HR professionals and recruiting specialists say that employers should take proactive measures to improve their hiring processes-by helping recruiters and hiring managers to work together more effectively, and by helping hiring managers to improve their interviewing techniques.

Recruiters know how to find good candidates but hiring managers know the minute details of what it takes to be successful every day on the job. A good relationship between a recruiter and the hiring manager can pay off in a perfect job match. Hiring managers need to be trained to use specific language to describe what they are looking for in a candidate. They also need to give feedback about the qualities that have made past candidates successful hires. Tom Tomasula, a consultant and trainer for Employers Resource Council recommends making the relationship formal with a "service level agreement" that outlines responsibilities on both sides for recruiting and hiring new employees. The agreement might specify how long the turnaround time should be for contacting potential candidates to specifying regular meetings to discuss ongoing staffing needs.

Mangers must also be taught to uncover the competencies they are looking for during a job interview. Behavioral interviewing, a technique where the interviewer asks questions about past performance related to specific competencies like teamwork or leadership is the best way to determine how an employee will react in any given situation.

Daimler Chrysler, which has its headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich. and employs more than 80,000 people, wanted to create a program that could help their managers prepare for the possibility of a hiring increase. They developed a two-part talent selection training program. One part is mandatory for all managers and teaches Chrysler's desired competencies and how to conduct behavioral interviews. The second part of the program allows them to practice skills in a mock phone interview with a candidate, who is purposely vague and evasive on some questions. A trained assessor monitors the call and gives feedback to the manager on how they did. The training has been received well by managers and is expected to have a positive impact on the quality of new hires. Training like this can be expensive but is cost effective when compared to the expenses of turnover and lost productivity when a new hire doesn't work out. Succeeding at selection is so important because ultimately, any company is only as good as the people who work for it.