The recruiting black hole

  • Ask the potential search firm about their methodology for search and performance milestones. A great recruiter can articulate their methodology for how they recruit top talent and how they will communicate progress throughout the search process.  This communication should include things such as performance milestones or checkpoints, interview protocols and techniques, written progress report and candidate summary report formats. Their search methodology should have the flexibility and means for recalibration or redirection of the search for unforeseen challenges that arise.
  • An effective recruiting partner works on a select number of searches to ensure that they fill your role. Ask the recruiter how many searches they are working on and what resources they will allocate to your search. Recruiting partners should also be quick to say “no thank you” to the client if the search is not a good fit for their firm or they cannot dedicate the proper resources to complete the search in a realistic time frame.
  • Recruiting fees come in all shapes and sizes and you get what you pay for. Fees ultimately should be commensurate with the resources allocated, challenges of the role and urgency. It is important to know where a role fits in this equation to then identify the right recruiting path and subsequent investment. Every company wants to save money, but evaluating the cost of a hire is much more than looking at the recruiting fee. Ensure you conduct an honest assessment of true costs for a given search including:  your internal capacity to recruit for the position, cost for not having the person in the seat (usually grows with time), strategic milestones you need to hit which require the person in the seat and the talent pool size for the given role. This will help you to identify the most effective path for your talent acquisition efforts.
  • Vendor policies and supporting contracts should address fees, performance guarantees, candidate guarantees and confidentiality. Establish policies that are mutually beneficial for you and your selected recruiting partners. A clearly defined vendor policy with supporting contracts will protect your business from unsolicited resumes and hold all members of your team accountable to a defined protocol.
  • Today, more than ever, companies have to have the best talent in every seat and need to get that talent their as efficiently and cost effectively as possible. As we kick-off a new year, take an honest look at your talent acquisition process to ensure that both internal and external efforts maximize your short and long-term hiring strategies.
    This sponsored content is brought to you by Chris Carmon, president of The Carmon Group, Inc. For more information on The Carmon Group, visit www.carmongroup.com.