Tuesday, January 30, 2018

The 'war for talent' is back on…make the difference with a happy recruiter

One thing is obvious from the numerous blogs on recruitment trends for 2018: the ‘war for talent’ is back on. With unemployment rates at a historical low, it becomes increasingly difficult to attract the right people to fill the numerous vacancies.

Employers as well as recruitment agencies are investing heavily in all sorts of supporting platforms to communicate with a population who is, at times, close to being harassed with one exciting employment opportunity after the other. From AI to quickly find those people that match the job requirements to gamification to assess key skills to automated assessment techniques eliminating all human bias …. We are even offering candidates a virtual reality tour to show them every day office life.

I am intrigued by most of these new features and I am actively exploring how they can benefit to my business. The time of the Rolodex with highly valued telephone numbers and the ever so secret ‘network of contacts’ is finally over. But the more I look into those new technologies, one thing strikes me: although we been putting a lot of effort and investment into marketing techniques combined with big data analysis to create the right message to seduce the target audience, we seem to have forgotten that those same ‘know, like, trust’ essentials also apply to the first physical person they encounter in their candidate journey: the recruiter.

There is no certification required to become a recruiter. Very often, it is an entry position into human resource, a stepping stone towards becoming an HR business partner. But it is the first human contact candidates have with a potential employer.

But with no formal education on the job, what qualities will make a great recruiter?

First of all, you need someone who will model your organization, who is a true representative of your company culture. Someone who can tell your story in such a way that the right people get excited. In order to do so, you need someone with business acumen, someone who can talk to candidates beyond the interview clichés. But you also need someone who is authentic. Candidates are able to feel whether you are truly connected to the story that you are selling.

Secondly, you need someone who has the time to be genuinely interested in the person sitting in front of them. Very often, recruiters are struggling to juggle the pressure of a hiring manager with the high volume of requisitions on their desk. Consequently, it is tempting to put just any candidate forward just to get things moving.

And last but not least, you need someone who can build trust. After all, changing jobs will put any candidate in an insecure position. If a candidate thinks you are just pitching smoking mirrors with them, you’re not landing them. You have to be honest. You also need to be willing to show them the negative aspects to paint the entire picture. Convincing someone that your opportunity is worth taking their chances requires the capability of building such a trusting relationship in a very short amount of time.
So, next to the cool technologies, it might be time to invest into your talent acquisition staff in order to win the war for talent. Hiring the right recruiters and creating such an environment that your recruiter is a happy recruiter might make all the difference in attracting the right talent. As always, I am curious to hear your thoughts J.

On a different note, check your mailbox next week for a special edition of my newsletter. We have been working heavily on getting Ingenium Executive Search ready for the coming years and next week, we will be launching our first step.

I look forward to hearing from you,
Isabel

Through a personalized and tailor-made approach, Ingenium Executive Search aspires to assist you in attracting the right talent that matches the DNA of your company

Check out our website http://www.ingenium-search.be