Panel Debrief Coordinator

Aggregated feedback view shared with panel. Debrief held within 48 hours. Decision documented with rationale. ATS updated. Candidate communicated within 24h of decision.

Before you start

Structured feedback form per interview type
Documented hire/no-hire framework
Panel committed to 24-hour feedback SLA
Completed panel feedback for a candidate
Hiring manager's hiring threshold
Loop summary (which interviews, who conducted)

The steps

Confirm all feedback is in — Verify each panelist submitted structured feedback within 24 hours of their interview. If anyone is missing, ping them with a 4-hour deadline. Do not hold debriefs with incomplete feedback — incomplete data leads to bad hiring decisions.
Aggregate feedback into a single view — Compile: hire/no-hire vote per panelist, scores per dimension, key strengths cited, key concerns cited. Surface any divergences (e.g., 4 hires + 1 strong no-hire) — these are the most important to discuss.
Identify the points of disagreement — Where panelists scored or voted differently, pull the specific evidence each cited. Often, divergences come from different interpretations of the same data — debrief is to align on what was actually observed.
Schedule and run the debrief — Hold the debrief within 48 hours of the loop. 30 minutes max. Format: each panelist gives a 2-minute summary, then discussion focused on points of disagreement. Hiring manager makes final call after panel input — not voting.
Document the decision rationale — Write a 1-paragraph summary: candidate strengths, candidate concerns, decision (hire / no-hire / hold), and rationale. Save in ATS. This protects against bias claims and helps calibrate future loops.
Communicate outcome and next steps — If hire: trigger offer workflow within 24 hours. If no-hire: trigger rejection workflow within 24 hours with constructive feedback. If hold: communicate honestly to the candidate that we're still evaluating, with a date by which we'll decide.

If it goes wrong

Panelist feedback is shallow ('seemed fine')

Don't accept it. Push back: 'Specifically, what was strong and what was weak?' If panelists chronically give shallow feedback, coach them or remove from interview duty.

Hiring manager overrides panel without rationale

Override is fine — but rationale must be documented. If overrides happen frequently, that's a signal the panel composition or the framework needs adjustment.

'Hold' decisions stretch into weeks

Holds expire after 5 business days. Either advance, reject, or get the data needed (additional interview) within that window.

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