Eleven things for finding and securing a ‘Recruitment Partner’
Now more than ever, companies should be putting the rigor in on the hiring process. In the past many companies have wasted huge amounts of time on ‘contingency recruitment’, working with dozens of agencies which has always been a bit of a lottery. Each hiring manager working with whoever they want or think might be ok. Now more than ever before, clients do not have the time, or manpower to waste on a ‘LUCKY DIP’ recruitment process. They need a continuity of approach and service; clients need to know who they are working with and that they are
working to a ‘code of ethics’ and ‘singing from the same hymn sheet’ as the client.
Making sure that they ‘protect the client brand’, because they are representing the company in the marketplace and to potential employees, no one wants to lose an ‘A Player’ because it has been handled badly. Clients need to know that they have a consistent brand in the marketplace and that it is being represented as they wish and that it is consistent.
No other part of the business would run with such wasted effort, time, and resources, with such a lack of governance, so why should your recruitment process be any different?
What is needed now is for clients to find and secure committed ‘Recruitment Partners’, that
bring far more to the table than ever before.
Let us consider what the key element are for success, in choosing the right firm –
- Great communication & Transparency
- Know what and who you are looking
- Find a partner that has the reach & network for the people you are looking for ideally a specialist.
- A partner that puts the rigor
- Choose a firm that will provide a ‘short list’ of the most suitable candidates.
- Choose a firm that will dig deeper. Ideally one that can provide Psychometric Behavioural
- Ideally a firm that has a ‘Private Client Portal’ this is
- A firm that can provide and showcase ‘Candidate Videos’.
- A partner that is willing to really recommend suitable people to the
- A firm that is willing to ‘guarantee the work that they do for you’.
- Ideally find a firm that wants a partner relationship, not just a vendor relationship.
Choosing a Recruitment and Talent Acquisition partner
Choosing the right firm. Just like every other part of your business takes skill, experience, and knowledge to do a good job. So why engage multiple adhoc vendor firms with no commitment, who work on an 80/20 rule. A firm who does not understand what you really need, who is not willing to invest the time, or put the rigor in to understand beyond the job title, skills and experience is of little value. It is not a numbers game, it is very much about the quality, being specific and targeted, no one wants a ‘toxic employee’ getting through the net.
We are not necessarily saying do this for every hire you make, but for the critical and strategic hires, it is essential.
- Great communication & transparency is at the heart of any strong healthy relationship, it is the foundation we all build on, respect and shared values. It also helps if you like the people you are trusting, people that ‘Do what they say they will do, when they say they will’. Find a firm that will set and agree regular feedback through the timeline of the campaign, who will share the metrics with you, the number of people approached, those that are interested, with staged reporting throughout the campaign.
- Know what and who you are looking for. It is not as simple as just having a Job Description, you need to have a detailed Job Survey on each of these roles, including a behavioural assessment of the role, to understand the type of person that is needed. It is worth spending the time to get this right, get agreement with the hiring manager and HR so everyone knows what you are looking.
- Find a partner that has the reach and network for the people you are looking for, ideally a In the 1970’s/1980’s it became the norm to give work out to multiple firms (contingency model); it has become a bit of a lottery as to who actually delivered it. In the ‘New Normal’ it is time to get one firm to prioritize your work, ideally a specialist, who understand the space and the people you are looking to hire. A firm that is willing to commit to set timeframes to replace or fill a role and manage it as a campaign.
- A partner that puts the rigor in. A firm that will screen and interview potential candidates in-depth. Taking things to the next level and beyond, not just on skills and experience but on behaviour and emotional intelligence, understanding the culture of the person and matching it to the job survey.
- Choose a firm that will provide a ‘short list’ of the most suitable candidates. People they have put the rigor in on, who they have screened, interviewed, and qualified. A ‘short list’ of people who have the skills & experience to do the job as well as the behaviour, to match what you are looking for, and can justify why they are right for the role.
- But choose a firm that will dig deeper. Ideally one that can provide Psychometric Behavioural Assessments on the candidates they ‘short-list’ and match these to and against the job survey you did on the role to start with. Don’t just hire on skills and experience or you will end up firing people on behaviour, or having people leave because it turned out to be a bad match. Use three level to make a hire, skills, experience and behaviour, that way it will provide the retention you are looking for and you will only hire once, per role, and save having to ‘double dip’ on the hiring budget for the year.
- Ideally a firm that has a ‘Private Client Portal’. A hosted platform to keep all the information on each campaign in one place, for the hiring manager or team to review candidate details, regardless of their location or device they need to review on. They can share their notes and views and concerns with other people in the hiring process. This is especially important now with so many hiring managers or teams working from home (WFH), this is now essential.
- A firm that can provide and showcase ‘Candidate Videos’. This enables you to see candidates before scheduling valuable interview time with them, eliminating the unsuitable. It gives you an impression beyond the CV/Resume, you can gain an understanding and see how they will come
- A partner that is willing to recommend suitable people to the business. You need a partner that is willing to ‘put its money where its mouth is’ so to speak, it is easy to recommend, but a firm that has spent the time qualifying who and why they are recommending is more important, that’s what you are paying them to do, filter and screen candidates. Why would you schedule an interview and waste time with unqualified candidates?
- Find a firm that is willing to ‘guarantee the work that they do for you’ – a real partner, ideally a firm that will guarantee the hires you make for a 12 month period, not just 3 months. If you don’t put the rigor in at the hire stage, many hires will leave after three, four or even six months, it is no good if you have to pay again to hire a replacement, increasing your attrition rate.
- Ideally find a firm that wants a partner relationship, not just a vendor relationship. Having a partner that can help and advise you, who has a genuine interest in finding the best, the ‘A Players’. People that will have a profound lasting positive impact to your business.
“The point isn’t to win?”
“The point, is to play a beautiful game.”
“Why would I want to win anything other than a beautiful game?”
Patrick Rothfuss – The Name of the wind.
About the Author
Howard Longstaff has over 25 years’ of experience delivering people within the talent acquisition arena. He has worked extensively across the UK, Europe, USA, Canada as well as in South America, Australia, and New Zealand.
Over the last 20 years he has specialised in two fundamental areas, although he often covers a wider remit due to his thirst and understanding of technology. The first area which he has a real passion for, building ‘Sales Teams’, pulling together the very best ‘A Players’ and creating something very special for his clients.
To do that, he needs to have a clear understanding of what his client wants, so establishing clear communication with the client is paramount, understanding the nuances of what they are looking for and documenting this.
Understanding the technology, the opportunity, and the growth potential all help to find the ‘right fit, first time’. He is one of the few head-hunters that is willing to guarantee his work, offering 12 months free replacement.
The second area he loves getting involved in, is the leadership team, the C-Suite, helping to get the balance right, cover the gaps in knowledge, skills and experience, working on the assumption that ‘No one is perfect but a team can be’?
Howard is someone who thinks outside the box, has an eye for detail, but is perceptive, looking beyond the surface of just skills and experience. He wants to know and understand the candidate behaviour as well as the emotional intelligence, the motives that drive the candidates he interviews. He is looking for the best fit for his client but also looking to ensure it is a fit for the candidate as well.
In the last 25 years he has also built his own companies and opened offices in New Zealand, Los Angeles, New York and most recently several companies in London. Specialising in technology companies, he has delivered permanent resources across practically every department. This has predominantly been for technology start-ups (Enterprise Software Co’s) but also for many leading management consulting and enterprise clients.
Howard is someone that uses technology to enhance the hiring process, to save time, money and effort and take the pain out of the process, but to find those ‘Exceptional People, who are so hard to find’. He operates a ‘Private Client Video Portal’ keeping everything together, the video, as well as psychrometric behavioural assessments on candidates and interviewing for emotional intelligence. He has repeatedly built teams across three continents, so has a good breadth of knowledge across the talent acquisition arena.