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Crossing the Great Divide Part II

By Bryan Johanson, April 19, 2006

Two weeks ago I wrote an article about bridging the gap between the hiring manager and the recruiter. Most of my advice in that column was focused on the hiring manager - in my estimation the weakest link in the hiring process. While hiring managers absolutely need to change some of their bad recruiting habits, much of the burden for helping them make those changes falls squarely on the shoulders of the recruiter. Just to refresh your memory, below is a list of common complaints I hear about corporate recruiters from hiring managers:

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1. My recruiters don't add any value!
2. Recruiters are fundamentally administrators, mostly paper pushers.
3. Recruiters are more focused on the process and bureaucracy than the actual outcomes.
4. Recruiters can't seem to find good talent.
5. I don't really know what our recruiting department does.
6. Recruiting is all up to me. I get very little support from HR or from the recruiting department.
7. We couldn't possibly do what you suggest (In our Performance-Based Manager Training). The corporate police (HR and corporate marketing) would shut us down in an instant.

On May 4th, at 10:00 am PDT we are offering a free conference call specifically for corporate recruiters called "Achieving Recruiting Excellence". There is only one prerequisite to attend this call. Participants must go to our website and take our Recruiter Diagnostic. You can take this short recruiter assessment by going to http://www.adlerconcepts.com/resources/10factor/index.php and clicking on the link.

On the call, we'll discuss each of the factors that contribute to recruiting excellence, and what recruiters need to do to eradicate these common complaints and become 100% more productive. In the meantime, below are two critical steps recruiters must take to cement their relationships with hiring managers:

1. Great recruiters absolutely must know the job. This is not optional. Without an intimate knowledge of the key performance objectives for the position it is impossible to become a great recruiter. Top candidates take positions because of what they get to learn, do and become on the job. Recruiters who can't articulate that as part of the recruiting process and show the candidate real stretch in the position will attract fewer top candidates, close fewer assignments and eventually lose the trust of the hiring managers. Yes, hiring managers should help recruiters to define what success looks like on the job, but the recruiter has to be the one to push and guide the hiring manager through that process.
   
   
2. Corporate recruiters must become experts at interviewing and assessing talent. In truth, most hiring managers don't recruit for new positions that often, they haven't received training in interviewing or in assessing talent and they don't consider hiring to be the most important part of their job (even though it should be)! On the other hand, recruiters are constantly interviewing and should not only be the best interviewers in their organizations; they should also be able to coach hiring managers through the process as well. Once the recruiter takes on that coaching role with the hiring manager, the entire hiring landscape changes. Managers start to value the recruiter's opinion about candidates, they seek out the recruiter's advice in how to recruit and close top talent and they don't have to see 10-15 people to make one hire, they trust the recruiter's judgment and that makes the whole process 100% much more efficient.

On May 4th we'll reveal eight other key issues that recruiters must address to qualify as the perfect recruiter. Don't forget to take the recruiter diagnostic and see how you stack up to the "Perfect Recruiter." Until next time.