Top 5 tips for identifying ideal candidates for benefit manager jobs

A benefits manager is essential in any HR department, ensuring that employee benefits policies work to motivate employees, retain top level staff and recruit highly competent professionals.

Hiring the right candidate for benefits manager jobs is therefore crucial, allowing you to rest safe in the knowledge that your benefits packages – and ultimately the future success of your business – are in highly capable hands.

Our top 5 recruitment tips

Here at Portfolio CBR, we are experienced in compensation, benefits and reward recruitment and pride ourselves on our ability to perfectly match professionals to businesses.

So, we have put together our top 5 recruitment tips for finding the right candidate for benefits manager jobs to help you identify the ideal candidate for your job post.

1) Write a detailed, accurate job specification

Think carefully about what you expect from a benefits manager when writing the job specification to make sure that you hire a person who is able to meet your business needs.

Typically, they will be responsible for maintaining and improving your benefits programme including health insurance, flexible benefits plans and employee assistance programs, while analysing employee benefits data and supervising other HR staff members. If you want your employee to take on any further duties, include these in your job description to make sure that they don't get forgotten further down the recruitment process.

Also, try not to change your job specification at any point, particularly following feedback from applicants as this can prevent you from hiring a candidate who meets all your expectations.

2) Look for previous benefits and management experience

As you think about the benefit manager jobs and duties you want your new employee to complete, consider what skills and experience candidates will need to possess in order to perform well.

Look for previous management experience as this will demonstrate that a person has the ability to head up a team, while an up-to-date knowledge of legislation will help you to determine whether or not they are capable of maintaining benefits policies effectively. Strong communication skills, an analytical eye and good organisation skill are also essential for benefits manager job roles.

3) Ask plenty of competency based questions

During an interview, ask lots of competency based questions as these can help you to determine whether an individual is capable of taking on the role.

Ask to hear about any accomplishments a person has made in their most recent role and the career highlights they are most proud of. It may also be useful to ask about how they have overcome a work-related weakness or problem. This type of information will help you to gain an understanding of how well a candidate will be able to operate within a benefits manager role.

4) Stick to a specific interview process

A telephone call followed by a first and second interview will give you an opportunity to vet candidates properly.

Starting off with a phone call allows you eliminate applicants who just aren't right, without having to waste time meeting face-to-face. You can then use the first interview stage to further filter down candidates, while calling professionals back for a second time gives you a chance to ask detailed questions and thoroughly check whether they are right for the benefits manager job.

5) Speak with a recruitment specialist

We would recommend that you work with a recruitment specialist like Portfolio CBR during a recruitment campaign. With plenty of experience in finding top candidates for benefits manager jobs, we can provide you with one-off advice or a complete service, helping to source highly competent professionals for you to interview.

Whether you have a benefits manager vacancy or are looking to hire a HRIS specialist, global mobility coordinator or another compensation, benefit and rewards professional, contact us on 020 7650 3190 to find out more about the recruitment services we provide.