Quality Job Spec + Quality Recruitment Process = Quality Hire

There are signs in our business that recruitment is picking up – September will be a telling month as it is usually our busiest month for new assignments. We are seeing three signs:

·          Client meetings are going in the diary for September to talk about autumn hiring
·          New assignments include team growth and not just replacement
·          Star candidates are already receiving multiple offers. 

So does that mean it is back to business as usual? I don’t think so. And I’m not sure it will ever be the same.

I think there has been one major change in recruitment compared to the last couple of years and that is a significant shift to quality. Not just the quality of candidates, but also the quality of the recruitment process. And that starts with defining the role. We’re having much clearer conversations with our clients about the objective for the recruitment: what difference will this hire make; where will value be added; what are the deliverables and how will success be measured. Specifying the deliverables for the role is extremely valuable in defining the skills and experience required from the candidate.  We are now working with clients to clearly specify the type and focus of experience that candidates need to be successful in the role, where they will have worked and the amount and type of exposure they will have had. In addition, personal attributes are being more clearly articulated.

This improvement in clarity of thinking makes our job both easier and harder: easier because we know what to focus on and what to discard and harder because we need to work harder to prepare shortlists of specific skills and experience rather than generic ones. Our shortlists need to demonstrate that we have listened to and understood your requirements. Every candidate on a shortlist has to meet the closely defined spec; every candidate in interview has to meet the cultural fit with the firm.

There is no excuse for the recruiter to show inappropriate candidates. And there is tremendous pressure on the recruiter to produce high quality shortlists out of thin air. It takes time and effort to build a high quality list and deliver a high quality recruitment process. The process needs to be driven by a motivated consultant who will keep the flow of good candidates high, maintain momentum and manage an orderly shortlist and interview timetable.  But with a well defined job spec and a high quality recruitment process you should end up with a great hire that will deliver the value you want in the way you envisaged when you first started to think you would recruit.