The Hiring Report

Recruit - Recognize - Reward - Retain
March, 2008 - Volume 1 - Issue 23
The Pittman Group
Memphis, TN
 
 

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Five Keys to a Successful Recruiting Partnership

(By Melinda Pittman)
 
 
This month, I’d like to address the client-recruiter partnership.  I’m often asked the question, “How do I get top-level priority on your searches?” Certainly you expect a very high level of service when you’re working with a recruiter on a retained basis.  You’re paying the retained recruiter up front to provide top-level service and consultation to your organization and to treat your search with the highest priority.
 
In the real world, however, most of your recruiter interactions will be on a contingent basis, where the recruiter is delivering up-front services at no charge unless you hire their candidate.  Knowing that any number of circumstances can affect the search (i.e. frozen positions, company/departmental reorganizations, management changes, etc.), most contingency recruiters keep a number of searches going at any given time.  So, the question of how to get a higher level of service with a contingency search becomes a valid one.  Every business continually evaluates their success opportunities, and will tweak and prioritize their focus and energy based on that probability. In that respect, the contingency recruiting business is no different.
 
In my experience, the companies that practice the strategies below are much more successful.
 
Communication 
 
Provide information—lots of it.  Return phone calls.  Provide feedback. Be up front about your internal processes so the recruiter can set candidate expectations appropriately.  Let the recruiter know what you’ve already done to fill the position so they can augment your efforts, not retrace the steps.
 
Consensus
 
Before the recruiter can effectively source qualified candidates, all the decision makers need to be in agreement about what a good candidate “looks like.”  Knowing what you and all decision makers expect the potential employee to accomplish in the first and second year will help to define what experience, skills/tools, and personality are necessary for the position.  Sharing this with your recruiter helps her to assess the potential of the candidate and also minimizes miscommunication between your counterparts in the decision-making process.
 
Timeliness
 
Good candidates don’t remain on the market for long.  You can expect that “A Players” will have multiple opportunities from which to choose, and companies that don’t act quickly will lose out.  Even the “passive candidate” will lose interest in an opportunity with a company that doesn’t manage its hiring process in a timely fashion.  Keep in mind that the points made above—garnering consensus with your peers about the type of person necessary for the position and keeping the communication flowing—give extra momentum to this particular process.
 
Exclusivity
 
It is counter-intuitive that the more recruiters you use on a search, the better the outcome.  Good recruiters are very selective about where they spend their time, focusing on those opportunities where they have the highest likelihood of success.  Giving the assignment to one or two firms—and letting them know—will significantly increase the quality of the candidates and service you receive.
 
Sell Your Opportunity
 
Consult with your recruiter about how to sell the unique aspects of your company and the position.  What will draw new hires to your organization?  Is it growth, geography, management, products, flexibility, or opportunity?  Is everyone with whom the candidate interviews also selling the company and opportunity?  Remember that your recruiter will be promoting you, the position, and the company.  Do not overlook this all-important step.
 
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY

As human beings, we’re programmed to focus on the positive.  Keep in mind, though, that what you consider as being negative, others may see as the glass being half full.  For instance, if you consider that your company is not located in a large metro area to be a drawback, others may be looking for the opportunities that smaller cities provide.  The point is, disclose the good, the bad, and the ugly to your recruiter. Combined with Communication, Consensus, Timelines, Exclusivity, and Selling Your Opportunity, it gives them the information they’ll need to accurately promote your company and the position to the “right” candidate and increases your chances of finding the employee you want.  Now that’s a successful client-recruiter relationship, and how you get top-level priority on a contingent search.

(As always, we value your input regarding the content for our newsletter.  If you have any ideas or suggestions for future topics, be sure to contact us at melinda@thepittmangroup.com.  We look forward to hearing from you.  In next month’s issue, we’ll discuss the different options you have in regards to your near-retirement workforce, including how they can help you to improve the company’s culture, expand its base of knowledge, and increase overall productivity.)

 

 

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