The Three Es of Recruitment

I do love a TLA (Three Letter Acronym) to sum up an idea. Or better yet, just three letters, such as the three Ts of a good induction: Tea, Toilets and Tech. (Once you know where to get a cuppa, where the loos are and all your tech works you can just crack on with doing a good job.)

 Then there are the three Fs, Ss and now Es of recruitment. Let me briefly explain the Fs and the Ss before moving on to what I think the three Es are…

 First there were the three Fs: Find, Filter, Fit.

 Back in the day, it was as much about you finding the candidate as it was about the candidate finding you. You filtered through the CVs looking for key qualifications, experience or just buzz words. Maybe interviewed the candidate to check it all stacked up. After that you’d fit them into the role. Not much thought was given to the role fitting the candidate but more on that later.

 Then it was the three Ss – Source, Screen, Select.

 More recently, recruiters actively sourced passive candidates using clever Boolean searches via Google or networking their way around LinkedIn. Then more sophisticated candidate selection tools and methodologies became available; psychometric, personality profiling, Strengths, etc. All of this make recruitment a lot less subjective and more consistent. It became as much about the candidate selecting the employer as it was about the employer selecting the candidate. Nonetheless, a good recruiter knew a good candidate wasn’t just looking for their next role; they were choosing it. (A possible fourth S would be speed but that’s more an underlying theme as opposed to a stage in the process.)

 Now I think it’s the three Es of recruitment; Engage, Engage, Engage. Let me Explain. (No pun intended. Honest!)

 With the vast array of tools available today recruiters can find candidates so passive they’re positively complaisant. This means recruiters need persuasion skills; the ability to engage in a meaningful way. Recruitment isn’t selling; more informative telling. You can’t just do a key word search and email off a job description in the hope the prospective candidate will make the connection themselves. I wish. No, now it’s all about the relevance, the context, the WIIFM - what’s in it for me. Why are you contacting the candidate? Why should they even consider you, never mind your email or the role? If we’re all able to tune out pop-up ads that appear on Facebook or LinkedIn, what makes you think a candidate won’t be able to tune out your (unsolicited) email?  You need to make it personal, relevant and timely. Do your research on when to post a role and when to send an email. Yes, there’s still an element of luck involved but with every step closer you can take to the target the greater your chances of hitting a bullseye.

 That initial engagement, if done well, will merge into an engaging filter/screening conversation.

 During the middle ‘Engage’ phase, you need to remember; they may be your preferred candidate but are you their preferred employer? I have used the phrase 'Application Appreciation' before, which means candidates want to be thanked just for applying. How many of you reply to an application with something like “due to the high volume of applications, if you don’t hear from us in two weeks assume you’ve been unsuccessful”? If so, then it’s you that has been unsuccessful. The better employers will at least personalise the rejection. (Many systems can even do that for you!) It may sound counter intuitive but you need to help the right candidate demonstrate they’re the right candidate. If you help good employees realise their potential, shouldn’t you start by doing it for good candidates? I call it the 'Funnel of Love'; the further the candidate gets through your selection Funnel, the more Love (i.e. attention) you should show them. Yes, you will be putting them through harder assessments and/or interview questions but you must do it in a way that keeps them engaged. Think Game show; would a contestant/candidate really want to be a millionaire/employee if it meant yet another hour with some horrible host/interviewer in some crappy set/office? (Would you want to watch such a show?)

 Build the candidate up with useful, developmental feedback and they’ll replay in kind. For a recruiter, in the absence an actual hire, useful candidate feedback is an excellent consolation prize. 

  Finally, when you get to the offer stage, you may think you’re all signed, sealed and delivered but you’re not. Offer gazumping doesn’t just happen in the property world. I’m not just talking about counter offers here. Candidates these days know they can say yes to one offer and still go looking for a better one while they work through their notice period. In the transactional world of recruitment, many candidates don’t care about the long term relationship. So your offer letter/contact needs to have an impact. Even jewellers know the value of good gift wrapping, so why not wrap up your offer to ensure acceptance? After they accept, continue to check in with the candidate. Did their resignation go ok? Has their buddy made contact? Have you invited them into a pre-joining lunch? Maybe even followed them on twitter, etc. However, for some candidates there’s a fine line between stalking and engagement so be sure not to cross it.

  Remember, the different between interest and interaction is engagement. So engage those candidates from start to finish or you’ll fail to fill and you won’t know why.

  Always happy for the three Qs of a LinkedIn post: queries, quips or quarrels? Or just quiet.