For a recruitment firm - the client is king. The revenue is dependent on the client.
In the case of a small recruitment firm the client is almost God - because the firm has in most cases only one client.
Sustaining such relationships are critical to the Recruitment firm.
Some basic rules that one needs to keep in mind
1. The client is not necessarily always right: but this does not mean that you have to accuse him. You can always tell him why he is not right ....gently....
Being assertive is important but not aggressive.
For example when a client rejects a resume on some trivial ground - its frustrating for the recruiting firm who know that their client has just committed hara-kiri
In such circumstances using tact is very important. This means having done your home work.
Explain the reasons why you think that the candidate is good....summarise individual skills and also summarise the constraints of the market - meaning what is the next best choice that exist.
Provide reference of other reputed companies with whom he has interviewed and has been offered...!
Give references of individuals in the industry who have referred him
And lastly go over the specs of the job description underlying the mandatory aspects of the candidate profile.
All of this will set the client thinking again.
Do not resort to mere pressure tactics ..such as "take him" "he is the best" "it is very difficult to get another candidate" "it will take a lot of time to find someone else like him"
clients are not impressed by excuses.
They are considered to be mere short cuts that the consultant wants to take.
Avoid creating such a perception
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Monday, January 22, 2007
Death of the mandate?
you must have been surprised to notice that this blog has suddenly had a large output - almost a torrent ...
but for the knowledge of every one who is about to have heightened expectations from this blog...
the fact is that i had cut pasted some of the posts that i had been writing for a corporate...i found these posts relevant to the content of this blog ..but let me assure this is genuine stuff and written by yours truly only
anyways i was having a discussion about writing good job postings to a friend from the Recruitment Firm fraternity. She was not too impressed. In fact she was out rightly cynical about it - told me that i was living in some fantasy world
according to her recruiting divisions in companies do not really give detailed recruitment mandates since they themselves are not too clued on to the technical aspects of the role
They are in a hurry and expect the Recruitment firm to do research on the same and come back with a fleshed out mandate
Though i was tempted to disagree with her - after all i used to be on the other side as a Recruitment Manager not too long ago, i stopped myself.
Again every coin has two sides to it....
I decided to explore this angle ....
Why is that Corporates really do not give good search mandates.?
while i have mentioned some reasons in the course of the last couple of posts - and my friend has also mentioned a couple her self...there is more to it that that meets the eye...
There seems to a be a crisis of skill here ...traditional recruitment has always been the responsibility of the HR function. With the massive surge in hiring it was spun off to become a completely separate function. However it still was considered to be a spin off of HR - attracting people who wanted to pursue a career in HR and looked at Recruitment as a back door entry.
Recruiting requires a completely different set of skills versus hr -ref my blog on Recruiter Skills
in the sept 2006 blog post
Secondly roles are a lot more complex and high on multi-tasking resulting in the death of the job description.
The corporate recruiting department depends on the verbal information provided by the line managers while putting together the search mandate ...and here there is a lot of spillage... A lot of what line managers mention do not reach the ears of the Recruitment Firm.
Similarly recruitment firm have not paid too much attention to client management skills. Again these firms also attract a lot of HR personnel who donot possess client facing skills.
So there is clearly a concerted need for the Recruitment team within the corporate and consulting firms to work on the same
So the reason for this lengthy essay was to just state this simple point that there is a need to up the ante on the client management skills of the Recruitment Firms and the vendor management skills of Corporate Recruiters ...both of these topics we shall look at in detail in the coming posts
but for the knowledge of every one who is about to have heightened expectations from this blog...
the fact is that i had cut pasted some of the posts that i had been writing for a corporate...i found these posts relevant to the content of this blog ..but let me assure this is genuine stuff and written by yours truly only
anyways i was having a discussion about writing good job postings to a friend from the Recruitment Firm fraternity. She was not too impressed. In fact she was out rightly cynical about it - told me that i was living in some fantasy world
according to her recruiting divisions in companies do not really give detailed recruitment mandates since they themselves are not too clued on to the technical aspects of the role
They are in a hurry and expect the Recruitment firm to do research on the same and come back with a fleshed out mandate
Though i was tempted to disagree with her - after all i used to be on the other side as a Recruitment Manager not too long ago, i stopped myself.
Again every coin has two sides to it....
I decided to explore this angle ....
Why is that Corporates really do not give good search mandates.?
while i have mentioned some reasons in the course of the last couple of posts - and my friend has also mentioned a couple her self...there is more to it that that meets the eye...
There seems to a be a crisis of skill here ...traditional recruitment has always been the responsibility of the HR function. With the massive surge in hiring it was spun off to become a completely separate function. However it still was considered to be a spin off of HR - attracting people who wanted to pursue a career in HR and looked at Recruitment as a back door entry.
Recruiting requires a completely different set of skills versus hr -ref my blog on Recruiter Skills
in the sept 2006 blog post
Secondly roles are a lot more complex and high on multi-tasking resulting in the death of the job description.
The corporate recruiting department depends on the verbal information provided by the line managers while putting together the search mandate ...and here there is a lot of spillage... A lot of what line managers mention do not reach the ears of the Recruitment Firm.
Similarly recruitment firm have not paid too much attention to client management skills. Again these firms also attract a lot of HR personnel who donot possess client facing skills.
So there is clearly a concerted need for the Recruitment team within the corporate and consulting firms to work on the same
So the reason for this lengthy essay was to just state this simple point that there is a need to up the ante on the client management skills of the Recruitment Firms and the vendor management skills of Corporate Recruiters ...both of these topics we shall look at in detail in the coming posts
Rejection Criteria
The criterion based on which a company rejects a resume is one of the central aspects of screening and is called the REJECTION CRITERIA
Accordingly it is most imperative that the Job Posting covers this aspect in the appropriate way possible.
Some of the rejection criterion that i have seen include
1. candidate should not be more than "35years old" or candidate should have a "minimum" of 15 years of experience
2. knowledge of the local language (Tamil) is a must
3. candidate should be open to travel and job relocation
In fact i firmly believe that Rejection Criteria should not be hidden away in reams of language but should be there for all to see ...
After all it saves the time and energy of all and sundry concerned - most importantly that of the candidates who normally are unable to fathom why they were rejected ..
its funny but i am sure many of you have noticed that the rejection criteria is normally tucked away right at the bottom of a job profile almost with the intention that the candidate should not see it ....I mean is it not a lot better if the candidate gets to see that right away so that he does not spend more time on your Job Posting or inadvertently apply.
Of course a word of caution - it is important to be politically correct about the rejection criteria.-Writing "women candidates need not apply" might be far too strong ....though you might be only sincerely trying to portray the reality .
Do soften it by saying that "males are preferred" or state the reason for the statement if possible ...such as "job will be in the night shift, males preferred"
do not utter statements which clearly reflect unethical employment practices - such as "south Indians need not apply", maharastrians preferred etc...
So good luck on a great job posting....next week i am going to review some of the job postings that I have come across and look at what were the wow(!) and ugh(!) factors..
Accordingly it is most imperative that the Job Posting covers this aspect in the appropriate way possible.
Some of the rejection criterion that i have seen include
1. candidate should not be more than "35years old" or candidate should have a "minimum" of 15 years of experience
2. knowledge of the local language (Tamil) is a must
3. candidate should be open to travel and job relocation
In fact i firmly believe that Rejection Criteria should not be hidden away in reams of language but should be there for all to see ...
After all it saves the time and energy of all and sundry concerned - most importantly that of the candidates who normally are unable to fathom why they were rejected ..
its funny but i am sure many of you have noticed that the rejection criteria is normally tucked away right at the bottom of a job profile almost with the intention that the candidate should not see it ....I mean is it not a lot better if the candidate gets to see that right away so that he does not spend more time on your Job Posting or inadvertently apply.
Of course a word of caution - it is important to be politically correct about the rejection criteria.-Writing "women candidates need not apply" might be far too strong ....though you might be only sincerely trying to portray the reality .
Do soften it by saying that "males are preferred" or state the reason for the statement if possible ...such as "job will be in the night shift, males preferred"
do not utter statements which clearly reflect unethical employment practices - such as "south Indians need not apply", maharastrians preferred etc...
So good luck on a great job posting....next week i am going to review some of the job postings that I have come across and look at what were the wow(!) and ugh(!) factors..
Job Posting Tips 3
The last one is "Candidate profile".
This is definitely the most important one since an accurate description will attract the most appropriate candidate.
Candidate profiles must be clearly categorised between what i would call the 1. "must have"
2."preferable" 3. "desirable parameters"
Lets examine each of them....
MUST HAVES
This is the mandatory stuff ...the minimum parameters which the candidate has to compulsorily fulfill to be considered for the job. For e.g for the role of a Software programmer at Microsoft India the candidate has to be an engineer with a major in either computer science or electrical or electronics.
Conversational knowledge of a particular language is sometimes a Must Have for some positions
PREFERABLE
The preferable would include a couple more stringent parameters which if the candidate possesses would hold him in good stead and give him an edge over others. For e.g in this case if the candidate is an engineer from one of the NIT or IITs he would have a better chance over others who have passed out from less known institutes
DESIRABLE
The desirable would be a set of parameters which describe the perfect candidate. For example an Engineer who is a computer science major from a renowned institute and who has previously worked with renowned product companies like ADOBE SYSTEMS would be considered as an ideal candidate.
it is important to itemise the candidate profile in an order which puts the Must Haves right at the top.
There is no point in writing a lengthy candidate profile only to hide aspects which are mandatory - for e.g the maximum years of experience
And this brings me to another aspect - REJECTION CRITERIA...lets discuss that in the next post
This is definitely the most important one since an accurate description will attract the most appropriate candidate.
Candidate profiles must be clearly categorised between what i would call the 1. "must have"
2."preferable" 3. "desirable parameters"
Lets examine each of them....
MUST HAVES
This is the mandatory stuff ...the minimum parameters which the candidate has to compulsorily fulfill to be considered for the job. For e.g for the role of a Software programmer at Microsoft India the candidate has to be an engineer with a major in either computer science or electrical or electronics.
Conversational knowledge of a particular language is sometimes a Must Have for some positions
PREFERABLE
The preferable would include a couple more stringent parameters which if the candidate possesses would hold him in good stead and give him an edge over others. For e.g in this case if the candidate is an engineer from one of the NIT or IITs he would have a better chance over others who have passed out from less known institutes
DESIRABLE
The desirable would be a set of parameters which describe the perfect candidate. For example an Engineer who is a computer science major from a renowned institute and who has previously worked with renowned product companies like ADOBE SYSTEMS would be considered as an ideal candidate.
it is important to itemise the candidate profile in an order which puts the Must Haves right at the top.
There is no point in writing a lengthy candidate profile only to hide aspects which are mandatory - for e.g the maximum years of experience
And this brings me to another aspect - REJECTION CRITERIA...lets discuss that in the next post
Job Posting Tips 2
Now Job Description is another difficult one. In recent times organisations have pretty much stopped creating job descriptions, making it even more difficult to come across a good one.
A job description is a " pen portrait" which helps the potential candidate to "visualise" the job - in a manner that is attractive.
However a job descriptions is not an exquisite example of prose, providing no clarity
Job Descriptions should clearly explain the following
1. The Key Result Areas - what is the individual expected to be delivering and will be assessed upon. Note : KRAs also tend to be very superficial - explaining them at the execution level by along with a time line inked into it will help . E.g Specific KRAs for the half year or year.
2. Provide details of Roles and Responsibilities : Again the same should be described at the level of execution. To increase clarity explain using a time line.
A good e.g of the same is "Responsible for Sales Forecasting on a quarterly basis for the Northern Region"
3. Describe briefly the role and responsibility of the reporting manager - this would aid the candidate in understanding the breadth and depth of own position
4. Describe the non negotiables of the job - do not hide it, at the same time do not describe it in an undesirable manner. An e.g is explaining the travel demands of the job. "This job requires extensive travel" is definitely more frightening than "This job requires approx 2-4 days of travel per week" . The candidate is normally happier when it is quantified and when it is a range - gives a sense of flexibility
A job description is a " pen portrait" which helps the potential candidate to "visualise" the job - in a manner that is attractive.
However a job descriptions is not an exquisite example of prose, providing no clarity
Job Descriptions should clearly explain the following
1. The Key Result Areas - what is the individual expected to be delivering and will be assessed upon. Note : KRAs also tend to be very superficial - explaining them at the execution level by along with a time line inked into it will help . E.g Specific KRAs for the half year or year.
2. Provide details of Roles and Responsibilities : Again the same should be described at the level of execution. To increase clarity explain using a time line.
A good e.g of the same is "Responsible for Sales Forecasting on a quarterly basis for the Northern Region"
3. Describe briefly the role and responsibility of the reporting manager - this would aid the candidate in understanding the breadth and depth of own position
4. Describe the non negotiables of the job - do not hide it, at the same time do not describe it in an undesirable manner. An e.g is explaining the travel demands of the job. "This job requires extensive travel" is definitely more frightening than "This job requires approx 2-4 days of travel per week" . The candidate is normally happier when it is quantified and when it is a range - gives a sense of flexibility
Job Posting Tips 1
A job posting is the candidate's first glimpse of the organisation that he or she wishes to apply to...
A job posting provides the relevant information which will help the candidate to arrive at an accurate picture of the organisation and the job profile.
The standard pieces of information that the job posting should include are
1. Organisational Profile
2. Designation
3. Location
4. Reporting relationship
5. Reportees(if relevant)
6. Remuneration range
7. Job Description
8. Candidate Profile
while Points 2-6 is pretty straight forward it is Points 1,7 & 8 that faces a lot of bungling ...lets discuss each of them in detail
1. Organisational Profile - while a short summary is more than enough to describe what the company does - with maybe a link to the website if the client is willing to disclose the identity . However what will create that "edge" and hence make that difference is sharing of the 'unique selling proposition' such as details of employee friendly policies or unique facilities - such as a child pick and drop facility. Depending on the kind of candidates that the organisation wishes to attract it is important to highlight facilities or policies which could be instrumental in the candidate applying ...i shall talk about the other areas in the next post ...bye
A job posting provides the relevant information which will help the candidate to arrive at an accurate picture of the organisation and the job profile.
The standard pieces of information that the job posting should include are
1. Organisational Profile
2. Designation
3. Location
4. Reporting relationship
5. Reportees(if relevant)
6. Remuneration range
7. Job Description
8. Candidate Profile
while Points 2-6 is pretty straight forward it is Points 1,7 & 8 that faces a lot of bungling ...lets discuss each of them in detail
1. Organisational Profile - while a short summary is more than enough to describe what the company does - with maybe a link to the website if the client is willing to disclose the identity . However what will create that "edge" and hence make that difference is sharing of the 'unique selling proposition' such as details of employee friendly policies or unique facilities - such as a child pick and drop facility. Depending on the kind of candidates that the organisation wishes to attract it is important to highlight facilities or policies which could be instrumental in the candidate applying ...i shall talk about the other areas in the next post ...bye
Monday, January 15, 2007
Scorching growth & Bottomline heartburn
I took the title for this blog from an article in today's newspaper.
Now i am sure you are left wondering what has all this got to do with Recruitment.....
Let me elaborate....
The article is all about how companies are forced to invest faster and more than what they are getting back in return - as in profits. The scorching growth is because of the tremendous demand that is whizzing every where.
So if your products/services donot reach faster than your competitors - then you are going to be left behind....
with a strong banking system providing for excellent finances ...companies are willing to invest more and more to keep ahead ...
the outcome is of course the fact that the speed of returns has declined .....
While this is a short term illness it requires great courage to be able to brave it.
what does this mean for the hiring industry ...it means that the war for talent becomes even more acute ...after all it is better intellectual capital which can see to that resources are utilised in the best manner ....
also the scorching manner has meant that the companies have become mean hiring machines willing to recruit good talent at a fast pace ....
the turn around time for talent acquisition is being shaved off every day.....
so we have a talent war, plus an operational imperative to acquire fast and of course most importantly talent retention.....
every time talent leaves a company - especially at the middle management levels the impact on the business is radical ....not to talk about the cost of replacement(quoted to be at least 6-7 times the annual salary of the candidate - it gets worse if the attrition is that of a high performer)
Now i am sure you are left wondering what has all this got to do with Recruitment.....
Let me elaborate....
The article is all about how companies are forced to invest faster and more than what they are getting back in return - as in profits. The scorching growth is because of the tremendous demand that is whizzing every where.
So if your products/services donot reach faster than your competitors - then you are going to be left behind....
with a strong banking system providing for excellent finances ...companies are willing to invest more and more to keep ahead ...
the outcome is of course the fact that the speed of returns has declined .....
While this is a short term illness it requires great courage to be able to brave it.
what does this mean for the hiring industry ...it means that the war for talent becomes even more acute ...after all it is better intellectual capital which can see to that resources are utilised in the best manner ....
also the scorching manner has meant that the companies have become mean hiring machines willing to recruit good talent at a fast pace ....
the turn around time for talent acquisition is being shaved off every day.....
so we have a talent war, plus an operational imperative to acquire fast and of course most importantly talent retention.....
every time talent leaves a company - especially at the middle management levels the impact on the business is radical ....not to talk about the cost of replacement(quoted to be at least 6-7 times the annual salary of the candidate - it gets worse if the attrition is that of a high performer)
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Managing References
how many times have you walked into a conference and exchanged a dozen or so cards and then forgotten about them ...or maybe not kept track of them....
managing the huge list of names and cards that get thrown at you is one of the big challenges of networking....
while there is clearly no science behind it - i would say its pretty useful to have a good contact management system...
versus a clean MIS approach - a contact management system has to be a step ahead of the same
besides including contact details , it is also important to include the linkages that you have with the contact .
1. This will include who all do you know thru him
2. Who all does he know
3. Who all can he possibly put you in touch with
It is also important to do a pen portrait about the individual - which includes considerable amount of research (if you are serious about it)
Pen portrait would also include an understanding of the professional history - inking in names of people that he has worked with- companies, roles, bosses, locations etc
Make an effort to capture professional qualifications - including year of passing
Include also personality traits if possible - pleasant , stern, introverted ...
As you can see a good reference system is not easy to maintain ....
One tends to dismiss this tedious effort with the thought that - i can store most of this in my mind but you will be surprised at how much of this gets forgotten after a while...
remembering individuals with whom you might have spent all of 3-5 minutes is very difficult -...remember the last time you gave a reference - you shall be surprised to notice that in most cases we tend to provide references of people we have worked with or studied - than those we have met briefly...we remember them well because we a have strong pen portrait imprinted in our mind replete with multiple memories to keep them stuck very firmly in our conscious...
definitely not the case with those brief meetings that we have had ....
managing the huge list of names and cards that get thrown at you is one of the big challenges of networking....
while there is clearly no science behind it - i would say its pretty useful to have a good contact management system...
versus a clean MIS approach - a contact management system has to be a step ahead of the same
besides including contact details , it is also important to include the linkages that you have with the contact .
1. This will include who all do you know thru him
2. Who all does he know
3. Who all can he possibly put you in touch with
It is also important to do a pen portrait about the individual - which includes considerable amount of research (if you are serious about it)
Pen portrait would also include an understanding of the professional history - inking in names of people that he has worked with- companies, roles, bosses, locations etc
Make an effort to capture professional qualifications - including year of passing
Include also personality traits if possible - pleasant , stern, introverted ...
As you can see a good reference system is not easy to maintain ....
One tends to dismiss this tedious effort with the thought that - i can store most of this in my mind but you will be surprised at how much of this gets forgotten after a while...
remembering individuals with whom you might have spent all of 3-5 minutes is very difficult -...remember the last time you gave a reference - you shall be surprised to notice that in most cases we tend to provide references of people we have worked with or studied - than those we have met briefly...we remember them well because we a have strong pen portrait imprinted in our mind replete with multiple memories to keep them stuck very firmly in our conscious...
definitely not the case with those brief meetings that we have had ....
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
staying clear of junk referrals
i have been searching for an administrative assistant for some time .....now in a start up such jobs are one of the most important ones since the concerned person lands up doing almost every thing. In brief he is expected to be a star . Obviously i wanted someone who came recommended -
I did know a couple of people who did something similar and did a great job of the same (but obviously was too expensive for me).
I called up one of them and told her about my requirement emphasising the fact that the person should be good...
My friend assured me that she would give me references of some good people....
And within 2 weeks i had my administrative cum office in charge...I had to interview not more than 2 people .....
that's one of big insights of references ...always get references from people who are themselves very good at their job and are in a similar job....(or themselves come referred)....
good people will always have a higher benchmark than the mediocre average guy...and hence the chances of going wrong is relatively limited ...
also getting references from people who understand the job that you are trying to fill also decrease the chances of bad references ....
If a Finance person refers a person for a SAP position - you can be assured that the finance person has in most probability merely forwarded the resume and would not have too much of a clue about the SAP person's competence (unless the resume was referred to him by a competent person... highly improbable- I would say)
This kind of approach is important for jobs which are crucial,critical and require skills which are not too easy to decipher in an interview situation
I did know a couple of people who did something similar and did a great job of the same (but obviously was too expensive for me).
I called up one of them and told her about my requirement emphasising the fact that the person should be good...
My friend assured me that she would give me references of some good people....
And within 2 weeks i had my administrative cum office in charge...I had to interview not more than 2 people .....
that's one of big insights of references ...always get references from people who are themselves very good at their job and are in a similar job....(or themselves come referred)....
good people will always have a higher benchmark than the mediocre average guy...and hence the chances of going wrong is relatively limited ...
also getting references from people who understand the job that you are trying to fill also decrease the chances of bad references ....
If a Finance person refers a person for a SAP position - you can be assured that the finance person has in most probability merely forwarded the resume and would not have too much of a clue about the SAP person's competence (unless the resume was referred to him by a competent person... highly improbable- I would say)
This kind of approach is important for jobs which are crucial,critical and require skills which are not too easy to decipher in an interview situation
Thursday, December 21, 2006
getting references from strategic partners
I am a firm believer that referrals are the most targetted form of obtaining the right candidate. The chances of getting that right candidate is much much less thru any other forms of search - be it job sites, advertisements or mass mailing....
a reference is an emotional connect - which is win in nature - and hence there are very few people who donot respond to the same....
i came across a neat blog on referral marketing .....recommended reading ..here's the link...
http://blog.referralflood.com/
one of the ideas that that the author propogates is to search for references from amongst your strategic partners ....those with whom you share a common clientele....
for example lets look at "job sites" - for them attracting great resumes and hence building a database is the foundation of success. This is precisely what a recruiter also does - creating great databases by getting in touch with good candidates - so as to fill positions
collaborating with job sites is a 'win-win'...while advertising on job sites is passe....what is innovative is referral advertising ...
Recruiters could post jobs and also provide an interface by which candidates are encouraged to refer other candidates
so whenever you advertise a job on the job site...also have an icon allowing the candidate to refer his/her friend....of course donot forget to mention the goodies the referring individual can get ....
a reference is an emotional connect - which is win in nature - and hence there are very few people who donot respond to the same....
i came across a neat blog on referral marketing .....recommended reading ..here's the link...
http://blog.referralflood.com/
one of the ideas that that the author propogates is to search for references from amongst your strategic partners ....those with whom you share a common clientele....
for example lets look at "job sites" - for them attracting great resumes and hence building a database is the foundation of success. This is precisely what a recruiter also does - creating great databases by getting in touch with good candidates - so as to fill positions
collaborating with job sites is a 'win-win'...while advertising on job sites is passe....what is innovative is referral advertising ...
Recruiters could post jobs and also provide an interface by which candidates are encouraged to refer other candidates
so whenever you advertise a job on the job site...also have an icon allowing the candidate to refer his/her friend....of course donot forget to mention the goodies the referring individual can get ....
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
More referral ideas
i think there is no dearth of ideas that one can implement as far as acquiring references are concerned...
some of these are
1. get references from all candidates who are going thru an assessment process at your company -- there has to be one Recruiter whose job is to get these references - it could be informal or formal like on a sheet of paper
2. for Consultancy firms always meet your candidates whenever they are going thru a job process which has been set up by you - they will be more than willing to give you references
3. have lucky dips during the assessment process (for e.g during the tests) and let the winner get a gift hamper - such people will happily give you references
4. use job sites to identify candidates whose manager you want to target but donot know the name etc.....call up such candidates and glean the contact details of their managers
5. when going to a conference be one of the first to reach the venue - normally a delegate list is available outside - get friendly with the conference coordinator and get a couple of names from him! - or memorise the names and the company from the delegate badges which are lying on the desk - waiting to be handed over to the delegates
6. talk to strategic partners - they would give you a lot of references - for e.g if you need a IT infrastructure candidate speak to your IT vendor and he would give you references of the guys he works with in other companies - at least a name ...!
some of these are
1. get references from all candidates who are going thru an assessment process at your company -- there has to be one Recruiter whose job is to get these references - it could be informal or formal like on a sheet of paper
2. for Consultancy firms always meet your candidates whenever they are going thru a job process which has been set up by you - they will be more than willing to give you references
3. have lucky dips during the assessment process (for e.g during the tests) and let the winner get a gift hamper - such people will happily give you references
4. use job sites to identify candidates whose manager you want to target but donot know the name etc.....call up such candidates and glean the contact details of their managers
5. when going to a conference be one of the first to reach the venue - normally a delegate list is available outside - get friendly with the conference coordinator and get a couple of names from him! - or memorise the names and the company from the delegate badges which are lying on the desk - waiting to be handed over to the delegates
6. talk to strategic partners - they would give you a lot of references - for e.g if you need a IT infrastructure candidate speak to your IT vendor and he would give you references of the guys he works with in other companies - at least a name ...!
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Referral Marketing
i am have been off vacationing and hence the huge time lag since my last post. I have been catching up on friends - many of whom i have not even emailed for years.
I was telling them about the Professional education company that i have launched - Oyster Learning. - http://www.oysterlearning.com/
Some of them were really excited and even gave me a lot of references of people who might be interested in working with me or would give me business!.
I marvelled at how references make such a huge impact in our lives.
A reference is almost like "giving away a part of your reputation" is what some guy said - i definitely believe in it and I think the hiring industry does so too...
Reference based hiring is a great way to hire for yourself good candidates.
Companies are well latched on to this concept and there are a variety of ways in which they have gone about it.
Employee Referral Schemes
The Referral scheme where in employees of an organisation refer friends and acquaintances whom they feel would fit potential roles in their organisation. Referring individuals are given a certain token money (in today's time - its pretty substantial - as high as 50k) if the referred candidate is selected.
The rider is only that the referred candidates should stay on for at least month - (or even 3 months - in BPOs)
Refer a Co - candidate
Companies have gone a step forward and have even come out with schemes where in candidates! can refer others and if the referred person is selected then they are given gift vouchers. Some times rewards are also given as a mere good will gesture to such persons - the aim being to keep them motivated enough to keep on sending references.
In one of my later posts ....i shall definitely talk about how one can do even more exciting stuff and what are the riders involved....
I was telling them about the Professional education company that i have launched - Oyster Learning. - http://www.oysterlearning.com/
Some of them were really excited and even gave me a lot of references of people who might be interested in working with me or would give me business!.
I marvelled at how references make such a huge impact in our lives.
A reference is almost like "giving away a part of your reputation" is what some guy said - i definitely believe in it and I think the hiring industry does so too...
Reference based hiring is a great way to hire for yourself good candidates.
Companies are well latched on to this concept and there are a variety of ways in which they have gone about it.
Employee Referral Schemes
The Referral scheme where in employees of an organisation refer friends and acquaintances whom they feel would fit potential roles in their organisation. Referring individuals are given a certain token money (in today's time - its pretty substantial - as high as 50k) if the referred candidate is selected.
The rider is only that the referred candidates should stay on for at least month - (or even 3 months - in BPOs)
Refer a Co - candidate
Companies have gone a step forward and have even come out with schemes where in candidates! can refer others and if the referred person is selected then they are given gift vouchers. Some times rewards are also given as a mere good will gesture to such persons - the aim being to keep them motivated enough to keep on sending references.
In one of my later posts ....i shall definitely talk about how one can do even more exciting stuff and what are the riders involved....
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Fresher Attrition
Attrition is a ghost that every Recruiter fears.
I read somewhere that the attrition after the training period (which is about a month) is about 5% (of current employees) at Infosys - that is as much as 2000 people.
And a disproporti0nate number (as much as 25%) of this attrition is from amongst the freshers or campus recruits.
For recruiters that's a lot of hard work down the drain..it is also big revenue drain since critical recruiter time is spent in replacing the employees who left.
In terms of return on investment....it is said that an organisation starts achieving profit from an employee somewhere between 6 months to an year of his joining - for freshers it could be as much as 1 year plus.
While in today's time attrition is accepted as a fact of life there are many things recruiters could do and are doing to stem the tide ....
Let's look at how one can stem attrition amongst freshers.....
Firstly some philosphy....!
Fresher retention is a tough one to manage since its difficult to differentiate between them on criteria like compensation or responsibility since they have no experience.
However a selective policy of retention is also important. After all it is important weed out the ones who show low potential
So what all do we need to be doing.........
Retaining freshers starts with the Recruitment process itself.
Recruiting employees who donot fit in with the company's mission and long term plans does no good to anyone.
Managing "high flyers" - the ambitious guys, who want to a do a lot of things(normally their way!) - is also a tough proposiiton. Since this means managing them differently - be it differential compensation or roles
Compromising on the recruiting process in an attempt to close the required numbers - will also result in a lot of heart ache - since many unqualified candidates get taken - who have to be told to leave later since they have not met the mark
IDEA
1. Put in place an excellent Recruitment process which identifies the right candidate
- assess the qualities of the current crop of igh performers who have stayed with the company for a reasonable period of time and understand what makes them stick and tick!- attracting similar candidates will result in greater recruiting success
2. Have a remuneration philosophy which is tailored for the kind of candidates who are recruited. For a candidate who is clearly a high flyer - have a differential compensation or role challenges with relevant performance filters so that it does not result in heart burn for others
__________________________________________________________
Attrition is a result of internal factors and external factors. When the external factors are more attractive than the internal ones, employees are tempted to leave
Some of the factors which affect Freshers are compensation, roles, location, culture, reporting manager's style
More than any other working age group freshers go thru a huge "adjustment period" where in irritants seem magnified for them ....be it change in food or even weather !
To add to it their tolerance levels to uncertainty and personal challenges are also very poor.....all of which does no good to corporates ....
IDEA
Regularly conduct climate surveys to understand this fact in detail.....be it a galloping economy which could mean mid term hikes or the need for a flexi -time culture - which could mean incorporating telecommuting or providing creche facilities
Proactive providing classes which equip candidates with life skills - be it cooking to knowing where to buy the right clothes (and not get cheated) to finding a house will really go a long way to managing these challenges.....
More on attrition ideas in another post
I read somewhere that the attrition after the training period (which is about a month) is about 5% (of current employees) at Infosys - that is as much as 2000 people.
And a disproporti0nate number (as much as 25%) of this attrition is from amongst the freshers or campus recruits.
For recruiters that's a lot of hard work down the drain..it is also big revenue drain since critical recruiter time is spent in replacing the employees who left.
In terms of return on investment....it is said that an organisation starts achieving profit from an employee somewhere between 6 months to an year of his joining - for freshers it could be as much as 1 year plus.
While in today's time attrition is accepted as a fact of life there are many things recruiters could do and are doing to stem the tide ....
Let's look at how one can stem attrition amongst freshers.....
Firstly some philosphy....!
Fresher retention is a tough one to manage since its difficult to differentiate between them on criteria like compensation or responsibility since they have no experience.
However a selective policy of retention is also important. After all it is important weed out the ones who show low potential
So what all do we need to be doing.........
Retaining freshers starts with the Recruitment process itself.
Recruiting employees who donot fit in with the company's mission and long term plans does no good to anyone.
Managing "high flyers" - the ambitious guys, who want to a do a lot of things(normally their way!) - is also a tough proposiiton. Since this means managing them differently - be it differential compensation or roles
Compromising on the recruiting process in an attempt to close the required numbers - will also result in a lot of heart ache - since many unqualified candidates get taken - who have to be told to leave later since they have not met the mark
IDEA
1. Put in place an excellent Recruitment process which identifies the right candidate
- assess the qualities of the current crop of igh performers who have stayed with the company for a reasonable period of time and understand what makes them stick and tick!- attracting similar candidates will result in greater recruiting success
2. Have a remuneration philosophy which is tailored for the kind of candidates who are recruited. For a candidate who is clearly a high flyer - have a differential compensation or role challenges with relevant performance filters so that it does not result in heart burn for others
__________________________________________________________
Attrition is a result of internal factors and external factors. When the external factors are more attractive than the internal ones, employees are tempted to leave
Some of the factors which affect Freshers are compensation, roles, location, culture, reporting manager's style
More than any other working age group freshers go thru a huge "adjustment period" where in irritants seem magnified for them ....be it change in food or even weather !
To add to it their tolerance levels to uncertainty and personal challenges are also very poor.....all of which does no good to corporates ....
IDEA
Regularly conduct climate surveys to understand this fact in detail.....be it a galloping economy which could mean mid term hikes or the need for a flexi -time culture - which could mean incorporating telecommuting or providing creche facilities
Proactive providing classes which equip candidates with life skills - be it cooking to knowing where to buy the right clothes (and not get cheated) to finding a house will really go a long way to managing these challenges.....
More on attrition ideas in another post
Monday, October 23, 2006
Head Hunting - Tips
I mentioned in one of my previous posts that with the advent of recruitment process outsourcing the need to differentiate the offerings of the Recruitment consultant becomes even more imperative.
One of such differentiated service would be head hunting and poaching.
So head hunting or poaching - which ever way one looks at it is a skill which has high demand.
In high end search firms Head Hunting is a specialisation itself with a handful possessing the capability to dig out names and numbers and poach the specific person.
The reason that head hunting is a skill possessed by a handful is because of the high entry barriers in acquiring this skill.
After all it requires tremendous guts to be able to manage the myriad uncertain situations which could come up when one embarks on a head hunting call
Such obstacles include being accused of phishing, to plain rebuttals (even threats) or no response at all.
one of the requests that have come my way during training programmes is to provide tips on how to tackle head hunting .
The aim of this post is provide some that .......................
1. Head hunting is an art. It requires practice and this means learning the hard way......
2. Practice your story line before hand ......plan your identity and have enough back up stories to justify your story so that you are never caught speechless. Some answers you should have
i. Why are you calling?
ii. Who are you? What does your organisation do?
iii. Why can't you give me the information or request (presuming this is a secy/receptionist)
iv. Give me a number that i can call back on (secy/receptionist/
v. Give me a website link of your organisation
3. Completely avoid phishing(impersonation - that is pretending to be someone or some organisation which really exists - for e.g saying that you are calling from NASSCOM -when you are not- . Phishing is a violation under the law of the land can lead to punishment of the individual
4. Have standard replies for potential bottlenecks -
i. If the person you want to reach is not available on his seat/is on leave - (no hanging up is not a good idea - it will lead to suspicion - you won't be able to call later)
ii If the person you want to reach says that he does not have the time to take the call
iii. If the person you want to reach puts you in touch with his secretary
iv. If the call is transferred to his secretary before you could say anything (again donot hang up!)
5. Do reasonable amount of research on the company from which you wish to head hunt ...for e.g i. what does it do? ii. where all does it have offices, sales and plant locations iii. which are the divisions? iv. the organisational structure v. the leadership team vi. names of some of the senior individuals (job site databases zindabad), vii. what kind of products does it sell - names of its brands etc
This will see to that you are not caught unawares about most organisational info
Also it is useful to pretend to be a person that you can easily identify with ...e.g if you have an understanding of sales and marketing - posing as a marketing executive would be comparatively easy.
Practice your lines ....saying it out will assure you that it sounds genuine!
Happy Head Hunting .....
One of such differentiated service would be head hunting and poaching.
So head hunting or poaching - which ever way one looks at it is a skill which has high demand.
In high end search firms Head Hunting is a specialisation itself with a handful possessing the capability to dig out names and numbers and poach the specific person.
The reason that head hunting is a skill possessed by a handful is because of the high entry barriers in acquiring this skill.
After all it requires tremendous guts to be able to manage the myriad uncertain situations which could come up when one embarks on a head hunting call
Such obstacles include being accused of phishing, to plain rebuttals (even threats) or no response at all.
one of the requests that have come my way during training programmes is to provide tips on how to tackle head hunting .
The aim of this post is provide some that .......................
1. Head hunting is an art. It requires practice and this means learning the hard way......
2. Practice your story line before hand ......plan your identity and have enough back up stories to justify your story so that you are never caught speechless. Some answers you should have
i. Why are you calling?
ii. Who are you? What does your organisation do?
iii. Why can't you give me the information or request (presuming this is a secy/receptionist)
iv. Give me a number that i can call back on (secy/receptionist/
v. Give me a website link of your organisation
3. Completely avoid phishing(impersonation - that is pretending to be someone or some organisation which really exists - for e.g saying that you are calling from NASSCOM -when you are not- . Phishing is a violation under the law of the land can lead to punishment of the individual
4. Have standard replies for potential bottlenecks -
i. If the person you want to reach is not available on his seat/is on leave - (no hanging up is not a good idea - it will lead to suspicion - you won't be able to call later)
ii If the person you want to reach says that he does not have the time to take the call
iii. If the person you want to reach puts you in touch with his secretary
iv. If the call is transferred to his secretary before you could say anything (again donot hang up!)
5. Do reasonable amount of research on the company from which you wish to head hunt ...for e.g i. what does it do? ii. where all does it have offices, sales and plant locations iii. which are the divisions? iv. the organisational structure v. the leadership team vi. names of some of the senior individuals (job site databases zindabad), vii. what kind of products does it sell - names of its brands etc
This will see to that you are not caught unawares about most organisational info
Also it is useful to pretend to be a person that you can easily identify with ...e.g if you have an understanding of sales and marketing - posing as a marketing executive would be comparatively easy.
Practice your lines ....saying it out will assure you that it sounds genuine!
Happy Head Hunting .....
Thursday, October 12, 2006
"metrics"
One of the fallouts of the tremendous pace of hiring is the increasing sense of inefficiency with respect to the processes employed to hire.
The inefficiency is blamed on the process or the individuals involved in it - be it the line manager or the staffing manager or the staffing team.
Clearly the system is not able to pin point the inefficiencies and is quick to point its fingers at the easiest target which is either the process or persons involved in it.
Why is the system not able to identify the culprit?
This is because the system has not been enabled to be smart enough to do that. And to enable it what is required is a robust metrics system which throws up the warning signs early on.
By metrics - i refer to the ones which reflect the way we hire.
This could be the number of resumes shortlisted for a position or the number of resumes shortlisted by the hiring manager against the total send to him by the consultant.
All of these metrics result in data which can be churned into information.
What all can the system generate?
Useful data can be generated according to the following parameters
Time
Success/Failure Rates
Both of the above can be utilised at various stages of the hiring process.
What i do want to enumerate below is a set of metrics for each stage of the process
Client Relationship : (Relevant only for Recruiting Agencies)
No of search mandates of the Top Clients Vs Others
% of Revenue from Top Client as a % of the total spending outflow of the client for consulting
% growth in the Revenue of the Top Client Vs Revenue Growth of the vertical Vs Growth in spending of the client
Search Strategy
Success of each search source
Total Hires per source as a %
Resume shortlisting
Total Resumes shortlisted per position
Resumes shortlisted per source - Consultants, referrals, job sites, advts (net + newspaper)
Total Resumes interviewed per position
Decline
Total candidates Rejected/interviewed
Total candidates declined/offered
The inefficiency is blamed on the process or the individuals involved in it - be it the line manager or the staffing manager or the staffing team.
Clearly the system is not able to pin point the inefficiencies and is quick to point its fingers at the easiest target which is either the process or persons involved in it.
Why is the system not able to identify the culprit?
This is because the system has not been enabled to be smart enough to do that. And to enable it what is required is a robust metrics system which throws up the warning signs early on.
By metrics - i refer to the ones which reflect the way we hire.
This could be the number of resumes shortlisted for a position or the number of resumes shortlisted by the hiring manager against the total send to him by the consultant.
All of these metrics result in data which can be churned into information.
What all can the system generate?
Useful data can be generated according to the following parameters
Time
Success/Failure Rates
Both of the above can be utilised at various stages of the hiring process.
What i do want to enumerate below is a set of metrics for each stage of the process
Client Relationship : (Relevant only for Recruiting Agencies)
No of search mandates of the Top Clients Vs Others
% of Revenue from Top Client as a % of the total spending outflow of the client for consulting
% growth in the Revenue of the Top Client Vs Revenue Growth of the vertical Vs Growth in spending of the client
Search Strategy
Success of each search source
Total Hires per source as a %
Resume shortlisting
Total Resumes shortlisted per position
Resumes shortlisted per source - Consultants, referrals, job sites, advts (net + newspaper)
Total Resumes interviewed per position
Decline
Total candidates Rejected/interviewed
Total candidates declined/offered
The aim of these metrics is not to find a scape goat and punish - but to be able to point in the correct direction for remedy
Metrics establish a habit. This will set up precedence for certain culture of doing work - which will elicit feedback
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
candidate counseling
in my training programmes whenever i talk about the importance of counseling the candidate i am met with mixed reactions in the ratio of about 70:30 ....in favour of not doing it!
I would say that counseling is one of the most important contributions of a recruiter to the hiring process. Most candidates have incomplete and in most cases inaccurate information about various aspects of the search mandate whether it is the job profile or the company information.
In such a context it is an opportunity for the Recruiter to attempt to influence the candidate in the manner that would lead to a successful closure of the mandate.
Unfortunately we underestimate our own powers of persuasion and hence unintentionally let others usurp that role ...others include the candidate's circle of influence such as spouse, friends or parents
In response to my stand many a recruiter has told me that this is a complete waste of their time since they work with mostly candidates who show eagerness for the job opportunity provided to them. That is the "active" candidates.
I would say that the exciting and the right fit candidate is never an active candidate but someone who is passive.
And passive candidates will always require counseling since they are not the interested parties but you are!
Secondly like all tools that one uses at work ....counseling also follows the 80/20 rule.
It is a tool which should be used in 20% of the cases the successful outcome of which will lead to you meeting 80% of your target.
I would say that counseling is one of the most important contributions of a recruiter to the hiring process. Most candidates have incomplete and in most cases inaccurate information about various aspects of the search mandate whether it is the job profile or the company information.
In such a context it is an opportunity for the Recruiter to attempt to influence the candidate in the manner that would lead to a successful closure of the mandate.
Unfortunately we underestimate our own powers of persuasion and hence unintentionally let others usurp that role ...others include the candidate's circle of influence such as spouse, friends or parents
In response to my stand many a recruiter has told me that this is a complete waste of their time since they work with mostly candidates who show eagerness for the job opportunity provided to them. That is the "active" candidates.
I would say that the exciting and the right fit candidate is never an active candidate but someone who is passive.
And passive candidates will always require counseling since they are not the interested parties but you are!
Secondly like all tools that one uses at work ....counseling also follows the 80/20 rule.
It is a tool which should be used in 20% of the cases the successful outcome of which will lead to you meeting 80% of your target.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Resume Reading -2
While we do read a resume with the intent of shortlisting it - there is a second stage to it.
The second stage is analysis. This requires a different approach to resume reading.
While conducting the primary shortlisting our focus is on grasping the pure facts.
However the second stage shortlisting is all about putting together data into useful facts or information.
What do we mean by analysis. This is a deductive process where we assemble various pieces of facts or data into a meaningful set of observations.
E.g of such analysis are
1. a south indian will be more comfortable taking up roles which are in South India.
2. An individual who has worked in a MNC environment will find an Indian company a difficult adjustment.
At the end of such an extensive analysis one should be able to create a visual picture of the potential candidate.
This will aid us in understanding the intangibles such as culture fit, location comfort etc.
It will also help us to find out the gaps in the resume - which we could verify with the candidate at the next level.
The third stage of the resume reading is to have a conversation with the candidate wherein we verify some of our notions.
The second stage is analysis. This requires a different approach to resume reading.
While conducting the primary shortlisting our focus is on grasping the pure facts.
However the second stage shortlisting is all about putting together data into useful facts or information.
What do we mean by analysis. This is a deductive process where we assemble various pieces of facts or data into a meaningful set of observations.
E.g of such analysis are
1. a south indian will be more comfortable taking up roles which are in South India.
2. An individual who has worked in a MNC environment will find an Indian company a difficult adjustment.
At the end of such an extensive analysis one should be able to create a visual picture of the potential candidate.
This will aid us in understanding the intangibles such as culture fit, location comfort etc.
It will also help us to find out the gaps in the resume - which we could verify with the candidate at the next level.
The third stage of the resume reading is to have a conversation with the candidate wherein we verify some of our notions.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Resume Reading - 1
One of the basic skills that any recruiter who is starting out should have is "Resume reading"
yes I mean it! I am sure you have a "so what about it?" expression on your face!
But i can tell you there is many a science behind the same.
For one Resumes are no longer home grown stuff. There are professional Resume writers who can do wonders to the most drab and dull resume! Interestingly it is these Professional Resume writers who have brought in a lot of structure to the resume - resulting in the resume being written and structured in a format which is uniform and easy to read
With the rise of technology resumes have undergone a sea change. Job portals have also driven the format - resulting in Resumes which are in line with portal fields.
So how are resumes structured?
They are broadly structured to include the following-:
Now to Resume Reading:
Resumes come in all lengths - unusally crisp ones and extraordinarily lengthy ones.!
While reading a short resume is bliss a long one can put off the most ardent of recruiters. It is not the best of efficiency if one is hell bent on reading every page of an 18 page resume
So how should a recruiter go about his or her task.
There are some rules....
Rule No1: Begin with the end in mind.
While reading a resume bear in mind the Job Description and the Candidate Profile.
While the JD includes the KRAs and roles and responsibilities of the potential job, the candidate profile will tell the recruiter about the qualifications, exp that is required.
As a recruiter it is useful to list down the important facts listed in the JD and candidate profile and search for the same in the resume. This helps to search for the relevant details easily.
I would call this process the resume screening process
Rule No2: Look for Key words
Similar to how one would search for resumes in a job portal by inputting a particular key word in the search box - while reading a resume look for key words.
These could be niche skills, qualifications, or experience in a particular company or role
Rule No3: Search for the "rejection criteria" first
When reading a resume firstly look for aspects which the client will not accept. So if they exist then there is no need to peruse the rest of the resume.
Afterall it is much easier to reject a resume than to accept it!
Rule No4: Once Rule 3 is done check for the "must haves"
Check the resume for the parameters which the client compulsorily expects the candidate to possess - be it a particular niche skill or a particular kind of role experience.
yes I mean it! I am sure you have a "so what about it?" expression on your face!
But i can tell you there is many a science behind the same.
For one Resumes are no longer home grown stuff. There are professional Resume writers who can do wonders to the most drab and dull resume! Interestingly it is these Professional Resume writers who have brought in a lot of structure to the resume - resulting in the resume being written and structured in a format which is uniform and easy to read
With the rise of technology resumes have undergone a sea change. Job portals have also driven the format - resulting in Resumes which are in line with portal fields.
So how are resumes structured?
They are broadly structured to include the following-:
- Personal Information - name, location, address, contact details.
- Candidates summary - Current role/Designation, function, key skills, years of experience, what kind of role is the candidate on the look out for
- Chronology of qualifications - starting from the latest to the earliest (with details of marks received, accomplishments)
- Chronology of experience - starting from latest to the earliest (with details of the main achievements in each area
- A summary of key skills (more common in information technology resumes)
Now to Resume Reading:
Resumes come in all lengths - unusally crisp ones and extraordinarily lengthy ones.!
While reading a short resume is bliss a long one can put off the most ardent of recruiters. It is not the best of efficiency if one is hell bent on reading every page of an 18 page resume
So how should a recruiter go about his or her task.
There are some rules....
Rule No1: Begin with the end in mind.
While reading a resume bear in mind the Job Description and the Candidate Profile.
While the JD includes the KRAs and roles and responsibilities of the potential job, the candidate profile will tell the recruiter about the qualifications, exp that is required.
As a recruiter it is useful to list down the important facts listed in the JD and candidate profile and search for the same in the resume. This helps to search for the relevant details easily.
I would call this process the resume screening process
Rule No2: Look for Key words
Similar to how one would search for resumes in a job portal by inputting a particular key word in the search box - while reading a resume look for key words.
These could be niche skills, qualifications, or experience in a particular company or role
Rule No3: Search for the "rejection criteria" first
When reading a resume firstly look for aspects which the client will not accept. So if they exist then there is no need to peruse the rest of the resume.
Afterall it is much easier to reject a resume than to accept it!
Rule No4: Once Rule 3 is done check for the "must haves"
Check the resume for the parameters which the client compulsorily expects the candidate to possess - be it a particular niche skill or a particular kind of role experience.
Friday, September 22, 2006
"offer decline"
i was training last week a group of Recruiters in Chennai. They work for a well known consulting company. While sharing their experiences they were of the opinion that their main concern was -
The increasing bane of offers being turned down by candidates (which i guess is the offshoot of the kind of offers that are being made in the first place)
Now every Company has its own compensation philosphy which guides it, based on which offers are made.
A consultant can attempt to bridge the gap between what the candidate desires and what the company can offer to the extent possible. After that there is not much he or she can do with respect to that.
However i am of the firm belief that all is not lost inspite of that not too fancy compensation offer.
Given below are some ways to ensnare that candidate who is not too happy with the compensation offer.
I have divided it into 3 types of strategy
The Icing Strategy
The Intangibles Strategy
The Tactics Strategy
The "Icing"
Offer him and his family a holiday trip within 6 months of joining
Offer him an attractive joining bonus (of course with a 6 month tie in - that is if he leaves within 6 months he will have to return it)
Offer him a relocation bonus
Offer to reimburse chidren's school expenses - related to relocation
Send him for a training programme on behalf of the new company
Send him a joining gift hamper - which includes coupons for shopping and dining
The "Intangibles"
Get Senior company employees to talk to him and even discuss loosely the future project pipeline(without compromising on confidentiality)
Involve him in any off sites if possible
Keep in touch with him to keep track of the progress on his exit from the current company - if there is no progress that is the surest sign of trouble in
paradise
The "tactics"
Ask him for a copy of his resignation letter email that he sent to his boss.
Get an acceptance email copy also if possible
Get copies of air or train ticket bookings if it is a relocation
Enquire about plans to relocate - spouse's job, children's education, transferring belongings
Discuss about any loans that he is presently carrying and which he would like to transfer
Ask if his replacement has arrived or not and when would that happen
Correlate all of the above through your own sources in the company
The list can go on and on - there is never that innovative idea that cannot be tried out....
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Recruitment Process Outsourcing
Recruitment has become a complex process in today's times. In the pursuit of the right candidate - who fits not just the role but the company's culture - companies have embarked on a combination of sometimes lengthy selection processes. They range from the standard test cum interview to psychometric tests to spending time with the CEO. The more long widing the process the greater the rejection rate resulting in the candidate success rate plummeting.
If getting thru such a process was not enough there are stringent reference checks to overcome.
An administratively over burdened Recruitment function is the not so unpalatable outcome of all this.
To focus their attention on the core task of identifying the right candidate companies are more and more outsourcing various administrative tasks. These include managing the test process (making the tests, conducting them online, getting them corrected) coordinating the entire process - candidate calling for tests and interviews - and conducting reference checks.
The result of such an outsourcing is really win win. The company gets to concentrate on Recruitment from a strategic perspective and not from a administrative or execution perspective.
Individuals in the function donot get bogged down by the trivial stuff which otherwise does derail the main process.
Recruitment companies also forge a strong symbiotic relationship with their clients - creating better understanding between the two.
However this does throw a large challenge to Recruitment consulting companies.
Firstly recruiters will be expected to have better Business skills since they would be expected to handle a larger gamut of tasks unlike yester years where it was mostly about sending that bunch of resumes for a particular position and then doing a waiting game with a client - for the outcome of the process.......
If getting thru such a process was not enough there are stringent reference checks to overcome.
An administratively over burdened Recruitment function is the not so unpalatable outcome of all this.
To focus their attention on the core task of identifying the right candidate companies are more and more outsourcing various administrative tasks. These include managing the test process (making the tests, conducting them online, getting them corrected) coordinating the entire process - candidate calling for tests and interviews - and conducting reference checks.
The result of such an outsourcing is really win win. The company gets to concentrate on Recruitment from a strategic perspective and not from a administrative or execution perspective.
Individuals in the function donot get bogged down by the trivial stuff which otherwise does derail the main process.
Recruitment companies also forge a strong symbiotic relationship with their clients - creating better understanding between the two.
However this does throw a large challenge to Recruitment consulting companies.
Firstly recruiters will be expected to have better Business skills since they would be expected to handle a larger gamut of tasks unlike yester years where it was mostly about sending that bunch of resumes for a particular position and then doing a waiting game with a client - for the outcome of the process.......
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