Human Resource Manager vs Hiring Manager – Best Practices for Collaboration

What is a human resources manager?

We can say that a human resource manager serves as the gatekeeper in a company. Although human resources comprises a lot more than simply the hiring function, recruitment is one of their key duties.

Human resource manager responsibilities:

• Identifying and recruiting new staff
• Onboarding new hires
• Taking care of the legal agreements
• Supporting current staff
• Overseeing staff development and training
• Managing complaints

What is a hiring manager?

Hiring manager is a general term that refers to any manager or department head in a company who has a vacancy on their team and is looking to fill it. So, a hiring manager can be from any specialist department in an organisation.

Hiring manager responsibilities:

• Identifying staffing requirements
• Obtaining recruitment approvals from department or corporate heads if needed
• Drawing up a detailed job description for recruiters
• Serving as the point of contact during the interview process
• Managing the hiring team during the recruitment process as required
• Organising interviews and interview panels
• Making the final hiring decision

Best practices for collaboration

For a company to grow and be successful, the hiring managers and the HR department need to work together. After all, a well-practised recruitment team is best equipped to bring on board the best candidates.

Who makes the hiring decision?

First of all, it needs to be clear to everyone involved who is ultimately responsible for the hiring decision. Larger companies often schedule multiple rounds of interviews, including with the hiring manager – usually the person the applicant will potentially be reporting to – and someone from human resources. The final hiring decision is typically made by the department that has the vacancy, in other words, by the hiring manager. If a role in the HR department is to be filled, then the human resources manager might, of course, also be the hiring manager.

Specialist roles

Interviews for a position with complex or specialised duties require the knowledge and expertise of someone from within that department. In this case, the hiring manager from the respective department will be responsible for evaluating candidates and uncovering their potential skills, updating recruiters on whether suitable candidates have been identified yet and trying to ensure that the successful applicant will accept the job offer.

Joint interview panel

Larger companies or government institutions often have interview panels consisting of the hiring manager, the human resource manager and other employees as needed. So although the HR manager does not usually make hiring decisions for specialist departments, they may be invited or even required to sit in on interview panels to give their opinion on candidates. This can provide companies with a balanced perspective when making recruitment decisions.

Example process

Imagine the IT department is looking for a new IT support team member.

1. The head of IT takes on the role of hiring manager , prepares a job description and notifies the human resources department.
2. The human resource manager then kicks off the recruitment process, publishes the vacancy on job portals like Indeed, and sifts through incoming applications.
3. The head of IT, in the meantime, puts together the hiring team and organises an interview panel. As the role requires subject matter expertise, the panel not only includes the human resources manager, but also a senior member of the IT team who will be working with the new hire.
4. After the interview round, the HR manager and other panel members give feedback and a recommendation to the head of IT, who then makes the final hiring decision before handing the new hire over to the human resource manager to start the onboarding process.
5. The human resources manager handles the legalities and liaises between hiring manager  and new recruit until their first day.

As you’ve seen, the roles of hiring manager and human resource manager are complementary and work hand in hand. Whether you are a hiring manager or a human resources manager, our Indeed Products for Employers will guide you through the recruitment process.