Are Your Recruitment Practices Stuck in the 1900’s? And how to change them.

I’d like to say that it never surprises me anymore when I go onto a client site and take a sneak peek at their Recruitment Practices. However, it often does surprise me and more often than not I am truly shocked by what I find. Not only are their Recruitment practices poor… but they are archaic! What I often have to ask is what’s changed since the last century?

I get to look at behind the scenes what they are doing and when we map out their end-to-end process or look at the technology that they are using……. it’s terrifying – Yet so many organisations still find it so hard to change their recruitment practices.

On reflection - most organisations I know are stuck in the past when it comes to their recruitment practices. Working on old models and ideas from either 30 to 40 years ago (or even 130 years ago…). Their systems, process, process flow, procedures and candidate care - just don’t work anymore. Or make sense. The world has changed. Technology has changed. And candidate and employee expectations have changed. The labour market has changed. But they have not.

Organisations continue to wonder why recruitment (for them) is hard and painful for all stakeholders (candidates, hiring managers and HR!). Time to wake up from this slumber. Or stop the “we’ve always done it like this mentality”

Why Does it Matter?

What could be more important than hiring great people. With the right skills and attitudes to make your organisation great. As Jim Collins said in his classic book From Good to Great. “Good Recruitment is about getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus and the bus will drive itself”.

The candidate market is tight. Tighter than it’s been for 50 years. Time to wake up and smell the coffee on the importance of the function. Recruitment is not Admin. Recruitment is strategic. It impacts your bottom line, your profitability and your productivity, your customer experience, and your culture and values and behaviours. So, its high time to update those outdated process and procedures and archaic technologies or the excel / outlook manual bits.

Time to change. Time to transform the TA function?

However, many often are stuck. And either don’t know how to change or where to start.

A recent client of mine brought this into sharp focus recently. A large government department, with a large recruitment function, lots of vacancies and lots of stakeholders, different client groups, and multiple hiring managers. They were using modern technology (a leading ATS) but things are just not working. When we looked at the ATS they’d set the whole system up based on “old recruitment 20th century practices” The process was actually totally devoid of the candidate care. There was no thought for them throughout the whole process. Nor thought for the clients (Hiring Managers). The process being devoid of timeframes, KPI’s, Quality or helping people. It wasn’t about attracting and hiring the right people it was all about moving bits of paper from A to B and approvals.

There was not added value (at any stage). Hiring managers left to fend for themselves e.g. a big bulk compile and send of CV’s…., no shortlisting, no help with interviews, or questions, or quality of hire - not an easy application process, lengthy waits for candidates to hear back, and no tracking and data, for HR management. No steps in the process were monitored (despite having the functionality to do so). HR just a paper processing centre. The result - none of the process actually helps to attract the right people, screen efficiently, gives a good experience or helps Managers hire the right people in a timely manner. Time, quality and cost all wrong !

Tell Tail Signs Your TA Function is Stuck in the Past and Needs to Transform?

1.???? Attraction – your just not getting quality applications or enough of them

2.???? You have no branding or EVP messages / poor or outdated careers website

3.???? Your Hiring Managers are not selling the role or the organisation at interview

4.???? Process flow – is hard, painful and slow (for all involved)

5.???? Approvals slow and clunky for requisition or at offer stage

6.???? Capability – is lacking potentially within the TA Function and or the Hiring Manager cohort OR the capability is there but TA resources are very limited (just not enough Recruiters in the team for the size of organisation or demand and requests of the business).

7.???? Time and cost to hire is high, quality of hires are low.

8.???? High use of Agencies still?

TA - So How Do We Get TA Moving and Start to Change?

1.???? The first thing to acknowledge – there is a problem (recruitment isn’t working – too costly, too slow, no quality hires or just plain painful for Hiring Managers and HR).

2.???? The second thing is a mind shift. Again, recruitment is not admin. It’s not a low-level HR admin function moving bits of paper about. But a strategic part of the business’s future and culture. It’s important and we need to get it right. Good recruitment gets good returns and means profitability.

3.???? The third step is recognising that there is a way to review and change TA. The five pillar Model to TA transformation will build you a roadmap for change. This will help you identify where you’re at, what needs to change, and where you really need to start on the TA Transformation Journey.

The Five Pillar model looks at the following five areas of your TA Function:

1.???? Technology Enhancement – The HR Tech Stack you need to move to

2.???? TA Operations Model – Centralised TA or HRBP

3.???? Candidate Attraction & Care – EVP and Employer Branding

4.???? Data and Analytics (Reporting capabilities and needs) and

5.???? Process Flow (Steps and ease of process (Or go RPO)

To establish just exactly where you are on the five pillars – its starts with a TA review. You can do this yourselves by downloading two templates we have developed. 1. The Five pillar Model and 2-year road map. And 2. 16 facets to good Recruitment – Your Red, Amber, Green Guide to good TA.

HR and TA Managers - if you need help here or building the business case for change – including full costings! That’s what we do! If you’d like access to the above model – DM me on LinkedIn or email me for an initial chat as to where you are at and how to start the transformation in TA.

Also check out our website on TA Strategic reviews for more information.

www.hillconsultinghrs.com.au Always happy to help and run a mini free discovery session with your HR / TA team. Contact me on [email protected]