#TalentAttraction #Tuesday RECRUITING ACTION VERSUS CANDIDATE ACTION VERSUS RECRUITING ACTION VERSUS…

Think of Recruiting as a game. Remember Mad Magazine’s (www.madmagazine.com ) famous SPY vs. SPY vs. Spy? Now combine the two.

As an Expert Recruiter and as an Expert Career Coach, my perspective is very different than most experts because I focus on each side of the Recruiting equation – And I work to benefit my client – either the Recruiting client or the Career Search client (never both at the same time).

When One Side Changes, The Other Side Changes

Keep in mind two important facts.

  1. Talent Attraction (Recruiting) mirrors the SALES Process perfectly.
  2. Human Resources is an Administrative/Compliance organization.

Human Resource professionals will, in an unguarded moment, tell you that they do not trust Sales Professionals “because they do not follow the processes.” Therefore, the organization within the company that should be focused on attracting the company’s most valuable asset, new top performing talent, does not understand nor trust the SALES Process. Whom do they hire to recruit? People who look like them.

Therefore, over the years, we have seen companies change their recruiting process. When Professionals in the past would have been able simply to forward a resume to a hiring manager, Human Resource professionals were taught that they needed to control the process.

Therefore, they began to require that all resumes would funnel through them, and they would screen out candidates “who were not qualified” or who “Did not follow the Process” (forwarded resumes directly to the hiring manager). There are only two problems with this new process.

  1. Most Human Resource Professionals were so busy with the Administrative/Compliance processes (Benefits, Employee Relations, Compensation, etc.), they did not have time to meet the Hiring Managers and learn the position requirements.
  2. Job descriptions also fall under the responsibility of HR. Do you also see a potential to select and hire the wrong candidates?

This is how Talent Acquisition (well, we needed a new name for the Process) became the new title for Recruiting. It sounds more like a logistics process.

Top Performing Candidates became frustrated with this process. It took the busy human resource reps too long to respond to the Top Performing Candidates. Shortly after their resume submission, they were hired by companies that understood they were in a Sales Process.

Third party Recruiters (Contingent and Retained) love this process! Eventually, Hiring Managers are frustrated with the lack of suitable candidates. The Recruiters develop relationships with the Hiring Managers. Then refer talent directly to them.

When I was a Contingent Recruiter, I was so dialed into my clients’ needs that I did not even know the name of the person in Human Resources. I referred candidates directly to the director. Many times, offers went out immediately after the interview while the relationship was hot. It was contingent upon successful completion of Background Investigations and REFERENCE CHECKS.

Now top candidates were not even submitting resumes to HR. Therefore, the Administrative/Compliance function kicked in. “We cannot have candidates apply through Recruiters without some controls! It is costing HR too much money in Recruiting Fees!” How did HR respond? They worked with Company Operations to agree that Recruiting Fees would come out of the Hiring Managers’ budgets so HR would not look Bad.

Then the Magic of the Internet and Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) appeared. The posting (advertising) reach was suddenly increased by a huge factor. The beauty of these systems is the resumes were no longer piling up on HR desks. Now Human Resources could focus on their important Administrative/Compliance responsibilities. They required that everyone Must Apply Online.

Candidates responded again. They applied online. Then they called a friend inside the company to retrieve their resume and hand carry it to the Hiring Manager (Remember, I have written 3 Books on the Career Search).

Human Resources Responds Yet Again

Human Resources, from a Compliance perspective, said we cannot have this happen! People are being hired without completing our company Employment Application! They contacted the software companies that supplied them with their ATS or HRIS and informed them that they needed a change in their “Recruiting Process.” Require Professional Candidates to complete an application before applying to a position. This began to occur in the early 2000s. Over the past 20 years, most companies’ HR departments have adopted this practice. Since Top Performers have been conditioned that they will spend 20 to 30 minutes completing an application before submitting their resume – and never be contacted. When they see the application requirement, they leave the system. Your company just lost another Top Performer due to the HR Compliance requirement.

Candidates were then coached to network their way into a company through Directors and above. Is Human Resources going to buck a Director? Obviously, it depends on how well the top Human Resource leader has created relationships with the Executives. Remember, they are focused on the Process, not Attracting Top Talent.

Then Human Resources tightened the Employee Application further because candidates were writing Open or Negotiable in the Salary Requirement line. How often in your experience has a bureaucrat enjoyed negotiating? “Just tell me your requirement and let’s move on.” This is another way to screen out candidates. Should not the Hiring Manager determine whether they should interview this candidate? They may want to close the current job requirement and open a new, higher level position? Screening out Top Talent this way occurs every, single day in your company.

It Cannot Possibly Be Worse Than This?

Now Applicant Tracking Systems employ “artificial intelligence” to screen out Top Talent. Job Descriptions are notorious for not describing the job, and there is confusion between a Job Posting to Attract Candidates and a Job Description. Many candidates never see the poorly written Job Description before they apply. Yet candidate resumes are compared to the Job Description in the “artificial intelligence” ATS. I refer to it as artificial “artificial intelligence.” Did you know that a Harvard University grad would potentially be dinged on their candidacy if they did not write “High School Diploma” on their resume? I saw that requirement for an Engineer position on Indeed recently. “Artificial Intelligence?” Garbage in. Garbage out.  

I became aware of an engineering company recently that hired a human resource person with 5 jobs at 5 different companies in 6 years to pass judgments on experienced engineers after they completed an assessment. That person could judge the candidate’s fit in the company based on one response to a question in the assessment. In this case, the engineer had 10 years of experience performing in the role the company desperately needed. They also had excellent references. The candidate was judged unfit by this person in HR. Did anyone question Their judgment before hiring them (5 jobs in 6 years)? Did HR conduct a true reference check on this person? Probably not – because they were “too busy” and today’s reference checks by HR are limited to Name. Rank. Serial Number. Able to be rehired. Worthless effort.

There Are Times When The Games Need To End

Executives in every company need to make that decision for their company. Some companies have great success recruiting in their industries. Keep the process if it works. Unfortunately, far too many companies have decisionmakers who are the wrong people to make those decisions, and generally, they are in Human Resources.

If your company is struggling with Attracting Top Talent, and Human Resources controls Recruiting (or its fancier name, “TalentAcquisition”), is it not time to Delete Recruiting From HR?

Recruiting is Not Magic. It is Focused, Hard Work.

Talent Attraction is Better than Talent Acquisition!

If you would like a conversation on how to ATTRACT talent instead of using an Applicant Tracking System or HRIS to screen them out, we should chat. Call me directly at 435-714-4425 (mountain).

My Talent Attraction speeches benefit your Association Membership and your Organizations. Please consider – If my Speech saves your members only ONE Recruitment fee, it has paid for itself.

I am available to consult with your company to improve your Top Talent Attraction strategy. Attracting and integrating Top Talent gives your company an industry edge. The process is worth the effort by improving productivity, innovation, and profitability – Look at Google, Tesla, SpaceX, and Apple. Retaining Top Talent keeps your industry knowledge inside your company – instead of with the competition.

The RecruiterGuy.com Top Talent Attraction business model is my differentiator.  I focus on one client at a time and charge a flat monthly fee.  This model enables me to attract new talent to your organization while identifying and suggesting improvements to your company’s Talent Attraction process, including Manager Interview Training.  https://recruiterguy.com/

Why am I known as The Candidate Whisperer? See below –

Learn how I coach my Career Transition Clients in my second book – Employee 5.0: Secrets Of A Successful Job Search In The New World Order  http://amzn.to/2D9w39f  My book includes an appendix with action verbs and sample interview questions.

Coming in January 2022! Expect Success! The Science Of The Over 50 Career Search. This book is a game changer for every professional searching for a new Career. Want to learn how to leverage your current position to a higher paying Career Position where you Love to Work? I will announce my third book’s availability as soon as Dorrance Publishing gives me the date!

I help organizations Recruit, Onboard, Actuate, and Retain Top Talent.

See you on Tuesdays! Feel free to click on Follow Us to receive my #TalentAttraction Thought Leadership every week or to Share my Just Saying Thought Leadership with your Network through Twitter and Facebook.

Bill Humbert is available for Speaking, Talent Attraction Consulting, and Training contracts.

Bill@RecruiterGuy.com  435-714-4425

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©1999-2021 B. Humbert – Provocative Thinking Consulting, Inc. –

USA 01-435-714-4425 Bill@RecruiterGuy.com

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