4 Ways to Make the Most of Your Recruiting Relationships
Having a successful recruiting partner relationship is essential for businesses that want to stay competitive in the hiring process. A strong partnership can help you find top talent faster, streamline processes and ensure that all work is done with integrity. What makes a successful recruiting relationship for companies and their partners who work with them to fill jobs?
“Relationships are at the core of any successful business. I believe that if you build relationships first, the money will follow.” – Mark Cuban
A successful business relationship is built on trust, respect, and mutual understanding. It requires both parties to communicate openly and honestly, work together towards a common goal, and hold each other accountable for their responsibilities. A strong business relationship is also based on a shared commitment to success and a deep respect for the other person’s expertise. Businesses can foster lasting partnerships that will benefit both sides in the long-run by forging such relationships. Let’s consider how companies can set themselves up for stronger relationships with external recruiters and how that translates to faster, easier, and better hiring results.
4 Ways to Get Stronger Recruiter Relationships and Better Hiring Results
1. Develop clear communication protocols.
Relationships are supposed to be a two-way street. In an ideal world, a clear dialogue between parties and a give-and-take flow makes the relationship work. Be sure to clearly define expectations, roles, and responsibilities from both parties involved in the recruiting process. How do you prefer to review resumes? Do you want executive summaries with resumes attached or resumes presented in a certain format? How do you like to be reached? Do you prefer a text, a phone call, or an email? When is the best time of day and week to reach you?
Josh Schiff, Equiliem Director of Professional Staffing, says he encourages his team of recruiters to be granular in learning about client preferences, “Learning the nuances about our clients allows us to be more efficient. Most people appreciate the attention to detail.”
2. Treat your contingent workers the same way you treat your direct hire employees.
Schiff says his best clients value their contract workers by offering them the same or equivalent perks and benefits as their full-time employees. “When a client can pay PTO, holiday pay, and make other bonuses available to contractors, it makes it easy for the contractor to stay on assignment or choose to convert to a full-time position down the road,” Schiff explained. “We see a big difference in retention when clients go in with the mindset of parity for contingent workers than when people are left out.”
He said, “When temps and contractors feel like part of the company, are included in meetings and lunches, it goes a long way. We find that building in benefits to the rate most often pays off in terms of employee satisfaction and productivity.”
3. Be transparent about your timeline and focus on quality.
Staying in close communication and being transparent with your recruiting partner is essential in a practice that depends on variables. One of those variables is the market competition for the role. Schiff explains, “If you’re looking for an engineer with specific certifications, it may take longer than an administrative assistant. Be as transparent as possible with your urgency and process,” Schiff said. “When you’re looking for a quality candidate, you want to be prepared for the time that might take and not rush the process. The important thing is to engage candidates quickly. Start interviewing sooner rather than later and stay in communication so that they know you are serious about hiring. You don’t want to lose desirable candidates by keeping them in the dark.”
4. Invest in building trust.
Make sure both parties understand each other’s values, goals, and vision for success; Schiff said, “Recruiters need to do their best to set expectations on the process. Customers need to do their best to trust the process. As a partner, we are in the business of helping you find someone that you can retain for the long term. If we are setting a pay range with you and come back with data that suggests we need to go up, it is based on what the market dictates. We are looking out for your long-term interest in finding someone we can retain.”
When you create a relationship of trust between parties, there can be a focus beyond immediate needs. “The right partner will be asking the right questions to identify pain points not only today but into the future. Sharing information allows for greater and more collaborative solutions,” Schiff said.
These are a few tips to consider when working with a recruiting partner. It’s worth the time to build a relationship. A partnership approach leads to more effective hiring decisions, quicker turnaround times, and ultimately better results for your business.