I imagine that in the old days, recruiters would sit around at their old mahogany desks flipping through a Rolodex instead of utilizing LinkedIn. Or literally using a cork job bulletin board at a college to post paper jobs with push pins instead of using Monster.com. They probably hired applicants people who circled their multi-thousand dollar postings in the newspaper’s classifieds. Well, things have changed with the times and so has the staffing industry and in a lot of ways, it has improved. However, with the modernization of job recruitment, some pitfalls have arrived as well.
Issues for Staffing Companies
Not Finding Qualified Candidates
It used to be a struggle to simply find enough candidates online. Now, however, social media, advertising, and networking make job-seekers easier to come by than ever. Only problem—the influx of candidates does not necessarily constitute a hike in their quality levels, too. Let’s face it, top talent is hard to come by. Quantity is less important than the work capacity of the individuals. Getting 500 unqualified resumes sent to your inbox will do nothing to reach your ultimate hiring goal. On the other hand, one applicant brimming with expertise and excellence is worth the fruits of the entire hunt.
According to a Glassdoor survey, hiring managers don’t feel that they are seeing enough candidates and 50% don’t see qualified applicants. Why are so many human resource professionals scrambling to find the right candidates? Maybe it’s because nearly 1/4th of them aren’t using LinkedIn and other social media methods to optimize their efforts.
Not Fast Enough
When you are under pressure to make a quick hire, there isn’t a lot of time to just sit there and deliberate or conduct several rounds of interviews. Additionally, these long processes can end up potentially losing the perfect person for your position. The recession may have “spoiled” some recruiters who were able to take their time and weigh their options for as long as they wanted before making a hiring decision. But now, the economy has been picking up and there’s an overload of jobs online and other thirsty recruiters trying to reel in the same fish as you. You just gotta make sure you put the right bait on for the kind of catch you want to make.
Losing the Right Talent to the Competition
So, assuming you’re lucky enough to find that client to hire that has all the right stuff, you better hope you can keep them hooked. If they’re the perfect potential-hire then chances are, others are eying their talents up, too. Locking down the exclusive rights to that person can be quite a feat. Realistically, that individual has probably applied elsewhere. The only way to have the competitive edge to pull that hire right out from your competition’s feet is to offer more than the others. Some things you can offer are references, background checks, and thorough interviews. You’ve got to out-market yourself by explaining the value your agency can provide hires.
Finding Employees That “Fit In”
You might be able to nab the worker with the hottest skills on paper, but when it comes down to it, their performance falls short because they just can’t seem to jive with the company’s company culture. Interviewers are still behind in the times, not yet realizing that they need those unconventional questions or awkward exercises to really figure out what they’re getting themselves into with a potential employee. After all, if you hire someone who doesn’t mesh well with the team, you can’t just fire them on bad social skills. However, they may not be able to succeed as well an in group projects.
Antiquated Practices
What worked in the past, is not what works in the present. As technology evolves, it’s important that recruiters are only being alerted to the individuals with the top skills so that they aren’t getting bogus leads. Paying careful attention to the metrics of your hires can do a lot to avoid future issues and gain opportunities in the future.
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