Hiring managers and candidates deserve better than they’re getting. The recruitment industry has gotten away with poor-quality service for long enough. Part of the recruitment: re-invented content series.
Twice the work, half the effort
It’s no secret that many recruitment agencies consider a quick search on an existing database to be ‘sourcing’. That, or a rifle through their LinkedIn connections. The reason for the typically half-hearted effort most agencies deliver is that recruiters are performing a dual function. They’re continually trying to win new business while attempting to fill the roles they already have; it’s little wonder that easy, quick wins are the go-to option. A ‘quality hire’ has come to mean someone who ticks the superficial boxes in terms of skills and experience, and who will stay in-role for at least 12 months.
Living up to the recruitment hype
This isn’t the way hiring should be. Especially not when professional recruiters are paid to find the talent that a client can’t; businesses should expect more when they’re footing the bill. To prove that they’re doing the best they can, a 12-month guarantee should be in place for all hires – it’s time recruiters put their money where their mouth is.
Candidates also deserve better than an overworked recruiter who is attempting to fit a square peg into a round hole. Moving jobs is one of the biggest decisions in a person’s life and can affect everything from their finances to their family. Overstating a role’s benefits, deliberately leaving out negative aspects, or misleading candidates in any way can have real consequences. Recruiters have an ethical and moral responsibility to deliver the best service they possibly can when dealing with people’s livelihoods.
Back to the basics of quality
Asking what a quality hiring process actually looks like for a specific organisation is a great place to start. What’s the minimum quality expected from recruiters in terms of service, candidates, deadlines, etc.? This shouldn’t be the bare minimum – this is what is acceptable for the fee paid. Then think about the last time expectations were exceeded. If this was long ago, something is very wrong.
One of the main issues is that recruiters adopt a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to candidate searches, when in fact no two businesses are alike in their internal culture or specific job responsibilities. It’s therefore logical that a tailored, fresh search should be conducted for every hire, for every client. This sourcing exercise should be followed by a thorough vetting of the identified candidates; from emotional and behavioural intelligence to future goals, ethos alignment and character. Scorecarding is one way to approach this task, as it provides a visual breakdown of why one candidate is more suitable than the next, and outlines each of the assessments made in the decision-making process. Clients are then assured that every effort has been made to find not just a suitable candidate, but the very best candidate for the role.
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Recruiters aren’t the only ones who can improve the hiring process. Watch our on-demand webinar with CEO Gavin Speirs, 9 Pitfalls Hiring Managers Must Avoid to Succeed.
