In a webinar from The HR World, sponsored by Morgan McKinley Talent Solutions, the subject of hiring came under particular scrutiny.

Two Sides of the Same Hire: How to Impress Candidates and Empower Hiring Managers brought together Niamh McCarthy, Client Services Managing Director for EMEA, Morgan McKinley Talent Solutions; Justine Friedmann, People & Culture Director, IFX Payments and Ed Gairdner, Chief of Staff, iplicit to give their insight on the challenges and solutions to achieving a smooth hiring process that benefits both employers and candidate alike.

Against a backdrop of scarcity of skills across sectors, Niamh McCarthy highlighted the pressures and challenges facing companies in bringing new people into their organisations. Faced with the need to fill vacancies swiftly on one hand, but ensuring candidates truly fit prospective roles on the other, getting both these issues right can have a direct and positive impact on productivity for businesses and avoid the dangers of poor retention and associated costs. The discussion dived in depth to explore the relationship between talent acquisition, hiring managers and the candidates themselves, seeking to ensure expectations were met on all sides and that the process was as smooth as possible.

The need for good communications and discussions between the parties involved in the hiring process became clear as Ed described how they worked with external recruiters for their talent, ensuring these partners fully understood the company and their needs. Niamh made clear the need for shared accountability across those involved in the hiring process in order to make sure quality hires happened every time.

It also emerged that getting this area of recruitment correct was crucial for building and maintaining a great brand, not just as an employer but as a business more generally. Even if candidates were not successful the panelists stressed the importance of ensuring they had received a positive experience with the company – not least because while this job might not be right for them, there was always a chance that a later opportunity would be.

This webinar was packed full of direct experience and ideas from the frontline of talent acquisition. Ultimately it was clear that there was a need for real partnerships between those involved in identifying the need for new talent and those who are charged with finding the people who would meet those needs.