High-Tech, High-Touch Recruiting

High-Tech High-Touch Recruiting, How to Attract and Retain The Best Talent by Improving The Candidate Experience, by Barbara Bruno, Kogan Page, 2020, Amazon Human Resource Books Ranking 424

Although recruiting and HR expert Barbara Bruno says there is no substitute for high-touch recruiting, technology's role in the process is impressive, from web review to systems that screen for keywords for the best (and worst) candidates.  Not only does hiring cost firms money, but recruiters have an on-going interest in being tops, because they too are being evaluated by the number of requisitions they fill, and beyond that, to how well (and long) their candidates perform.  Add the pandemic to the formula, and the result is a tough and complex process that can make a  big difference in how well a company delivers.  

Let's take a look at the technology behind hiring recruiting systems.  Although technology can make the first part of the hiring process go faster, it can also be waylaid by potential employees' avoidance of e-mail and text messaging, especially for candidates in the IT world.  Bruno advises us to remember that when we rely on technology to screen, evaluate and track candidates, its easy to produce a barrage of unread messages.  And if competing recruiters are using the technology, its easy to see how candidates can shut off.

What's the answer?  The author believes that the differentiating factor in the end is a high-touch approach.  Keep up with the time-frame and the possibility of changes by asking "Has anything changed since the last time we talked?" and by listening.  The next move, she says, is to "make decisions quickly, especially when you are attempting to attract hard-to-find candidates.  Once you've made a hiring decision, extend the offer.  Waiting for a better candidate is never a good idea.  If the time is right and everything has been done internally and during the interview process, pre-close your candidate one last time and then extend the offer."

Each chapter in High-tech High-touch Recruiting ends with a Summary and Key Takeaways.  Chapter 6 covers "Techniques to Eliminate Surprises," a very useful chapter that allows hiring managers to think through their own process, as well as prepare for unexpected surprises.  Reference checking to reveal discrepancies and discern the best candidates may produce a few surprises but the hidden value of reference checks for recruiters is it will build a bigger network of executives looking to hire or simply extend their possibilities.   

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Patricia E. Moody

FORTUNE magazine  "Pioneering Woman in Mfg" 

IndustryWeek IdeaXchange Xpert

A Mill Girl at Blue Heron Journal, on-line resource for business thought-leaders and decision-makers,  patriciaemoody@gmail.com