Finding and hiring top recruiter talent is the toughest search assignment to work, yet it is also the most profitable.
You will receive a fee for a successful search assignment. However, a successful placement of a recruiter in your firm will create an ongoing annuity based on the increases in sales, client development, and an increased candidate database.
Further success will be realized in the internal momentum and synergy among your recruiters that comes with the addition of another productive recruiter.
Of primary importance is starting a hiring process based upon a solid understanding of the truths. Armed with knowledge of the realities, you can plan and execute a strategic hiring process with great success as a predictable outcome.
Below are three realities about finding and hiring top recruiter talent:
#1: More will fail than succeed.
Good times, bad times, it doesn’t matter. This is a challenging business fraught with pitfalls and variables.
An average individual will often fold under its weight. A proven prescription for the best individual formulation of characteristics and experience is paramount, but not a guarantee against failures.
Employ recruiters in multiples and raise the odds of a successful recruiter hire. Some of the dynamics of hiring two or more recruiters at once include the following:
- Peer pressure to perform. Each recruiter measures their daily successes against the others. The inherent competitive nature of top producers will manifest itself in the group dynamic.
- Efficient and wise investment of in-house training “pledge class” camaraderie (most recruiters work well together when they start together).
- Letting a recruiter go does not put the staffing plan back to square one.
#2: Hiring recruiters is inexpensive; NOT firing them is extremely expensive.
Recruiters are typically paid in a high end, incentive-based plan. Hesitating to fire a failing recruiter out of “sympathy” deprives the non-starter of the opportunity to find another job to which he or she may be better suited.
It is human nature to give a break to a failing person. Keeping a failing or unmotivated recruiter brings an air of failure to those on your staff who are succeeding. Appraise each new recruiter consistently and react accordingly.
The old adage applies: “People do what you inspect, not what you expect.”
#3: Recruiters are aggressive and dynamic people who make things happen.
You may not like the best candidate for a recruiter role in your business. Hiring only people you like (as opposed to those who produce results) is the biggest mistake you can make when building a business. Your mentor, your staff, and your own experience at the desk can lend assistance in screening for the “hunters.”
To find and hire top recruiter talent, you need relationship builders seeking the big score, not telemarketing “order takers” or others who may be looking for a deal-a-day transactional fix.
— — —
Doug Beabout, CPC has a career that spans 20 years of expertise in recruiting, personnel services, firm ownership, and training. His tenure in recruiting includes building four highly successful businesses and establishing hundreds for others worldwide. He speaks to state, regional, and private recruiter associations. He is a consultant to many corporations and personnel firms. He is currently owner and president of The Douglas Howard Group, a professional recruiting firm, and conducts several online training programs for recruiters and researchers. He can be reached at 850.424.6933 or trainer@recruiterelearning.com.