I have a crucial goal for anyone running a recruitment business.

I call it the ‘100 cups of coffee challenge.‘

And it’s nothing to do with coffee, but stay with me.

The post-Covid hiring surge drove agency recruitment to new highs.

It also meant a massive scramble to hire recruiters.

I would be a wealthy man if I had a dollar for every time a recruiting manager told me they could not find high-quality consultants.

The energy, money and resources spent on hiring recruiters were massive in the past two years.

Frankly, it’s pretty much always a top priority for recruitment companies.

Now the wheel has turned, and hiring of recruiters has stalled. Some are losing jobs.

And yet I ask Owners, ‘What are you doing now to ensure you can access the best recruiting talent’.
Usually, they stare at me blankly, perhaps saying, ‘we don’t need recruiters now’ or mumble platitudes about job boards and posting ads on LinkedIn.

But that is so short-sighted and so dangerous.

Every owner knows that just as demand has declined, so it will recover in time.

And then the competitive edge will be hiring the best recruiters.

Why wait when you know that colossal challenge is looming?

In an era of systemic recruiting skills shortages, reactive recruiting will not work.

Whether they are hiring right now or not, owners and managers of recruitment agencies must build recruitment activities into their daily agenda. Indeed, anyone seeking to hire ‘hard to find’ skills, needs to get with the program.

You will lose the talent battle if you only start your recruiting activities once a vacancy emerges. And doom your company to being a ‘B’ grade business, at best.

Some years ago, I inherited a small unsuccessful operation in Singapore, as part of the Aquent business when I became International CEO. The team comprised three or four modest consultants under the leadership of an inexperienced manager. I resolved to invest in that manager but realised that a change might be required.

On that basis I began to speak to likely candidates in the market, very confidentially, even though I did not have a vacancy there and then. I was not hiring. But I was recruiting. I made proactive calls, and I met several people, one in particular, let’s call him Kevin. And Kevin looked like an excellent fit.

But I was not ready to hire, and Kevin was not ready to move.

After that began a prolonged two-way seduction. Every time I went to Singapore, I met with Kevin, and we talked about what the job could look like for him. What his responsibilities would be, and what the salary structure might comprise. In turn, I used those conversations, to track his performance, assess his management style, and got to know him as a person.

Kevin came to Sydney and we went for a few beers. We swapped e-mails. Over 18 months, I must have had more than ten meetings or telephone conversations with him.

In the end, my inexperienced Singapore manager couldn’t cope and resigned. I phoned Kevin, and the deal was done in eight minutes. Literally. Everything had already been discussed. Trust and buy-in were secure on both sides. We had both done our due diligence and were champing at the bit.
Kevin indeed joined Aquent and built Singapore office to 18 people and a pre-tax profit of US$1.5 million. When he inherited the business, it was making a loss. He was with the company 7 years and subsequently took on a regional role, helping me open several other Asian offices.

One of my better hires.

Do you think my investment in a few coffees and the odd phone call paid off?

For both of us?

The point is this.

You must work at it daily if you are serious about getting the best talent.

Now!

This means constantly interviewing. It means coffee and conversations with a wide range of potential employees. You will be honest and transparent at all times, of course.

The message is, ‘We don’t have a vacancy now, but adding the best people to our business is our number one priority, so we would be honoured to chat with you‘.

Set yourself a goal to have ‘100 cups of coffee‘ with potential hires over the next 12 months.

I am serious. This message is for everyone responsible for managing a team or recruiters and presumably for growing it

That is two meetings a week. Sure, it’s an investment. But think of the return!

All your staff must be given the same brief. The whole company should constantly be in recruitment mode for internal talent. If necessary, reward your team for finding good people who you subsequently hire.

Celebrate the efforts of those who attract talent your business. Build it into your cultural DNA.

Create a database of potential recruits and set notifications to ensure you find a reason to keep in touch. Make those conversations frank, and address issues that will attract them to your business or knock them out as potential employees.

Then, when the day comes that an ‘unexpected‘ vacancy occurs, or demand surges, and you need recruiters, (and it will), you will be ready, with four or five pre-qualified, pre-warmed, top performers, prepared to engage.

The truth in recruitment is that the people with the best people always win in the end.

But it won’t happen by chance.

I don’t care if you are hiring now or anytime soon.
You should still be recruiting.
Hard.

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                                The Savage Truth.                                                                      Recruit. The Savage Way

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