Planned recruitment in the professional services sector
I know this is just common sense and therefore obvious – but it’s still worth saying.
When you recruit people it’s better to be prepared and have a group of people in mind who you think can do the job rather than starting out with a blank sheet of paper and a deadline.
Although you all know this, too often you probably choose the blank sheet of paper approach – and have the deadline imposed on you. Actually, that’s a little unfair you probably don’t choose it that way you just don’t do enough to stop it happening.
You should have a plan – and what better way to plan than to make a list. In fact, several lists. Here’s our first.
Recruiting people is an uncertain task.
1 You don’t know where to find the best candidates,
2 You don’t know whether you’ll like them when you meet them
3 You don’t know whether they‘ll want you even if you want them
However here are 3 things you can do to make the whole process a little less uncertain.
1 You can be clear about what you want and hence who you want
2 You can keep clear records of CVs/resumes received so that you can look at them in the future
3 You can meet people you think you might like and keep in contact with them so that you know where they are working and what they are doing
To put it another way you can act like a salesman or recruitment agent and keep a pipeline of people so that when an opportunity arises you can contact them straightaway knowing that they will be a good fit for your role.
There are of course a couple of issues with this approach – it’s not guaranteed to succeed.
Firstly there is the process by which you create and maintain the pipeline and secondly there is the problem with availability when you need to use it. The first thing to realise is that “the process” isn’t a single process. Here are 4 different channels for building up your pipeline and each one is a process.
1 Clients. When you work on a client’s site you can interest their staff in your company. N.B. You should avoid approaching them directly as you risk souring relations. Ask about their career path and talk about yours. You can talk positively about your company and the message will get through without it seeming like obvious selling. Make sure you exchange business cards and contact them regularly by email and with the occasional call. You will have the pretext of showing continued interest in the client. Even if they show no interest in joining you they may move elsewhere and remain as a client.
2 Interviews. When you interview candidates who are unsuccessful for one role (typically because they were either second best or the filling of the vacancy was contingent on winning a project) keep their CV and ensure that you have a system that enables you to retrieve their details when you need them. It’s a similar model to the one you use with a client – keep in touch and be positive about them and your company. The same is also true of their potential as a future client.
3 Linkedin. This is the greatest recruitment tool out there in my opinion. I’m not referring particularly to advertising on Linkedin but its role as a network enabler. You can search on keywords, contact the person, and see their CV at a glance. What more do you need? Pay out more for a premium account then you can contact more people. Agents do this so you should be doing it as well.
4 Your own consultants. People mix with other people who do similar jobs and they talk about their work. If you incentivize your people sufficiently they will recruit for you and almost certainly still be less expensive than an agent. They may also feel more loyalty to you because they have “sold the company” to a friend.
Availability – you need a supply of people in your pipeline who far exceed your estimated requirements. The best way to avoid last minute decisions is to recruit to meet your strategy and do your best not to deviate from it. If you need to accept an opportunity even if it doesn’t fit with your strategy you should of course recruit people just before the work appears – good luck with that. If this happens repeatedly your strategy is probably at fault.
Here’s another list. A list of benefits of using your own pipeline.
1 It saves money. If you have to go to an agency particularly if you are in a hurry you should expect to join in at the top of the market and why wouldn’t you? Agencies are in business to make money and if you need someone in a hurry they will spot the opportunity to make some out of you. It’s perfectly reasonable for them to do that – it’s business.
2 You can grow the business organically at your own pace by strategic recruitment rather than having to react because of a pressing opportunity. This isn’t 100% true in 100% of cases but it is mostly true in most cases.
3 You should need to use contractors less frequently. Typically you will take on contractors when you have an opportunity and haven’t got the skills to fulfil it. If you use your pipeline strategically to spread your (potential) skill base it should reduce that need.
To summarise we have 3 points to remember. It’s our final list.
1 People – work out who you want and keep in touch with them
2 Pipelines – have a pipeline of people to cover across the range of your skill sets
3 Panic – You don’t need to. You have a pipeline so you’ve got it covered.
