage Managers to Review Candidates Regularly
Rather than waiting until interviews are scheduled, encourage hiring managers to review candidates throughout the hiring process.
Regular reviews can help:
- Identify strong candidates more quickly.
- Reduce bottlenecks in the hiring process.
- Keep candidates moving through the hiring pipeline.
- Improve collaboration between recruiters and hiring managers.
Using candidate review requests makes it easy to gather feedback without requiring managers to search for candidate records.
Use Candidate Review Requests
Candidate review requests allow recruiters to request feedback directly from hiring managers.
When a review is requested:
- The hiring manager receives an email notification.
- They can review the candidate without navigating through the full application.
- Feedback can be submitted directly from the email workflow or simplified candidate profile.
- Submitted feedback is automatically added to the candidate's profile.
This streamlined process makes it easier for busy managers to participate in hiring decisions.
Standardize Interview Feedback
Using interview evaluation forms helps ensure that every interviewer evaluates candidates using consistent criteria.
Evaluation forms can help your organization:
- Collect structured feedback.
- Compare candidates more consistently.
- Reduce bias by evaluating the same competencies for every candidate.
- Make hiring decisions based on standardized information.
If your organization uses custom evaluation forms, encourage interviewers to complete every section before submitting their evaluations.
Use Self-Scheduling When Possible
Self-Scheduling reduces the time recruiters spend coordinating interview availability.
With calendar integrations enabled, candidates can choose from available interview time slots based on interviewer availability.
Benefits include:
- Fewer scheduling emails.
- Faster interview scheduling.
- Reduced administrative work.
- A smoother candidate experience.
Monitor Outstanding Feedback
Recruiters should regularly review outstanding interview evaluations and candidate reviews.
Following up on incomplete feedback helps:
- Keep hiring decisions moving.
- Prevent unnecessary delays.
- Ensure candidate evaluations are completed before advancing candidates to the next stage.
Timely reminders can significantly improve hiring manager participation.
Promote Trakstar Academy Training
Hiring managers who are unfamiliar with Trakstar Hire can benefit from Trakstar Academy training.
Training helps managers learn how to:
- Review candidate profiles.
- Submit candidate reviews.
- Complete interview evaluations.
- Navigate their responsibilities in the hiring process.
Providing training before managers begin interviewing can improve adoption and reduce questions during active hiring.
Additional Tips
To keep hiring managers engaged throughout the recruiting process:
- Clearly communicate expectations for providing candidate feedback.
- Establish target turnaround times for reviews and evaluations.
- Encourage managers to submit feedback immediately after interviews.
- Use standardized evaluation forms whenever possible.
- Periodically review hiring workflows to identify opportunities for improvement.
Consistent communication and well-defined processes help create a more collaborative and efficient hiring experience.
Need Help?
If you have questions about configuring candidate reviews, interview evaluations, or hiring manager workflows, contact Trakstar Support for assistance.