Challenges and Solutions for Improved Headhunting: A Call for Quality over Quantity
I recently had a wonderful conversation with a Talent Acquisition Manager thinking of starting her own recruitment firm. It reminded me of how scary it was to create my company a few years ago. So I asked her the same question I asked myself, “what differentiates you from other recruiters”? Without waiting for a response, I followed this question with, “What are your criticisms of working with headhunters and how would you resolve these issues for clients,”?
She answered that question immediately.
Her response? Recruiters are slow and expensive. They are supposed to have a strong network and claim to be experts in their field, but all too often they don’t understand the job description and repeatedly send irrelevant candidates. Unfortunately, I have heard this many, many times before. (Also, I should take a moment here to clarify that she is not my client ).
The conversation was extremely interesting and I have no doubt she could be very successful. But it was also a stark reminder of the challenges so many companies face when working with executive recruiters. Headhunters are failing, and here is why:
If you aren’t aware, headhunting is a specialized form of recruiting that involves identifying and attracting top talent for specific job positions. There are several reasons why a company might choose to use a headhunter.
Access to a wider pool of talent: Headhunters identify individuals who may not be actively seeking a new job. These candidate can be from a company’s direct competitor or targets industry sector.
Time-saving: The process of finding and hiring new employees can be time-consuming and a headhunter can help to streamline the process.
Discretion: Headhunters understand the importance of maintaining confidentiality and will work behind the scenes to identify potential candidates and secure their interest, without advertising the role to the wider public.
In addition to the points about, a headhunter should also be transparent and results-oriented. They should be efficient without sacrificing quality.
They should be confident enough to say that they don’t understand certain aspects of the job description and make sure they correct this before speaking with candidates.
They should know the company culture of their client and get candidates excited about the benefits as well as discussing the challenges. The right candidate will be interested in both.
In short, they should enhance the talent acquisition strategy of their client.
Why doesn’t this happen?
Executive recruiters often work on a commission basis, which can lead them to prioritize their own financial interests over finding the best candidate for the job. Their performance is measured by monthly, quarterly and yearly targets. Every major recruitment firm I interviewed with before starting my own company asked me more questions about my fee structure and business development than my actual experience in recruitment.
Large recruitment companies often have relationships with certain companies that they place candidates in, which can create conflicts of interest and potentially result in suboptimal outcomes for the candidate or the hiring company.
Some recruiters may not provide adequate communication or support throughout the hiring process, which can lead to confusion or frustration for both the candidate and the hiring company.
Limited candidate pool: Executive recruiters may only have access to a limited pool of candidates, which can result in a lack of diversity and limit the hiring company's options. For example, if the recruiter is specialized in one industry and/or one geography, they could miss outstanding candidates that can bring exceptional experience because their scope is too limited.
Overall, it's important to carefully evaluate executive recruiters and their reputation before working with them, to ensure that they will effectively support the business.
In conclusion, while headhunters offer several benefits such as access to a wider pool of talent, time-saving and discretion, the industry is facing several challenges such as prioritizing financial interests, conflicts of interest, poor communication and limited candidate pool. To differentiate themselves and resolve these issues, headhunters should prioritize quality over quantity, maintain transparency, provide adequate communication and support, and have a diverse candidate pool. By doing so, they can enhance the talent acquisition strategy of their clients and deliver better results.