Cachinko

If you want to jump-start your hiring process, teach your in-house “corporate” recruiter to think like a headhunter.  The ones that survive the dog-eat-dog world of agency recruiting do so for 1 reason -they are dynamite hustlers (and I mean that in a good way)…

Once upon a time, I was in a protracted career search.  Like many frustrated candidates, I wondered why so few companies to which I applied bothered to call me or even email me to let me know I wasn’t a fit for their job (even though I was-of course!).  It seemed the only recruiters that DID bother to call me were ones who worked for third-party staffing or consulting firms.  It gets better.  A recruiter called me from New York one day to tell me about a contract opportunity with a Fortune 500 company HEADQUARTERED IN MY HOME TOWN OF HOUSTON!  As it turned out, I had applied for a Sr. Recruiting position with that same company; but apparently,  the in-house recruiters there didn’t see a match between my background and the position they were trying to fill (this presupposes that they even had the chance to look at my resume).  To add insult to injury, I had not one but TWO contacts in HR who were unable to get me an interview…Enter the staffing firm. From 2000 miles away, they were able to see the match, submit my resume directly to the hiring manager, and secure both a phone and face-to-face interview.  Thankfully, I landed the contract and completed the assignment ahead of schedule.

I left out one key detail: I was actually contracted to a company that the Houston-based firm to which I applied had recently acquired.  This subsidiary company in turn had their own staff of in-house recruiters who had access to the parent company’s database.  That means I slipped through the cracks not once, BUT TWICE!

How did this happen?  Here are a couple of explanations based on my experience recruiting on both the corporate side and the agency side, along with suggestions for addressing these issues to maximize corporate recruiter productivity.

1.    AGENCY RECRUITERS HAVE TO FILL JOBS.  CORPORATE RECRUITERS HAVE TO WORK THE PROCESS

Corporate recruiters are more in demand the more JOBS they HAVE to fill (BUSTLE).  Agency recruiters flourish the more jobs they DO fill (HUSTLE).  Agency recruiters HUSTLE, Corporate recruiters BUSTLE.  In a recession, the problem is compounded.  Agency recruiters either work harder, switch to sectors of the economy that are still flourishing, or die.  They are more motivated to fill positions because their compensation is directly tied to productivity.  Only the best agency recruiters can survive a recession whereas corporate recruiters may have the option of moving into more generalist roles (compensation analysis, benefits administration, training, and organizational development) or, gulp, become agency recruiters…

SOLUTION-In a good economy, give your corporate recruiters additional incentives to fill positions and bonuses for exceeding expectations for time to fill.  In a bad economy, don’t lay off recruiters because there are fewer jobs to fill.  That’s like a manufacturer selling off the equipment on an assembly line because there is a cyclical downturn in sales.  Instead, allow them to utilize this time to bolster their networks of industry professionals — the recovery will come around faster than you think; and if you get caught with your pants down, agencies will be there with stiff fees.

2.      AGENCY RECRUITERS RECRUIT REFERENCES

One of the first things a recruiter at a staffing agency learns is that a candidate’s references are often as good as or better than the applicants they are interviewing.  If the candidate has recently been downsized or RIF’d, they will typically use people who still work at their former employer as references. Ostensibly, these individuals are MORE valuable to their organization since they survived the layoff, and are thus hotter commodities.  More importantly, people typically use their superiors as references.  It stands to reason that if the person interviewing is a lightweight, their boss can probably do the job.  Knowing this, agency recruiters routinely check references BEFORE they submit applicants to hiring managers.

SOLUTION-Educate your corporate recruiters so that they tactfully connect with key employees online in order to tap into their social networks.  Also urge them to ask new hires for 3 referrals during the on-boarding process.  In addition, if they are responsible for reference checks, instruct them to ask the references where they are in their career searches…

3.   CORPORATE RECRUITERS ONLY SIFT THROUGH ENOUGH RESUMES TO GET A HIRE…

A typical job post generates 100 or more responses. If the recruiter is working 20 positions, that’s 2000 resumes. If they only spend 3 minutes reviewing and qualifying the candidate, they can review 160 resumes a day.  That’s 13 days screening resumes if they do nothing else.  Factor in time to call and screen the candidates they like, schedule interviews, post jobs, create questionnaires etc. and it’s no wonder they DON’T screen through all the resumes.  Even if they had the time and inclination to reduce their time to fill (and remember there is no financial incentive to do so) it is physically impossible for them to screen all those candidates.  So they cut corners, not necessarily because they want to, but because they have to.

On the agency side, recruiters have an incentive to call candidates even if they aren’t qualified because there may be another job that another recruiter in their agency has (assuming they are working a full desk) that they could use to get credit for a fill.  In addition, the stigma attached to asking that candidate for a referral is gone because the agency recruiter can still show that there is a quid pro quo relationship.  Imagine a corporate recruiter calling or emailing a candidate and saying “you’re not qualified for this job, and I have no other jobs you are a fit for, but could you refer someone you’ve worked with who is?” That would be insulting!

SOLUTION-Expand your Employee Referral Program to encompass candidates in your ATS. Make it a Referral Recruitment Program.  This will turn all of the candidates in your ATS into recruiters.  In addition, ensure your recruiters create and cultivate a network of industry professionals using Web 2.0 technologies.  This can streamline the process of vetting passive candidates for hard to fill opportunities.

4.     A CORPORATE RECRUITER’S PRIMARY PRODUCT IS THE COMPANY.  THE AGENCY RECRUITER’S PRIMARY PRODUCT IS THE CANDIDATE.

A corporate recruiter can only be as successful as the company he or she works for.  Assuming they do find the right candidates to fill their jobs, they spend most of their time selling the candidate on working for the company and little time marketing the candidates to their hiring managers.  Conversely, agency recruiters spend a great deal of time promoting their candidates to companies in order to get placements.  The good ones go AROUND the corporate recruiters and deal directly with the hiring managers.

SOLUTION-Corporate recruiters need to leverage their strong knowledge of the business/industry to make managers feel confident that they are sourcing the best possible candidates.  Also, they need to take advantage of the myriad resources at their disposal that agency recruiters lack; Trade shows, trade association meetings and websites, alumni association meetings and sites, and industry associations.  Agencies run so lean that they have a difficult time putting computers on the desks of their recruiters, let alone spending money to send them to trade shows and industry association meetings.

5.     CORPORATE RECRUITERS SCREEN PEOPLE OUT.  AGENCY RECRUITERS SCREEN PEOPLE IN.

This is why agency recruiters go AROUND corporate recruiters whenever possible.  They know if they can get the ear of the manager, he is just as or more likely to interview their candidate as he is to screen one submitted by HR.  Furthermore, agency recruiters know that while the new hire’s salary may come out of the manager’s budget, the placement fee comes out of HR’s recruiting budget.  The manager has little to no incentive to NOT work with agencies.  His chief goal is getting that position filled so he can quit interviewing and do his job.

Bottom line is, for all the negative press they receive, agencies actually do a pretty good job of servicing their clients on both ends given their resources. The main case against agencies is that given the way they are sourcing candidates (most of their candidates come through job boards-the agencies we’ve talked with only get 5-15% of their candidates through referrals, which, even at the high end, is less than half of what companies are doing on average) they are pricey.  It behooves progressive companies to take a look at how agency recruiters operate and mirror their tactics in order to maximize the output of their in-house recruiters.   Moreover, when hiring a recruiter for a corporate position, you may want to look for agency experience to ensure your new hire is a hustler.

Rich Williams TruReferralSM Executive rwilliams@cachinko.com Let’s Talk: 713.568.5020

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