Frank Z
Providing recruitment and HR advisory services to small & medium technology-based organizations.
2-3 attributes of a "world class" corporate recruitment function?
I'm interested in hearing from Recruiting, HR, Hiring Managers/Executives regarding 2-3 identified attributes of "world class" corporate recruiting functions. What set it apart? People? Process? Technology?
Clarification added 7 months ago:
First, I want to thank everyone for sharing their thoughts in response to my question. I’ve been considering a “definition” of corporate recruiting excellence for some time, and the comments each of you have shared have helped me pare it down to the following:
1. A connection to the business. Individual contributors and managers in Recruiting must be actively engaged in “the business”. Anyone involved with the acquisition and delivery of talent to an organization must scale, adapt, and align themselves to the ever-changing needs of their organization. Failure to connect to the business prevents contribution to the bottom line. Internal perceptions and realities must be addressed when building corporate recruiting excellence.
2. A connection to the candidate. Corporate Recruiters must develop a trusting, respectful relationship with their candidates. Creating and managing a positive “candidate experience” creates incredible benefits for the business. Negative candidate experiences will prevent your access to the critical internal and external resources required to realize improvements, and ultimately, excellence.
3. A connection to the industry. Excellence does not incubate, nor exist in a bubble. Individual contributors and management must be engaged in an aggressive learning and application cycle within their own profession. The ability to incorporate industry best practices within operational processes will keep you ahead of the competition in whatever market you’re in.
Feel free to add comment, either publicly or by sending me a note. Thanks again for everyone’s input.
Good Answers (8)
Annemarie D
at Bristol-Myers Squibb
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Dear Frank,
To me a world class corporate recruitment function is:
Honest with the candidate
Clear in Job Description and Expectations
Follow-ups with the candidate
Respects the candidate's time and effort
Seeks to find a 'win win'
Yours,
Annemarie
The most important recipe for any successful business today is customer satisfaction, and to do that in recruiting, people process and technology all in the right proportion is very important. This is industry is not any more about sending cv's and coordinating meetings but about "consulting" your clients and candidates and thus helping both the parties get the best. In this highly competitive scenario, the kind of process that you employ to acquire the best talent possible is very important. This industry is largely a people driven industry, where every "consultant" carries a different set of relationships. Technology last but not the least is also very important ingredient as what matters is "right quality at the right time". hence the kind of infrastructure, database management systems and softwares that one uses plays an important role.
I believe its a mix of all: People process and technology.
1. The Recruiter needs to get the environment they are working in- from an Agency perspective that means know your Client. From an internal viewpoint it means working with all stakeholders to deliver the operational and strategic vision
2. Process. Have a process that works for your business but ensure it is consistent, fair and equitable.
3. Build a bullet proof comp and bens strategy
I think this begins and ends with the "candidate experience". This starts with a recruiter's initial contact and follow up which should always be professional, pleasant and prompt - and ends with the on-boarding process which is just as important.
The corporate recruiting function is fast paced and typically high volume. Bearing in mind that a recruiter may review thousands of resumes in a week, it does not negate the fact that behind each resume is a person. It is important to respond to these people, a good ATS or other technical solution can be of great benefit as it is difficult to make all of these contacts otherwise. This extends to keeping in contact throughout the interview process, if someone is selected to progress, keeping them updated is paramount. And by all means, never leave someone hanging if they didn’t make the cut!
Understanding the need which you seek to fill is important for screening as well as for painting a picture for a candidate. Strong partnering between recruiters and hiring managers ensures a united front for providing information about the available position.
I just posted a reply on salary negotiations which plays in directly, I believe this is an ongoing process and should be addressed early on and often. The setting of expectations throughout the process will help to eliminate declined offers as well as improve the "candidate experience" for those who join the company. No one likes to feel taken advantage of and this is usually the feeling that one party or the other is left with if negotiations of a package is left as the last step.
Candidate on-boarding is so critical. A new hire's experience in coming on board can make or break success and happiness in their new role as well as their long-standing opinion of the company they have joined. It's a stressful and overwhelming time for them and making the transition pleasant goes a long way.
I don’t believe I’ve actually answered this question exactly, but I feel strongly about the subject so I hope my 2 cents is useful anyway. Companies following some of these basics find themselves with great reputations, strong retention and a SUPER employee referral program!
1. Understanding of pressures on Hiring Managers
2. Understanding of commercial pressures on business
3. Instinctive grasp of customer satisfaction...do the right thing by the candidate/line manager/business and all!
Dave S
Trusted Advisor
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The attribute is the submission to fill ratio.
Accountability to this statistic will drive what you need from recruiters and managers to be world class.
I'd rather work with 20 recruiters who can deliver a 2:1 rate than one with a 20:1 rate.
Bill H
National Sales Manager at The Venetian
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Hello Frank,
I don't want to toot my own horn, but I think that the approach taken here at the Venetian & Palazzo have made it a world class corporate recruiting department. Last year alone, they spent over 2MM in agency fees recruiting for their Director level and above positions. Back in June they brought me on along with another person and in just 5 months we have saved them over 700K in agency fees and instead of posting ads and acting like fishermen, sorting through what is in the net to find talent, we are acting as snipers and targeting only the best talent and finding them. In doing our jobs, we also follow the "vison statement" of our organization of "unmatched service". It is not enough to find the top people, but we also do a great job of representing our properties, letting candidates know what we offer and working with our hiring managers to provide them the best service that we can. If we have candidates coming from out of towm, we meet them at the airport and get them settled in and make sure that they find their way around and get to meet all the necessary people and we will also work with the departments to coordinate meeting times, etc. We also make sure that their experience here is one to remember and we also make sure that we take them back to the airport and it is a great opportunity to debrief them on the process and their overall experience. Almost everyone has said that how they were treated coming through the process with Executive Recruitment had to do with their decision to come work for us once an offer was made. World class recruiting is what we do and that means going above an beyond and providng an unmatched experience.
Regards,
Bill Hays
Involving top management in the recruiting process. Having the guys at the top co-piloting the process.
Identifying the key aspects that set your company apart from all of your competition and being able to relay that to the candidate.
Understanding the reasons your recruit is looking for position and clarifying how your firm can adress their needs
Building a company clture of always being on the lookout for your next co-worker.
Inga
