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Even as the economy slowed
this past year, many companies still fail to recognize that "their
most valuable employee is the one who could stay but chooses to
leave possibly because they are lured by the opportunity to learn by
being challenged" - by not knowing exactly how to get the job done
and are given the opportunity to figure it out with a new company.
Despite this decline in employment,
companies must still create an environment where talented candidates
want to work and stay. Any employee turnover will continue to cost
them big money for replacements, along with the hidden costs such as
lost productivity and low morale that will in turn effect not only
their earnings but also most important, their reputation. Stock
options have lost much of their impact due to the market slump of
the last few years. It's not just the money as many companies have
learned. Today's employees want interesting projects, challenging
and rewarding work, good training, supportive environments, flexible
& family friendly work schedules, pleasant co-worker relationships
and maybe a chance to better society or their own local communities.
If it comes down to quality of life versus money, quality of life
most often comes first for many of us today as everyone has been
effected by the events of 2001.
Employers need to continue to learn
how to manage a mobile and independent work force even in this
market where average talent is easier to find and the prospect of
long term employment is no longer expected, but can still be
appreciated. Remember, the best person you are looking for to fill a
critical position may not be an active job seeker and will not have
posted a resume on any job boards so a professional recruiter is
still your best resource. Stay tuned! As the economy changes
for better or worse, so will the job market's expectations.
 When
Recruiting Partnership Group takes on an assignment, we listen to
your requirements and understand that your time is valuable. We
provide you with candidates, which will best meet your needs, fit
your corporate culture and can achieve your specific goals. These
pre-screened, qualified candidates who are interested in
interviewing with you because they understand the opportunity and
feel they can provide the skills you desire. You select the
candidates best suited for your needs and our work continues until
you are satisfied with a candidate and decide to hire. It is RPG's
policy to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to
race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap or
veteran status. Our fee is based on industry standards and we stand
behind each candidate with a guarantee that assures you made the
right selection.
CLIENT ADVICE
Sense of urgency
is key to successful hiring.
ADOPT A SENSE OF
URGENCY:
Corporate America's traditional interviewing, evaluating, and hiring
processes are still causing companies to "let the good candidates
get away." Slow response time is causing many companies to lose
their most valuable resource--personnel. Companies are allowing top
candidates to go to their competitors, leaving positions unfilled
and costing millions of dollars in lost revenues! Why? Companies
move too slowly to interview or to extend offers to qualified
candidates. Even when you factor in a slow labor market and what the
explosion of online recruiting provides, companies need to react
quickly, thus shortening the hiring cycle. The companies who move
quickly to hire gain a huge advantage by getting top talent and
increasing their chances of maintaining full staffing levels.
Once you
make the decision to fill a position, be committed to that decision
and make your hiring decisions quickly. View the hiring process like
a project; meet your goal of hiring the "best available candidate"
in the shortest amount of time. Telephone Interviews and/or
Face-To-Face Interviews should take no more than 5 days total and we
encourage Extending an Offer within a day of the final interview.
Indecisiveness, time delays, budget reviews, etc., send a message to
the candidate about the company's lack of focus. Streamline the
hiring process. The time involved in interviewing, evaluating and
hiring can be greatly reduced when participants in the hiring
process are present for each step, ready to participate and ready to
make decisions. Eliminate second and third interviews when possible.
"Cost per Hire" has been the traditional recruiting measure, but
today a more accurate measure might be "Time to Hire".
Remember,
the greater the talent of the candidate, the shorter the time he/she
will be available and the better "recruiting" you have to do in
order to gain his/her acceptance. The hiring manager's
responsibility should also be to "sell" the opportunity, quality,
financial stability and advancement opportunities of the company to
the candidate. The "best candidates" will still receive multiple
offers from several companies and also getting counteroffers from
their current employer. Your company is competing with other
companies for these resources - top notch candidates who are truly
qualified for these job openings. Should the economy reverse itself
in 2002, we will again see a shortage of above average talent and
recruiting will once again be required to attract the very best
talent available.
PREPARATION IS THE KEY TO
SUCCESS:
Your company's hiring manager should work openly and honestly with a
preferred recruiter in order to prepare your company for the hiring
process. You need to focus on a job description that will get
results. A good recruiter will ask the right questions to help you
identify your company's needs and expectations. A good recruiter
will also help you identify human attributes (personality,
communication skills, corporate culture, etc.) that the
"right" candidate should possess, including "must
have" attributes and "preferred" attributes. The
better your job description, the faster your job opening will be
filled!
COST-BENEFIT
ANALYSIS:
Companies misjudge the pay rate, benefits, perks, etc., necessary
for the best quality candidate to accept the offer. Good people are
an "investment"-- not an "expense." If you want
"the best" people working for your company, you have to be
willing to pay them "the best." Extend your best offer the
first time. Don't play games. Keep abreast of changing salaries and
price your jobs competitively. Listen to your "recruiter of
choice" regarding the market's going rate. Listen to the
candidate's concerns and produce an offer, which alleviates these
concerns. Offer realistic relocation package when needed. Add 10-15%
on top of the cost-of-living differences to ensure that you do not
lose top quality candidates over small details.
Most important! Sell your company culture and the quality of life
issues that most employees rate at the top as far as important
issues in job satisfaction. In today's marketplace attractive offers
are a "given", candidates look for companies that show an
interest in quality of life issues. The 90's are over and quality of
life issues rules the hearts and minds of most candidates, not
greed. Candidates will accept an offer of employment with your
company if the "money is right" but only after personal,
career and family issues have been satisfied.
GET THE BEST RECRUITING HELP
AVAILABLE:
A
good recruiter is someone who finds people, who are happy with his
or her job, shows them why they are unhappy, and then makes them
happy again. Especially in today's job market, where unemployment is
at an all-time high, the desired candidates are often those who are
happily employed and have no thoughts at all of seeking a new
opportunity. It is the role of the professional recruiter to source
out these candidates and to convince them that there is a better
career opportunity for them, or at least one they should passively
explore. Searching online resume databases and posting job openings
on the Internet will allow hiring managers to locate many available
candidates, but it will not allow them to find the best candidates
for the position, as those candidates must be recruited. Thus, the
Internet can never replace the role of a good recruiter who truly
"recruits and sells".
Let's conclude with a few facts.
Agency recruiters are in this business because very few of the best candidates
put their resumes online. Most companies have money budgeted for recruiting
fees even though cost-per-hire should remain at a minimum in these trying
times because corporate America has dumped a ton of responsibilities such as
EEOC, FLSA, Title VII, ERISA, Cobra, OSHA, insurance of all types, just to
name a few. Outside of the numbers and the costs associated with using
agencies, technical managers everywhere need people and they need them fast.
Instead of brushing agency recruiters off the phone because you are too busy,
let's limit the paper flow and ease the hiring process by educating agencies
as to what is needed. The initial time invested establishing a good working
relationship will save time reviewing inappropriate resumes. Recruiting at its
core is a relationship business, after all...
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