LEAN, Just-in-Time Recruiting!

Probably the single most inefficient step in most recruitment processes is when the recruiters submit candidates to hiring managers for consideration.

Does this sound like your organizations process or any you have worked for?

• Requisition gets approved
• Recruiter does intake session with hiring manager to qualify the need
• Position is posted internally/externally
• Recruiter sources candidates if necessary
• Recruiter Pre-screens candidates
• Recruiter send qualified slate of candidates to hiring manager for review
• Hiring manager decides which candidates they want to interview
• Recruiter coordinates interview…

Why do we submit candidates for consideration?? …

Let’s think about this logically:

• If we are the experts in recruiting
• And if we defined the position thoroughly during the intake session
• And if we sourced/pre-screened a candidate we feel are qualified to interview for the position

Then why would we submit the candidate to the hiring manager and ask them what they think?

Shouldn’t we just set up an interview between the candidate and the hiring manager?

Think of all the wasted time associated with this step in the hiring process:

• Waiting for the hiring manager to review candidate(s) credentials.
• Field calls from candidates asking for status.
• Having to source more candidates because the hiring manager nixed good candidates because they didn’t like something on their resume.
  

If we perform the first three steps in the recruitment process (intake session, sourcing, pre-screen) correctly and if our hiring managers see us as the expert in recruitment, there is no logical reason for hiring managers to review resumes prior to interviewing the candidate.

When a good candidate is identified and pre-screened, you should contact them and say “when are you available to meet ______? Better yet, if they use a calendar tool like Outlook . . . just go ahead and put the interview on their schedule!

End of story.

Now of course there are sometimes exceptions (new recruiter, new position you have never recruited for, new hiring manager). But for most situations, you can completely remove this step in the process!

If this is your current recruitment process, I would change it immediately!

With that said, recognize it might take some managers a little while to buy into the new process. But by educating them about the time they will save (reviewing resumes, coordinating schedules, etc.), you should be able to convert over to the new process relatively easily.

If they strongly resist this change, it is probably because:

• They have had bad experiences in the past with recruiters that didn’t perform the Intake session, sourcing, pre-screen well. They received resumes of unqualified candidates for review.




• And/or they don’t see you as the expert in the recruitment process.

Stop asking “what do you think about this candidate?” rather . . . “when are you available to interview”!

For any recruiter that has to do a heavy amount of outbound solicitation (aka – cold calling), I’m sure at times (maybe right this minute if you’re reading this blog post) you lack the motivation to get on the phones.

If this is you, please read on!

Over the last 20 years, I have studied leaders on the topics of time management, planning, behavior modification, personal achievement as well as industry experts in the field of recruiting.

From this research, there are clearly common themes to being motivated and having a productive day, including:

• Proper daily planning
• Defining and performing critical/important tasks (rather than always focused on urgent requests)
• Being single minded when engaging in an activity

One uncommon (or, less talked about; but arguably the most important) theme, is developing the skill/ability to start each day with a positive, driven mindset and then engaging into super- productive activity the minute you get to your desk.

Developing this skill can improve overall daily productivity by 10, 20, 50%. In addition, it can relieve stress associated with ‘cold call procrastination.’

I (like I’m sure most of you) develop a daily plan (our planning methodology at the Recruiter Academy is called The Perfect Week, A Perfect Day) following the principles outlined by many leading experts.

Up until now, I’ve always believed that your daily plan could be done either, in the evening (before the next day) or in the morning before your day begins. I’ve had folks argue this point with me that point out the need to plan before you leave at night for the following day. However, I’m a morning person and do a much better job of planning when I am rested and focused on the day ahead.

Most days, I come into the office early, prepare my daily plan, handle email, maybe some administrative tasks, and prepare my call list with the good intention of ‘hitting the phones’ early in the day.

On the surface, not a bad way to start the day. But in reality, planning/emails/ administrative tasks did not put me in that positive mindset vital to successful outbound solicitation.

Now as I reflect back, I have often started my day this way (with good intentions to do outbound solicitation) only to procrastinate and continue on with the hours of the computer/admin work on my plate.

Essentially – My start to the day (planning, emails, and admin work) put me in the mindset to continue to do more of the same.

While it might seem subtle, coming in with a positive, ‘you can’t stop me’ attitude and immediately launching into positive activity (no planning, emails, administrative) can generate candidate flow and/or referrals and release endorphins that can set a productive tone for the entire day.

We recently implemented this process at our organization and the results were amazing. More activity, more candidates, less stress, happier teams.

My road map for a hyper-productive, motivating day of outbound sourcing activity!

• When I have a day loaded with a ton of out bound solicitation, and I know I need to get out of the gate quick; I am going to script out the first 10-50 calls of the day (pending my prospect/call list I have to work from).
• I am going to write down the first 10-50 people that I want to contact that morning right on my Perfect Day schedule. Most importantly, when I hit my desk that morning, I will immediately launch into that activity and nothing else. If you checked your emails when you left the night before, they can wait another hour or two.
• This doesn’t mean that I can’t plan in the morning. Since I am a morning person, I will do my planning remotely from my home before I come into the office. I still believe you should do your planning when you are focused at the task at hand. If that is before you leave at night – great. If it is in the evening after you put the kids down – great. For me, that best time is the morning.
• Before arriving at the office, I will read and/or listen to something that motivates me for the task at hand. Probably more important than technique is your mindset and motivation to make a call.
• I will arrive at the office when I have a high probability (based on the contact information I have on the individuals) to catch them live on the phone. For me, that usually is 7:30am when my clients are getting to the office and planning their day and returning emails. I will block off at least 1 hour for my initial call session, maybe longer given the nature of my prospect list.
  
• As I arrive at the office, I will be prepared, focused and have a positive mental outlook on what is going to happen as a result of making these calls.
  
• If possible, I will perform this initial call session with a peer. Camaraderie during sourcing is always motivating!
  
• My first few calls are NOT going to be new prospect calls! They are going to be “easy” calls (maybe follow up calls) to folks that I feel comfortable talking to and/or know will be an easy/pleasant conversation. This will allow me to practice effective communication skills and gets my ‘voice’ (and mojo) going.
  
• I will be prepared for each call knowing what I want to say and what I want to accomplish on the call (this will be written next to their name on my perfect day call list).
  
• I will reflect on my initial calls for the day and reward myself for a positive calling session.
  

As I reflect back, it is pretty obvious to see that my most productive days “cold calling” usually occurred when I got out of the gate quick (adding a motivational contest – made us even more productive).

DISCLAIMER: I understand the information presented above is nothing new, or has been covered and written about previously.

The key is NOT doing any administrative work BEFORE you hit the phones. NONE! Developing the ability to immediately launch into high intensity, outbound activity to get the blood flowing for the day is the key. To do that, of course you (I) have to be disciplined to have your first 10-50 calls scripted for the day.

For seasoned recruiters (like me), maybe this can get you out of a sourcing ‘rut’!

For new recruiters, developing this habit can be the single most important key to your success.

For anyone struggling to get on the phones, give this a try.

Do these phrases describe some of your hiring managers?

• “I send them resumes and they don’t get back to me”.
• “I don’t get feedback from them after interviews.”
• “They want to offer them less than they are making now.”
• “They don’t know how to sell an opportunity.”
  

While many hiring managers can be described as finicky at best, often times I find that these are symptoms of the real problem – credibility (or lack thereof) with the hiring managers.

Do you have credibility with your hiring managers?

How many of these questions can you answer with a “YES”?

1. Do you sit in on your hiring managers weekly/monthly status meetings? Are you on the agenda to discuss recruitment/employment activity, status, etc.?
2. Do you assist your hiring managers (and HR) in developing headcount forecasts? Succession planning? Do you know their projected/budgeted hiring needs for the year? Quarter? etc.?
3. Do have a strong functional knowledge of what their organization does?
4. Do you have detailed knowledge of the labor market for the skill sets you recruit for?
1. Who are you competitors? Who are their top performers? What do they get paid?
2. What are alternative sources of candidates?
5. Do you have a defined hiring process and set Service Level Agreements with your managers?
6. Do you deliver quality, passive candidates for their needs?
7. Do your hiring managers understand and appreciate how you source candidates?
8. Do your hiring managers allow you to schedule candidates for interviews with them WITHOUT reviewing resume/credentials?
   

If you could answer “yes” to the following questions – you probably have credibility with your hiring managers. If you were not able to answer yes – this might be an area for personal development and growth as we head into the New Year!

How can you build credibility?

Consulting with organizations/recruiters around the country, I have found that recruiters build credibility by:

• Defining and controlling the hiring process.
• Setting Service Level Agreements with hiring managers.
• Having a “seat at the table” by participating in operational/staff meetings (recruitment is an agenda item).
• Having a strong functional knowledge of what their line of business is.
• Being aware of their Hiring Managers hiring needs and how it impact’s their business.
• Understanding the labor market for the job families they recruit for.
  

Simply put, they function as an internal consultant and expert on recruiting/assessment/hiring within the organization. They are a respected peer and are viewed to be a credible source for their expertise (recruitment).

I have already touched on The Most Important Service Level Agreement, please check it out. In the coming weeks, I will provide more helpful/tactical information on the other ways you can build credibility.

For the last few years a few of my peers (in addition to many of my clients) have been focused on recruiting passive candidates within the financial services industry. Given the recent market turbulence, it is not uncommon for quality, proven professionals in this space to receive 5-10 calls/emails a day from recruiters.

This has only heightened the importance of crafting/delivering a compelling message [we call them “Attention Grabbers” (AG)] that distinguishes you from the competition, and ultimately – - gets you engaged with the top candidates in your market.

While there are many keys to “The Art and Science of Recruiting Passive Candidates,” I thought I would outline a few that have been instrumental in our latest successes when recruiting quality professionals in high demand.

1. Remember the 30-second/90 word rule. In Milo Frank’s book – “How to get your point across in 30-seconds or Less,” he discusses how humans ‘consume’ information and emphasizes that we have just ’30-seconds’ to grab someone’s attention and/or make a point. Here are 2 keys to make sure your recruitment message is compelling, to the point and delivered (via email, voice mail, or catching them live) in 30-seconds or less.

• First, I recommend role playing with your peers and/or leaving yourself a voice mail. (When leaving yourself a voice mail, time it, it may surprise you)
• Second, try the, “90 words or less,” rule. If your email is 90 words or less, it is probably 30-seconds or less.

2. Outline 1-3 compelling reasons why they should listen. Most recruitment messages describe the skills you are seeking in a candidate, RATHER than the reason(s) someone would/should take a few minutes to check out a new opportunity. Don’t use trite, cliché, or often-used generic phrases like; “excellent career growth,” “uncapped compensation plan,” “flexible schedule.” They don’t work. Instead, insert a point that actually describes what you mean.

• Instead of, “Excellent career growth,” Insert: The last 5 outstanding performers we hired into this position were promoted within 15 months from date of hire!
• Instead of, “Uncapped Compensation Plan,” Insert: Our top 10 performers in this role average $130,000.
• Instead of, “Flexible Schedule,” Insert: Students – we will sit down with you each semester to craft a work schedule that fits nicely with your class schedule.

3. Respect & remember you are contacting them unannounced. If you are recruiting passive candidates that are not expecting your call/email, it is nice to be respectful of their time. Some phrases that “soften” the delivery of your message include:

• Email: Hi Dave. I apologize for emailing you unannounced. I have an excellent opportunity and was hoping you might be able to help me out.
• Catching them live: “Hi Bob: My name is David Szary and I am a recruiter with ______. I am sure you get calls from recruiters all the time but I have an excellent opportunity and was hoping you might be able to help me out . . . “

4. Use an indirect, networking approach when contacting passive candidates. When contacting passive candidates (especially folks that work for your competitors), we have standardized an indirect, networking approach. Instead of the direct approach (“I would like to talk to you about an opportunity . . . “) we use phases like:
• “I am networking with professionals in the industry and thought you might be able to help me out . . . “
• “If you know of anyone that might be interested in this opportunity, I would appreciate you passing my information along . . . “
• “If you know of anyone that fits this description, please let me know . . . “
• “I just started this search; any assistance you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Is there anyone in the industry well respected and connected that could help me with my search?”

Steven Covey tells the story of two folks chopping wood:

• One that works frantically all day chopping wood with a dull ax.
• One that takes precious time to sharpen his ax during the day.

Of course by the end of the day, the one that takes time to sharpen his/her ax ends up with the most chopped wood!

I relate this to crafting compelling recruitment messages. If you don’t take time to:

• Understand your candidates motives
• Craft (and edit) compelling messages
• Practice and role play

You are sourcing candidates with a “dull” ax.

Crafting and delivering recruitment messages is “an art AND a science.” And, the ideas presented above are just a few of the many keys/ways to successfully contact passive candidate!

As I mentioned in the Newsletter, if you would like another set of “eyes/ears” to help constructively critique your message(s), please contact me as If I was a candidate. I would be more than happy to help you review and critique your message!

David Szary
734-414-9816
dszary@recruiteracademy.com

Tuesday’s early morning TV news shows were discussing the “post-vacation” blues. Schools are back in session and it’s the end of the unofficial “summer season.” They mentioned how difficult it can be for folks to “get back into the groove.” For those who have been in recruiting for any length of time, you know this can also be a very busy time during the year. Hiring managers are also back from vacation and ready to get back to business. The window of time between now and thanksgiving is often the busiest hiring time of the year. There are 08 goals to be accomplished and projects to be completed. If managers don’t get people hired, there is fear of headcount being cut for 09.

With this said, it is extremely important for you to understand and determine your hiring priorities as you head into the fall season.

What open positions are very critical to fill? What vacancies are urgent but not critical?

Managers never want to hear their position is not at “the front of the line,” but with most corporate recruiters carrying 25+ requisitions, there has to be some order of importance to filling them. Qualifiers include:

• Cost of Vacancy (are they revenue producing positions)?
• Is the vacancy/position critical to an important business objective that must be completed?

Another non-scientific, thought provoking way to qualify when a position needs to be filled is by asking a different question. Instead of asking, “when do you want this position filled . . .” (they will always say “yesterday” or ASAP”), ask them . . .

• “You will really be impacted and extremely upset with me if we don’t have this position filled by __________ (when)?”

It is amazing what type of responses you will get when you pose this question. While many managers will still stick with the ASAP/yesterday answer (of which you can then council them regarding average time-to-fill, etc.), many of them will put some thought to your question and provide logical reasons for when their openings need to be filled. Often times, it is not as soon as you think!

Again – this is a non-scientific approach to setting priorities (Cost of Vacancy, etc. are the best drivers of qualification) but this question can be a helpful tool when taking the “pulse” of your clients.

It can also help define the most important service level agreement.

If you have never used this line before, it can be a great opening statement when recruiting passive candidates. I was on a webinar yesterday and some great points were made regarding the two “types” of passive candidates.

• Those that get a ton of calls from recruiters (professions like engineers, commercial lenders, SAP consultants, etc.).
• Those that don’t.
  

For both candidate types, you can use this phrase in your opening statement to your advantage.

Heavily recruited professionals:

By using this line, you can break the ice and let them know that you know they get called all the time. This is a respectful, tactful way to let them know you appreciate their situation (heavily recruited) and that you DON’T want to bug them, but . . . you DO want to talk to them about an opportunity and/or to network!

Hi John:

My name is David Szary. I am sure you get calls from recruiters all the time but I have an excellent opportunity . . . . (continue with some type of Attention Grabber . . . )

Not so heavily recruited professionals:

This line is GREAT with these folks. Since they don’t get calls from recruiters, this really gets them thinking . . .

“I don’t get called all the time, I feel left out, I want to be wanted . . . so I am going to talk to you and see what opportunities I am missing out on.”

While there are many ways you can open a call (contrary to what some “experts” will tell you) and get passive candidates to engage and listen to what you have to offer, I have talked to many recruiters that use the above line successfully when recruiting passive candidates!

Give it a try!