(Ed: This is an ongoing series of posts that presents specific items of actionable advice for HR in China. Call it the Top 10 things to do, or not do, in China.) 

Line managers are often the bottleneck for Recruiters and headhunters in China, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Hiring and interviewing are simply not their core competence and often they just need a little hiring education to get going.

This advice is specific to what Recruiters or HR Specialists should do to improve their relationship with line managers in China and get a better hiring result. Please copy, paste, modify and email as you see fit.

Changing The Line Manager’s Hiring Approach

1. Teach them what it is that you do and how complex your job can be. Show them the market that you operate in and the limitations this imposes on you. Ultimately, make them realise that they cannot keep asking you for ‘More candidates.’
2. Define the hiring process and put it in a way that can be communicated simply. If they are Engineers make it visual. If they write programs use a software flowchart.
3. Ensure the line manager is part of creating this process and fully accepts that each stage is useful and necessary.
4. Make sure they see what it is that they offer to you in the hiring process, and what it is that they must do to ensure a good result.
5. Ensure that all line managers make specific commitments to the hiring milestones. Show them how this applies to HR as well.
6. Train all managers on the interviewing and screening techniques that you use, and ensure they actually report back to HR according to the standard you have set.
7. To take it further, explain to them how hiring is much more like marketing and selling. Make sure none of them are still asking candidates ’Why do you want to work here?’
8. Take it further still and teach them how to build rapport with candidates, while at the same time establishing the credibility of the person in front of them. Show them how easy it is for candidates to feel disrespected, and how easy it is for them to be fooled by the Professional Candidate.
9. Make sure they follow up on their commitments to the candidate, all the way to their onboarding date.
10. When you have gotten through all the issues above, consider your own commitment to successful hiring and look at introducing a Service Level Agreement with each department, office or factory in your territory.