Is your HR team a hiring prevention department?

Having a “recruitment partner” is an essential piece to the overall success of your recruitment strategy for any organization.  Always remember that a professional recruiter works for the hiring company, not for the individual being sourced or applying to the position.

It is always a pleasure working with senior management groups who understand the importance of having access to the most qualified and successful candidates on the market.  When changes are being made within the company or if someone leaves unexpectedly, your recruitment partner should be one of the first contacts you reach out to.

If your policy is that the Human Resources department manages the tactical aspects of your recruitment strategy, ensure that they understand the value your recruitment partner brings to the table.  Your recruitment partner should be more than just funneling resumes; they should be an extension of your company which enables you the following:

• Ensures access to top tiered professionals based on your profile
• Understanding of your cultural dynamic
• Understanding of your business
• Validates the candidate through a thorough interview and qualification process
• Provides you with information as it relates to market conditions or the candidate landscape
• Compliments your corporate values, integrity, and ethics.

The challenge recruiter’s face is when your Human Resources department feels that they want to save money on paying a professional services fee and try recruit on their own.  This may show a short term cost savings, however it isn’t the answer to a long term recruitment strategy. 

Job boards, social networking sites, and employee referrals are not much different to running a newspaper ad (been a while since that happened…) and managing the resumes driven from those sources.  What your HR department is doing, is essentially enabling random access to the active job seeker who may or may not be qualified for the position or the company.   What they tend to find is the “best of the unemployed” vs targeting the top 20-30% of their preferred profile.  I’ll be the first to admit that you will may find a needle in a haystack, however this is the exception, not the rule.

Your recruitment partner enables you the access and validation you are looking for.  They take traditional, non-effective methods as well as proven direct sourcing methods and engage a process which will enable validation of a select group of qualified, top-tiered candidates for your team to consider.  Does your company want access to the best candidates, or does your company want to fulfill your recruitment strategy with limited access to the market?

Why would you not want to engage a partner who can assist you with sourcing, qualifying, and validating top-tiered candidates who could benefit your team?  The long term benefits of hiring the right candidate far exceeds the short term costs of utilizing a recruitment firm.  Job boards attract the best of the unemployed, social networking sites and employee referrals are random and potential candidates require validation.

Do you really feel that your human resources department and all of your hiring managers have the time and resources to thoroughly review, source, qualify, and validate these candidates?  Do they really understand the candidate landscape?  Are they understanding of the competitive compensation levels they are seeking?  Are they well versed with the intricasies of your business and market segment? Based on our experience, most companies would prefer their leadership groups to focus on what they are great at, and leave the sourcing and recruitment of candidates to a professional.

Allan Welyk, President & Managing Partner

Fusion Recruitment Group

allan@fusion-recruitment.com ; www.fusion-recruitment.com

Why headhunting is still the best option when looking to identify top-level talent

There are more ways than ever for companies to advertise roles. Their postings “spider” through the different portals and the end result is generally the same….Bringing a plethora of issues for both the candidate and the employer.  This generally consists of lethargic application processes for the candidate with little to no recourse on following up as to which black hole your resume now sits,  and for the company, trying to analyze and review 50-100 resumes where 95%+ of the applicants have no relevance in their career experience with the position.

Where does this leave the top-tiered  candidates? Will their application stand out in amongst so many applicants? What about providing feedback to everyone that applied? Does anyone really have the time to provide feedback to over 100 people for each role?  Are top-tiered candidates even applying to postings?  What is your recruitment strategy in order to attract these candidates to your organization?

It is usually the case that the best candidates do not have the time to be trawling the internet looking for their next role, because they are too busy doing a good job in their current role. They would rather be approached about a specific role that they can see offers them their next career move, than search job boards. They also benefit from the recruitment consultant selling them in to what they hope will be their future employer.  Time and time again we hear that our clients are “trying” to utilize their internal recruiter…..only to engage us because they are not finding the right candidates or they are too busy.

Applying for a role through a trusted recruiter should mean that you are one of several candidates being put forward. The likelihood of you being invited in for an interview should be very high.  At Fusion Recruitment Group, close to 100% of the candidates we submit to a client obtain an interview.  The end result should be that the candidates are strong enough that the position could be offered to either of your top two choices following the interview process.    If not, we haven’t done our job!  Remember that by the time the candidate meets with your team for their first interview, it should feel more like a third interview due to the selection, qualifying, and validating being done by our team.

The team at Fusion Recruitment Group goes beyond just the initial interview.  We work with our candidates to find them a role that will offer a career progression, meet their career needs, and compliments our clients’ requirements.   Although candidates will consider a lateral move, more often than not, they want progression or at least a different challenge. The best recruitment consultants will have a good understanding of your skills and how these may be transferable to different opportunities.

Choosing the right recruitment firm is key for both the company and the candidate.   Qualifying candidates for the right client goes well beyond sourcing the right background and someone looking good in a suit.  It is not about making a placement at the end of the month….it’s about making the right placement.   If you don’t choose the right firm,  then companies may as well rely on online postings and inadequate internal recruiters as there would be no intrinsic value otherwise.

People.  Solutions.  Results

Allan Welyk, President & Managing Partner

Fusion Recruitment Group

allan@fusion-recruitment.com   @fusiontweets

Entrepreneur Revolution – Outsourcing Big for Boomers

For many of the Baby Boomer demographic, retirement has become a time of change and opportunity as opposed to golf clubs and RV’s.

Small business continues to be on the rise, with many of the stakeholders evolving from soon to be, semi, or already retired Baby Boomers.  They are looking to continue a balance of generating additional income, keeping their minds active, challenging themselves, and enjoying life.

Entrepreneurship is taking the place of the stability of the company pay cheque and benefits.  The Baby Boomers are taking their years of experience from traditional corporate backgrounds and transferring these skills into consulting and services based opportunities.

There may not be a six figure salary to lean on, however the financial rewards coincide with flexible work hours and the variety and diversification of project focussed work.

Outsourcing continues to be a trend among the SME and Enterprise sectors.  Some statistics have outlined that outsourcing will increase by 80% over the next 3-5 years.  This business phenomenon has complimented the timing of Baby Boomers who are interested in their quest to be intellectually challenged, continue to earn an income, and share their knowledge and skills with companies in need of their expertise.

We should all take note that the ‘Boomers aren’t ready to go away quietly”, and embrace the new entrepreneur that is evolving from the corporate sector.

Article By

Allan Welyk,

President & Managing Partner

Fusion Recruitment Group Ltd

www.fusion-recruitment.com

@fusiontweets

Social Media and How it is Impacting Executive Search.

The Executive Search and Recruitment  industry have seen some dramatic changes in the past 24 months, however keep in mind that all of those potential candidates being sourced on social media still need to be validated, qualified and interested in the opportunity being presented to them.  We have found that with many of our Regional, National and International clients, they are starting to scale back their internal recruiter programs as they are simply not effective.  As recruiters, we do need to embrace and evolve with Social Media.  Social Media aspects of sourcing have definitely assisted with the effeciency of sourcing potential candidates (as it is a quick and easy channel to identify employees from specific industry sectors or companies), however that doesn't necessarily mean the candidate is a good fit for the client or even if they are interested in the opportunity....it simply provides you with a name and a brief summary of their experience.    

This is just the beginning of the process and by no means have you found your placement!   The path of least resistance seems to be a direction many new firms or new recruiters take in the business.  "Job Board Recruiting"...those recruiters that seem to focus most of their efforts via Social Media, the Monster's of the world or sending out random LinkedIn messages to  the masses, are a dime a dozen and offer little to no value. It's really no different than years ago when we saw firms running an ad in the newspaper and seeing who would apply.  Job Boards are similar....it's passive recruiting.   They may end up with some initial clients, however  their candidates simply don't measure up to firms that actually direct source, speak with and meet their candidates in person (or via Skype), and have an actual office with meeting rooms vs working out of their home office or basement.

Direct Sourcing or "Head Hunting" (for those that have been around) makes up just over 90% of our placements.  Our firm manages leadership and non leadership roles in sales, marketing, operations, supply chain, and human resources....this works best for us.  Whether it's Job Board options, Social Media channels, our Network, or Direct Sourcing...it's all a part of our process in order to source the "right fit"......there just seems to be a significant amount of watered down firms and individuals (internal or external recruiters) that focus and rely too much on passive recruiting techniques. 

In Canada, we still find that the strong majority of our clients have an expectation that we have met with our candidates.  They also expect that we understand and know significant aspects about their business, competitors, stakeholders, and their culture.  This level of service is an expectation and for those that are truly passionate about the business, it's an understanding. 

Allan Welyk, President

Fusion Recruitment Group

www.fusion-recruitment.com

@fusiontweets