Recruiting activities have been slow as of late and like most of my clients, I have become more focused on my own operating budget. Now that I have fully accepted that cost consciousness is the new normal, I’ve done my part and have successfully completed my personal and corporate tax returns. That’s right, I did it all by myself!

Lucky for me, I discovered TurboTax. This is not a plug for TurboTax (Monster), but it is certainly a solution to a complex task (Sourcing) that was always handled by my Accountant.

Here is the bottom line: Without assistance, I was able to complete both returns just by following TurboTax GPS like instructions (on-line app) of inputting the information as instructed. The system did all the work: it downloaded and indexed the numbers directly from my accounting software (ATS), searched for additional eligible deductions (job Boards), reviewed and e-file the completed tax returns to the IRS (Placements). I did a side-by-side comparison with last year’s return which was completed by my Accountant, and nothing appeared out of the ordinary. Here is the surprising part; it only cost about $200 (Job Posting fee) compared to $5000, the amount my accountant (third Party Recruiter) would have charged.

Would I ever use my Accountant again?

Only if I had a really complex problem that TurboTax couldn’t handle!

Can you see where I am going with this?

This is also HR’s perception of the recruitment process for hiring top talent: They expect recruitment to be fast, easy and cheap. This automated concept has also eroded the value of Third Party Recruiters effectiveness. TPR, they believe are charging a ridiculous amount of money to provide a service that can now be completed in-house with little training or assistance.

So, you are probably wondering; how can a TPR embrace a concept that saves money in his business but does not embrace that same concept when it is applied to his clients’ business!

The short answer is that the CFO of most firms may also use TurboTax to complete his personal tax returns, but it is highly unlikely that he would recommend TurboTax instead of a professional CPA or Auditing firm for corporate matters

IMOP there are certain functions that I will continue to outsource simply because it makes economical sense, especially when I lack the confidence, tools and technical hands-on experience of a professional. A good example would be auto repair, electrical work, or even lawn care.

There are certain type jobs that should be completed in-house, specifically lower skilled personnel, reoccurring support level and entry level, which account for about 80% of the work force. The other 20% should to be outsourced, specifically the highly in-demand, short supplied skilled executives in the Industry. They are game changers, the intellectual capital who essentially pays the agency fees by producing more revenue or reducing cost and are instrumental in attracting other top talent to their new employer.

If your HR recruitment process is designed strictly around cost reduction (agency fees), it is costing more money in the long run. It is a passive candidate killer; it doesn’t have a GPS app that can successfully guide you in recruiting top talent which is the engine for achieving success in your business.

There have been indications that the need for agency search assistance is on the rebound along with the recovery from the recession. Recently a number of our clients have reached out to us indicating that hiring managers have become frustrated with the HR recruitment efforts. They are seeing heavy resume flow, however not enough quality candidates for their open positions. And the few qualified candidates are not making it through the entire interview process.

There are three things that you must do to achieve success in your internal recruitment efforts:

• HR must regain their trust in TPR partners and allow them access to the hiring managers for direct communication, interview feedback and professional guidance throughout the interview process. It is very difficult to find the right candidate and sell the job opportunity just by reading a job description, and most likely the right candidate for the job can be found in the hiring manager’s mirror.
• As Kevin Wheeler stated in a recent article, TPR must transform into “T” Recruiter, having dept in recruitment fundamentals and reach in technology and industry knowledge to be effective and add value. The recruiters that are still in the business today, most likely posess those traits!
• Both HR and TPR must understand that job boards are the main divider that stands between them as partners in the world of search. The job boards are selling TPR and HR the same product while whispering a different message in each other’s ear; telling TPR how they can make easy placements and earn huge commissions and HR how they can save boat loads of money on agency fees by buying their product.

It is very easy to evaluate talent that wishes to “walk-on” to your team, but it becomes very complex to recruit top talent away from another team, not even with precise GPS guidance.