After 8 years in the recruitment industry, working in various industries and different parts of the continent, I felt it was time to sit back and look at what‟s happening in our industry. I have to be honest; I am disappointed with HR professionals that fail to differentiate quality from quantity. Little has improved in the industry over my working life. Talent acquisition has become easier since the birth of „LinkedIn” and various job boards/portals but do employers actually take the time and effort to analyze why high turnovers and attrition rates exist? Employers seem to have a mindset of saving cost at all cost and the birth of a “lowest fee and faster response equals best value” culture that has resulted in high turnovers, culture misfits and more time spent on recruitment activities when organizations should be focusing on their core business. Obviously I am not alone in thinking this way. My research led me to speak to directors and business leaders that hire recruitment teams to maximize their headcounts and minimize their cost and what I found was that even recruiters were getting bored working for their employers hence jumping jobs every chance they got. So how do we improve the way we operate? There are two kinds of recruiters, one who recruits to hit their KPI‟s and the passionate ones who recruit to give back to society, giving back in the form of planning a career for someone that is a misfit in an organization, someone that is underpaid and overworked or someone that is prepared for a next big move that would change his/her life forever. How often do you come across a candidate that says to his recruiter “Thank you so much, you have changed my life”? The passionate recruiter can also be the recruiter that is extremely passionate about people or a certain industry.
The new paradigm for recruiters should be built on trusted expertise that collaborate to provide the best fit for organizations technically, culturally and psychologically down the details of the individuals direct reports, team members and career paths. A proven methodology exists to achieve this seemingly impossible outcome, mega recruitment drives and projects have been successfully executed with this new paradigm. I believe that we need to embrace this and not give in to market pressures in order to succeed in the long run. Unlike other recruiters out there that may say they are in this business for the money, I am in it for the job satisfaction and to make a difference in someone‟s life. Recruitment firms that are set up purely for profits will not last, like every business, you may get a lucky break and a good run but as time goes by and when the passion is lost, your business will fail. A good leader in the recruitment business is defined by his capability to hire consultants with the same passion or convey his mission effectively, that may just be the key ingredient to our business.Yes the recruitment industry is one of the highest paying industries compared to other HR functions but let‟s remember why we chose to become recruiters in the first place and let us not forget the empowerment we are given as recruiters and not abuse it. – Jay Nai