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The Disconnect Between Hiring Managers and the Human Resources Recruiting Team

No Comments »Written on November 29th, 2011 by robtcbuchanan
Categories: Corporate Recruiters
Tags: , , , ,
RecruitAlliance helps corporate recruiters fill their positions faster.The human resource department is responsible for devising personnel strategies that align with the near and long term business goals of the organizations they support.

Sounds like an important corporate function … and it is. One part of the human resources team supports the organization with programs to nurture existing employees - a well-understood and valued corporate function. Another part of the team, human resources recruiting, supports the manpower needs of the organization by recruiting new employees - an undervalued and misunderstood corporate function. Why is there such a disconnect between the human resources recruiting team and the hiring managers they serve?

The importance of hiring the right employee is well understood. Get it right, and you increase the odds of reaching your business goals. Get it wrong, and the odds of reaching your business goals decline. To get it right, hiring manager’s turn to organizations that have a history of providing them with qualified candidates, human resources recruiting is not among them.

Mixed value - a term often used by hiring managers to describe the human resources recruiting organization. Third party recruiters, according to many hiring managers, are more effective at sourcing qualified candidates than their corporate recruiting counterparts. This view is held for several different reasons.

1. Relationships. Existing relationships with potential employees accelerate the recruiting process. HR recruiting organizations have few relationships. Third party recruiters have many relationships.
2. Marketing and Sales. Marketing and sales skills are required for successful searches. HR recruiting organizations have limited marketing and sales skills. Third party recruiters have extensive marketing and sales skills.
3. Knowledge. Specialized positions require knowledge of the specialized skills required to fill that position. Few HR recruiters possess this knowledge. Many third party recruiters focus their businesses on specialized skills.
4. Time. Successful searches require a great deal of time. The HR recruiting team is too busy with other matters to focus on a given search. Third party recruiters will devote the necessary time.
5. Compensation. Financial incentives generate results. HR recruiting organizations do not receive a financial incentive for placing an employee. Third party recruiters earn commissions for placements.

Third party recruiters have mixed feelings about the value of the human resources recruiting team as well, preferring to work directly with the hiring manager. These feelings are based upon a variety of factors, including:

1. Decision Makers. Third party recruiters prefer to work with a hiring decision maker, not an HR intermediary.
2. Candidate Visibility. Qualified third party candidates, submitted to HR recruiters, may never be presented to the hiring manager.
3. Attention. Corporate recruiters pay less attention to third party candidates than their own candidates.
4. Feedback. Corporate recruiters do not provide third party recruiters with accurate and timely feedback on the status of submitted candidates.
5. Fee Bias. Corporate recruiters prefer to work with candidates who do not require a placement fee.
6. Recruiter Bias. Corporate recruiters prefer to work with a select group of third party recruiters, leaving little opportunity for new third party recruiters.

Perception is reality. Not all value related issues raised by hiring managers and third party recruiters apply to every human resources recruiting organization. However, the human resources recruiting organization should strive to overcome these perceptions - by implementing programs to address them.

RecruitAlliance provides best practices solutions that address many corporate recruiting challenges, including: hosted application software to facilitate the corporate recruiting process, and consulting services that offer methodologies for improving the collaboration between corporate recruiters and third party recruiting organizations. Please contact us to learn more.

Corporate Procurement’s Impact On The Hiring Process

No Comments »Written on October 19th, 2011 by robtcbuchanan
Categories: Corporate Recruiters
Tags: , , , , , ,
"Contract negotiations with third-party recruiters can take six weeks or longer. The length of this process frustrates recruiters, agencies, hiring managers and candidates".
 Corporate Recruiter, Fortune 50 Company

No one is more effective at negotiating with suppliers than the corporate procurement organization. These professionals are experts at obtaining the best price, payment terms, and delivery schedule for desired goods and services.

Can procurement professionals add value to the corporate recruiting process? The answer is yes and no. Yes, because they have the expertise to negotiate favorable terms and conditions with third-party recruiters. No, because the time required to negotiate with a chosen candidate's third-party recruiter delays the hiring process.

It is a numbers game. The greater the number of third-party recruiter relationships managed by corporate recruiters, the greater the number of qualified candidates ...it is that simple, and that complex. Managing a large number of third-party recruiter relationships is very challenging for three fundamental reasons:

1. Relationship Overload. It is just not possible for corporate recruiters to personally manage hundreds of agency relationships.
2. Candidate Overload. Too many candidates, many not qualified.
3. Contract Overload. Negotiating individual agency is time consuming and difficult.

Recruit Alliance offers a hosted job posting and recruiter management solution designed specifically for corporate recruiters. This solution enables corporate recruiters to realize the benefits of managing a large number of third-party recruiter relationships without the risk of relationship overload, candidate overload, and contract overload. Overload risks are minimized because third-party recruiters must access the Recruit Alliance solution in order to view job postings - and importantly, they must accept a set of corporate approved conditions for each candidate they submit. These conditions include:

1. Contract. Agree to posted contract terms, conditions, guarantees and fees.
2. Monthly Subscription Fee. Agree to pay a monthly fee to gain access to corporate job postings.
3. Job Requirements. Acknowledge that submitted candidate meets each specified job requirement.
4. Candidate Communication. Acknowledge that they have spoken to submitted candidate about the posted position.
5. Candidate Permission. Acknowledge that submitted candidate has given agency permission to submit their name for consideration.

Can procurement professionals add value to the corporate recruiting process? Yes, by working with corporate recruiters who use the Recruit Alliance solution.

Mobile Social Recruiting: Beyond the Buzz Words

No Comments »Written on September 30th, 2011 by robtcbuchanan
Categories: Corporate Recruiters, Third-Party Recruiters
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

The high volume demands of 2st century recruiting drive hiring professionals' search for the next best thing for finding talent. Recruiters have always been quick on the uptake when it comes to new and innovative technology, especially if this technology makes it easier to stay connected. Lately, there’s a lot of buzz surrounding social recruiting and mobile recruiting – and many recruiters are blinldy jumping on the bandwagon. But what’s just buzz, and what will become a permanent part of every recruiter’s toolbox?

Mobile Recruiting, Mobile Recruiting & Social Recruiting

If you don't know what I'm talking about when I say “moblie recruiting,” don't feel bad. Though you've clearly been living a rock, I think it's safe to assume you aren't alone. So begore we answer my larger question, I think it would behoove us to establish exactly what we're talking about.

When talking about mobile recruiting, there are two distinct things someone may be referring to. Mobile recruiting usually refers to tools and best practices for managing the recruiting process on the go. However, mobile recruiting can also refer to marketing and recruiting strategies that leverage SMS, QR code and mobile technology (a relatively new idea in the industry).

Social recruiting is the all-encompassing term for strategies leveraging social media outlets for sourcing and recruiting candidates. Some might argue that social recruiting is only reinventing the wheel - as hiring professionals have always drawn on their social networks - but this is something different. Social media is taking the wheel, and bringing it out of the Stone Age.

Mobile Recruiting: Apps and More

What started with the mobile phone has exploded into a new way of doing business. Mobile recruiting allows recruiters to do what they do best: stay connected. How? Apps. Recruiters love gadgets. And mobile apps are, like, so in right now. Beyond staples like LinkedIn’s mobile app, there are a few recruiting apps that I really like.

  • JobScience puts the functionality of an applicant tracking system right into recruiters' pockets. Access jobs, applications and contacts on the iPhone. Their nifty resume search completes this powerhouse package.
  • TrafficGeyser’s Instant Customer is a handy gadget for business card and contact management. Snap a picture of the contact’s business card, and Instant Customer scans the contact info, creates a profile for the candidate, and allows you to send a pre-written follow-up.
  • Recruit2’s Global Recruiting Roundtable app gives users access to top industry news and trends, and allows them to plug in to a community of experts. The app also delivers some serious functionality (sharing capabilities, videos, full article library) while running on a straightforward interface.
  • JobSpeek wins the award for originality. This free app adds a new dimension to job postings: audio. When posting a job description, recruiters can record a “hiring message.” Your very original postings go live on JobSpeek, as well as the major job search engines. It’s just downright cool.
Mobile SMS and QR code recruiting is getting some serious attention in recent months. Many of the big-name innovators in talent acquisition are on the quest to get candidates using smartphones to connect with their organizations. However, recruiting leader and sourcing consultant Geoff Peterson says, “The technology’s not 100% there.” A lot of time and energy is going into developing this new avenue for recruiting, though, and I expect we’ll see more developments in the next year or so.

Social Recruiting: Plan for Your Slice of the Pie

Though recruiting has always been social, social media has opened an entirely new can of worms. And if you want a piece of the social recruiting pie, there are a few things you should keep in mind:

  • You need a strategy. You may have a Twitter account, but that doesn’t mean you have a social recruiting strategy.
  • Don’t bombard, engage. Anyone can post “an exciting opportunity” on LinkedIn. If that’s all your using your social media accounts for, however, you’re going to lose your audience fast.
  • Keep the social in social media. You can get all the Facebook fans and Twitter followers you want, but unless you’re engaging your network, they’re just numbers.

Do Social & Mobile Really Create an Improved Process?

Amidst all the social and mobile recruiting buzz, everyone is talking about an “improved process,” and gushing over the benefits of all of these great developments in recruiting technology. But this phrase strikes a chord with me. What, exactly, dictates “an improved hiring process?” Will all of these nifty apps and tools continue to drive the high-volume recruiting demands of the 21st century? Or will the automation of the more tedious processes give us the time to shift the focus back to what recruiting is all about (getting to know people)?

Based on your answer, you’ll be the one to decide what hip new trends are worth investing in.

About the Author: Kyle is the HR Analyst at Software Advice. He blogs about trends, technology and best practices in HR and recruiting by day, and drinks entirely too much wine by night.

The Relationship Between Application Software and Best Practices

No Comments »Written on August 10th, 2011 by robtcbuchanan
Categories: Corporate Recruiters
Tags: , , ,
Best Practices. Standardized techniques, methods or processes that have proven themselves over time to accomplish given tasks

Best practices. We read about it, we talk about it, consultants deliver lectures about it, organizations tout its value, industry experts define its components and we are told that we must do it. Corporate recruiter and third party recruiter relationship management - can application software provide a best practices approach?

Historically, application software has provided businesses with a means to manage and control their internal business processes using a repeatable best practices approach. The use of application software to manage and control the business processes related to corporate and third party recruiter relationship management is far more challenging. These business processes are dependent upon one another, yet independently managed and controlled:

  1. Internal recruiting processes are managed and controlled by corporate recruiters

  2. External recruiting processes are managed and controlled by independent third party recruiters

Application software designed to deliver a repeatable best practices approach to corporate recruiter and third party recruiter relationship management may simply not exist - for the reasons sited above. How then, can corporate recruiting organizations use application software to achieve a repeatable best practices approach? To do so, both parties must utilize the same application software.

Corporate recruiting organizations should require third party recruiters to use a specified application software solution if they wish to partner with you - the same solution that you use or another.  Four different approaches should be considered:

  1. Required Implementation. Restrict third party recruiter relationships to those partners who implement and use a corporate approved application software solution when working with you

  2. Provided License. Provide third party recruiter partners with a license for a corporate approved application software solution and require that they use it when working with you

  3. Required Subscription. Require that third party recruiter partners subscribe to and use a corporate approved hosted application software solution when working with you

  4. Provided Subscription. Provide third party recruiter partners with a subscription to a corporate approved hosted application software solution and require that they use it when working with you

It is important to identify the internal and external business processes associated with corporate and third party recruiter relationship management. These processes should be supported by your chosen application software solution and include: communication, agreements, fee structures, job descriptions, job postings, feedback for candidate submissions, feedback from candidate interviews, decisions on submitted candidates, and more.

Application software may be the key to implementing a best practices approach to corporate recruiting, but it may also represent the biggest challenge.

Developing a Best Practices Approach to Managing Third-Party Recruiter Relationships

No Comments »Written on July 13th, 2011 by robtcbuchanan
Categories: Corporate Recruiters
Tags: , , ,
Best Practices. Standardized techniques, methods or processes that have proven themselves over time to accomplish given tasks

For years, best practice business processes have been credited with helping businesses improve efficiency and drive success. Just as is the case with businesses, corporate recruiters can improve efficiency and drive success by introducing a best practices approach to managing third-party recruiter relationships.

 

Third-party relationship management is an important and complex corporate recruiter responsibility. Ongoing communications, fee arrangements, contracts,  and more all need to be managed simultaneously - before, during and after the search. Managing these activities among multiple third-parties and multiple candidates is critical to success and a substantial corporate recruiting challenge.

 

Certainly there is a need for a standardized repeatable approach. However, can a "best practices" approach be implemented and will it improve efficiency and drive success in corporate recruiting?  

 

Best practice processes to be considered for third party recruiter relationship management, include:

1.  Communication

2.  Agreements

3.  Fee structures

4.  Job descriptions

5.  Job postings

6.  Feedback for candidate submissions

7.  Feedback from candidate interview

8.  Decisions on submitted candidate

9.  Tracking and reporting

Developing a best practices approach begins with identification, documentation and support - and ends with implementation. The following steps should be considered:

1.  Identify your processes

2.  Document a best practices approach

3.  Gain support internally

4.  Gain support from third-party recruiters

5.  Implement across the organization

Whether it is the terms and conditions of a recruiting agreement, the status of a submitted candidate, or feedback related to an interviewed candidate, a best practices approach to third party recruiter relationship management can be implemented.

Best practices. An approach that improves efficiency and drives success.

 

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