If you’re having trouble hiring experienced leaders (at any level), recruiters can help. Employer’s Executive; Do I need a recruiter? How do I find one? There must be differences in recruiters, I’m not sure what they are.
There are lots and lots of recruiters out there. Large firms, “boutiques”, contingency, staffing, contract or part time, retained . . . Who’d be the best recruiter for your firm? What makes one recruiter better than another? How can a recruiter do a better job than my company’s existing talent acquisition team? Do recruiters really add any value? The common perceptions are; recruiters are expensive, they don’t always succeed, the candidates don’t stick around very long . . . Again, “Who’d be best the best recruiter to work with your firm?”
There are some recruiters who are truly partners with their Clients and are considered to be a valuable “strategic asset”. What makes one recruiter more valuable and “strategic” than another? A truly strategic recruiter adds much more value to the Client than a tactical one. Recruiting strategy is more than filling “open roles”, it’s about contributing to the long-term growth of the client.
First and most importantly, strategic recruiting is about consistent success with the recruiting/hiring process; frequent, predictable success, year over year. Does the recruiter consistently succeed in introducing superior candidates that a Client is (actually) excited to hire? Second, does that candidate consistently perform beyond expectations and earn promotions to increasing responsibility over time? Third, does that candidate stay with the Client for more than a year or two? Does the recruiter become a trusted advisor and partner with access to the Executive Leadership Team? Does that Client continue to use that recruiter for ongoing needs?
If all the answers to those questions are “Yes”, then that recruiter can and should be considered “strategic”. That recruiter is delivering value beyond simply filling an open role. The recruiter understands the vision, values and goals of the organization and only recruits candidates who share the same ideals.
Frequently a subject matter expert/specialist has additional benefits and value for recruiting strategy. Couple experience, expertise and specialty with a powerful reputation and that recruiter has without a doubt, cultivated a pipeline (database) of top performers. Those premier candidates have heard of the recruiter and will trust them with their resumes . . . a discreet and effective way of starting a job search. The candidate trusts that recruiter to represent them . . . another valuable benefit to the Client.
That subject matter expert/specialist has even more additional benefits. Their pipeline can be used for referrals from colleagues. Those referrals accelerate the candidate identification process significantly and with candidates who are respected by their peers. The recruiter’s reputation significantly enhances the chances of their phone calls being taken by candidates (whether passive or active) or actually returned. That phone conversation is the critical early step in the process.
I’m proud to be able to state 100% success with retained searches over the past 14 years! Over 72% of our candidates stay with our Clients for at least three years. Our goal for acceptance of the offer is 45 days. Almost two-thirds of our business comes from repeat Clients. We have multiple examples of our Candidates being consistently promoted to additional responsibilities with our Clients and many promoted more than once! I’m extremely proud of the reputation earned over the past 17+ years, as evidenced by the more than 50 testimonials on our website and my LinkedIn Profile.
I believe our strategic approach is the reason for those industry leading metrics. I’ve run companies for my entire career . . . those companies have ranged from two employees to 75 and with revenues of over $12M. We’ve done recruiting for tiny startups to Fortune 20. Our ‘real’ business knowledge and experience, P&L awareness and understanding how organizations both large and small function, is extremely valuable to our recruiting Clients.
While my practice is headquartered in St. Louis, we have consistently conducted searches all over the US. We look forward to 2019 and the opportunity to partner with Clients with hiring needs that they’re finding are extremely difficult be fill in the current, “full employment” economy. If you have questions or want to learn more, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me!
To our existing Clients, thank you for your continued support through 2018. We look forward to meeting new Clients with new challenges in 2019! Here’s to a Healthy, Happy and Prosperous 2019!