Recruiting is a Skill Set: Not Just a Department Title

In an economy that is getting over its hangover and slowly waking from the great recession of 2009, the thought of recruiters adding value to an organization is still an unfortunate after thought in corporate culture. In probably too many companies, Recruiting departments have been played as accordions to shrink and expand with the economic tune of the times.

There is obvious merit to the idea of matching your recruiting staff to meet the demands of hiring, but as most sophisticated recruiters understand- you should never stop recruiting. You should never stop developing your talent pipelines. You should never stop connecting and learning and developing key relationships-- because in the very near future, the ravenous appetite for talent will need to be fed to finally solve the economic struggles of our times. It is the hiring of difference making talent that will breathe life into the economy with innovation, ideas, solutions and service. It is the special employee who's addition to a staff lifts their outlook to see brighter days ahead, speaks where others have fallen silent and successfully leads where others fear to tread. Talent will win in any economy.

What has bothered me recently is the misjudgment of the value of recruiters to an organization. Why is it not more obvious, that an adult, professional conversation about a candidate's fit with a company is a very valuable experience and one that should be crafted and molded to generate good will, enthusiasm, interest and a strong desire to become a top contributor for our employers. What kind of career momentum is created from the very beginning by defining the mission of the employee as they enter this new company and culture? The recruiter holds influence to shape that perspective in a mild but deeply meaningful way. Recruiters are not the ultimate decision makers over new hire selection and candidates know that. It's a different relationship, one that is filled with optimism and trust and from that, a meaningful relationship can form and last.

While some executives would say that since candidate supply and applicant flow is high, recruiters are obsolete as supply heavily outweighs hiring demand. I argue that there is never a better time to leverage Recruiters to personalize and enhance the brand reputation of our employers. Candidates are really just future customers, decision makers, influencers, and competitors- why should we value developing a bond with those professionals? It's odd to me that there is not a greater comprehension of the damage that is done when an employer's ATS mocks an applicant by delivering a black hole experience. It is disrespectful and idiotic at best, and damaging to future business wins at worst. All those applicants who want to work for your company with all their hopes and optimism attached- ignored and disrespected by a faceless corporate entity. Not the way to win a future customer, a perfect motivator to compete against and probably not a destination that is going to be recommended to friends and families to pursue career opportunities. Recruiters however can affect this.

Recruiters also have a rare luxury in the world of business, don't we? We see the coming and going of skill sets, talents, certifications, and the defined value of employees to organizations. We pitch the benefits and culture and privately measure our employer versus the competition to understand how the company really stacks up. Recruiters have this rare insight into how organizations really value their employees because we too are employees of that brand and have an experience to share. We understand employee investment better than most and we understand better than anyone else the measurement of hype to reality...

The recruiter is more than just a hiring representative. It's not rocket science, but it is a very real skill set. It's Sales, Marketing, Branding and Customer Service all wrapped up into one. Recruiters are also career counselors, BS detectors, and even HR representatives. It's really not a difficult mission we have either: Find and attract the best, leave all others suitably happy with the experience. So the question is- Why are recruiters not valued more by companies who claim to be serious about winning the war for talent?

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Comment by Rob Segall on April 7, 2010 at 4:17pm: Very kind of you Maren. Thanks for the comment.

Comment by Keva dine on April 8, 2010 at 11:47am: YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD - THANK YOU ! "It is the hiring of difference making talent that will breathe life into the economy with innovation, ideas, solutions and service. It is the special employee who's addition to a staff lifts their outlook to see brighter days ahead, speaks where others have fallen silent and successfully leads where others fear to tread. Talent will win in any economy."

- Keva Dine
Creative & Marketing industry Recruiter/Company Owner
http://www.TKDAinc.com
http://www.TKDAResume.com

Comment by Randy Levinson on April 8, 2010 at 12:04pm: Rob, I didn't even have to read the article to agree with the headline (but I did anyway). So I am in full agreement. What I think many companies including a few of my past employers, fail to understand is that Staffing and Recruiting is one major face of the company. It is where new employees first get a look under the hood. What they see and experience is in the hands of this "afterthought" department. If they see a large and prominent company running on a 3 cylinder engine, they'll join the company and work with the equivalent effort that matches their first impressions. If however they pop the hood and see a pristine 426 Hemi (thank you Wikipedia) that is humming like it wants to rocket them into space - then you'll also get the equivalent firepower out of the employee in that scenario. Who owns that? We do.

Great post. Thanks.

Comment by Renee Mathis, BSN, RN, Recruiter on April 8, 2010 at 12:32pm: Rob,
I enjoyed the article and agree with you. However, I am also finding as a recruiter looking for a job that the recruiters can also be the gate keepers who are only working to have a job. My experience has been that they do not recognize talent and aren't really that interested in going the extra mile or some aren't even interested in the basic ABC's of recruitment. May call once and ask you to call back you call back a couple of times and they never respond to you. It's the same with emails. You ask questions and they might respond or might not and if so, they may answer one of your questions.
It has been very frustrating for me in my job search.
I consider myself and have been told by my colleagues and candidates that I am a very passionate and caring recruiter. My prospects/candidates have told me they have tried to get on with certain organizations that I am recruiting for and never received a call back or email response of any type until I called them.
Please understand , I know some recruiters are overwhelmed with their req numbers. However, I worked for a 5 hospital system before becoming a nation wide contract recruiter and had 186+ reqs at one time in my work there. I had assistants who helped me and we came up with a plan on how to respond to these applicants.
I know people especially health care folks can go down the road from where I was working and get a job therefore, I MUST show them the utmost respect and respond accordingly. I am passionate about recruiting but I don't find that on the other side when I am looking to be recruited. I'm trying to think of a way to make it better. I've worked for companies where I know recruiting was not their top priority and they didn't seem to care if it worked or not even though they had numerous positions to fill. I wonder how many companies have lost great candidates because their recruiters only viewed their position as just a "JOB?"

Thank you.

Comment by Kristin Kalscheur on April 8, 2010 at 12:48pm: I'm with Maren. That was my favorite line. I have had candidates we've declined and candidates we've hired thank me for being "on their side" and for talking through their fears and obstacles with them. For keeping it human. You never know when your candidate can become a client or be the perfect fit for a future role, or the best friend or colleague of another great candidate. The recruiter could be the only person at the company that the candidate interacted with. It's important to make that first impression count. And, yes, when we're doing a lot of hiring, it is HARD to touch every candidate. Nearly impossible. But with technology (such as the ability to auto-respond and include a way to connect with a real person) and social networks, you can at least interact in a small way or forge a connection for the future. Leave them with something to hold onto.

Comment by Rob Segall on April 8, 2010 at 12:50pm: I couldn't agree more. It's definitely a fine line between overvaluing and undervaluing the impact recruiters can have, but when invested in and supported, the benefits of removing all doubt about the employment decision that a new hire has made means:
~Initial employee training is better,
~The new employee removes themselves from delayed employer competition,
~They invest more in personal relationships in the organization from the start,
~They begin to set their goals and share ideas about how and what they want to do to impact the organization,
~and they begin to imagine their successes, mentally mapping out their career ahead.

Recruiters can set that (and more?) in motion.

Thanks everyone for the comments and feedback.

Comment by Colleen Maxwell on April 8, 2010 at 7:30pm: Bravo! I could not have said it better. Recruiters may look like they are just having fun, but lets be clear, recruiting is a skill. For me, I need to believe in the company I am selling in order to keep up the momentum and positive light. It is about the long term relationship and the relationship starts with honesty. It is not a fit if either party has to sugar coat reality.