The man in the phone, Charlie Townsend, isn’t your ideal supervisor. He only ever calls his angels – his team – when there is a problem or when he needs something done. On the other hand, there is something recruiters can learn from this mysterious enigmatic man. Charlie knows his angels, he talks with them, but he never sees them face-to-face. Recruiters, like Charlie, have a specific tool that fuels their candidate knowledge. The internet. Recruiters often use their computers to filter all of the candidate data that can be found through the wonderful tool that is the internet. Tools within the internet help to assemble this information into one neat file, complete with interview and candidate information.

I HOPE YOU ARE SATISFIED

The angels were unhappy in their original jobs as “police officers.” That’s in quotations because they merely wore the uniform. Serving as a meter maid, officer worker, and crossroad guard, they didn’t quite get the jobs they signed up for. Charlie recruits them to do work more closely related to what they wanted – private investigation. Doing the work they thought they were signing up for upon graduation from the police academy. Like the angels, workers can find themselves in a job they aren’t happy with. Sometimes it is because they were hired for a job they didn’t realize they signed up for.

Recruiters can prevent this. By being honest with candidates and transparent about the jobs they apply for, companies will see higher levels of engagement and employee job satisfaction. In fact, a survey by CareerBuilder shows job satisfaction has decreased over the last year, 58% down from 66% in 2013. Employees who are dissatisfied have subsequently risen 3%; 18% up from 15%. Although good recruiters do more than just call candidates like Charlie, they do have tools like video interviewing to keep in contact and give candidates a better window to look through to the job and office culture.

SPECIFICITY REDUCES TURNOVER

Charlie gave his angels specific missions. The Angels always knew what they were getting into when the assignments were given to them. Just the same, it’s important for recruiters to be upfront about the job positions. That’s what was lacking from their previous positions in the police force. The angels were under the impression they were going to be fighting crime and solving mysteries after their graduation from the police academy. This was not the case.

Specificity in the job description, the interview, and the onboarding process all prevent high turnover rates. If you’re using a video interviewing platform, chances are, not all of your candidates are local. So it’s important to give a clear indication of the job requirements and culture during the interview. Doing so can save organizations time and money in turnover. They were able to review candidates and remove them from the hiring process accordingly, if they didn’t fit the company or the job.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS CHARLIE TOWNSEND?

That’s the question of the hour. Truth is, does it really matter? He communicates with his angels – candidates – on a regular basis. That communication is what matters more than where he’s telerecruiting from. Although he uses a phone to recruit his candidates, it’s the same principle. He only uses a phone because he keeps his identity a secret. If that didn’t matter, he probably would have used video interviewing to acquire his distant candidates. In an article by Melanie Berkowitz, Kevin Grossman says:

“[Video] recruiting is particularly useful – even for a smaller company – at the screening stage. Using an online screening product, where the applicant logs in and answers a series of  ‘gatekeeping’ questions, helps narrow the field to qualified applicants without using a lot of man-hours.”

Charlie’s angels weren’t recruited to the police force effectively. They were misguided in what their jobs were going to be and subsequently, they became unhappy and disengaged after their training at the police academy. The police force lost three employees to another organization. Why? Charlie was able to give them what the police force told them they would have in their careers – excitement, crime, investigation.

Bio: Julie Salerno, VP Sales

Julie Salerno provides guidance and leadership to GreenJobInterview’s sales team and is responsible for the ongoing growth of the company’s revenues and profitability. She is involved in strategic planning, helping to managing the company’s resources, and improving its business processes.

Previously, she served as a partner and senior executive recruiter at Personnel Strategies, Inc.

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