Discussion: Think like a manager – the key to good recruitment

So where does the effective management of your people begin?  Today?  Six months after they start or at the moment you realise that you needed them in the first place?

It will be no surprise to you that I think it’s right at the start, at the point you call me to discuss the new role and that you need to recruit someone new to your team.  When I engage with people in the job market on your behalf, I represent you, your organisation, your brand…I want to make sure I do the best I can for you and my candidates.  Sure I’m in it for the money but I am also after long term relationships based on my skills and market knowledge and want to get it right, every time.

In my experience many large organisations (and some small for that matter) struggle with consistency, mostly because each individual hiring manager has a different approach to how they recruit with their own interpretation of the process and their general style.  In some cases it can be the ‘holistic’ view that is different e.g. performance vs. competency based approach or more tangible interviews vs. presentations.

So if consistency is the key to successful recruitment, what can I do to make it easier for clients, help them get better results and more importantly add value further down the line when the candidate has been in the job for 12 months?

My approach is simple.  Think like a hiring manager.

I work with my clients at the start, taking a performance-based approach, which can be applied throughout the talent management process.  On engagement I help create SMART objectives in the job description, a job description that can then be used effectively for recruitment and evaluation but then also once the candidate has started working for you.  They will know from day one why they are there, the contribution they need to make, how they will be measured and it will help me to find them and make sure they are a great fit for you and your business.

Once I have identified some great candidates I comprehensively assess each of them (talk to me about i-trait™ personality and motivational assessments), interview them properly so that everyone involved gets the answers they are looking for before getting them to the client… and once the client has decided who they want I work with everyone to make sure that it has a successful outcome.  

So think about it next time you want to recruit someone, will your recruiter have the skills to get involved from day one, understanding the hard and soft requirements, be able to write an effective job description, with KPI’s, use world class ‘best of breed’ assessment tools, comprehensive interviews and give you a framework for future performance reviews all wrapped in a commercially appealing value added proposition?

Let’s discuss.  Call me: +44161.408.4005 or Twitter me: MDangerfield.