Hiring managers have to create a conducive environment that makes people what to work for their company. The old adage applies that if you like something, you’ll tell one person. If you don’t, you’ll tell ten. This especially applies to work atmospheres. Managers also have to make a more concerted effort to make to make pay and other amenities more compelling than their competitors. The mantra of doing less with more was once applicable but becoming less so with improving economic indicators. The aforementioned principles are going to be much more reliable than solely sourcing the best qualified candidates.

Decrease time to hire

In this day and age, companies have experienced more adverse economic conditions than positive and this has made managers too stringent in their selection process. With technical candidates, the unemployment rate has stayed fairly consistent at one percent. Managers have to become more proactive in their approach by pulling the hiring trigger much quicker than in years past. Often times, managers have bypassed sterling candidates because they thought there was someone a little stronger around the other corner. Later on, that same manager will come back and ask about a candidate that was interviewed weeks earlier only to find that candidate is gone because of another company willing to act more quickly.

Get team input on talent

Direct reports should become involved in the hiring process because there should be some “buy-in” from colleagues that this potential employee will have to work with. At the end of the day though, an informal, dictatorial style has to become reality because the success or failure of this hire could ultimately decide the fate of the person controlling this hiring decision. I recommend that the hiring manager conduct an initial phone screen, and if that goes well, get the rest of the team involved and get their output and then have the candidate back for one more heart to heart interview dealing directly with expectations on both sides and input for a plan to make this potential partnership successful.

Exercise caution on management referrals

Managers that aren’t thrilled with a referral from upper management should remember that tact and honesty are underused traits. Hiring someone that is a friend of an upper manager can make a hiring entity look good initially but can expose a team’s deficiencies quickly and end up making that manager the fall guy that other power players are blaming for making a poor hiring move. Remember that the referring manager won’t be there for you if you take the blame so always use this a tipping point when making this type of decision.

Use tact with internal candidates

I used the word tact earlier and I’ll use it as a go to term again. If a person within a company isn’t qualified for a role that’s applied for, you can be truthful but also encouraging by saying that you still envision big things for that individual but that this organic employee applying for the job needs more seasoning or training. This type of reasoning can keep an employee at home striving to better one’s self while also selecting a more capable employee to currently make your group a winning team.

Mike Barefoot is the Senior Account Executive at Red Zone Resources Staffing and Recruitment. Follow Red Zone Resources on Twitter (@RedZoneJobs) or go to www.RedZoneResources.com for more information.