Recruiters
need to acquire new skills and become relationship managers if they are to
overcome current inefficiency and be truly effective.
That
was the message given by consultant Alan Whitford last week at a two-day
Recruitment Summit attended by UK and US agency chiefs in New York.
Describing
recruitment as a "hiring experience, not a hiring process", Whitford
warned that employers must sharpen up their act, particularly online, if they
want to attract and retain the best talent.
He
was dismissive of the contribution HR is making to recruitment, arguing that
jobsites such as Totaljobs.com and monster.com know more about employees and
candidates than employers. He said the future is all about using proven
recruitment methods combined with advances in technology to collate data and
track people.
He
said it can take between one and four months to fill vacancies in the UK and
the internal costs of recruitment were notoriously high.
Whitford
said the internet will improve hiring efficiency in terms of speed and cost,
but only if the right tools are used. He sees the internet enabling employers
to rethink the structure and systems around candidate flow and providing
businesses with more scale and reach.
Intranets
offer access to vital company information and processes, he said, and when
linked to solid candidate management systems, provide opportunities to lower
cost-per-hire and shorten the time to fill posts.
A
survey by the US-based Forrester and Corporate Leadership Council shows that
100 per cent of large organisations are using the internet to post jobs online
and 74 per cent of respondents are using some form of advanced online CV mining
or intelligent search tools.
By
Jane King
What
HR needs to know
–
Recruiters can increase productivity and offer a better service to line
managers by developing relationships with candidates online
–
Company branding on corporate websites and targeted candidate marketing are the
way forward
–
Recruitment advertising should first sell the brand; second, highlight what the
business does,; third, emphasise the attractions of working there; and finally
explain what the job is
