More and more over the last few years I have seen a convergence of my corporate  work and the engagements I have had with smaller businesses.  It is no surprise that it has an emphasis on people, recruitment and the recruitment process. There are common themes, certain core elements that apply to both groups and I am trying to think of ways I can help both.  Maybe even (gulp) bring them closer together.

In both cases although naturally less in smaller organisations there has been a significant shift towards a transactional rather than a relationship based model.  Whilst many of you will already have seen this, to me there is a strange irony that for all our advancement in ‘social’ media we have in the main used this to funnel people into a dehumanising system that removes that human touch candidates crave.  We pride ourselves on the networks we create yet deliver a soul less experience. 

You know me.  I’m not a ‘holy grail’ kind of chap and realistic enough to know that not every candidate will get a phone call or a tailored response.  What idealists forget is that the scale of a corporate operation can sometimes overwhelm and the reality is only the candidates you really want will get some attention.  But between the all and nothing there must be something in between?

I’m not sure what to call it but something around being human or a human approach.  In essence shoving a human into the equation more often than not must be a good thing.   Doing this must be sustainable in that you need to be able to afford the person in the first place bit a move to a more human based engagement could be the way for all of us.  What we lose in pure volume we will make up in depth of engagement.  Spending more time with fewer candidates but actually meaning it?

I have seen many agencies in action this year following the well trodden ‘we meet every candidate’ path and whilst I see that as a good thing it is only a good thing if that meeting yields true benefit.  In many cases it is recruitment by numbers rather than gaining any additional insight into the motivation or capabilities of the candidate.

As ever I know I am right about this but not sure how to put this into action.  In a way that benefits all of us as recruiters or candidates. 

We will talk more on this... M.