Employers say: “Can’t they work faster?” “Do they understand the job?” “I just need people to interview!”

Agency recruiters say: “Do they really need all these qualifications?” “Do they know how tight the market is?” “I just need some timely feedback!”

Employers and agency recruiters agree, we need each other. There will always be times when hiring through a staffing or placement agency is the best route for business. And yet, recruiters and hiring managers very often stall out on their hires. Why? And what can anyone do to move these relationships from stalled to stellar? In a word, Transparency.

Recruiters, listen up. Hiring managers love you. They need you. They depend on you for your robust networks and innovative search strings. But half the time, they are wondering if you’re on a long-term sabbatical (again), and the rest of the time, they’re sitting in an interview wondering what you were thinking. Make your own job easy and your bank account flush by taking just one simple step: Schedule a stand-up.

Our IT friends know, in scrum speak a stand-up is a check-in meeting to see how things are progressing and to find out what everyone needs to get their jobs done. It’s a regularly scheduled and (emphatically) brief touch-base. As a recruiting partner, scheduling a stand-up with your hiring managers can have a measurable impact on time to fill. How often? Once a week. Every week… Rain. Or. Shine.

“But I don’t have anything to tell them,” you explain. Let’s call that the rainy day situation. It’s the ideal time to engage the hiring manager. Share what you’ve done. Learn more about the manager and the job. Strategize together. Be transparent and lean into the partnership. Build trust.

Keep the scheduled appointment. When you have candidates interviewing, and you’re not getting quick feedback, you’ll be glad to know that at some point during the week, you’ll have the hiring manager’s ear and a chance to calibrate on your candidates. Shine.

Hiring Managers, it goes both ways. Getting ghosted is frustrating. If you want to stay high on your recruiting partner’s priority list, keep them high on yours. Candidates move fast these days. Can you make time for same-day responses? Your search will be faster and more effective if you can keep up with your recruiter partner’s momentum.

You might have noticed, recruiters have thick skins. You should feel free to be transparent and forthcoming, especially with feedback. Recruiters are trained to listen between the lines, and to learn from every conversation. The more specific you can be, the more quickly they’ll fine-tune their search.

That elusive, perfect candidate is out there. Stand up and start looking. Transparent, consistent communication will help everyone find the best hire… fast.