Working as we all do in recruitment we know the employment market is buoyant. The latest report from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation confirmed that eight out of ten employers think economic conditions are getting better.
Three quarters (74%) of hirers plan to add permanent headcount over the next quarter. The trend varies by sector and logically it is higher than ever in recruitment.
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The fight for talent is now well and truly an issue for recruitment companies that need to attract the next big billers to take their agency forward.
Getting them to an interview is one hurdle, the next is ensuring they say yes to your company rather than the three or four others who are in hot pursuit.
Having the helicopter view across a breadth of organisations I have observed what works and what doesn’t when it comes to attracting recruiter talent.
Here are three suggestions that are simple to implement and which will improve your chances of getting candidates you really, really want to say yes.
Have a structured process
Let’s be honest no matter how good we think we are at our job or how good a catch we think we might be, moving companies and the whole interview and selection process can be both stressful and nerve wracking; even for recruiters. Over the years I have spoken to many candidates who tell unbelievable stories about their past experience.
Here are examples we have heard more than once:
- An interviewer turning up an hour late, without any apology #unacceptable
- Having the interview cancelled whilst waiting in reception.
- Being asked unstructured and strange questions that seemed to have no relevance to the role.
In addition a lengthy interview process and no feedback are all ways not to create a great interview experience; exactly what recruiters complain about when it comes to their clients.
The truth is the interview and selection process can be simple and straightforward. Communication in a timely and friendly manner about exactly what will happen during the process, will attract rather than repel great recruiters.
During an interview good people expect to be asked about what they can deliver for an organisation and demonstrate the value they have added to other agencies; absolutely. However this brings me onto something else that can make candidates head out of the door, never to return.
Interview rather than interrogation
While we all might have enjoyed watching Jeremy Paxman grilling politicians on TV; this isn’t the best style to use when you are interviewing a recruitment consultant; especially in today’s market where they could probably have their pick of great recruitment companies to join.
The definition of the word interview is, a meeting of people for; consultation, discussion and conference.
If we go back to the first suggestion, a structured thought through process will help in creating a good atmosphere for both the interviewer and candidate. Using a competency style interview process that is used with all the candidates interviewed ensures consistency. Which will then result in decisions based on facts.
Ask great questions and then listen to what the candidate has to say. It’s fine to ask questions when you want more detail from the candidate such as; “tell me more about that?”. “So what did you do next?” Aggressive interviewing is counterproductive and will leave a poor impression about you and your organisation, which leads me onto a final point.
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Sell your company and the job
The stark truth is that good candidates can pick and choose who they work for.
You might have been on the receiving end already of a great candidate accepting an offer from one of your competitors.
In today’s recruitment world companies need to sell both the role in question and their organisation to potential hires.
We have mentioned a couple of simple strategies already:
- A structed interview process
- Interviews rather than interrogation
Here are some other convincers to persuade people to say yes to you:
- A comprehensive role profile; what will they be involved in? What clients will they get to work with?
- A transparent salary, benefits and commission package
- Training and development and a structured career ladder
- A company that has a vision
All things I am sure you have in place though are you communicating them in a compelling and enthusiastic way?
If you want to learn how to set up your business, so that it stops under-performance once and for all, then join my free webinar: The 5 Secrets Our Clients Use to Build 7 & 8 Figure Recruitment Businesses
Warm regards,
P.S. I go into the whole arena of motivating billing teams in our Billing Manager programme. We open for registration 3 times a year. If you want to find out more call our office on 0845 319 4848.
