Social Networking - Is This The death of the recruitment industry?
Finding candidates has never been easier. Is this the beginning of the end for recruiters?
With the success of social and business networking sites over the last few years finding candidates has never been easier.
Whether you link them in face them out or have tinkle with twitter accessing potential candidates is now just a few clicks away. It’s not just the ability to immediately access candidates; the sheer volume of people you can identify has increased in its thousands. Immediate access to hundreds of millions of potential Candidates free of charge must mean the beginning of the end for recruiters, is this “the death of the recruitment industry”?
When you combine this with low cost job boards and online recruiters charging fixed fees it surely must be the end for Professional recruiters who are charging 25-30% fees.
Twenty minutes writing an advert or preparing an e-shot of your vacancy, a couple of clicks of a mouse and hey presto you have it. Millions of potential candidates free of charge. All you need to do now is just wait for the responses to flood in, which in most cases can be immediate. Facebook has over 300 Million users, Twitter has 55 million monthly visits, LinkedIn has 45 million users and all are free to access.
No recruiters to speak to, no haggling over fees or payment terms to negotiate. In those immortal words of the Dragons Den’s very own ex recruiters James Caan and Peter Jones “I’m in”.
Let’s link, Twit and Face our way to millions of candidates without having to pay a fee.
No more phone calls from recruiters with someone who is the best person in the world ever (although they don’t look right on paper).
No more being badgered just many happy hours watching your inbox fill up with responses. It’s amazing! What value can recruiters possibly add?
The answer is…
Recruiters now add even more value than ever. Recruiters in their simplest form offer a find, funnel and filter service. Yes it’s correct that the finding of candidates is easier than ever and the volume of responses is far greater than ever before. And it’s this volume of responses that poses the problem as this makes the filtering and funneling a thousand times more time consuming than ever before.
Companies with a high volume of vacancies have to decide do they become recruiters or do they use recruiter’s services. Where the time to take a vacancy to market has reduced dramatically the time to taken in screening the responses has increased plus the people you have contacted passively may not actually be looking and this all boils down to time, your time. How much time are you prepared to invest in the screening process and how much money does this time cost you? You then have to control the process and more importantly the control candidate(s) which takes more even time (and dare I say it, skill). Is your opportunity really their favorite? etc. etc. Recruiters have a more holistic view of a candidate’s situation or circumstances and what are the deciding factors.
The focus of internal recruiters is to provide cost effective (more likely cost reducing) recruitment services; the focus of a successful recruiter is the reputation they gain by placing people who are successful. The question is do you want to save money or make money. Saving money may not help you make money or achieve your financial targets especially when you consider that a high percentage of candidates placed by agencies come from referrals and they are never on the open market.
Time and cost are important factors but what about the people you hire, do you want to hire the absolute best people available at the time you are hiring or if you forgive the pun the best people you stumble upon.
When companies are competing for survival hiring the best people available will help you maintain a competitive edge, save you time and increase your profits.
Written by: johnpaul
Why are recruiters reluctant to send CV’s?
As in my previous blog I do agree that the level of mud thrown at the wall in the recruitment industry is unacceptable. However, this shouldn’t mean that companies force recruiters to send CV’s first so they can assess them. Surely it would be better to meet the candidates face to face to identify why the recruiter presented the candidate for interview.
Companies could then build up a database of recruiters that have a high level of ability to assess and match candidates to opportunities.
If companies force recruiters to send CV’s the recruiters objective is to send a CV that will gain an interview NOT send the candidate that will be to most appropriate for the role.
Behavior, drive, energy, passion, attitude, presence and the desire to work for a particular company can only be evaluated in a face to face meeting and not on a CV.
I am not saying all CV’s are going to be wrong just direct the focus in the area that will produce the best results.
Click on the link below to see a short video that explains this in more detail.
Written by: johnpaul
First impressions count and so does interviewing face to face
First Impressions Count
The handshake, the smile, the greeting, their personal presentation and how they carry themselves are all vital elements that make up a top sales person. This impression is gained before the interview even starts. This is the first impression that your customers will get of your company. The only way a recruiter can gain this vital understanding of a candidate is by meeting them face to face.
Without meeting someone face to face you cannot make an accurate assessment of their skills, abilities, attitude, desire, behaviour and passion for the opportunity they are applying for.
Recruiters that interview all candidates face to face will always remain ahead of their competition. When you compare a thorough face to face interview with a quick chat on the phone and a few questions based on the content of a CV the face to face interview will always produce superior results. The results to clients are outstanding compared with the hit or miss approach of recruiters finding CV’s on job boards and skills based matching then a quick call to say they have an been head hunted for a role.
I believe you cannot make an accurate assessment of a candidate unless you interview them face to face.
The internet has changed the way recruit it has provided new challenges and opportunities. The increasing number of recruiters that do not interview face to face devalues the service that professional recruiters provide. In its most simplistic form recruiters offer a find, funnel and filter service to their clients. This cannot be done to a high standard over the phone.
Written by: johnpaul
What motivates you more: finding the right job for a particular candidate or finding the right candidate for a client?
Top Questions Companies Would Ask a Recruiter
What motivates you more: finding the right job for a particular candidate or finding the right candidate for a client?
Response from JPE (John Paul Executive Recruitment).
Finding the right job for a candidate has to be the highest priority – if this is achieved, their success in the role will be greater and will also inspire others therefore benefiting the client. If a candidate is not motivated to perform in a role, they will soon quit, which can be costly for a company in terms of lost revenue, recruitment fees, salary and time.
Therefore, finding the right job for a candidate by default has to result in finding the right candidate for the client. Someone with the right attitude, who is motivated and has a desire for the role.
Written by: johnpaul
Do you understand my business?
Top Questions Companies Would Ask a Recruiter
Do you understand my business?
Response from JPE (John Paul Executive Recruitment).
There are two parts to this answer:
The first - Knowledge about a company (their competitors, their market and the product offerings within the market combined with the people/candidates available within the market) is invaluable.
The second - Some recruiters are exceptional at recruiting, their skill and knowledge being in recruiting and not necessarily the market they are recruiting for – any lack of knowledge of the market is outweighed by their ability to execute their recruiting campaign.
I admit the first part builds more confidence and is easier to evaluate by the recruiting company, but don’t underestimate some of the recruiters out there that have the ability to deliver outstanding results because of their skill in recruiting rather than their awareness of a particular market.
Written by: johnpaul
Why do recruiters waste time sending CVs that are not relevant?
Top Questions Companies Would Ask a Recruiter
Why do recruiters waste time sending CVs that are not relevant? This only puts companies off using your services.
Response from JPE (John Paul Executive Recruitment).
Yes, the level of mud thrown at the wall is unacceptable in the recruitment industry however, whilst the CV may not be relevant, the person may well be – an experienced professional recruiter’s recommendation has to be worth more than a one-dimensional document, especially if the recruiter has spent time with the candidate interviewing, assessing and qualifying their experience, but more importantly their attitude and desire for the role they are being recommended for.
The biggest problem companies face when judging which recruitment company to use is that the majority of recruiters tend to be at either end of the spectrum of quality – either very poor or exceptionally good.
JPE would like to see a rating system introduced for recruiters, where both candidates and clients have the opportunity to rate the recruiters based on set levels of service. This rating would automatically be updated on the recruiter’s web site similar to the way eBay feedback works.
Written by: johnpaul
What value do you add to my recruitment process?
Top Questions Companies Would Ask a Recruiter
What value do you add to my recruitment process?
Response from JPE (John Paul Executive Recruitment).
JPE add value in many ways. The first is on delivery, JPE deliver the people companies need within the time scales they need them by. Secondly JPE streamline a company’s existing recruitment process helping them to reduce costs and improve employee performance. JPE do this by creating individual solutions that solve recruiting problems rather than costly ones that only treat the symptoms.
JPE’s knowledge and presence within the market sectors they recruit for save companyies time. JPE also take time to understand the role, company and the vacancy they are recruiting for.
JPE has two objectives the first is for the process and the second is the outcome. Our objective for the process is to save you time and money when recruiting.
JPE save you time by understanding your role, company and the vacancy JPE are recruiting for. JPE save you money by reducing your cost per hire and increasing your recruitment ROI by delivering people who last longer therefore spreading the recruitment fee over a number of years rather than a number of months.
Our objective for the outcome is that JPE place people that perform in the top 10% of their sales teams.
JPE are skilled at managing the process through to a successful conclusion.
Bottom line, JPE adds value where you need value added the most.
If you have any questions you would like to ask me please reply to this blog and I will do my best to answer them and post the results for you.
Written by: johnpaul
Economic down turn drives sales recruitment fees down by 25% as companies attempt to cut costs
Recent research shows the economic down turn has caused companies to drive sales recruitment fees down by at least 25% in an attempt to cut costs. This has an immediate effect on expenditure and therefore the favoured choice of executives who hold the company’s purse strings. The results on the bottom line can be seen almost immediately; demonstrating the success of the exercise to the board memebers and senior management. However, I am not convinced this will work and concerned it could increase costs and reduce sales.
Attrition (employee churn as most people call it) costs companies far more than their recruitment spend. The example below demonstrates that a company with just a 6% attrition rate; the cost for just three months salaries of people who don’t work out are 40% higher than their recruitment spend for the same people and this doesn’t take into account the costs of training, management time spent interviewing etc.
Cost of Attrition
| Attrition rate | 6% | 10% | 15% |
|---|---|---|---|
| New recruits | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Average recruitment fee | £12,000 | £12,000 | £12,000 |
| Total recruitment cost of leavers | £72,000 | £72,000 | £72,000 |
| Time taken to ramp up in weeks | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| Average salary | £60,000 | £60,000 | £60,000 |
| Salary cost just of people who leave | £101,739 | £169,565 | £254,438 |
| Actual average recruitment fee | £12,765 | £13,333 | £414,117 |
If you compare this cost with the loss of sales especially in the event when a candidate has outlasted the rebate period given by the recruiter the need to replace the candidate can incur another cost. The examples below show, in a role with a three month ramp up period, that there is no difference between 6 and 9 months service, you get 2 Ramp up periods, 2 Recruitment Fees and only 6 Months at full quota either way.
When you compare these with 12 months service you receive 9 months at full quota with only 1 ramp up period and more importantly for only 1 recruitment fee.
At the end of the day you get what you pay for. RECRUIT THE RIGHT PEOPLE in the first place and your business will prosper as will the agencies that have the right candidates. Candidates who can trade in any climate will become a very valuable asset to any business and recruiters who have access to these candidates will not be giving them away to the lowest bidder.
If companies want to increase sales revenue and reduce costs at the same time there are other alternatives to merely reducing cost per hire, especially as this may produce lower sales performance and increase actual cost per hire.
Written by: johnpaul
The Credit Crunch - Recession proof or spoof - 64% of companies showed an increase is sales revenue in the last 3 months
The light at the end of the tunnel or the last flicker of the flame before it’s extinguished.
The coverage given to global recession, economic downturn, credit crunch, recessed markets and so on was everywhere. After watching this every day for a week was definitely a daunting experience but then I remembered that 2008 has been our best year at JPE for booked and billed revenue since we started trading 5 years ago. We have had 3 consecutive record quarters of growth over last year which included 5 record months.
It’s not all doom and gloom or is this the boom before the bust.
The annual JPE client survey also showed that over 48% of companies that responded had an increase in sales in the last 3 months compared to the previous 3 months and over 64% of companies showed an increase is sales revenue in the last 3 months against the same 3 months of the previous year. The following was also identified, 56% of companies showed an increase in sales revenue in Q1 & 2 of 2008 compared to Q1 & 2 of 2007 this was followed by over 58% of companies showing an increase in sales in Q3 of 2008 over Q3 of 2007.
Recession proof or spoof.
I am interested in hearing views from other companies or sales people who are experiencing record growth or an increase in revenue.
Written by: johnpaul
