4 Steps to Keep Your LinkedIn Recruiter Users Fighting Fit

Good news: you don’t have to be an expert in LinkedIn Recruiter to lead the rest of your team in using it effectively.

Here’s a situation I encounter frequently. Your entire team uses LinkedIn Recruiter, but you, their direct manager, do not.  It may seem daunting to coach a team of people utilizing a tool that you can’t access.  However, with the right approach, you can diagnose and treat the common causes of LinkedIn Recruiter failure.

Here’s the sports analogy.  A team doctor can be critical in the maintenance, diagnosis, and health of a star NBA team even though they never set foot on a basketball court.  They have the knowledge and framework to assess any ailments, treat whatever’s broken (or sprained or bruised), and guide them through full recovery. .

Four steps to keeping your Recruiter license-holders fighting fit:

1. Become the Expert
   Understanding reporting makes you an expert.  Reports are available to anyone with Administrator access to the LinkedIn Recruiter platform.  If you are not an admin, find someone who is and request a monthly usage report (which takes less than one minute to download, if they know how to access it).  Once you have the reporting in hand, become familiar with the metrics.  If you need more information on what is measured, ask your LinkedIn account team for help.
2. Diagnose
   Best-in-class teams have Recruiter metrics built into their overall performance management. Even if you don’t go that far, make sure you find the ‘so what’ in the data. What do the patterns say about each team members’ strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for development related to Recruiter?  Use the reports to ask probing questions to better understand their usage and mindset.
3. Prescribe
   Prescribe a regular treatment plan.  With our Talent Solutions Learning Center, your team has access to live webinars, self-paced videos, and printable tip sheets.  Sometimes, all it takes is a recommendation from an expert (you) to give them the motivation they need to succeed!  Make it your goal to recommend an actionable plan for improvement to every member on your team.
4. Don’t Skip the Post Treatment Follow Up
   Possibly the most important step is to close the feedback loop.  Make your team accountable to the treatment plan by scheduling time to debrief.  Their feedback is instrumental in tailoring your approach and staying relevant.  Often, just knowing that someone is going to review their performance is enough motivation.  In cases where there is a more complex obstacle, the follow up is vital in coaching for success.

Curious about LinkedIn Recruiter? Learn more about the product.