A New Way of Doing Things: Changing the way recruiters add value through process NOT candidate ID

The market is changing for recruiters and you better be prepared. If you are stuck in the days of selling the fact that you can "find" talent then you are spinning your wheels, or you soon will be. Clients are more demanding and Human Resources leaders need to believe that you can provide value so that they can show ROI. Everyone is using social media to build their networks and connect with more people in more ways and in more places than ever before. With information so easily available almost anyone with a computer can become a "recruiter" and throw a resume, or ten, out to a HR Manager in need.  But how does this create value?

The answer is that is doesn't.  It does not save time.  Nor does it provide value in the form of a service that they do not have the ability to do themselves.

Most people are now expected to do more with less and it will be those people that can find creative ways to partner with experts to help them manage critical processes to improve their business who will flourish.  So what does that mean for recruiters and the firms who employ them?  If you can't assess and screen talent, manage the scheduling, work through the offer stage, and create interest in your clients' organizations then you had better learn how... and fast.  The truth is that we can no longer be recruiters because finding and presenting resumes is a small part of the process.  It is what happens after that and how you can manage that process for others where you have the opportunity to make a difference. 

The following blog from the Human Capital Institute did a very good job of framing this shift:
Creating Real Impact and Results | Human Capital Institute

I am ready... are you?

MORE RESUMES PLEASE - Finding a way to get more candidates for a search is almost always a key goal for HR Managers and hiring managers. But conducting a search for quantity vs. quality is risky business and ends up costing more in the long run.

I recently had a conversation with a client regarding candidate flow.  For organizations who are used to the "resume dump" that happens with most external search services it is all about volume, quantity.  This is because many external services have proven that they do not know how to screen people OUT of the process.  Doing so properly creates quality and eliminates the need for quantity, saving time and money!

When I engage a client on a search, I make sure that I understand their needs and pain points to such a degree that I do not need to send them 10, 15, or 20 resumes before they tell me that I am on the right track.  There is always a period of calibration, but honestly... do you really want me to send you a flurry of candidates who are close, but missing this, or missing that?

As a Human Resources leader, or even a hiring manager, you would berate your internal recruiter if they simply bounced resumes off of you without screening people OUT.  That is where a truly valuable external resource adds value... by screening people OUT.  And this is a key differentiation that makes the retained search process successful.  If you want an external recruiter, or a firm, to scour the job boards for people that they can INCLUDE, then you are wasting your own time because now you have to EXCLUDE the majority of those people before you send someone, if anyone, to the next stage in the process. 

An external recruiting resource should be exponentially more selective than you and your team are because I can tell you from experience, the hiring managers are.  And if they are not getting results from a process, they are going to find a way to change that process or circumnavigate that process to get results.  That is what makes them successful... they solve problems.  As a retained search firm, our job is to make you, as an HR leader, recruiter, or hiring manager more successful.  The only way that we can do that is to screen OUT.  The only way to do that is to spend time and resources getting to know you and your business.  Faster is not always better and more is not always preferred. 

The next time you or your organization is making strategic hiring decisions think about whether or not you are receiving a value added process from your recruiting relationships or if you are just looking to more candidates, please!