In Total Quality Management (TQM) there is a saying: “quality can be free”.
According to TQM, the cost to quality only occurs with scrap and rework and not when it is done right the first time. So isn’t it possible that recruiting can be free as well? The challenge is: many companies have not prepared to recruit thoroughly. And you can hardly blame the Hiring Managers. The organization and reporting structure demands it that way and does not leave room for a thorough recruiting approach. A recruiter cannot change an organization. A recruiter is just expected to recruit successfully.
So how can a Recruiter implement quality into recruitment without trying to change an organization?
Talent acquisition is not enough. Neither is a vital isolated job description. In a first step a recruiter will need to come to a thorough understanding of who the company is. This requires talking to various managers to understand how the company works and where the company is special. This is the starting point I used many times successfully to build a compelling story which catches first the attention and then the interest of the candidates. But before reaching out to candidates I need a proper understanding of the five main job tasks and their expected results. It no longer comes as a surprise to me that I meet Hiring Managers who have never thought about defining the job tasks beyond the obvious. It does take time to think about it. Rome was not built in one day. I just need enough information to get my search started. If the Hiring Manager really understands the importance of the job tasks then she will understand to use this as a basis to manage her team better and to unlock the potential of her team more effectively.
There are many ways to evaluate how much importance a Hiring Manager places on describing the job tasks and their expected results. One way is to understand if the Hiring Manager is looking for a candidate who has done the job or who can do the job? This also reveals much about the awareness to recruiting.
Finding answers to what makes a company so special
Both questions yield to a different set of candidate profile. If a recruiter wants to recruit quality, he will opt for the second question. But in reality most companies go for the first – “has the candidate the job done before”. Having done the job before doesn’t tell us if they have done the job well. Top performers want to grow, do something new and are not after a lateral move.
Finding answers to what the company is so special about and what the new hire is expected enables me to recruit the most valuable candidates into companies. And there is no need for me to change an organization to be successful.
I admit, one challenge are HR KPI’s. They measure time and cost and not the quality of hire. These KPI measures are not helpful as they shift the focus of recruitment away from the best hire. To come back to the question. Can recruitment be free? It could cost much less and be done much better but that required a top down approach from the CEO. But as said, a recruiter cannot change an organization and instead can go on recruiting successfully regardless.
