The Most Important Part Of Recruiting Is… Wait For It… It’s…

Kelly Dingee Always Be Closing, candidate experience, Candidate Pool, Employee Communications, Employee Engagement, HR, Influence, Kelly Dingee

Not sourcing.

Dear God, did I write that? I did. Sourcing is not the most important part of recruiting a candidate. It’s part of it, yes. But the most important part? No.

I find people, sure. But what I’m finding these days is I find people and they think “Yeah, it’s probably time for me to make a move… ” and they like my opening. But like all good consumers, they want a comparison, and easily with the current job market, they find one.

So why will they choose your company? What will make it stand out?

It’s all about the wooing. The engagement. The experience. That is the most important part of recruiting right now.

It starts in the sourcing stage with responsiveness to inquiries, connecting to candidates, and creating engaging introductions. But it doesn’t end there. Our good recruits—that don’t treat us like flings (I loved this from Andy Porter)—well, we know them. We know what they want, and what they need. We treat their salary requirements with respect.

We follow up, we touch base, we check in from the moment our candidates agree to have that first chat. Whatever you want to call it, we are present. An email might suffice, but a phone call is better.

We are real that way.

We prep the offer, we make the offer, we expect a counter and have a proactive resolution. We follow up, touch base and check in (again) through acceptance, start date, the first month and so on. Maybe there’s a fruit basket, tickets to “the game,” a welcome gift with company gear. And then we do more follow up, touch base and check in regularly through the first two years of employment. We head off issues before they become issues, detect problems with fit, and coach and counsel through the tough spots.

Exhausting? No. Smart business? Yes. People are our greatest asset. Woo them beyond the offer, and not only will they stay, but they’ll be a walking, talking advertisement for you-–in person, on social media… oh, and they’ll stay.