Lesson 1 – It’s all about time
October 2017
Successful recruitment is about being fast and being first, whether you’re an internal resource lead or a hiring manager; delaying the recruitment process can cost you time, money and will more than likely give you a headache. Is that not a good reason to engage a specialist recruiter to take the pain out of the process for you, but then I would say that wouldn’t I?
We pesky recruiters occasionally receive complaints from our clients that we call too much, we e-mail too much, we are so demanding! They wonder whether we recruiters understand that they are busy, that they get these calls all the time and that recruitment isn’t a priority for them.
Sure we understand that, but there’s good reason for your appointed recruiter to be after your attention and that is because the recruiter understands that the proverbial hourglass is running out of sand and if all the stakeholders don’t act quickly then everyone involved will be beginning this process all over again. Nobody should want that to happen. Good recruiters aren’t hounding you just because they want to get a deal over the line by the end of the month; they really do care about delivering you a good service.
So what’s the worst that can happen? You lose the candidate? You lose the recruiter? You start the process all over again? Oh well, there’s plenty more fish in the sea right?
Yes and no! There are plenty more fish out there but only a select few with the skills you need, whether that’s your candidate or your recruiter. What’s more if you lost that candidate to your competitor they gained when you lost out. Your competitors could be hiring for the exact same skills at the exact same time, so there may not be any worthy candidates left on the market to join your business anytime soon and that could mean you having a gap for over 6 months as you silently hope the candidates who slipped through your fingers don’t like their new role.
Moving quickly avoids potential pitfalls that can affect your business:
- Without the right person in place teams become ineffective causing businesses to lose money and requiring the new hire to restore order and efficiency before they even reach the start line. The sooner you decide to make a change, the sooner you can have the right person in place, reducing the negative impact on business.
- In a candidate-led market there is a high probability that each good candidate you interview is being interviewed by your competitors too. The good candidates won’t be available for long. Finding but missing out on the ideal candidate is not good news for your business. Demonstrating commitment to the recruitment process when the candidate holds the bargaining power often makes all the difference. Clients often don’t appreciate that they have to sell their business to a candidate as much as the candidate has to sell themselves to the interviewers.
- A protracted recruitment process, usually tied in with poor communication makes both candidates and recruiters feel as though they aren’t valued by a client and client businesses begin to lose integrity, resulting in hiring decisions slipping further out of a client’s control.
- Candidates are not forgiving of clients who appear to be unable/unwilling to make a decision. Unintentionally a client’s reputation may become damaged where a candidate hasn’t felt valued. These candidates are likely to tell their friends, family and colleagues how they feel they have been treated.
But don’t panic there is a solution to get it right the first time:
- Engage a recruiter who is experienced, understands your sector/niche and has a presence in the recruitment market.
- Be clear about your expectations of the recruiter and the skills, behaviours and fit needed from the candidates you want in front of you, provide a job description and details of the kind of person that will enhance your current team.
- Schedule in time where you are available for calls and interviews so you aren’t cramming interviews or calls into a busy schedule and communicate this with your recruiter.
- Ensure your role is approved and you are clear and consistent with your budget.
- Be fast and be first when it comes to engaging with your candidate and making an offer.
May I finish with a plea? Make recruitment a priority and respond when your recruiter makes contact; we are genuinely here to offer a helping hand and save you time.
