The one unwavering element of recruitment: Relationships

28 Mar, 2017

You shouldn't forget an important part of a recruiter's role: To build trust in recruitment relationships. However, with the increasingly prevalent use of technological recruitment strategies, companies are neglecting good old human communication.

Consulting your clients makes you a better recruiter 

It's hard for business leaders to keep up with the ever-adapting best practices for hiring candidates. This is where recruiters come in – their role is to update their clients on the latest changes that may affect hiring practices, Lauren Griffin, a senior vice president with Adecco Staffing USA, told HR Dive.

One tip for consultation in recruitment is to foster strong customer relationships so that they can regularly meet up with clients and educate them on the best way to get the most qualified candidates. Recruiters should therefore focus on strengthening their existing networks and expanding their contacts, Griffin advises. This will make a recruiter more knowledgeable and allow them to offer a human touch that is increasingly getting phased out with the rise of eRecruitment. 

Keeping this essential human element in recruitment will give your business a competitive advantage, too. Consultants help your company move forward in your hiring practices, whereas eRecruitment can only make you more efficient at executing your current processes. 

Build recruitment relationships to get better candidates

Another thing that recruitment software can't offer is the ability to authentically connect with and interview potential employees. Building recruitment relationships, however, is crucial to getting the best candidates out there and key to delivering business solutions.

Candidates expect better prepared recruiters these days and if you aren't prepared as a recruiter, you could potentially lose a very qualified worker to your competitors. The 2015 DICE Tech Candidate Sentiment Survey found that 50 per cent of candidates want recruiters to do more research before reaching out.

Plus, candidates have more power than ever in the recruitment process; they can choose potential employers because they're able to search the internet to see which companies have pleasant hiring techniques, and which don't. 

Recruiters should also approach passive candidates. Passive recruitment involves discovering someone's blog or having a brief conversation on Twitter, according to Meghan Biro, a globally recognised Talent Management and HR Tech brand strategist. Biro says that research shows that 93 per cent of the top talent at companies didn't find the job from a job posting. Instead, they heard about the opening from a friend or networking contact.  These are only things that humans can do because it requires relationship building and conversation.

A human touch to your recruitment is indispensable. A friendly, interested face will stick in the candidates and clients' minds and will keep them coming back for more advice and information about your company and the recruitment industry at large.