The perception and importance accorded to the Human Resource department has undergone a sea change as technology is continuously evolving to re-define work. Especially now when most firms nurse global ambitions and relative start-ups are exploring newer markets each quarter to fuel growth owing to the rise of internet economy. Matching skill and talent with the Organisational Need still poses a challenge. Organisations require to balance the short-term and long-term talent management where HR Consultant come to the aid in helping them create a talent pipeline, manage relationships and look for people management gaps such as high attrition rate, benefits management etc. Retaining talent has emerged as a key factor for maintaining growth for companies, especially in the knowledge economy. Given this background, recruitment and talent acquisition have evolved into being the most dynamic HR function with a tangible and quantifiable impact.
Recruitment is a priority activity that can forecast the direction in which the top-line or bottom-line of a company is headed. Recruiters carry the onus of identifying and facilitating the cultural assimilation of suitable talent across the business canvas of an organization not only for the immediate recruitment need but also long-term talent acquisition for positions that may arise as per evolving business challenges.
Owing to the critical impact and losses incurred due to incorrect hiring, it is essential for recruiters and companies to have clear and concise expectations set from the beginning. The key to successful working relationship and effectiveness lies in appreciating how each party works.
While selecting a recruiter the Rule of Three must be borne in mind:
- Proven track records matters within your industry. The odds are stacked in your favour while working with recruiters who have been veterans in the industry and critically analysed the sweeping changes in the last two decades to identify the right fit for your organization.
- The traits of a good recruiter are speed, integrity, creativity, honesty, persistence, organizational skills and a sense of corporate maturity
- An innate ability to “read” people and their motivations (personal and professional) with enviable listening skills
When to call a Recruiter
Calling a recruiter to rescue will serve you well under following circumstances: -
- Filling a position is urgent and is hampering the delivery of work. With a ready database of eligible candidates, time and resources at their end, recruiters can accomplish this task with efficiency and speed.
- You have a “difficult” position to fill. You have placed ads, checked with competitors, consulted colleagues for references and extensively interviewed with no success. In this scenario, the recruiter offers the company a window of opportunity - a "court of last resort".
- You wish to be kept informed of top-notch talent as those talented people surface, regardless of whether there is an opening.
Contrary to popular belief, or myth, recruiters do not "steal" people but match demand with supply. Recruiters do not actively recruit from their client companies as it is unethical.
What the Recruiter Needs from You
Contact Information: This should include the recruiting manager's phone numbers including cell phone in the event of an emergency arising regarding time-sensitive information or requests. It is also important to return the recruiter's phone calls in a timely manner.
Duties and Responsibilities: Include a basic description of your expectation from a candidate. The recruiter may ask you to divide the description into percentages for what is required in terms of administrative, technical and supervisory types of tasks and to what degree.
Selection Process: Determine who interviews, where the interview takes place and within what time parameters. Provide a deadline and then allocate time as needed to ensure that the recruiter has enough time to find the ideal candidate.
Recruitment Information: A recruiter will ask whom the hiring manager wants for this position - in other words, a prospect's name. If this is unknown, consider which companies you respect, including your competitors that you may want someone from. This, then, becomes the recruiter's target 'extraction' or ‘headhunting’ marketplace.
Workplace Culture: This may be the most critical of the six pieces of job order information because all good hires are based finding a right cultural match. People hire those people with whom they develop rapport, i.e., people they like, believe, trust and understand. Provide opportunities for the recruiter to speak to key corporate people and conduct company visits.
Fees: A service charge will be required if a placement occurs. There should be a clear an transparent documentation of the service rendered by the recruiter, including financial terms from all the approving authorities to ensure any misconception or confusion arising at the end the process.
How a Recruiter "Sells" Your Opportunity
Recruiters process and package Job Description to motivate their candidate base to consider the offered position as their ideal career move or opportunity. The recruiter has to act as the client’s brand ambassador and must constantly be prepared to answer the prospect's often non-verbalised question, "What's in it for me?”
In this regard, recruiters find candidates’ motivations on the below mentioned themes and help the candidates articulate their concerns. Recruiters are also required to help their candidate pool figure the fit and match with the prospective firm and their career goals.
- Challenge
- Location
- Designation
- Growth Prospects
- Compensation
- Stability of the company
In Conclusion
Remember that recruiters do not work in the marketplace of 'applicants' i.e. who we consider job hoppers, job shoppers or rejects. A recruiter's marketplace consists of 80% of the working population who are happy, well-appreciated, making good money and who do not have a readymade resume. They attract professionals of uncommon ability - individuals to whom companies might not otherwise have access. Experienced recruiters, through their talent, skill and training, motivate candidates to seek better opportunities.
For candidates not active on the job market, the recruiter will not have current resumes or CVs. Asking a professional recruiter for a resume for this type of individual will often only slow down the process and possibly lead to loss of opportunity of meeting a prospective top caliber employee. Resumes can always be secured at a later date.
The HR consultant and the client are working with the same objective and end result. Hence it is critical to keep constant communication and work towards building trust to achieve people management goals. Without enough trust, it will be a waste of time, energy and resources of the consultant and the company. Even worse, it can translate into loss of business. Quality recruiters would always do everything possible to cement a strong working relationship with their clients and anticipating their business need and requirements. If clients are not happy with the quality of the recruiter’s output then given the fierce competition in this market space losing business is very easy. The good ones are always in demand, actively helping firms achieve a competitive edge, recruitment targets and be their partner in the whole process.
