With technology changing every time we blink, there are an incredible number of options available for us to communicate with each other. WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, LinkedIn, the list is endless. Yet with the increase in online tools, it appears that good old fashioned face to face or voice to voice communication is disappearing, and people are forgetting just how important it is to meet with people and pick up the phone. It’s great to have the technology to instantly connect with people across the globe, and tools such as Skype and Google Hangouts have revolutionised the way we work, but online connections are much more superficial.
This can have a massive impact on businesses today. If you never meet your client face to face how do you know what the needs are and without that level of understanding, how can you ever be able to deliver on their expectations? Very often you only find out your client is unhappy with delivery because they have gone elsewhere for the service – and by then it’s too late.
This is a particular problem for recruiters. In our experience, the closer we are to a company, the better the service we can provide, by having an in-depth understanding of their culture, objectives and requirements. A good recruiter should be an extension of your business, flying the flag for your brand and providing you with market intelligence. A GREAT recruiter should be advising you on a whole range of issues that impact recruitment and retention, not just finding you candidates.
A good example of this is when a recruiter keeps sending the wrong candidates for a role but is never given feedback on why they aren’t right. Instead the client goes to another recruiter and the process is repeated all over again – losing everyone time and money – as well as being very frustrating for the client! If there was more verbal engagement at the beginning of the process the recruiter should be finding the right candidates from day one. The more information a client can provide, and the better the recruiters understanding of the requirement, the more chance they have of succeeding in finding the best candidates.
The most successful recruitment is done when there is a very close working relationship between the client and the recruiter and we urge both not to follow the crowd with arms-length technology – a good old-fashioned conversation goes a long way and is key for a successful recruitment campaign!
