How to run effective intake meetings

Optimising your talent acquisition strategy with effective intake meetings

Ensuring alignment and clarity at the very start of the hiring process is crucial. Intake meetings are a cornerstone of this alignment, helping recruiters and hiring managers work together to create a streamlined, goal-oriented hiring strategy. Let’s explore how to make intake meetings in 2024 more effective, based on the TA Cheat Sheet insights. 🌟📋🤝

Objectives of an intake meeting

The primary goal of an intake meeting is to set the foundation for a successful hiring process. Here are the key objectives: 🎯✅💡

1. Understand the role, responsibilities & business context: Gather a comprehensive understanding of what the role entails and how it aligns with broader business goals.
2. Establish search & qualification criteria: Define what a qualified candidate looks like to ensure a focused search.
3. Create question banks, scorecards & assessments: Build tools that will consistently evaluate candidates across all stages.
4. Elicit value propositions: Define the value propositions from different perspectives (manager, role, team, and company) to attract the right talent.
5. Align hiring managers: Ensure hiring managers are fully aligned on the process and expectations.
6. Set hiring timelines and agree on ways of working: Establish Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for the hiring process.
7. Define the hiring process: Outline the steps, stakeholders, and tools to streamline decision-making.

Key phases of the intake meeting process

Pre-session:

Preparation is everything. Prime attendees by sharing essential materials beforehand so they arrive ready to contribute: 🛠️📄🕒

• Estimate the total accessible market (TAM): Understand the size of the talent pool available for the role.
• Evaluate competition for skills in key locations: Assess the competition level in target markets.
• Share meeting objectives: Define the session’s goals clearly.
• Send administrative questions ahead of time: Gather basic but necessary details (team size, reporting lines, etc.).

In-session:

During the meeting, focus on deep collaboration and clarity: 🤝💬🔍

• Clarify the role and responsibilities: Align on the specifics of the role.
• Solidify criteria for success: Finalise the required skills, qualifications, and competencies.
• Identify behaviors that drive team success: Discuss the traits that will help the candidate integrate and excel.
• Elicit value propositions: Define compelling reasons for candidates to join the organisation.
• Agree on next steps: Establish the immediate follow-ups, including setting up profile calibration.

Post-session:

Consensus and action are key after the meeting: ✅📤📈

• Align on profiles: Send calibrated profiles to stakeholders with scorecards for final alignment.
• Share key deliverables: Circulate the job spec, scorecards, and other agreed-upon materials.
• Build the pipeline: Once alignment is complete, move into active candidate sourcing.

Outcomes & deliverables

To ensure the intake meeting has maximum impact, you should walk away with the following: 📋🚀🎯

• Job specification and advert: A clear and compelling job description.
• Question banks and scorecards: Tools to evaluate candidates consistently.
• Calibrated profile samples: Examples of ideal candidate profiles.
• Messaging for outreach: Tailored messaging for candidate outreach.
• On-call pitch: A concise pitch to engage candidates.
• Value propositions for each candidate driver: Key motivators to share with potential hires.
• Documented process: A written agreement on the process and expectations.
• Questions mapped to ATS: Structured interview questions linked to the applicant tracking system (ATS).
• Project plan: Timelines and milestones for the hiring process.
• Weekly syncs: Scheduled touchpoints to review progress.

The intake meeting stack

To streamline the process, leverage tools like Metaview, LinkedIn, ChatGPT, and Textio. These platforms can assist with role clarity, market research, messaging, and candidate engagement. 💻📊🔗

Key metrics to track

To measure the success of your intake meetings and hiring process, focus on the following metrics: 📈📉📊

1. Time to alignment: Track how long it takes to align with hiring managers and begin the search.
2. Message response rates: Measure how well your value propositions resonate with candidates.
3. Percentage of TAM worked: Assess the portion of the total accessible market that received at least one message.
4. Pass-through rates across stages: Evaluate how well aligned candidates progress through the hiring funnel.

Final thoughts

Intake meetings are a powerful way to set your hiring process up for success. By following these structured phases, focusing on alignment, and using data-driven tools, you can build a hiring strategy that delivers results. Use the TA Cheat Sheet as a guide to optimize your approach and ensure every intake meeting leaves your team ready to execute efficiently and effectively. 🌟🤔✅