The Virtues of High-Touch Recruiting

Years ago when I worked for a full-service multinational marketing agency, my entire team would travel to some place exotic like an airport Radisson once a year to meet with our client as a group.?Senior leadership would meet with representatives from our client on a more regular basis, but this was a time to trot out the entire team before their entire team to create a yearly roadmap.?We also brought in speakers to help motivate the team.

At one such meeting, one such speaker asked about the ideal shopping experience.?One of my direct reports raised his hand and offered his version of the perfect shopping experience.?He would enter the store and easily find an item.?It would be clearly priced and accessible.?He would then check out without interaction with associates within the store.?Many others from our firm seemed to agree that this was their ideal as well.

Unfortunately for us, we were about to launch an experiential marketing campaign with a sales emphasis.?This flew in the face of everything that we wished to accomplish that year.

What my former employee shared was a low-touch sales experience.?He only wanted enough interactions to accomplish his task.?And many companies employ this tactic with hiring.

You apply for a role and only hear from the company if and when you move forward.?You may end up playing phone tag at each step, but only enough information is given at any point.?The moment that you are out of consideration, you are ghosted.?It is possible that at some future date, you are notified that the role has since been filled.?This occurs even if you have reached the final stages that require in-person meetings of an in-depth nature.

Despite what you may have heard, hiring is not exactly cooling.?More and more candidates are taking part in high-touch recruiting.

You submit your resume and some gets back to you immediately.?That first point of contact guides you more or less through the process.?The process itself moves very quickly.?There is constant communication to the point that it may occur every day.

Every new person in the process may ask for a copy of your resume.?And with each new person, they become your new point of contact, even though the original person is still there to fall back on.

Each person has access to your name, e-mail, phone number, and LinkedIn profile.?And you have the same for each of them.?A lot of communication is done through e-mail and text messages.?Most of that level of communication is automated.

Every phone call or interview is documented multiple times.?Agendas are sent out ahead of time and summaries follow shortly after the conclusion of every interaction.

Some people may not like getting a ton of e-mails and text messages some of which are redundant.?The constant flow of information may annoy them.?However good high-touch recruiting always offers an opt-out.?

Others fear that this hiring approach signifies a micro-managed atmosphere.?It does not.?The process is to ensure that the right person does not fall through the cracks.?It makes sure that everyone involved can make a fully informed decision in a short amount of time.?It also allows those who exit the process to do so effectively and efficiently.?

Regardless of where you end up in the process, you feel positive about the experience.

There is a happy middle ground.?It does not have to be all or nothing.?Admittedly, I think many people would choose that middle ground if it was available.?It does not take an A/B to know that most candidates would prefer a higher level of touch points in the hiring and recruiting process.

It is unmistakable that from a hiring and marketing standpoint, high-touch recruiting is a net positive.?