Outsource the Recruitment, not the Hire

Recently I reviewed a local region’s EmployerOne Survey preview. It indicated that from 2016 to 2017 employers are reporting an even greater shortage of talent than in previous years, an 8% increase to be exact. The preview predicts an equally tight labor market for 2017 and into 2018. Did you know that in this talent shortage it can take not only weeks but in some cases months to hire a single skilled employee? Getting a job used to be about ‘who you know’; now getting a skilled candidate to apply for your position is more about ‘who they know’. And then there is the size of your network and who you know to help you find the talent you need. This might be the time to consider outsourcing the recruitment to a professional, experienced and well connected recruiter.

The EmployerOne Survey preview reports that the top five recruiting sources make up 63% of how employers connect with today’s talent market and more significantly that one-third of those top five sources come from personal networks, referrals and word of mouth. Extensive networks for spreading the word and making a referral can give employers a powerful advantage. This is, of course, a great strategy if you have a large network to draw from. However, if you don’t have the right network then it might be a good time to hire a professional recruiting firm.

Professional recruiting firms dedicate their time to building networks and developing strategies to attract both the active and passive labor markets. Community and government sponsored organizations that offer recruiting as part of their service often only tap into the active market and don’t have the networks and referral systems or attraction strategies needed to get your job in front of the passive workforce. In this competitive industry there are many benefits to a company hiring direct but those benefits take place during onboarding. Managing the sourcing and screening in-house offers little additional value, reduces your valuable resources and limits your scope of attraction to your individual company or recruiter’s network. The attraction offered by hiring direct comes in the form of higher wages, benefits and stability. Outsourcing the recruitment, or more specifically the sourcing and screening, offers the best of both worlds to the employee and the employer.

Employer Advantages

• Professional Recruiters have databases of talent, networks to tap into and the experience to act as match makers for you
• Time saved on recruitment can be utilized for other key business functions
• Scalable solutions are available that can be adapted to your fluctuating hiring needs
• Direct hire offers an attractiveness to employees and allows you access to passive job-seeker markets

Employee Advantages

• Higher wages then with contingent or contract work
• Stability of working for the employer directly and joining a team
• Employee benefits and perks of belonging to that organization

Companies don’t think twice about outsourcing many aspects of their business including payroll, IT and accounting. Maybe it’s time to utilize dedicated professionals who are skilled and experienced, to attract and assess key talent. Consider outsourcing the recruitment – not the hire.