Do we need to manage candidate relationship? I always thought it was a no brainer and everyone will agree that it is a big “MUST HAVE”. To my surprise I was dragged into a discussion on the importance of Candidate Relationship management.
While in principle people agreed that it is good to have, but quite a few believed, we can live without it happily. Let’s look at some of the arguments and contemplate
- Takes too much time – the time spent in managing candidates, especially if there are too many, could well be utilized in finding more candidates.
- Too complex – Too many loose ends. Too much to remember and plans do not get executed most of the time.
- Candidate irritant- Candidates get irritated with irrelevant calls from recruiters. Call , only if you have a job in hand.
- Recruitment is not about making friends- As a recruiter, your relationship with the candidate ends once he is out of the recruitment process.
- Employer branding is not the sourcers/recruiters job – Candidates will always crib if they don’t get through. Nevertheless, branding is not the job of recruitment or sourcing
- Networking doesn’t work for quick to fill and volume requirements- You need time to find candidates through networking, and only job boards can provide the numbers required for volume hiring. Niche hiring is a different case
- Only important, when you are doing a passive search- Active candidates, do not need cajoling. It is the passive candidates who need to be dealt with carefully
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Great discussion Masood. Well done!! I believe we can have a big debate over this....
ReplyDeleteHere're my counter arguments on your points.
1. You find more candidates because you can not fill your requirements with current candidates. Recruiters time is better invested in engaging top candidates in industry rather than chasing 1000s of them. Remember - quality VS quantity?
2. Get a CRM and system to yourself. Is your system manages candidates OR requirements? Nothing is too complex for a right system for a right intent. Look back to your basic system and see if it is equipped enough.
3. That's because your offering / content is not compelling enough to them. It's not about calling them again and again, it's about knowing what's a right content and information which they will be interested in. Take some efforts to know your candidates - don't throw s**t at them.
4. Big mistake, wrong belief. Your candidates are your potential company hires. They will carry their "experience" inside and outside of company. Bad experience goes viral and very fast. People matters!!! :)
5. Great 1990's recruiter / admin comment. A typical inbox recruiter is what you are. Employer branding is one of the most important part of recruitment in today's world.
6. Whether it's niche or volume requirement - building great relationships are not dependent of this fact. In longer run, you will end up calling same candidates again! Now - does it matter?? Think long term!
7. Again, a typical inbox / process recruiter. Giving a good candidate experience and building relationship is core of any recruitment process. How good is your recruitment process which does not give updates to your candidates? People not just look for good money but good people look for good company as well. Recruiters / sourcers are the first point of contact. First impression, last impression!!
The candidates are the real asset of any recruitment system which needs care and nurturing for effective outcome. It's all upto you if you are looking at short term VS long term advantage.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteTo manage candidate relationship is a very serious matter for every business owner, the above points are very interesting, friendship is the key point of this. Lots of good information in your posting, I would like to tweet your blog post to visit again in the near future.
Sourcing Company
Good points are discussed it takes time to find right candidates for the company.
ReplyDelete