There is no better resource than human capital. Hiring the right people is the number-one way that an employer can gain an advantage over their competition, maximize productivity, and grow its business.
So what, exactly, are recruitment results?
Simply put, they represent the results of an organization’s recruitment process. Some companies prefer to recruit talent by themselves, either with internal recruiters or with Human Resources personnel. Other companies prefer to use the services of an outside recruitment agency to help them source and hire the appropriate talent.
Now, since you’re an agency recruiter (you ARE an agency recruiter, right?), your success is predicated upon the recruitment results that you provide for your clients. The better the recruitment results, the more placements you’ll make. And the more placements you make, the more placement checks you’ll receive. It’s a pretty straightforward if this/then that scenario.
Now of course, if you do the exact same thing every day, then you’re going to get the exact same result. After all, some people would say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. So if you’re doing the same thing on your recruiting desk over and over, then you’re going to get the same recruitment results. And more than likely, your billings are going to reflect that.
Action steps for better recruitment results
So . . . what changes can you make on your recruiting desk and within your agency to achieve better results? To help answer that question, we’re going to draw upon the wisdom of recruiting industry trainer Barb Bruno, CPC/CTS. According to Barb, before are five action steps to take in the New Year to achieve better recruitment results as a search consultant:
#1—Focus on the 20% of what you do that provides you with 80% of your results.
This, as you might have guessed is the “80-20 Rule.” According to this rule, which is also known as the Pareto Principle, this rule dictates that 20% of your activities will account for 80% of your results. So it only makes sense that you should focus on those 20% of activities that account for the majority of your recruitment results.
And how do you know what those activities are? By measuring what you do on your desk and tracking the results. To draw upon another nugget of wisdom, you can’t improve what you can’t measure. So measure first and then take the necessary steps for improvement.
#2—Stop doing things that waste your time.
This is the flip side of the Pareto Principle equation. If you’re going to focus on the 20% of activities that generate the most results, then you should also stop focusing on the other 80% of activities that go nowhere. And once again, if you’re accurately tracking and analyzing your activities, then you should be able to identify the things that are wasting your time.
#3—If you want to obtain great clients, write a list of targets and consistently let them know why they should utilize you vs. your competition.
You can’t work for great clients unless you market to great clients. And of course, it’s all about value . . . and perceived value. When you market to these clients, you must communicate the value that you can offer to them. And that offer has to extend beyond just sourcing and presenting candidates for their open job orders. You should position yourself as a workplace and workforce expert, as well as a personnel consultant.
#4—If you need to attract better talent, create a referral recruiting program and learn to utilize social media.
The same logic that applied in #3 applies here, and it involves two distinct steps. The first step is a recruitment referral program that is well thought out and executed. As any sales person knows, referrals are one of the best ways to grow their book of business. And yes, recruiting IS a sales profession. So it makes perfect sense to create a referral program for attracting top candidates. (Because when you can attract top candidates, you can place them.)
The second step involves social media. You and somebody within your agency should be proficient in the art of social media recruiting. That’s because all of the best candidates are on the social media platforms. Yes, I’m talking about LinkedIn, but I’m also talking about the other sites, as well: Facebook recruiting, Twitter recruiting, and so on.
#5—Learn to embrace technology.
Obviously, technology is not going anyway. It’s pretty much here to stay. Much in the same vein as social media, you or somebody within your agency should be proficient with technology. And even if that person is not you, it’s a good idea for you to embrace it. That means being open to new ideas and new recruiting strategies involving technology, which as you probably already know, encompasses quite a few areas. One of these areas is recruiting software, so if you’re not using one of the best applicant tracking systems on the market, then you should stop what you’re doing and check it out right now! You need to automate your processes, scale your productivity while lowering your costs, and save time while increasing your profitability. I mean . . . how can you argue with that?
Better recruitment results through training
Barb Bruno, CPC/CTS is a popular trainer and trainer in the recruiting and staffing industry. Barb’s training techniques have guided thousands to a higher level of sales and profits. She is best known for her methodical, easy-to-implement strategies that she shares with her audiences. Barb has served as a keynote speaker at Top Echelon conferences and is also a regular contributor to the Top Echelon Expert Recruiter Coaching Series of webinars.
Speaking of which, if you’re looking to generate better recruitment results, engaging in continuous training and education is an excellent way to do so. And it just so happens that Top Echelon has an extensive training library of free recruiter training videos. These videos are recorded versions of Top Echelon’s Expert Recruiter Coaching Series of webinars.
These webinars touch upon a variety of recruiter-related topics. These topics deal with both candidates and clients. As always, our goal with these webinars (and corresponding videos) is to help recruiters make more placements.
In addition to training and webinars, Top Echelon offers other recruitment solutions. These solutions include the following:
- Big Biller applicant tracking software
- Top Echelon split fee recruiting network
For out more about the recruiting tools Top Echelon offers to agency recruiters and search consultants!