Recruiting Strategy

Recruiting managers frequently ask me, “What are the smartest things that I can do to dramatically improve recruiting ó when I have no budget?” Fortunately, it’s an easy question to answer. After first focusing on employee referrals and then developing recruiting metrics, the next smartest thing any recruiting manager or …

Metrics are becoming more and more essential for successful recruiting managers. Unfortunately, most metrics that are regularly used in recruiting cover administrative rather than strategic areas. These are my top recommended strategic ó as opposed to administrative ó recruiting metrics: Performance of hire: On-the-job performance ratings (or performance appraisals) after 6 …

Generally, everyone in HR and recruiting says that they want to be more strategic. But it takes more than just using the word “strategic” to actually become strategic. As a former chief talent officer, I can assure you that most recruiting managers have not yet made the transition into becoming …

Managers and recruiters often complain that they only see bland candidates. They say they’re desperate to hire innovative people, but that they just can’t seem to find them. I don’t dispute the fact that most firms can’t find them, but there is certainly no shortage of innovative people. The problem …

As we saw in Part 1 of this two-part article series, many HR professionals in general ó and recruiters in particular ó act as though they are isolated from the competitive battlefield of business. All too often they act like socialists instead of capitalists. But fierce competitors hire away a competitor’s talent: …

The world of business is highly competitive. Firms frequently introduce new products or run attack ads with the specific intention to hurt their direct competitors. It’s not unusual for managers to undertake deliberate actions to steal customers, force competitors to lower their prices, or even to capture prime retail locations. …

Recruiters are no different than most people; they gravitate toward what is easy. In sourcing, that means settling for “active” candidates. But what they should be doing is seeking out the most difficult candidates to source&nbsp:ó currently employed top performers, most of whom are not actively looking for a new …

Many managers think that recruiting stops after you hire someone. But smart managers know that the best way to ensure that you always hire great people is to continually improve your recruiting process. One way to improve the process is to gather information from those that have just gone through …

Okay, before you instantly think, “John’s nuts!” stop and think about radio for a minute. Don’t you personally listen to it several times a day, perhaps in your car, in places where you are a “captive” audience? Some of the most under-used tools in recruiting involve the media. Nearly every …

Your organization’s success in the future will depend more and more upon getting the right people in the right seats to drive it. To accomplish this, corporate recruiters and hiring managers will need to become steeped in the art of differentiation. Unfortunately, few organizations have mastered this art from a …