Hiring the right people is key to business growth and success, but organizations struggle to establish a reliable recruitment process. Enter 360 recruitment, which facilitates all-around candidate evaluation and reduces the biases associated with traditional hiring methods.
360 recruitment ensures you find top talent suited to your company, improving both the hiring experience and the quality of new hires. And organizations of any size can use this comprehensive yet practical recruiting approach.
Contents
What is 360 recruitment?
What is a 360 recruiter?
Key benefits of 360 recruitment
Disadvantages of 360 recruiting
180 vs. 360 recruitment
8 steps in the 360 recruitment cycle
FAQ
What is 360 recruitment?
360 recruitment (also known as full-cycle recruiting end-to-end recruitment) covers the entire recruitment process, from candidate sourcing to employee onboarding. Because it integrates all aspects of recruitment into a single streamlined process, it ensures a seamless, efficient, and consistent experience for both employer and candidate.
HR tip
Build strong client relationships: Establish clear communication and regular check-ins with managers to understand their hiring needs and expectations. This ensures you can align the recruitment process with their requirements and provide tailored solutions.
What is a 360 recruiter?
A 360 recruiter, or full-desk recruiter, manages the full cycle recruiting process from start to finish. This typically includes working for a recruitment agency and managing client acquisition, defining job requirements, creating job descriptions, and sourcing, and screening candidates to assess the fit.
However, the 360 recruitment approach can also be used by HR departments within an organization. For example, instead of managing client relationships, the in-house 360 recruiter would manage stakeholder relationships.
Similarly, some of the responsibilities of an external 360 recruiter could also be applicable and useful for organizational recruiters to adopt, such as determining client (your internal stakeholder) and candidate satisfaction rates at the end of each successful job placement.
Typically, an external 360 recruiter is solely responsible for the recruitment process. This is often not dissimilar to smaller organizations, which tend to have one person responsible for the entire hiring process.
Benefits and disadvantages of 360 recruitment
The benefits of 360 recruitment
As a recruiter, it’s important to understand how 360 recruitment can help you so you can apply it to your hiring process. Here are its key benefits:
- Consistency and accountability: One recruiter oversees the entire process, ensuring a consistent approach and better accountability throughout the recruitment cycle.
- Enhanced candidate experience: Candidates benefit from dealing with only you as their point of contact, leading to a more personalized and smooth hiring experience.
- Improved hiring efficiency: Streamlining the process under one recruiter minimizes delays and miscommunications, speeding up the hiring timeline.
- Stronger client/stakeholder relationships: Continuous client or stakeholder interaction helps you understand their needs and preferences, fostering stronger and more productive relationships.
- Comprehensive market insights: You stay informed about industry trends and salary benchmarks, providing clients/stakeholders and candidates with valuable, current insights.
- Better candidate matching: A comprehensive understanding of both client/stakeholder needs and candidate capabilities helps you make more accurate, effective candidate placements.
- Improved employee retention rates: Close involvement in every stage of the process increases your chances of making quality hires and increases your company’s employee retention rates.
- Feedback loop: You can follow up and collect feedback regularly to help you continuously improve your methods and enhance your future recruitment efforts.
- Lower recruitment costs: Consolidating the recruitment process into a single role can help lower the costs associated with hiring multiple recruiters.
HR tip
Ensure consistent candidate experience: Maintain a single point of contact throughout the recruitment process to provide candidates with a seamless, personalized experience. This approach improves candidate satisfaction and helps build a positive employer brand.
The disadvantages of 360 recruiting
- Time-consuming: Managing the entire recruitment process can be time-consuming, especially for complex roles or large hiring volumes.
- Resource-intensive: A 360 recruiter needs a broad skill set and significant resources to handle all aspects of recruitment effectively, which can be highly demanding.
- Potential for bias: Overseeing the entire process yourself also increases the risk of unconscious bias, which affects diversity and fairness in hiring.
- Scalability issues: This approach may not be scalable for larger organizations with high-volume hiring needs, as one recruiter can handle only a limited number of positions at a time.
- Limited specialization: A single recruiter might lack expertise in certain areas specialized recruiters excel in, potentially affecting the quality of candidates you select.
- Dependence on one individual: The entire recruitment process hinges on one recruiter’s performance, so problems may arise if they are on leave or resign from the company.
180 vs. 360 recruitment
Job scope
Separate sourcing and hiring roles often involve different specialists for different stages.
A single recruiter manages the entire recruitment process, from candidate sourcing to new hire onboarding.
Recruitment stages
Typically focuses on either sourcing candidates or selecting and hiring them. For instance, different HR team members handle the initial sourcing and final hiring stages.
One recruiter provides end-to-end recruitment services by covering all stages of the process.
Consistency and accountability
Multiple recruiters share responsibilities, which can lead to inconsistencies in candidate experience and process management.
One recruiter ensures consistency and accountability throughout the recruitment cycle, leading to a uniform approach and seamless process.
Candidate experience
Candidates may interact with multiple contacts, which can result in confusion and a fragmented experience.
Candidates have a single point of contact throughout the process, leading to a more personalized and cohesive experience.
Efficiency
Higher likelihood of delays due to handoffs and potential miscommunication between recruitment stages.
One recruiter ensures a streamlined process to reduce delays and miscommunication, enhancing overall efficiency.
Bias potential
Possibly reduced by multiple perspectives, as different recruiters can provide checks and balances.
Higher risk of bias due to a single decision maker’s perspective influencing the entire process.
Scalability
More scalable for high-volume hiring, as a team of recruiters can split the tasks.
Less scalable for large organizations, as one recruiter can handle only a limited number of roles at a time.
Workload
Team members share the workload, allowing for a more manageable and specialized focus in different areas.
A single recruiter handles a heavy workload as they must manage all aspects of the recruitment process.
Specialization
Allows for specialized expertise at different recruitment stages, such as from sourcing specialists and hiring managers.
Requires a broad skill set from a single recruiter, who must be proficient in all areas of the recruitment process.
Dependence
Less dependence on a single individual ensures more stability if a team member leaves or is unavailable.
Full dependence on a single recruiter, resulting in possible issues if they are on leave or resign from the company.
The 8 steps of the 360 recruitment cycle
As a recruiter, you can use 360 recruitment to oversee the recruitment process from start to finish. This will help you control every stage and find the best candidates who fit the role and the company.
The steps below explain the end-to-end 360 recruitment process and what actions you should take in each step.
1. Client or stakeholder engagement
This is the foundation of the 360 recruitment cycle. Start with a stakeholder discussion to understand their hiring needs. Next, set clear expectations for the process and communicate regularly with them to ensure both parties remain up to date.
In addition, offer industry insights and consultative support to help refine their hiring needs. This will help your stakeholders to better understand how to find the best candidates for their specific roles.
Actions HR can take:
- Schedule regular meetings with hiring managers to align on expectations
- Conduct surveys or feedback sessions to understand stakeholder satisfaction and areas for improvement
- Develop a stakeholder engagement plan that includes periodic check-ins and updates on the progress of the recruitment process.
2. Preparation
Conduct thorough job analyses to create detailed job descriptions that attract the right candidates. Gather all the information required about the open roles, including key responsibilities and necessary qualifications.
Next, write clear, detailed job descriptions outlining responsibilities, qualifications, and benefits that align with the stakeholder’s expectations and company standards. Include information about company culture and growth opportunities to attract top talent.
Actions HR can take:
- Use job analysis tools and techniques to gather comprehensive job information
- Collaborate with department heads to validate the accuracy of each job description
- Review and update job descriptions regularly to ensure they remain relevant and accurate.
3. Talent sourcing
Develop and implement strategies to identify and attract potential candidates. Start with a sourcing strategy that includes job boards, social media, and professional networks.
Once you determine the profiles of target candidates, you can develop a plan to reach them effectively—either actively or passively.
Active sourcing involves posting job ads on relevant platforms, using social media and professional networks to engage potential candidates, and attending industry events and career fairs for networking.
Passive sourcing focuses on building a talent pipeline for future business needs and contacting candidates who are not actively job-hunting but fit the desired profiles.
Actions HR can take:
- Invest in recruitment marketing tools and platforms to enhance sourcing efforts
- Build relationships with educational institutions and professional organizations to expand the company’s talent pool
- Implement an employee referral program to leverage current employees’ networks.
4. Screening and selection
Evaluate candidates to determine their suitability for each role by screening résumés and cover letters. Next, shortlist those who meet the overall criteria. You can use an ATS to streamline this process.
Next, conduct preliminary phone or video interviews to assess experience, skills, and cultural fit. Administer skills assessments or tests to evaluate technical abilities and identify top candidates for further consideration.
Actions HR can take:
- Develop standardized screening criteria to ensure consistency and fairness
- Train hiring managers on effective résumé screening and interview techniques
- Use assessment tools and platforms to objectively evaluate candidates’ skills.
5. Interviewing
Schedule interviews with relevant stakeholders and inform candidates in detail about the process. Prepare questions that align with job requirements and company values, then conduct structured interviews for consistency and fairness.
Be sure to evaluate candidates based on their responses and overall fit for the role. Also, gather feedback from interviewers to compare qualifications and performance so you can make informed decisions.
Actions HR can take:
- Develop interview guides and training materials for interviewers
- Use interview scoring sheets to standardize candidate evaluations
- Implement a feedback loop to continuously improve the interview process.
6. Reference checks and assessments
Reference checks and assessments are important for verifying a candidate’s background and suitability. Perform background checks to verify educational qualifications, employment history, and criminal record, ensuring compliance with legal requirements.
If these details check out, contact their references to ask specific questions about their professional strengths and weaknesses. This will help you further determine how suitable they are for the role.
Actions HR can take:
- Develop standardized reference check questions to ensure consistency
- Partner with background check providers to streamline the process
- Communicate clearly with candidates about the reference and background check process.
7. Offer management
Prepare a competitive job offer that includes salary, benefits, and other compensation details. Check whether the job offer aligns with the stakeholder’s budget and policies.
Next, present the offer to the chosen candidate, answering any questions and explaining benefits and opportunities. If necessary, negotiate terms and conditions, then secure the candidate’s acceptance and confirm the start date.
Actions HR can take:
- Conduct market research and benchmark the salaries your company offers against what its top competitors offer for similar positions
- Develop a clear offer letter template to standardize the process
- Provide training for recruiters on effective negotiation techniques.
8. Onboarding
Before each new hire’s first day, email them welcome materials and onboarding information and prepare the relevant accounts and equipment they need.
From their first day, conduct orientation sessions to introduce the new hire to the company’s culture and policies and to their contact persons in the organization. Develop a training plan to help them acquire the necessary skills and knowledge for their job.
Additionally, you can assign them a mentor or buddy to support their integration into the company. Schedule regular check-ins with them to address any concerns and gather feedback to improve the onboarding process.
Actions HR can take:
- Create a detailed new hire checklist to ensure all tasks are completed.
- Develop onboarding materials and resources for new hires.
- Implement an onboarding feedback system to help you improve the process.
To sum up
360 recruitment offers recruiters end-to-end management of the recruiting process. This helps recruiters to maintain control over every aspect of the hiring journey, ensuring efficiency, consistency, and quality throughout. It also enables recruiters to build stronger relationships with stakeholders and candidates.
By maintaining a single point of contact for hiring managers and candidates throughout the process, recruiters can streamline communication and minimize the risk of delays and misunderstandings. This personalized approach not only enhances candidate experience but also fosters trust and loyalty, leading to successful placements.
However, 360 recruitment won’t suit every organization. The approach can be time-consuming and resource-intensive and may not be scalable for larger organizations with high-volume hiring needs.
FAQ
The 360 model of recruitment involves one recruiter handling the entire hiring process from start to finish. This includes client engagement, talent sourcing, offer management and new hire onboarding. This ensures consistency and accountability from one point of contact throughout.
In 360 recruiting, one recruiter handles the entire process, from sourcing to onboarding. In 180 recruiting, different recruiters split these responsibilities, which can lead to delays and miscommunications.
Yes. Both terms refer to a single recruiter managing the entire recruitment process from start to finish. This ensures consistency and accountability for both the client and the candidate.
