Recruiters… Are you using the ‘c’ word enough?

I’ve been in recruitment long enough to know that the ‘c’ word is a much maligned – often under-utilised – turn of phrase… At some places I’ve worked use of the ‘c’ word is actively encouraged, some recruitment businesses base their entire recruitment strategy around it, whilst at others it is denounced – much like a dirty word that should never be uttered – much less embraced as a corporate value…

But, recently I have had an epiphany.  Luke Collardand I have recently taken ownership of two additional Rec2Rec businesses in other locations.  It is a chance for us to radically revolutionise the industry, refine our strategy, improve candidate sourcing techniques, embrace social media & new technologies, squeeze our competition and provide the only true national mobile candidate database in our market… (Enough of the unsolicited advertising spiel… sorry…).

Part of the initial process is to find fantastic staff for our Brisbane and Sydney operations.  Now great recruiters are a rare beast, but if anyone can find them we can… Right? After all, isn’t our core business is to find amazing recruiters for our clients? (If you answered yes to the previous 2 questions your elephant stamp will be reaching you via pdf attachment in an email before close of business today…).

It is here that the epiphany (yes I had to use spellcheck… twice… to get that one right…), occurred.  I realised that in my… sorry Luke… in our… business the ‘c’ word is an integral part of our strategy.  No, I take that back.  The ‘c’ word is the most important aspect of our business…

Of course by now you will have worked out that by the ‘c’ word I mean culture…

In recruitment, I’m sorry but the skill aspect of the role is easy.  Yes, different businesses have different recruitment processes, but the same basic skills are employed – much the same as most competing businesses, in most industries.  But when you are sourcing candidates for your clients, skills & competencies make up only a small part of the puzzle… the other two really important must haves are motivation and culture fit.

Think about it.  When a candidate falls off within the first 12 weeks what is the most common reason? If you answered culture fit there’s another elephant stamp – or would you prefer star sticker – coming your way!

So I guess the message behind this post (albeit a long one…), is spend that extra time really understanding your clients and candidates.  When you pick up a job order ask to speak to some of the existing team.  Ask them what the work environment is like, ask them what type of person would be most successful in their team, ask them what is the best part – and worst part – of their job and company… With candidates spend a big ‘chunk’ of the interview understanding their drivers and what’s important to them – what they liked about previous roles and what they didn’t like… and most importantly, why…

Yes, it’s Recruitment ‘101’, but it is an important part of our role that we often forget.  The ‘c’ word is alive and well in recruitment… and using it more often will make you a better recruiter…

Craig Watson