Disconnect persists between tech recruiters, hiring managers

Dive Brief:

A survey from HackerRank suggests a disconnect between tech recruiters and the hiring managers they assist. While about 76% of recruiters and managers in the survey felt either "good" or "excellent" about the relationship between the two roles, the report revealed there are strategic differences at play.
When asked about their most important success metrics in recruiting, the groups diverged somewhat. For tech recruiters, the three most common considerations were quality of skills (75.3%), time to close (44.9%) and retention (37.3%). For hiring managers, "quality of skills/fit" was the most frequent answer (80.5%), followed by future performance (50.6%) and retention (37.8%).
Nearly one-third of hiring managers said alignment of expectations was the biggest hurdle to building a strong partnership with recruiters. A plurality of recruiters, on the other hand, cited getting timely feedback as their biggest challenge. The majority of both groups agreed, however, that skills-based hiring is here to stay; previous work experience and years in the field outranked having a degree in computer science or related areas.

Dive Insight:

Regular communication is key to creating an outstanding applicant experience, but it plays just as critical a role, if not more so, in creating an outstanding recruitment experience.

Hiring managers and recruiters in the tech industry have the additional challenge of searching for candidates in an industry in which change is one of the only constants. For some, recruiting for cutting-edge and emerging occupations requires constant feedback to find the right candidates.

As the market continues to pressure businesses with skills gaps in tech that are unprecedented, the need for a solid relationship between recruiters and hiring managers has never been more important. HackerRank's data on skills-based hiring demonstrate a potential strategic unifier. Skills-based hiring is outpacing the need for a four-year degree, particularly from a prestigious alma mater.

Industry leaders like IBM have attempted to deliver on the promise of this recruiting form, hiring based on competencies for broad array of positions rather than relaying on college credentials alone.

Other companies are attacking the problem of education; Google is offering $1 billion to help shrink the skills gap in IT, and the company recently announced a partnership with Walmart to issue $5 million in grants for other organizations looking to solve the skills gap.