Talk about missing the point!
“We want an exceptional person, so we’ve given the task to several recruiters … (doh).”
As the pandemic dust settles, there’s one thing that’s absolutely certain. There are lots of people looking for new jobs, and on a positive note, there are a surprising number of businesses looking to recruit as well.
What separates smart organisations from the rest though, is their desire to find the very best people … the top 1% of talent in the marketplace.
They do this because they know that excellent employees produce outstanding results and make things happen. And in so doing they naturally reduce the amount of recruitment needed.
… Sounds counter intuitive doesn’t it? But it’s obvious when you start to think about it.
When top talent gets to work, everything spirals upwards. Results, motivation and morale improve. Average performers start to up their game, and you begin to realise that you’re the captain of a happy and unstoppable ship. It’s like a football team that gets into the habit of winning … it just keeps happening, and you’re on an upward spiral.
To some extent, of course, staff turnover will still occur - maybe by design. But now people are beating a path to your door. Word gets out, and your employer reputation and credibility soars.
There is, of course, always a BUT … and the BUT here is that you cannot achieve this if you give your critical vacancies to multiple recruiters.
It’s like asking two plumbers to fit you a new bathroom, or simultaneously ordering a round of drinks from two separate bar tenders, it doesn’t end well!
It’s a fact that if a top candidate is made aware of the same role by several recruiters, an awkward situation develops. They start to smell a rat and wonder if the company is always recruiting due to people and management problems in the business. Smart candidates will have that intuitive feel we all know about, the one when an anxious sales person is absolutely desperate to close a deal. And when we sense that, we tend not to buy!
Furthermore, I’ve already mentioned the tendency in some recruiters to send filler candidates to their clients, either because they can’t locate top talent or because they think it will make their better ones seem even more attractive. Consider therefore, the number of weaker candidates you’ll be presented with if you use a host of recruiters to fill a vacancy.
Companies would be well advised to follow the lessons learned over the years by the professionals, and work with a recruitment partner who knows their industry sector inside out, and has a proven track record of finding top talent, time and time again.
Because a ‘Win Win’ is always the best type of business relationship!