Posted: Thu 21 May 2009
We are currently in one of the toughest markets the recruitment sector has ever experienced where developing and sustaining survival techniques is vital. While consultants are often given training in core competencies, how many of them are given training on how to be better businesspeople?
In this market, creating and winning new business is obviously key, but quantity does not equate quality. As an example, an SME recruiter brings in over 40 new vacancies, however only seven are filled. Why? One of the main problems was that questions such as: ‘What are the benchmarks for a good vacancy?’ and ‘What makes a vacancy fillable?’ were not being asked. To resolve this problem the recruiter established a range of measurements and acceptable standards including a completely new qualification system. This resulted in a priority list of criteria for ‘hot jobs’ on which the consultants spent most of their time, which then reduced the number of vacancies they were working on and radically increased their hit rate.
Another example is a specialist player with very experienced recruiters who had never worked through a downturn. They needed to develop their existing client base but the consultants required a completely different mindset for this economic landscape. The first thing was to decide what sort of client base they needed and then measure those potential clients against set criteria - in this case by profiling existing top clients. Again, the consultants at desk level were shown how to look at the problem as business people rather than just recruiters.
In this market it’s about working smarter - good recruitment skills in isolation will never be enough to ensure survival and success. What today’s consultants need is the ability to apply business thinking - develop that skill and they can succeed.
Fiona Lander is Managing Director of Lander Associates - international training and performance development specialists to the professional recruitment sector.