Candidate Care Is The Game Changer In Recruitment

Thursday, March 24, 2016

The latest stats tell us that the recruitment industry is booming. More firms than ever are looking for temps and many other firms report permanent hiring as critical to their long term success. Current employment is high and everyone is trying to push forward with confidence.

Therefore, we are living in the age of the candidate because the candidate is everything. He or she has more choice than ever and no longer needs a recruiter to discern general company data & performance. Also, the candidate is regularly being approached by other recruitment agencies and internal recruiters.

If that's the case, then why are many recruiters only calling candidates with opportunities as and when they have a position to fill? Why are so many "talent acquisition specialists" failing to nurture candidate relationships or showcase real value to their existing candidate network? Using this transactional approach of only giving your candidates attention when you have a vacancy is rather futile and does not lead to true success - only infrequent short term placements.

If the recruitment industry is a candidate led market, which a lot of us are, then your strategy has to be focused around the candidate. Why should they use your agency? Why should they opt to be solely represented by you? If you're giving them no real value other than putting their CV forward and offering a few words of encouragement before the interview, would they be better off applying directly?

If you currently do not have strategies in place to deal with this, then you don't have a candidate-centric strategy and your current practices need critical attention. Being an intelligent marketer and nurturing relationships is the way forward. If you're just in recruitment for the quick win, you won't get very far and your reputation will suffer.

Giving candidates the best career management advice and spending time to coach and support them will increase the chances of them using your service again and recommending it to others. Simply plonking candidates forward for job interviews and hoping for the best is a risky strategy with mostly short term gains. Taking an extra few minutes to help the candidate understand more about the client's needs will significantly increase the chances of filling the job.

In a market where skills are short and candidates are using multiple agencies, this will be your route to success. And no, you're not going to abandon your clients in the process; being candidate-centric is precisely what your client is looking for.

Hari Singh, Recruitment Consultant