An experienced recruiter has the potential to make a substantial contribution to a client’s organisation. For this to be achieved the recruiter must be trusted and be considered as a ‘trusted advisor’. What do I mean by this?
In its simplest form the relationship sees the recruiter finding an appropriately qualified candidate who is accepted and appointed by the client. In my experience, the relationship can mean so much more than this and offer wider benefits to the client.
Through his or her own management experience the recruiter can ask the right questions and even offer advice as to how the role will or could work within the organisation. The recruiter will bring a perception of how the client’s company is viewed from the outside. The recruiter will likely also have an understanding, through the marketplace, as to what it is like working for that company. Perhaps there are issues that need to addressed that would otherwise get in the way of talented candidates being attracted to the new role.
To be fully effective the recruiter needs to be trusted. By this I mean that the client needs to share all of the aspects, issues, problems and also what the plans are for the company and that particular role. The Position Description reads as a carved-in-stone document yet the organisation itself is in a process of gradually, and sometimes not so gradually, changing shape. This is one reason why the recruiter should have a relationship with the CEO as well as the hiring manager. It is not uncommon for the trusted recruiter to be used as a sounding board in an over-coffee discussion of potential changes, new market thrusts or how the organsiation is perceived in the marketplace.
Client/recruiter relationships which develop and continue over a number of years offer the potential to make a wider contribution to the client’s organisation than the task, albeit important, of hiring the right people.
It all begins with trust. If you would like to know more about this topic or you would like to suggest a topic for me to write about then please contact me paul@paulgreening.com
