Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Recruitment Strategy and Execution

In-house recruiters in China aspire to do more and more strategic work while their individual execution is far from desirable. However, only a properly executed recruitment strategy will ensure a pipeline of high-quality Candidates and availability of helpful data for the HR team to increase operational efficiency and effectiveness of the department’s resource allocation.

Thus, recruiters must realize that in order for them to contribute to strategic decision making and an assessment of the recruitment strategy, they must start excelling at the execution role. To guide in-house recruiters on a path to success, ask them to incorporate the following activities in their daily work:
• Using established protocols in conducting recruitment.
• Observing all recruitment procedures rigorously.
• Assuring consistent collection of information.
• Maintaining cold call logs.
• Gathering and documenting all referral forms regardless of outcome.

After all, without sufficient and up-to-date information, strategic questions such as the ones listed below cannot be answered satisfactorily:
• Are we reaching the right talent?
• Are we in the right place?
• Is the right message being delivered?
• Are we delivering the message in the right manner?

Any strategy without proper execution is meaningless. In the same light, execution without a strategy is a mess.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Recruitment Strategy

A well-tuned recruitment strategy plays an essential role in improving and pushing overall performance. Hence, companies must invest sufficient time and resources to plan, implement, and assess their recruitment endeavors.

To formulate an effective recruitment strategy, take into account the following issues:
Target Group: Who is being targeted through the recruitment? What kind of Candidate is required?
A few suggestions:
• Hire from outside the industry on a routine basis for all levels.
• Hire Entrepreneurs to reinforce an entrepreneurial spirit.
• Hire Professors during slow periods of the academic year to bring in forward thinking approaches and systems.
• Hire people from the military or police for positions that require consistency, efficiency, and follow-through.
• Go after talented people that are considered non-traditional talent such as retirees, part-timers, and stay-at-home mothers.
• Introduce the usage of interim management to bring in fresh perspectives, unbiased advice, and top talent for tackling specific project challenges.

Advertising: Where should recruitment information be posted and distributed? Which channels should be used in regards to the different positions?
A few suggestions:
• Diversify recruitment channels.
• Assess the costs of each recruitment channel against the number of applicants, number of applicants hired, and number of high performers onboard.
• Standardize design formats for online and offline recruitment advertising.

Recruiters: Does the company have top-notch recruiters? What skills do in-house recruiters need to be more effective?
A few suggestions:
• Hire staff that are passionate about the recruitment profession and not people that view it as a stepping stone to the HR Manager position.
• Hire researchers/junior consultants from recruitment agencies.
• Reward recruiters in proportion to the value they create. Every time an in-house recruiter is used instead of an executive search firm, the company achieves significant savings.
• Keep recruiters busy with recruitment work only.

Selection process: What is the recruitment process in detail from start to finish? How many interviews should Candidates attend?
A few suggestions:
• Introduce role-plays in the selection process to see how Candidates react and think on the spot.
• Bring back the top 5 Candidates and have them work on a difficult team project for half-a-day; look to see what roles people flourish in and what the company's needs are.
• Ask Candidates to prepare a presentation or write a speech according to a brief to assess individual thinking style, communication skills, and persuasiveness.
• Test Candidates' creativity; this is all too often forgotten but is what every company is searching for in the battle to innovate. Also look for creative solutions that Candidates have contemplated and executed in their previous jobs.