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Candidates becoming more expensive, not cheaper
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Candidates becoming more expensive, not cheaper
Far from being a godsend for recruiters, social media will make candidate acquisition more expensive and time consuming, and will erode the value that agencies can offer employers, says recruitment process advisor Phillip Tusing.
It`s getting easier every day for employers and candidates to find and connect with each other, he says, but the time and effort required to build and maintain relationships with candidates - and win their trust - will make the cost of acquiring a candidate "much more expensive in future".
"The most cost-effective way is to start right now."
Tusing, the founder of Destination Talent, says the advantage that agency recruiters traditionally had - their candidate networks and information about jobseekers - is in the grasp of progressive employers now. "The only reason why there isn`t much change in the status quo is because many companies, especially smaller ones, are yet to discover the tools and options to connect to candidates. But the reality is that with every passing day the ability for employers and candidates to find each other is increasing... Recruiters need to find some way of regaining their advantage."
"It always used to be a triangular nexus between candidates, recruitment firms and clients; now it`s threatening to be a two-way conversation," he says. "To ensure it`s a three-way thing recruiters need to focus more on winning back candidates."
Recruiters continue to misplace their efforts on attracting clients - because "they pay the bills" - but it is strong candidate relationships that, in the end, will win them business, Tusing says. "If you get your relationship right with candidates, companies don`t have an option but to come to you.
"To have the upper hand and have companies willing to pay for [your] services, you need to be able to go and say `look, I have this candidate relationship; I have this endorsement; this is the information I have about... I know exactly how many project managers are available in the CBD`. That sort of workforce demographic information... is the only thing that will differentiate them in the future."
The biggest threat to third-party recruiters, he believes, is rejection by jobseekers.
This is because the other side of social media`s double-edged sword - which in theory gives recruiters broader access to candidates than ever before - also allows candidates to reject recruiters more quickly and permanently.
"The battle will be won by those who win the trust of candidates and the willingness of candidates to listen to what you have to say. The average candidate has so much on his plate that he can do - RSS, emails, twitter - so many ways he can filter what he wants and doesn`t want. If you want to be on that radar, you need to be better at having a strategy."
Too many recruiters are jumping into social media without a strategy, he says. Tusing is a firm believer in social media but warns that it`s more dangerous to go into it unprepared than to not be involved at all...
Source:
http://www.recruiterdaily.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&stream=All&selkey=
It`s getting easier every day for employers and candidates to find and connect with each other, he says, but the time and effort required to build and maintain relationships with candidates - and win their trust - will make the cost of acquiring a candidate "much more expensive in future".
"The most cost-effective way is to start right now."
Tusing, the founder of Destination Talent, says the advantage that agency recruiters traditionally had - their candidate networks and information about jobseekers - is in the grasp of progressive employers now. "The only reason why there isn`t much change in the status quo is because many companies, especially smaller ones, are yet to discover the tools and options to connect to candidates. But the reality is that with every passing day the ability for employers and candidates to find each other is increasing... Recruiters need to find some way of regaining their advantage."
"It always used to be a triangular nexus between candidates, recruitment firms and clients; now it`s threatening to be a two-way conversation," he says. "To ensure it`s a three-way thing recruiters need to focus more on winning back candidates."
Recruiters continue to misplace their efforts on attracting clients - because "they pay the bills" - but it is strong candidate relationships that, in the end, will win them business, Tusing says. "If you get your relationship right with candidates, companies don`t have an option but to come to you.
"To have the upper hand and have companies willing to pay for [your] services, you need to be able to go and say `look, I have this candidate relationship; I have this endorsement; this is the information I have about... I know exactly how many project managers are available in the CBD`. That sort of workforce demographic information... is the only thing that will differentiate them in the future."
The biggest threat to third-party recruiters, he believes, is rejection by jobseekers.
This is because the other side of social media`s double-edged sword - which in theory gives recruiters broader access to candidates than ever before - also allows candidates to reject recruiters more quickly and permanently.
"The battle will be won by those who win the trust of candidates and the willingness of candidates to listen to what you have to say. The average candidate has so much on his plate that he can do - RSS, emails, twitter - so many ways he can filter what he wants and doesn`t want. If you want to be on that radar, you need to be better at having a strategy."
Too many recruiters are jumping into social media without a strategy, he says. Tusing is a firm believer in social media but warns that it`s more dangerous to go into it unprepared than to not be involved at all...
Source:
http://www.recruiterdaily.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&stream=All&selkey=
