Skydive

I have always enjoyed the outdoors. Marathons, sporting challenges, you name it, I’ve done it. Most recently I did a skydive. Nobody was surprised when I announced that I was planning to do this, as the saying goes: “Any idiot can fly a plane, but it takes a special kind of idiot to jump out of one!

It was all for a good cause, raising funds for Heart Research UK, and the whole experience was an exercise in exhilaration. It was awesome.

As strange as it may sound, there’s nothing like a ……foot free-fall followed by a gentle meander through the clouds with a parachute to focus the mind.

When I jumped out of that plane, there were so many things going through my mind (what if it doesn’t open? Do I look ridiculous in these goggles?), and I started to think about the risks people are prepared to take in life, and more specifically, the risks they take in their professional lives.

As a recruiter, I spend a lot of time reassuring people that investing in the services of my team is a good decision. Why? Well, because it is. And because recruitment as an industry has a really bad reputation. I’ve heard the horror stories, I’ve heard the disappointments and I spend my professional life trying to practice recruitment differently, and earning the respect of both my clients and candidates as a result.

One thing you would never do is jump out of a plane without a parachute. So why would you put your professional life and the life of your business at risk because of an ineffective recruitment process? Here I take a look at just some of the reasons why a good recruiter will prove vital to the success of your business.

IT’S A BIT OF AN ART

This might sound dramatic, but it’s true. I’m often asked to describe an average day in the life of a recruiter, but trust me when I tell you; it’s difficult to sum up.

Recruitment is hard work. It’s multiple occupations rolled into one; job descriptions, CV writing, shortlisting, interviewing, attracting candidates – to name but a few. When I am recruiting for my own team, I’m looking for a salesperson, a marketeer, and a researcher, because a skilled recruiter is someone who is able to take multi-tasking to the extreme.

Practical tasks aside, recruitment is an exercise in human psychology. Recruiters deal with a plethora of different businesses and a diverse range of people every day, because this is the only way to get the right people in the right roles at the right time. Hiring a workforce is not easy; it takes time and money, making it of the utmost importance to get it right first time. Making a poor hire comes at a high cost.

Here at Headway, we specialise in the use of psychometric testing in the hiring process; candidates are more than a CV, and a crucial part of hiring the right person for the job is ensuring they’re going to be a great fit for the team and company culture. We’ll be looking at psychometric testing in future blogs; make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss it.

THE DETAILS

Employing the right people means paying attention to the details. A great recruiter will know your market, both in terms of new developments and existing cornerstones of your industry.

They understand what candidates want in respect of salaries and benefits and most importantly, they have immediate access to the employment pool. Why, then, would you as a business owner spend time sifting through CV’s, when it could be better spent on business development?

Using a recruiter means quicker, more successful placements, and ultimately, an increase in your profits.

 TRANSPARENCY

Recruitment can be fraught with internal politics. An external recruitment agency will go a long way to keeping your candidate selection process fair and transparent. It ensures that any appointments are made purely on merit, and that discrimination is avoided at all costs.

It is often said that the relationship between HR and external recruitment agencies is a tricky one. It’s not. A good recruiter will work with your HR department, not against them, so that between them, they can select the best candidates and help the recruitment process run as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

“ALL YOU HAVE IN BUSINESS IS YOUR REPUTATION” – R BRANSON

The recruitment process is the first impression candidates have of your company. Get this wrong at your peril.

Prospective candidates should be treated with the utmost respect. They should be communicated with, responded to and provided with feedback at all times.

As a business owner, you have a lot to do (that’s probably the understatement of the year), and recruitment isn’t necessarily your specialism. The process can very quickly become overwhelming, and descend into chaos, and a chaotic and untrustworthy staffing practice is a sure fire way for your company’s reputation to be damaged, often irreparably.

A good recruiter is temporarily representing your brand, and will promote it in the best possible way until a successful placement is made. In essence, a good recruiter ensures that the cream of the crop want to work with your organisation, and will spoil you with candidates like Ferrero Rocher at an Ambassador’s reception.

Hiring through a recruitment firm will take the pressure off, and be a source of support and assistance when you need it the most.

Employing the right people is hands down the most important aspect of your business. Get this wrong, and it will be a struggle to survive, never mind thrive. Good employees are the lifeblood of your company. They are the difference between efficiency and disorder, between being in demand or disliked and ultimately, between success and failure.

 When all is said and done, when you invest in the services of a recruitment agency, you are providing your organisation with its very own professional parachute.

 So, before you tar all recruiters with the same brush, take another look, because as James Dewar so accurately said, “Minds are like parachutes; they only function when they are open.”

*You can read more about my skydive on my LinkedIn page by following this  

*You can also find more information about Heart Research UK and how you can help their excellent cause here