
12 crucial recruiter tactics for 2023
2023 is going to be a rocky road for most recruiters.
There will still be outstanding opportunities, and some markets will fare better than others.
However, recruiters must focus on different priorities to thrive in the next 12 months and set themselves up for the subsequent boom. (Which is inevitable because there is a systemic underlying talent shortage).
Here are my 12 points to help you thrive in 2023. Of course, you will need to do dozens of other things, but these will move the needle for you. They may even save your job or your company for you.
- My first point will upset some people because they are easily seduced by the mindless blabbing and BS cliché-spreading on social media. Forget ‘quiet quitting‘. It was never real, anyway. A totally fake ‘trend’ that limped out of the social media swamp and was snapped up by the mainstream media and presented as fact. It was only ever a manufactured pithy phrase, which, if it had any impact, was to become a self-fulfilling prophecy for those in jobs they hated – or that ever-present cohort keen to have an excuse to do it as little as possible. There have always been people who go the extra mile at work, and those that do just enough to get by. That’s a new ‘trend‘? Nonsense. It has always been thus. The harsh, cold reality is that if the market declines, recruiters will be laid off in droves. It’s already happening on the talent acquisition side. So, forget about taking shortcuts or ‘doing the least you can‘. Find a new job if you are in a job you hate or are disrespected. It has always been true that anything worth doing is worth doing well. Your job is part of your career path, and your career path is inextricably entwined with your life’s success and happiness. Don’t let some invented buzzword seduce you into effing up your career and possibly your life. Taking the low road and doing as little as possible without getting fired is the worst possible advice I’ve heard in 40 years. Don’t confuse whatever ‘quiet quitting’ is with ‘work-life balance’. They are not interchangeable. They are nowhere near being the same thing. No one suggested that work-life balance meant short-changing the ‘work’ part. It just means don’t short-change the ‘life’ part! In fact, it’s now time to make yourself indispensable to your company. I’m not talking about working ridiculous hours or accepting work outside your area of responsibility. I am talking about expanding your skill set, building your client base, taking on extra tasks that add to your competencies, and being visible, helpful, and collaborative. Let me tell you categorically how it will work. And I know this because I have sat in hundreds of meetings where potential layoffs were discussed and planned. That’s no exaggeration—hundreds of meetings where individuals were ‘selected’ for retrenchment. I have been there. And it’s always the same. The things I’m talking about here are the things that will protect you from being on the wrong list.
- My second point is mainly aimed at the leadership of recruitment companies. Now is the time to take a ‘people are primary‘ approach. You need to get very close to your team members. Closer than ever before. Re-recruit them. Don’t go ‘rogue arrogant’ because you feel the market is turning and the boot is now on the other foot. Good people will have a choice no matter what the market. Make it easy and obvious for them to stay with you. Help them evolve and invest in their training and development. Equip them to excel at their job, so they also love it and perform. Create an environment where people want to work with you. Sadly, most recruitment company owners only understand one lever to pull when they move into a downturn, and that is to let people go. Now is the time to be smart and make sure you don’t have to let people go because all your people are prepared to thrive no matter the market conditions.
- If you haven’t done, so already, now, is the time to brickwall all your existing clients. It’s a truism that most recruiters take their current clients for granted, often investing more time in seducing new clients instead of nourishing relationships with existing clients. This was made worse during Covid, and the work-from-home trend, as many recruiters never meet with their clients anymore. Ever. Now is the time to do precisely that. It is time to really flex your business development muscle. Be visible to your clients.
- In the post-Covid jobs boom, many recruiters were swamped, and although they hate to admit it, plenty of clients were under-serviced or even ignored. Now is the time to reignite those dormant client relationships. The so-called ‘second tier‘ clients. They are even called that internally. Get in touch. Go and see them.
- Hone and refresh your sales approach. Indeed, many recruiters don’t have a sales approach and will be found wanting in the most uncomfortable way. It’s time to focus on what value you actually offer clients and polish the ability to articulate that. It’s access to candidates that clients want, but it’s also insights, advice, and consulting. It is often true that clients and candidates view recruitment companies as being ‘all the same’. I have heard it often. That’s a problem if you wish to stand out. It starts by explaining why you and your company have skills, processes or advantages that should incline clients and candidates to work with you. What sets you apart? What can you claim as yours? I encourage recruiters and companies to identify their differentiators and then learn how to articulate them. Firstly, think about this in the context of what matters to the client. Your differentiators need to speak to the client about how you will solve their problems, make their life easier and deliver faster and better outcomes. Remember, your differentiation doesn’t have to be some unique technology or bespoke process. You simply need a set of competencies and advantages you can claim as your own. Your differentiators must be tangible, with measurable business outcomes that you deliver, and they must speak to critical issues that customers in your market are facing. If you can quote specifics, metrics, or statistics, that’s very powerful. For example, “we have 150,000 candidates with funds management experience on our database”, or “in the last 24 months, we have filled 90% of our roles within 18 working days”.
- Extract from your ATS every candidate you rated as ‘good’ but did not place in 2022 and 2021. Then contact them to reignite that relationship. That could lead to a new candidate or even a new client, but it will definitely positively impact your brand.
- Another potentially unpopular message. Primarily aimed at owners of recruitment companies, but consultants too. Get off the ludicrous recruitment seesaw. So many recruitment agencies behave like lemmings with a herd mentality. In 2020 and part of 2021, we had a shortage of jobs, so we fired 60% of our recruiters. In 2022 we had a lack of candidates, so everything was about accessing candidates, candidate care, and hiring back all those recruiters we had fired a year prior. As the market shifts, it will all become about clients again. The intelligent recruitment approach is that you always know we need both sides to make this match. So whatever you do as hiring demand drops, don’t return to the shocking lack of candidate service ethos that has characterised our industry for so long. Even as you develop your BD muscle with clients, make sure you do not take the focus off activating your candidate pipeline, because it’s how you treat those candidates when you don’t need them that will dictate how many candidates you have when the hiring market improves. Double down on candidate experience and referrals and CCCCF. It’s when you don’t need them as much that your service and empathy will differentiate you
- Qualify and prioritise your job orders. Work much closer with clients than you did in 2022. Take Job -Orders face-to-face or via video conference if you can. Dig deep. Understand what clients really need. Gain exclusivity, manage the process and spend your time on the jobs where you know the client is committed to hire. As confidence drops, you will find many hiring organisations will be unreliable in their follow-through. Work out which ones they are.
- Engage whenever you can. Eschew superficial communications. If a call is better than an email, do it. If a VC is better than a call, do it. If a face-to-face is better than a VC, do it.
- Do not discount your fees. Focus on value. Explain to clients that it is just as hard to recruit great candidates in a depressed job market. It’s harder, actually. The volume of applications increases, and the best candidates are reluctant to move. So, a recruiter works harder for the outcome. And we don’t discount our fees as a result.
- Get out and mingle. Attend industry events and conferences. Both recruiting and your client’s industry. Join discussion and support groups. Get small groups of clients and candidates together. Get your team together. It’s time to engage in real life.
- Build your online brand via a consistent, ongoing LinkedIn content strategy. Learn how to do it well and consistently.
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- Posted by Greg Savage
- On January 9, 2023
- 2 Comments
2 Comments