Hiring is taking forever!
Do you ever get frustrated over the time taken for your recruitment search firm to provide candidates for consideration?
Do you ever wonder why it take months and months them to find candidates within the middle or senior level management tiers, and within the C-suite?
Is it due to:
the hiring criteria being unrealistic so you have your search firm searching for the impossible “purple squirrel”?
your company reputation being so poor it’s a challenge for the search firm to find anyone of quality who is interested in working for your organisation?
the demand for that type of professional being so great that candidates can pick and choose their dream jobs and employers?
the skill set or experience being sought is so new or unique that there are no pockets of talent readily traceable?
the high calibre people being so well rewarded and recognised within their current employers that they just won’t entertain a career move?
your company being unclear about the profile you’re really seeking and/or constantly changing the goalposts on profile being sought?
Or cynically, could it be that:
the search firm has so many assignments to work on so nothing getsundivided focus and attention – they simply juggle across an array of employers to deliver an acceptable minimum?
the search firm consultants secretly guard their “little black books” so there’s no way to leverage candidate knowledge across one or more offices for the search firm? (so every search is starting from scratch)
your company’s value to the search firm is less than other employer clients so you’re down the bottom of the priority list?
the search consultant handling your assignment doesn’t have the experience or expertise to run the search process effectively? (knowledgeable partner at the "front end", low paid rookie actually doing the leg-work)
the search firm actually do not have the market knowledge and networks needed to find the calibre of person you’re seeking? (so they're learning on your time and dime)
The extended time in finding candidates for consideration may well be due to a combination of factors. But as the employer client, you are well within your rights to challenge your search firm on time frames.
After all if they really are specialists with extensive networks, they don’t need to start every search from scratch. They should already know what the challenges may be, where the best candidates are, where to find them; and the firm will be already known to and trusted by the best candidates for a career dialogue.
I struggle to think of another service industry where you pay your dosh up front as the customer, then wait for an uncertain timeframe to receive any kind of service result. It’s time for you, the paying customer to expect and demand more.
Happy hiring!
About the Author
Leanne Morris is well known as a both an outspoken advocate and critic of the HR profession. With long standing networks across 94 countries in all specialist areas of the function, and a multi- continent work history, she is a sought after subject matter expert on international HR hiring trends and HR hiring best practice.