Bearing Fruit Consulting

Hanging Out With The Cool Kids at Fistful Of Talent

Just wanted to point you all in the direction of my latest post over on Fistful Of Talent.  The title of the post is Hanging With The Cool Kids In The Talent Pool and it appears today. 

I consider the whole posse over at FOT to be "cool kids" so I feel as though I am blessed to be in their company.  Seriously, there are some really smart, witty and innovative HR and recruiting practitioners in that group. 

I still can't figure out how I got into that group!

E Is For EDUCATE - Creating The Ultimate Candidate Experience

All You Need Is L.O.V.E.D. and the BFC "love in" on how to create the ultimate candidate experience continues.  It's probably a good idea to recap where we are and what we have covered.

First, we introduced the basics of creating the ultimate candidate experience in the form of an acronym - L.O.V.E.D.  The goal is to make every candidate feel L.O.V.E.D. 

We then began breaking down our acronym and started, logically, with L is for  LISTEN, moved on to O is for OWN and then V is for VALIDATE.  The emails on this topic have been very interesting and there has even been some discussion of these posts around the blogosphere.  Many have requested that I share a template for a Candidate Bill of Rights which I will be sure to do in a later post.

Let's move on to our next letter in the acronym - E is for EDUCATE.  More after the jump.

V Is For VALIDATE - Creating The Ultimate Candidate Experience

The BFC version of a "love in" continues today.  As we have been discussing, creating the ultimate candidate experience requires that you make every candidate feel L.O.V.E.D.  We started the series with an overview and then moved on to cover both L (for Listen) and O (for Own).  Today we move into a discussion on V and, continuing with our Sesame Street style for this topic, V is for VALIDATE. 

No, I am not talking about Stuart Smalley type validation (you probably have to be over a certain age to get that reference) and this isn't about self help affirmation therapy or anything remotely close to that.  Once a candidate is in process with you or your organization, providing validation at different steps is critical to creating the ultimate candidate experience.  That said, if this tactic is overplayed it could lead to serious problems for you when it comes time to make the offer and close the deal.  Validate as a tactic has to be used very carefully but, when executed well at the appropriate times, it becomes a powerful weapon in creating the ultimate candidate experience. 

Let's take a look at what validating a candidate means and what it looks like.  More after the jump. 

Moving from ATS to TRMS Over at FOT

Is that enough of an acronym tease for ya?

Just a quick note to alert you all to one of my latest posts over at Fistful of Talent on converting your ATS to a TRMS.  I provide some guidance on how to take your ordinary, process swamped, compliance focused, administrivia driven Animal Tracking System and tweak it to start getting more TRM from it. 

Have a read...if you aren't sick of reading my stuff  yet. 

O Is For OWN - Creating The Ultimate Candidate Experience

The All You Need Is L.O.V.E.D series on creating the ultimate candidate experience and a candidate bill of rights is continuing today.  Last week we looked at the first letter in our acronym L.O.V.E.D when we focused on L is for LISTEN.

Logically, today we move on to O.  O is for Own.  I am confident that nothing will get you more bang for your buck, so to speak, than executing well with OWN. 

Time and time again we hear from candidates in survey after survey about how they fall into some mysterious black hole or abyss when they apply for a position or talk to a recruiter.  I think it is the same black hole where socks seem to disappear to in the dryer.  If you want to get significantly better results as a recruiter or a recruiting organization you can do yourself a favor and get vastly better at owning your candidates.  Just raising the bar a fraction in this area will set you apart from virtually every other recruiting organization. 

That last statement is a sad indictment of our industry I suppose but it is true.  Recruiters and recruiting organizations are so bad at this aspect of creating the ultimate candidate experience that just being decent at it will put you head and shoulders above the rest.

So what does OWN actually mean you ask?   Great question, let's take a look.

L is for Listen - Creating The Ultimate Candidate Experience

Back on May 20th I introduced the series Creating The Ultimate Candidate Experience =  All You Need Is L.O.V.E.D.  I had a few emails asking questions about the difference between applicant and candidate experience.  This is an an important question and one I plan to address in detail in future posts but, since that is not the focus of this series, I will quickly state that applicants should have a good experience and ease of use.  Candidates need to get the Ultimate Experience as they are more likely to talk about their experience with others because they actually interacted with you and your organization.  The potential for viral impact, both positive and negative, is greater with those that actually engage with your company thought phone screens, interviews and other personal interactions.

To quickly recap, I stated in the introduction to this series that to create the Ultimate Candidate Experience you need to make your candidates feel L.O.V.E.D., an acronym with the following meaning:

• L = Listen
• O = Own
• V = Validate
• E = Educate
• D = Deliver

Let's get this discussion started with the first one, LISTEN.

Are You Serious? More Of The Same Recruiting Tactics

Over at ERE there is a post by David Szary on his blog 3-O'Clock Coffee Break going into some detail about how Memorial Day is the best time to recruit passive candidates. 

First off, I don't know David and I have no personal issues with him.  I am sure he is a nice guy and knows his stuff.  That said, I have to take professional issue with some of the recommendations in his blog post.

While David is correct that Memorial Day, and for that matter the days leading up to holidays in general, is a good time to recruit (calling the Thursday and Friday before Memorial day are great times connect with people) the tactical recommendations in this blog post are not the best.

It Isn't Over Until The Boss Knows - Coaching Candidates On Giving Notice

This is a reprint of an article I wrote a couple years ago.  I have been asked by a number of clients recently to train recruiters on this important topic and to share the concept via our blog here at Bearing Fruit Consulting. 

You just filled that really hard-to-fill position with a proven high-performing passive candidate. Even better, you took the candidate from your competition — the much sought after "hire to hurt." You invested valuable hours direct sourcing, networking, creating interest, discussing career stretch, and presenting the opportunity.

You have closed the deal. Your hard work has paid off. The candidate has verbally accepted your offer.

Feels great, doesn't it?

Before you strain yourself while patting yourself on the back, before you head off to the water cooler or your recruiting team meeting to exchange high fives with your recruiting buddies, before you start sharing the war stories of your latest conquest, don't forget that what comes next may be your doom as a recruiter.

Remember your candidate is still out there about to face his employer in giving notice. The search is not over. You have not yet won. In fact, you can still lose if you don't pay attention to the one of the most often forgotten aspects of hiring a high performing candidate.

For just a minute, let's pretend we are the candidate. I think this is what it would likely sound like in their head:

Wow, I am going to be changing companies. This is going to be one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. In fact, I am a little frightened by the idea of telling my boss I'm leaving. We've been together for quite a while; we have done some great work together. I know I am her highest performer. She is going to freak out. I really like this new opportunity; the recruiter I am working with is great and I really trust him. But he isn't going to be here with me when I give notice. Man, I thought this would be a bit easier. I never really thought about what it would be like to actually give notice. I know this is the right thing for my career, but all this fear about giving notice is causing me to have second thoughts. Maybe I shouldn't do this.

Not all candidates will be thinking this way. For many, however, giving notice strikes fear in their hearts. Keep in mind, if you went after a high performer, you approached them about another opportunity. Like most passive talent, they were likely to be completely content in their position and delivering great results to their company. They were also likely to have a pretty solid relationship with their current manager. Most high performers do. Giving notice might scare them into not accepting your offer.

In reality, your work is just beginning.

World-class recruiters know that getting the right offer extended and accepted is not the end of the search. World-class recruiters also understand that to capitalize on their investment of time and effort, they need to make sure the talent actually starts. This means they have to work a bit harder and coach the talent on how to give notice.

Homula To Present Free Webcast at Human Capital Institute

Next Wednesday March 26th I will be presenting a free webcast for the Human Capital Institute's Strategic Sourcing and Recruitment learning tract entitled You Have The Names Now What? Moving Beyond Name Generation and Sourcing to Active Recruiting.  Essentially I am going to share some insight and techniques around executing the recruiting call and converting names and sourcing intelligence into talent acquisition results. 

To learn a bit more about the session you can click on the link above.  If you trust me when I say that the session will be worth surrendering one hour of your time then click here to sign up directly. 

Actually, if you plan to spend that one hour actually making recruiting calls and generating real recruiting results then go ahead and miss this; though you are likely to pick up some techniques that will make you better.  But, if you are going to be engaging in some form of administrivia, job board searching, resume piling or attending yet another HR meeting rather than getting recruiting results then you need to attend this session.

Hope to see you, or should I say hear you, on the 26th!   

How To Hire Great Recruiters - Part 3

In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, How To Hire Great Recruiters, we discussed the idea that great recruiting is the engine that drives an organization forward.  As a result, hiring great recruiters must be one of the most critical hiring initiatives of any recruiting leader or company. 

We have already presented and discussed two of the eight competencies we have to come to know predict future superior performance in a recruiter.  They are:

Interaction:  The ideal recruiter is able to communicate with others in a warm and helpful manner while building credibility and rapport.

Spoken Communication:  The ideal recruiter is able to present information clearly through the spoken word. He or she listens well and influences others through oral presentation in either positive or negative circumstances.

Now, let’s take a look at the fourth competency that can predict superior performance in a recruiter – Commitment To Task.