Why Recruiters Will Always Exist (and how they help the recruitment process)
The landscape for hiring top talent has increasingly shifted the last few decades and more so the last five years. Specifically, we all hear the term “candidate’s market” which is great for the economy as well as candidates, but this can potentially cause mayhem for companies and in our case the clients we work with. A Bullhorn survey reported, “60% of recruitment pros say the talent shortage is a major obstacle for 2017.” Do you feel this is accurate? Did you have pains with getting candidates across the finish line, or worse, have you been impacted financially because roles are not being filled in a timely manner? Alternatively, we could also focus on the large expense accrued by filling the position with the wrong person.
While the economy and being a candidate’s market has directly influenced how we operate in search, technology has also been a large topic and question for future opportunities within the business. We often hear technology is taking over. Advancements of mobile applications and new technologies coming about every day will continue to impact all industries; however, will this have a large impact on staffing/recruitment or executive search? I personally believe technology plays a vital role in what we do and how we serve our clients, but I do not think it will ever replace recruiters, especially within the executive search arena. Below are four reasons recruiters will always exist:
Relationships- Having the right network and relationships are key. There is a large amount of emotional intelligence that goes into executive search that cannot be replaced by technology. The people component and understanding not only the business/vertical you recruit in is important, but understanding the motivation and logistics for candidates to make the right move is vital. Being able to find passive candidates and getting the buy-in is an important skill that requires strong interpersonal communication.
Bandwidth- Depending on the size of the organization, the amount of open requisitions may be very overwhelming for the team that oversees them. Utilizing external recruiters for the difficult searches that take active recruitment can be a huge time saver not only from a time-to-fill perspective but also the administrative/clerical work that goes into managing every single resume that comes via the internet. Even if there are dedicated in-house recruiters, the more difficult searches require more digging and time, which is naturally alleviated by utilizing external recruitment.
Significant Data Growth- Recruitment data sounds like a great thing, but if the data collected is not beneficial or handled correctly then it may be for naught. In an article on CIO.com it states, “More data means more confusion, allowing tiny details to skew process and drive people to take action on things that don’t matter, while ignoring the real underlying problems with the recruiting function.” Too much time spent on tedious sifting through information may attribute to saving time and looking for outside recruitment.
The Right Network- LinkedIn Recruiter seats and continued savviness around Boolean searching has definitely helped get direct access to passive/active candidates, but that’s not enough for candidates to automatically read/respond. Everyone has or should have LinkedIn Recruiter seats at this point to help with recruitment and research to create lists of candidates to network with, but the candidates (especially at the executive level) are likely getting inundated with messages every day or two about opportunities within their space. Candidates are much more likely to respond to individuals who have shared connections and are deeply ingrained in the industry they service.
Whether it’s the economy, industry shifts or technology advancements, I feel that recruiters will always exist to help serve clients and assist candidates with their next adventure.
Alex Drury is a Principal and Vice President of Business Development at Morgan Consulting Resources, a healthcare executive search firm celebrating over 20 successful years in business.
