Sara Gemmell contributes to Recruiter
On 23rd July 2008, Director at Warren Partners, Sara Gemmell, contributed to Recruiter magazine, warning fellow professionals about the need for recruitment firms to better support their clients in a recessionary climate:
With more and more redundancies hitting the headlines on a daily basis, the last few months have seen an influx of new candidates into the job-seeking market. Indeed, many of our clients have reportedly found themselves inundated with speculative CVs from recruitment firms, many of which present candidates with little or no relevant experience.
On the flipside, of course, quality candidates have become more risk-averse in the current uncertain climate. An organisation may have been tracking the career of a particular individual for years, begun talks with that person some months ago and now found them unwilling to even consider leaving behind the relative security of their current position.
So with growing numbers of candidates vying for fewer positions and talented individuals reluctant to consider approaches from headhunters, how best to serve clients in the current crisis?
More rigorous assessment and screening are absolute musts to ensure that you only put forward the right people for the right roles. More than ever, clients need confidence in a recruitment firm's ability to sift through CVs and assess potential candidates effectively. In the case of executive recruitment firms, clients want reassurances that they are receiving a proactive search service.
When it comes to approaching a potential candidate on behalf of a client, getting to the bottom of the individual's motivation is crucial. Nerves are jangling and people are understandably nervous about the prospect of moving on from what they see as 'secure' positions. More than ever, therefore, the onus is on the headhunter to work out exactly what drives an individual and what the client needs to offer to attract them.
Ultimately, recruitment firms must be clear about the value they can add to a client's business. In times of economic crisis, many organisations opt to promote internal candidates rather than incur the recruitment fees associated with looking to the external market. But by employing methods such as benchmarking internal candidates against those sourced externally, recruitment firms can take the opportunity to prove themselves as true business partners. And in this type of climate, that is more important than ever.
July 2008
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