I have been working in talent management for over 15 years. My role involves recruiting, career management, working with high-potential individuals and coaching. Many are the people I’ve seen in my office. Many are the individuals seeking challenges, money, better companies or just a better work/life balance. All adding up to so many expectations to manage, so many promises that cannot always be kept, and so many dreams sometimes resulting in professional success but also in frustration. The role of recruiters is changing. The field should no longer be regarded as an entry-level function in companies, a purgatory for young HR professionals just starting out. Nor should recruiters be considered simple commodities by companies. In this era of HR business partners, headhunters should be on the same footing as accountants, lawyers, or actuarial consultants. They are valuable allies that, improperly used, can be detrimental to image of the employer they represent.
Outsourcing a recruiting assignment is far from having no consequences. While some see great added value, others view it as a sad admission of failure. Some employers believe that their staffing departments or hiring managers have been unable to find the ideal candidate themselves. They then place all their expectations on external recruiters, regarding them as saviours, all the while resenting the fees linked to their perceived “failure.” Headhunters are not magicians, however, nor can they work miracles. All too often, employers still expect candidates who exist only in their dreams and job descriptions, while some candidates, for their part, still believe in Santa Claus. . . when they are promised more money, a better work/life balance, a pool room, à la carte personal services, or an office with a view. We have yet to see what the current economic crisis—or recession for the more pessimistic—holds in store for us, and whether companies that had prioritized employer branding will not be sacrificed to performance and financial results.
Crisis or no crisis, the fact remains that. . . Over the past few years, work/family life balance has become the top concern of most of the people we see. The recruiting exchange has truly undergone a transformation, going from the classic stress interview of the 80s and 90s, to a more level playing field. Recruiters no longer have the upper hand, and the field has lost its “glamour” side. One day, recruiters woke up to candidates who were asking questions—lots of questions. Too many, in fact, for some recruiters, who preferred not to follow through and get rid of candidates who were “not playing the game.” It was a rude awakening for some recruiters and refreshing for others. Finally, candidates had woken up and broken free of their inertia and paralyzing fear of not getting the job. The interview is now a forum for bilateral exchange and assessment, in which both parties are on an equal footing. The proof is that there has never been so much talk about employer branding. Even in these hard times, with the raging crisis, people are still concerned with branding and how to attract and keep the best talents. Let’s hope, then, that recruiters do not give up and that companies do not back down in the face of financial difficulties. Let’s look at 2009 and the years to come as the dawn of a new HR era.
Nathalie Francisci, Adma, CRHA
Executive Vice-president
at Mandrake Groupe Conseil