The competition for IT talent is brutal. Why? Because technology professionals are in high demand and have the luxury of frequently declining offers or holding out for better ones. In many cases today, IT managers and recruiters are missing out on the best talent due to ineffective recruiting processes (e.g. we’ve always done it this way) or unqualified recruiting staff (e.g. he’s got such a great phone voice) or both.
Technology is truly the backbone of most every industry today, and companies needing highly-skilled IT talent would be wise to approach the hiring process with care if they want to attract and retain the best talent available.
That’s the essence of Tim Smith’s insightful article titled “The War for Talent is Real” in which he describes nine key questions that every company should ask regarding their hiring process.
- Does your company make candidates feel wanted?
- Have you asked your internal recruiters to share how they present your company and the opportunity?
- Is the interview process being explained?
- Do you know the candidate’s motivators?
- Are the recruiters perfectly clear on the technical and functional requirements, and how to properly screen for each?
- Is the interviewer using your requirements checklist just to screen people out?
- Are you sharing the good, the bad and the ugly?
- Are you following up appropriately?
- Are your pipelining?
(Read Tim Smith’s entire article here. It’s well worth the time.)
Here are three key observations.
First, technology recruiting is now a seller’s market. If your hiring process is flawed, long, tedious, or impersonal, you should expect the best talent to just walk away. Their skills are valuable, which means they are valuable. Be careful how you treat them.
Second, your recruiters are your most valuable link in the hiring process. If you fail to give your recruiters accurate information, timely communication, or meaningful feedback, then you will always have a weak link in the chain. Additionally, if your recruiters fail to fully engage a candidate’s profile, merely screening for the negatives and not searching for the positives, you will always have a weak link in your hiring process. This applies to your internal recruiting staff as well as to recruiters at a staffing company. Be careful how you use them.
Third, build relationships with your recruiters and your candidates. A wise manager will value, encourage, and assist his recruiters so that he can ultimately win the best candidates for his company. Good managers will also value each candidate under consideration, because even those who don’t get the job today may be a perfect fit for the next job that comes down the pipeline. Be careful how you leave them.
The one word that describes success is relationships. Managers, recruiters, and candidates— each accountable for clearly defined expectations, timely communication, and respect—will all play a part in winning the battle of the hiring process.