Getting Your People Optimized for Success

As with any other business, your people are the most important resource in your recruiting department. Your competitors can duplicate your processes and your technology. But they can’t duplicate the unique skills and experiences your people bring to your business.

Before you invest in an expensive technology upgrade, make sure your people are optimized for success! Here are five important questions you should be asking.

1. How skilled are your people at finding active candidates?

• Do they get the most out of the job boards? Are they up to speed about which job boards they should be using?
  
• Do they create great ads that get the attention of active candidates? Remember — their ads need to grab peoples’ attention quickly, so strong titles/headlines are essential. It’s also important for ads to explain what’s in it for the candidate rather than for the company.

2. How skilled are your people at finding passive candidates?

• Do they consistently find top candidates through referrals?
  
• Are they seeking out community gatherings and trade shows? How about local association meetings? These are often excellent sources of passive candidates.
  
• Just finding passive candidates is only half the battle. Are your people good at persuading most of their passive candidates to at least consider the job opportunity?
  
• Does their requisition knowledge go further than the job description? Your people need to really know their open requisitions before they look for candidates — especially passive candidates!

3. Are your people burning out?

• Are they energetic and constantly interacting with people? Or are they avoiding interaction by the over-use of technology?
  
• Are your people encouraged to take frequent breaks to recharge their minds? Are they reluctant to take a vacation for fear of neglecting their clients?

4. Are your people creating a clear recruiting brand image?

• Are they clearly communicating the benefits of working for the organization (that involve more than just money)? They should be able to positively present the company in the market place, and not just the specific job opportunities.
  
• Are they monitoring their competitors’ employment ads? It’s important that your people create better images for their companies than their competitors do.

5. Are your people using performance profiles?

• Do they know the top performance objectives their open requisitions require? The most successful recruiters create lists of at least five or six things candidates must be able to do to be considered successful at the job.
  
• If your people are using performance profiles, do they list performance objectives that are specific and measurable?