RECRUITERS WILL have to lift their game or risk being left on the sidelines in the competitive search for quality candidates, an international HR expert recently warned
RECRUITERS WILL have to lift their game or risk being left on the sidelines in the competitive search for quality candidates, an international HR expert warned recently.
Speaking at a Recruitment & Consulting Services Association (RCSA) seminar in Sydney recently, John Sullivan, head of the HR program at San Francisco State University, said the world of recruiting had changed fundamentally.
“There are primary differences between good, or current practices, and great recruiting,” said Sullivan, who is a judge in this year’s Australian HR Awards. “Great firms and vendors have an attitude and act like they are in a real war; they also build a competitive advantage; and they measure everything, converting it to dollar impact on revenue.”
Sullivan believes recruitment consulting will only grow in Australia if firms implement better branding, use more aggressive referral programs and can implement better HR strategies including talent management and workforce planning.
In addition recruiters will have to move much, much faster. “A ten day turnaround for candidates is important. After that time, the best ones get snapped up,” he cautioned.
Metrics will also be increasingly critical. “What happens when the world gets faster?” he asked.
“You rely on metrics and dashboards to keep up.” Seven types of easily available data which can boost a firm’s reputation include revenue per employee, offer acceptance rates, cost per hires, turnover and performance appraisal ratings, he said.
In terms of building competitive advantage Sullivan referred to firms like the 155 year-old American bank First Merit, which has a lower ‘give away’ (loss of good staff to a particular competitor) to ‘take away’ (poach from rivals) ratio.
In 2005 to date, First Merit had only lost 29 staff but wooed 58 from the competition. “They have 43,000 active recruiters (every employee), they can hire in a day and the CEO is their chief recruiter,” Sullivan said.
Great recruiters also think in terms of “acquiring other firms, one employee at a time”, he said. Some of the most effective methods include offering bounties, telling new recruits ’you’re great but we want your two colleagues too and we’ll reward you for bringing them with you’.”
This is part of a magnet strategy: “If you find and recruit the best then others will follow,” he said. New hires, for example, can be welcomed on board ahead of time by sending gifts such as orientation packages to their current workplace.
Some of the most effective recruitment strategies include poaching employed top performers and taking a ’hire to hurt’ approach, Sullivan said.
