What is relationship recruiting? It’s a term often bandied about in the recruiting industry but I’m not so sure that it’s fully understood or implemented. Relationship recruiting is about networking, connecting and conversing with candidates with the purpose of bringing them into your organisation. Recruiters, however ugly we are, are the face/voice of a company for candidates. We have to build a rapport with candidates, understand where they are coming from and not “process” them. This business is about people and so we should treat everyone as an individual; we need to give them our time, honesty and answer all of the questions that they have about our company.
Sure, we need tools such as recruitment databases in order to keep track of our progress with recruiting staff BUT such tools should not be used to replace talking, humour and warmth. Despite the downturn, there are still many companies recruiting, Lab49 being one of them; we are still in competition for those great candidates so have to work hard to differentiate ourselves from the moment candidates apply. If a candidate looks really good, call him/her and have a chat rather than just sending them an email. I appreciate that it can’t be done for every candidate when recruiters have an influx of applications but remember that we should treat the candidate with respect and let them know that we value them and their interest in our company.
When we build a good rapport with a candidate, we make a good impression and differentiate ourselves from the “processing recruiters”. By doing that, they are more likely to recommend us to a friend or remember us when they are next looking; “Hey, I think I’ll contact that recruiter I spoke with last year. She gave me a really good impression of the company and kept in touch. I’m looking again so I’ll see if she is still recruiting”. Job done.
