So now you know what to recruit, but how will you find the right person? This is generally a balancing act consisting of time, effort and cost. For many organisations, there is the desire to minimise costs, but if time and effort are not used wisely, the opportunity cost is far greater than the actual monetary cost!
So, firstly you can try to do it yourself.
Easy….if you know of somebody who can and will do the job and is happy to make the move at the price you are willing to pay. But do you know all of this? Also you need to consider the “minefields” that exist. Within a number of sectors and geographical areas, there are connections and relationships that exist between firms and to be seen poaching a member of staff can be considered as an act of war! I have seen many a rivalry build up over a period time following such an incident.
You can also look at advertising directly to generate interest. Whilst there will be a cost involved in the advert, there will also be a significant time investment issues. Experience shows that applicants rarely read a job advert fully and for every potentially suitable response you can be assured that there will be a high number of chancers trying to get their “foot in the door”. Do you have the time to sift through tens or hundreds of applications to weed out those who look suitable, then screen to find out which might actually be suitable?
Alternatively, you can outsource the process to a company that specialises in finding the right people for you. Clearly the cost factor will come into play here, but if you choose the right partner and engage in a clear process where both parties understand their obligations then the opportunity cost of time and effort can be significantly reduced. As such, you can focus on your core job rather than worrying about recruitment.
But how do you choose the right partner? There are many recruitment companies in the market, all of whom will no doubt tell you how brilliant they are! Having worked in the industry for a number years and have meet with many, many recruiters at seminars and client briefing, I can confirm what many people suspect. The recruitment industry is largely populated by individuals who care only about the fee! As such, a poor decision will be of no benefit to you.
If you are prepared to engage with a Recruitment Consultancy, ensure that they understand who you are and what you do. Be clear about your requirements and expectations and agree on specific goals. Many recruiters are KPI driven, so sending a number of CV’s will satisfy their targets. Value comes from a recruitment partner who only sends CV’s of applicants who can do the job, meet the criteria you have outlined and are interested in working for you. As such your job will be to select the one you like best….easy!
We will cover the next stage shortly. Feel free to get in touch with any thoughts, comments or feedback.
