Time For A New Apprentice?
Getting Your New Apprentices!
Copyright Henry James 2022-2023
For a £250,000 investment will your business REALLY spend 12 weeks, interviewing the candidate 12 times in the interview process?
Have the Owner and his two closest advisers PLUS 5 additional external heavy hitters as advisers also helping with the decision?
No, thought not. Great TV though.
In the past Head Hunters were only used for very senior posts. Nowadays, with more candidates, and lots of hungry recruiters, many senior posts are flung out there for "contingency" deals. However, it seems, for some HR people, they are still paying quite big fees for jobs they really could be doing themselves. More of that later. [Note: I am not having a pop at headhunters, recruiters, or HR people.]
Either way, it means more money is lost to the business.
Head Hunters do a great job and are worth their rather large fees if they get you the right candidate. They have the right network. They can do the ad for you. They buy the ad space (and make money on that at your expense too). They screen the candidates (but then again there is "screening" - have a chat - or there are scientific ways to do it) to suggest the shortlist that you also spend time interviewing too. And the psychographic fit must be there too.
You decide (if they are good) and hire or not. The offer goes and they accept and your off to the races - and anywhere between @ 10/20-33%+ of the new compensation package will go to the recruiter in fees, or less for online servicing from some. Let's assume, just for argument's sake that it's a 100k salary scenario. By the time you have finished with the company car, pension, and all the other bits and pieces you are probably down by a minimum of £10-30K in fees if not more.
But is that the best approach and ROI?
Really it's a typical marketing problem.
1. Few employers, large or small, have a regular drip-feed campaign that promotes their business when they are not recruiting. One that makes the business attractive enough to get a steady stream of the right type of candidates approaching the company at ALL times.
2. When they are recruiting the adverts produced are invariably full of "corporate speak". They do not give their company (or the role they are trying to fill) enough personality to attract the right candidates or the exactly right skills. Nor are they worded in a way to "polarise" candidates so that you only get the right type of self selecting candidate.
3. Other than the typical call to action - "Send us your CV", there is nothing to weed out the desperate job seekers with polished CV's [created by someone else] getting in your pile and wasting your time.
The combination of all three drives you nuts and you either get lower-skilled people in the role you cannot fill or go to a recruiter to "save you time and money". Either way, not what you want.
OR
Save yourself the recruiter's fees:
1. Create a regular campaign of information, PR and stories about your business. Get it on the radio, in the local press (and nationals if appropriate), that make your company brilliant to work for. That will create a drip-feed of candidates that will sit in your databank, not the recruiters.
2. When you are recruiting give your advert "personality". Why? Because, as you know, personality - or even a total lack of it in extreme cases - polarises people. They like you or they don't. And that's what you want - to polarise away those people who will not fit your company personality.
3. Give your ad a different call to action, something that will make the candidate do something different that will help you immediately see they have the skills and commitment you need. Get them to write you a Whitepaper on a specific aspect relevant to the job. Or a presentation. Or a video on a specific topic. After all, you could always use it (or bits of it) later!
4. That way the ad, and the call to action, plus the drip-feed (1 above), will enable you to have a self-selected shortlist. Other than spend time reading the hot CVs you have not spent much money or time.
5. You see the shortlist of the right candidates and Bobs your uncle and your competition are left wondering how on earth your business is going so well when they cannot get the right candidates to approach them - let alone interview them.
It is quite likely that this little blog will polarise a few people too! But that's OK.
If it does and you don't agree with it you won't be contacting me anyway.
If it hits a cord you will. And if you do - it's because you have the right personality and approach to work with someone like me - so we will both be happy.
So, next time you have a post to fill, bear this blog in mind, and if you want help crafting a winning recruitment ad bear me in mind too. It's a lot less expensive than a recruiter's fee.
All the best with gaining your New Apprentices - until next time,
Henry
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About the Author:
Henry James is a marketer with a passion for estate agency and the property sector and specialises in marketing systems for estate agents and those in the property sector.
He helps you attract, convert and retain business to help companies like yours make more money!
