Information Quality Toolkit for Hiring Managers

Instructions for Recruiting:

Use this resource to encourage hiring managers to improve the accuracy of the information they provide to candidates. Delete this text before providing to hiring managers.

Instructions for Hiring Managers:

Describing the job and organization accurately to candidates is very important to successful hiring decisions, and you play a large role in providing information to the candidate. Fortunately, there are a variety of ways to ensure the information you present to candidates is accurate and complete. Complete this checklist to audit and improve the information that you give to candidates.

q  Option 1: Perform or Shadow the Job—Although you probably have a good idea of the general responsibilities and business context for the positions you hire, you may not be aware of the daily challenges and interactions that the job entails. By performing or shadowing the job you are hiring for, you can give candidates information on granular aspects of the job from first-hand experience. Once this activity is completed, fill out the conclusions form to document what you will incorporate in future hiring.

Conclusions from Job Shadowing
Position Shadowed:
Date:
Element of Job / What I Learned
Organizational culture
Day-to-day experiences
Rewards of the job
Development and future career opportunities
Roles the position will interact with
Other information

q  Option 2: Sit in on Selected Recruiting Activities for the Job—If the job you are hiring for is not unique within the organization, ask recruiters if you can sit in on activities necessary to recruit for the job. This may include conducting phone screens, overseeing or evaluating candidate assessment activities, and convincing candidates to accept offers. From this experience, you can gauge how candidates view the job and take steps to correct misalignments between expectations and reality. Once this activity is completed, fill out the conclusions form to document what you will incorporate in future hiring.

Conclusions from Recruiter Shadowing
Recruiting Activity Shadowed:
Date:
Element of Job / What I Learned
Organizational culture
Day-to-day experiences
Rewards of the job
Development and future career opportunities
Roles the position will interact with
Other information

q  Option 3: Create a List of the Most and Least Appealing Aspects of the Jobs You Hire For—There are many aspects of a job, including day-to-day work, peers, travel requirements, compensation, and culture, and it is impossible to impart all information to candidates. Ask employees who are currently in the position to list the most and least appealing aspects of the job to help you focus your conversations with candidates. Use the e-mail scripting below to send to employees who hold the same or similar positions to the ones you hire for, customizing the words in red brackets before sending. Once this activity is completed, fill out the conclusions form to document what you will incorporate in future hiring.

E-mail Scripting to Solicit Feedback on the Best and Worst Aspects of the Jobs You Hire For
Dear [name],
As I continue to hire for [your position/positions similar to yours], I’d like to make sure that the information about the job that I give to candidates is accurate. Since you are in the position every day, your description of the job would be really helpful for me. Specifically, can you let me know the 3-5 best aspects about the job, and the 3-5 least appealing aspects about the job, from your perspective? This can be things like the hours you work, the location, a specific task, etc.
Of course, don’t feel obligated to tell me things that you don’t like about the job if you are uncomfortable. If this is the case but you still would like candidates to know before taking the job, feel free to reach out to [name of recruiter]. [He/she] is the recruiter for the position and will relay this information to candidates as appropriate.
Thanks in advance for your help in making sure that our new team members know what to expect.
[Your signature]
Conclusions from “Most and Least Appealing” Exercise
Position:
Date Gathered:
Most Appealing Aspects:
Least Appealing Aspects:

q  Option 4: Engage an Interview Partner—To make sure you are providing accurate information to candidates during the interview, intermittently schedule an interview partner to join you for interviews for the purpose of providing feedback to you afterwards. This person can be a peer of the open position, a colleague of yours, or a recruiter. Use the e-mail scripting below to send to a potential interview partner, customizing the words in red brackets before sending. Once this activity is completed, fill out the conclusions form to document what you will incorporate in future hiring.

E-mail Scripting to Engage an Interview Partner
Dear [name],
As I continue to hire more people into my team, I’d like to make sure that the information about the job that I give to candidates during interviews is accurate. Your feedback would be really helpful for me, given that you [reason why you chose this person as an interview partner]. Specifically, would you be willing to sit in during an interview with me to gauge how I could improve the information that I tell candidates?
If so, I have an interview for [name of position] coming up on [date of interview]. Does that time work for you? I’ve included instructions below and feedback questions for you to answer after the interview.
During the interview, I will introduce you as a colleague, and you can participate in the discussion. After the interview, it would be great if you could give some brief guidance on the following:
1.  Do I provide accurate and complete information to the candidate on the following topics?
·  The organization
·  Day-to-day experiences of the job
·  Rewards of the position
·  Future career opportunities
·  People at the organization and on the team
·  Other information
2.  Is any of the information that I provided likely to be inconsistent with what the candidate heard from Recruiting?
3.  How can I improve my communication style with the candidate?
4.  What are the three most important things to improve on before conducting my next interview?
Thanks in advance for your help in making sure that our new team members know what to expect.
[Your signature]
Conclusions from Engaging an Interview Partner
Position Interviewing For:
Date:
Element of Interview / Interview Partner’s Feedback
My presentation of the organization
My presentation of day-to-day experiences of the job
My presentation of rewards of the job
My presentation of future career opportunities
My presentation of roles the position will interact with
My presentation of other information
My communication style
Three most important things for me to improve on before conducting my next interview

q  Option 5: Solicit Feedback from New Hires—Some of the best feedback can come from your past hires. Either through a formal survey mechanism or informal conversations, ask your previous hires how accurate the information was that you gave them during the hiring stage. If you would like to solicit the feedback formally, use the e-mail scripting below to send to your new hires, customizing the words in red brackets before sending. Once this activity is completed, fill out the conclusions form to document what you will incorporate in future hiring.

E-mail Scripting to Solicit Feedback From New Hires
Dear [name],
As I continue to hire for [your position/positions similar to yours], I’d like to make sure that the information about the job that I give to candidates is accurate. Since you are one of my most recent hires, your feedback on how I presented the job to you during the recruiting and onboarding stage would be really helpful for me. Specifically, can you provide brief answers to the questions I have below?
Please understand that any negative feedback won’t be used against you or me; the goal is to improve how I present the job to future candidates. Of course, you are not obligated to write anything that makes you uncomfortable.
o  How complete and accurate was the information I gave you about the organization? How could I improve?
o  How complete and accurate was the information I gave you about the day-to-day experiences of the job? How could I improve?
o  How complete and accurate was the information I gave you about the rewards of the position (e.g., salary)? How could I improve?
o  How complete and accurate was the information I gave you about the future opportunities of the job? How could I improve?
o  How complete and accurate was the information I gave you about the people you would be working with? How could I improve?
o  Are there other areas where I could improve the information you receive before accepting the offer?
Thanks in advance for your help in making sure that our new team members know what to expect.
[Your signature]
Conclusions from New Hire Feedback
Position Getting Feedback For:
Date:
Element of Interview / New Hire Feedback
My presentation of the organization
My presentation of day-to-day experiences of the job
My presentation of rewards of the job
My presentation of future career opportunities
My presentation of roles the position will interact with
Other areas where I could improve

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