Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER September 7, 2015 18 FEATURES RECRUITING FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS? O er positions to over 190,000 Members Highly targeted advertising Immediate matching resume database access FOR MORE INFORMATION, cpacanada.ca/CPASource TELEPHONE•416 204 3284•EMAIL•TGardiner@cpacanada.ca 14-126a_EN_CPAsource_fullpagead_9.625x7.indd 1 10/8/2014 3:40:37 PM RECRUITMENT Why recruiters are here to stay The right technology can harness recruiters' talents to improve the process By Ben Hutt R ecruiters and headhunters have been around as long as people have been work- ing in offices, and most business leaders seem to have a love-hate relationship with them for a vari- ety of reasons. Over the past decade, there have been lots of innovations in re- cruitment, driven by technology, that aim to minimize the role of the recruiter. Job boards and ads are the primary mechanism used to hire — more than 79.5 per cent of permanent roles in Canada are still filled by this slow and ineffec- tive channel, according to Search Party internal research. This method is cheap, yes, but unreli- able and the burden is placed on employers. Social networks have also evolved into hiring tools that aim to replace the recruiter. Some look at online resumés (such as Linke- dIn) while others look at all the other social network data publicly available to influence talent sourc- ing decisions (such as TalentBin). All these innovations are de- signed to empower employers to source and recruit talent them- selves, without the support (or interference) of a recruiter and the fees that go with it. However, employers often compromise on candidates be- cause these existing processes are "too slow" and do not always de- liver the right candidates. But the movement to reduce the role of the recruiter will be- come detrimental to businesses that face a talent shortage as a result of a booming economic pe- riod, timed with the retirement of many baby boomers. As with any specialty, people working in the recruitment field have spent decades studying the hiring process and learning exact- ly what employers need to do to land top-tier talent in a competi- tive environment. It all starts with collecting very granular data on candidates that includes their employment his- tory, areas of specialty, skills, cer- tifications relevant to their career field and graduate coursework. Recruiters track candidates' ca- reer progression over time so they always have the most up-to-date information on their people. Recruiters are also experts at determining whether a candi- date is a good cultural fit — one of the most important aspects of career success that can lead to greater job satisfaction, tenure and performance. Culture and aptitude fit are growing considerations for em- ployers. is likely means compa- nies will want to differentiate and communicate their company cul- ture, while putting an increased weight on personality and cultural fit during hiring. Enter recruiters — their famil- iarity with both parties gives them the optimal position of mediator in matching the right person with the right company, over and above the necessity of matching candi- dates based on skills. Given that recruiters have come to know their candidates personally over an extended period of time, their ability to evaluate both cultural fit and skills is unmatched. A significant amount of effort must be put forth to convince candidates who are happy in their current roles to jump ship for new opportunities. at is why recruiters have become incredibly skilled in persuading candidates to consider something different. ey know what benefits and sal- ary requirements are necessary for employers to get the most tal- ented team members in place. e career success of a great recruiter revolves around know- ing trends in hiring, what jobs are available in the market and what candidates — with which skills — are out there, waiting to be placed. rough industry networking and daily intel gathering, they inher- ently have the inside track. is makes them perfectly poised to have up-to-date market intelli- gence — which might be harder for employers to reach. It would be a mistake to think technology is the reason recruit- ers' jobs are being threatened — the right technology can har- nesses recruiters' talents while making the recruitment process more economical, efficient and effective. Recruiting is tougher than ever, but with developments in data science and technology, there are quicker and more effec- tive ways to recruit. So what does this look like? It's about embracing marketplace economics and leveraging the power of data science and ma- chine learning (systems that can make sense of vast volumes of data that were impossible until only recently) to quickly and eas- ily identify the best candidates for specific jobs. Screening and "selling" the job to a candidate will then be handled by experienced recruit- ers to maximize the chance of success. is model will be a true paradigm shift in recruitment as it empowers the three stakehold- ers in recruitment: the employer, recruiter and candidate. Ben Hutt is the Sydney, Australia- based CEO of the Search Party, an online recruitment marketplace/ platform. For more information, visit www.thesearchparty.com. Through industry networking and daily intel gathering, they inherently have the inside track.

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