So, who looks after the Recruiters career when the Recruiters recruiting?

Part Four

As mentioned last week, much has been written in recent articles regarding the main challenge to management within the recruitment industry - ìskills shortageî. But do we really have a skills shortage? Or is it a failure to recognise and address the abilities of the people we have working already within the industry. Much has been written about the emerging generations joining the work force and how they are different and therefore their needs have to be addressed differently. Attrition rates in the recruitment industry have nothing to do with generation Y; the industry has had a 20% plus turnover before generation Y were out of nappies.

Enlightened HR and progressive Recruitment organisations have recognised for some time that if a person has the right behaviours and attitudes then they can be trained to carry out tasks to the level of their ability. It seems this is yet to be widely accepted within the hiring attitudes of the recruitment industry. Statistics show an ever-increasing shift by employers towards getting the cultural fit and attitude right over and above skills and ability. So why is the recruitment industry being left behind? Why is it so difficult to offer a flexible work environment based around rewarding work practises? One only has to read the job advertisements for Recruiters to recognise the industry has yet to embrace these concepts. When I continue to see advertisements for recruitment consultants with words like ì360 recruitmentî, ìoverachieve targetsî I know that we still have a long way to go in arresting the appalling staff turnover facing our industry.

I have worked in and managed team based environments. It does work. The key of course is communication, often missing in the ì360 recruitment modelî where everyone is pitted against one another and perceives their colleagues as competitors and are therefore reluctant to share information. And donít forget, good dialogue is a two-way process, so managers should remember to listen to, and act on, any questions or comments from your team. Above all, make sure you share information with your team quickly and clearly. Ensure the concepts are clear and understood by all. Once running smoothly, success infuses further success and it suddenly becomes infectious within the team. Then the REAL rewards of a team-based environment are achieved.

Maybe, just maybe the continuing ìcandidate shortageî will see retention issues being brought to the forefront within the recruitment industry and addressed more thoughtfully. Maybe the ìskills shortageî will force more focus on team-based models that embrace flexibility and realistically measure consultants achievements based on their abilities.

Michael Webb has worked in the industry for 27 years with large and small recruitment companies and assists many with their recruitment issues. He has managed and owned recruitment businesses and addressed Recruitment Conferences.

Email: Michael@WebsNet.com.au