Harvard Group International has been successfully helping clients fill critical and strategic hiring needs for three decades. As consultant in this field, HGI regularly provides analysis and advice to executives and professionals who seek the firm's assistance. The door is always open to employers and individuals for courtesy discussions.
In the Talent Acquisition field, one gets what one searches for, where how usually has the most impact on the outcome. From the smallest business to the largest corporation there is need for, and value recognized, in all employees, from Entry Level to C-Suite.
According to the ideal scenario, the right person and employer’s need find each other via something akin to networking; at a time near perfect for both. As in most business and life, reality is usually different, such that active initiative is often required, just as purchasing strategies assure materials being available and ready where and when needed.
Apply the right club from the bag
Searching, posting, recruiting can be and are used interchangeably and regularly; however, this writing is from observations and experience about active, person-to-person candidate sourcing as opposed to posting job openings with hopeful anticipation.
Run the hiring flag up the pole… or actually conduct a hunt.
Hunters vs gatherers
In terms of talent acquisition, there seems to be an ever-increasing means of online “gathering” of candidates which in the right circumstance represent a logical choice of action for a notable percent of hires. When the means toward subsistence can be gathering from gardens, orchards, forest floors…or grocery stores, there is less need to hunt. Less, but not no need to hunt.
For our discussion here, recruiting is centered around hunting, while use of ads and internet web scans are more akin to gathering. The former is knowing the best locales to scout for and “bag” talent, while the latter tends to be shopping online sites where talent makes itself available, and/or post & hope. All are the right strokes to find the certain right folks for a given need.
Landing top performing leaders
HGI has decades of assisting clients hire the right talent. As Executive & Professional Recruiters, most of our history has been filling manager up through C-suite needs, as well as strategically specific openings for key contributing professionals. Still, HGI’s clients seem to like the well-established, Person to Person approach toward filling their needs and expectations, as they regularly engage HGI to apply this knowledge and resource in helping them fill other categories of job descriptions. To build “bench strength” is a common reason. From that experience comes the suggestions here.
Apply the right club from the golf bag for the specific need.
Usually best not to drive with a putter.
Post & Hope is relatively easy if not routine. It is often used in conjunction with online search sights where people place their profiles or resumes, hoping to be found and gathered for consideration regarding a job description having some element of better than they work under currently. Collectively these means of matching talent with need are a good contributor to business and society, for the right reasons. It’s often the best choice for finding “can do” people to fill needed job openings, no question.
How important is “can do” vs “WILL AFFECT” growth or change?
Addressing that question is the first step toward choosing the path to HUNT, to engage hunters. Still some executive openings can be filled by posting ads or shopping people-profile gathering sites. The choice is again based on nature of need and critical value. What is the value assigned to making the best ROI decision in an executive or professional hire?
What type of stroke will it take to land that most impactful difference maker?
There are lots of choices of clubs in the bag to achieve the specific stroke, with subtle differences between most. Recruiting is proactive hunting, while the engagement of a consultant to conduct recruiting on behalf of an employer should come with the decision that the right person for the job opening in question is likely part of a fairly small demographic. The process begins with a clear, and likely pretty narrow definition of target.
The value of real “recruiting”
Professionals or Executives, both represent skillsets of limited availability around which higher expectations can be placed regarding level and speed of contribution to the hiring company. With the target defined, i.e. the job description, the best process is to:
Assure that the source of recruiting selected, external or internal, fully understands the target in the same way the hiring manager does. Throwing resumes up on the wall to see which stick is not Recruiting. That’s more aligned with Post & Hope.
Determine the likely sources. HGI typically builds an initial list of likely target employers that remains dynamic as the digging and recruitment steps progress.
Dig, research into the source employers to identify those people with the likely best credentials. Judgement is applied and critical, since the most capable are likely currently employed. Still, it’s shortsighted to not consider solid, proven performers recently in transition.
Initiate contact with identified prospects and then recruit, as in sell the opportunity while evaluating the prospective individual. HGI finds it best to inquire judiciously for evidence of accomplishment as the best means to determine demonstrated capabilities.
Person to Person approach and relationship is very important from beginning to end in this form of talent acquisition.
More overall proactive intense than searching databases, recruiting is a proven process and skill which HGI’s clients know is where to gauge the value delivered by the selected hunter. The best candidates, easily and in person, define their contribution by way of recognized accomplishments. They put it up front. When asked the elevator speech question, “Who are you?”, top candidates lead with notable achievements as opposed to the common fallback answer of naming their held responsibilities and/or listing skillsets.
Using the right “how”… the right “stroke” to find the best among a limited population niche is critically influential to success and growth for an employer, no matter how large they are. While it’s true that ideas and innovations sell, the right and best teams of professionals and leaders sell more of these ideas and innovations. HGI has a long history of effectively determining whether a person has been up in the engine of the train, while quite a few prospects evaluated during a recruiting project are found to be more likely riding the passenger car.
Recruiting is technique in conjunction with developed appraisal skill, combining experience and means with that critical Person to Person relationship component. Of note: effective application of Person to Person recruiting often ends a project with an additional sharp businessperson still available for another right opportunity. Translated: HGI clients are regularly faced with that difficult though pleasant “choice”.
Wrapping up
Contracted Recruiters are valued by their clients as to how they add the assurance of a positive ROI resulting from a critical hire.
While identifying and hiring professional or executive proven difference makers takes the most involved process and personal approach, make sure the HUNTER engaged understands when, where and how to apply the right “strokes”, to help their clients land the right “folks” across much of their organization. Level of actual recruiting experience is critical in that decision.
Read more from Harvard Group International
Harvard Group International, Executive & Professional Recruiters
Harvard Group International was founded in 1997 with a primary focus on automotive manufacturers and tier-one suppliers. From its beginning, the culture has been one of providing help and advisory services to clients and candidates alike. As the firm grew, the practice evolved more of a generalist focus, covering almost every industry segment across finance & investment, medical, technology, consumer, and more, to manufacturers and suppliers; US and International. With that history, HGI has helped many of the largest corporations in the world as well as private businesses and start-ups. The key to success is grounded in the firm's process of thoroughly understanding the clients' needs as well as hiring managers' preferences to enable effective 'digging' into likely sources; and identifying accomplished candidates that require actual recruiting before presentation to clients. Along the years, HGI has become known for professional courtesy, confidentiality, and focused urgency. The associates and directors of the firm have reviewed many thousands of resumes, placing thousands of candidates across a broad spectrum of titles, roles, and diversity.
