Jan

02

In 2012 I Resolve………

By stevelowisz

It’s hard to believe that 2011 has already come and gone and 2012 was ushered in just a few days ago. 2011 proved to be an interesting year  - the economy seemed to remain on a roller coaster ride, large corporations went bankrupt, banks went out of business, and at the same time open requisitions seems to increase every month.

In speaking with hiring executives and candidates over the past few months, it became painfully obvious that many recruiters really fell short of expectations in 2011.   Whether it was because of work load, lack of resources, lack of technology, or a host of other real issues, the fact remains that confidence in recruiters continues to decrease while their effect on the entire recruiting process continues to increase.In the 2011 Corporate Leadership Council report, “The percentage if new hires rated above average fell significantly across the past year.”   The report goes on to state that “only one in three hiring managers are satisfied with the influence Recruiting has on the business.”  The harsh reality is that “nearly 80% of the variation in quality of hire is driven by differences in recruiters’ individual profiles and recruiter management practices.”

So what does this have to do with 2012 and New Year Resolutions?

Plenty!

On Saturday night as I drank a glass of great red wine and watched Dick Clark’s coverage of the ball dropping in New York’s Time Square, I received an email from a corporate recruiter that I have known for at least 12 years.  I didn’t read the attachment immediately, however I saw the title of the document he sent me.  It read “2012 Recruiter Resolutions.”  On Sunday morning, January 1, 2012 I opened his email and began reading his resolutions from a recruiter’s perspective.  The more I read the more I thought it should be shared with anyone in the business of recruiting.

After some debate and a bribe of dinner and Starbucks on me, he finally agreed to let me publish his list as long as I promised to keep his name anonymous.  Following is the unedited list from “Fred” (fake name used to keep up my end of the agreement!).

2012 New Year Recruiting Resolutions

• I will be honest with each candidate and tell them when they are no longer a candidate – verbally and not through email or some other automated method.
• I will communicate with my hiring managers often and reach out to them with updates before they come looking for me.
• I will not rely only on ‘Posting and Praying’ to fill my open positions but will justify the use of job boards for each position.
• I will not fall prey to the silver bullet syndrome of sourcing  - there is not one tool or medium that I will solely rely on.
• I will ask more questions to understand the real motivations of each candidate and will communicate each of these to my hiring manager.  (if I cannot do this, I have not done my job!)
• I will not hide behind email when interacted with my hiring managers and candidates.
• I will track the source of each of my hires and compare that at years end to their performance to better understand where the best candidates come from.
• I will set expectations with each hiring manager prior to beginning the search process.  This includes what I will commit to and what they need to commit to.
• I will make an investment in myself by attending at least 2 recruiter development sessions – even if on my own dime.
• I will hold myself accountable for the performance of each candidate I place for the first year of their employment with my company.

These are some pretty lofty goals, however they fit right in to correcting the perceptions that CLC identified above.  I would suggest that anyone involved in recruiting consider making these part of their recruiting resolutions for 2012.

As you review Fred’s resolutions,  what are yours?