I am beginning to think that when talking to companies there is a word that really starts to evoke fear when you start getting into deeper discussions about recruitment. That word is Strategy.
While of course it is the right and correct word to use, there does seem to be nervousness when you start asking companies to discuss their recruitment strategy in more detail. Maybe, just maybe its because they haven't got one??
Recruitment strategy seems to conjure up strange thoughts with business owners and business leaders. It should be intrinsically linked to the overall business strategy, which every company will have defined....won't they? For recruitment, it can and should defined and straightforward, to be able to take the vision (of the company), develop this into a framework and then translate this into a set of actions. So in layman's terms, you factor in your average (or expected) natural staff attrition, any new staff needs for the next 12 months (based on main corporate goals), and then 1-3 year needs and maybe 3-5 year needs. You then have a figure that you can focus on with different candidate attraction strategies.
With recruitment, the art of the strategy is understanding the employment market, and where the new recruits are and where they will be in the future. After all you cannot go and find them if you don't know where to look! For this recruitment expertise is needed, whether that be in-house or external. What many companies don't realise that they need to start putting in methods and processes straight away, not just for the next 12 months, but also for the next 2,3,4 & 5 years. The age demographics are changing, and so are the job searching tactics of prospective candidates, so you just can't rely on age-old trusted techniques for the future, as innovation and different methods are needed.
Companies need not fear putting a recruitment strategy in place, it doesn't have to be overly complicated, and it can still be fluid as recruitment is a fast changing industry. But having one in place will at least give organisations a chance at getting the talent they need to survive and grow. Without one, all it will do is allow your competitors to get to the talent first!!
