It wasn’t too long ago that “experts” began calling it for the recruitment industry – who needs a recruiter when technology is helping everyone to be so easily connected?
The exponential advancements in technology have not only shrunk the gap between client and candidate, they’ve made searching for them – roles, hirers, job seekers, talent – that much more efficient.
Online digital platforms such as LinkedIn have provided a service that essentially should have replaced the “middle man” with a just a few simple clicks – yet the opposite has occurred. In fact, the recruitment industry is going well against the doomsday predictions and only getting stronger.
It has been over 14 years since LinkedIn launched back in May of 2003 and recruitment firms have utilised these new channels for their advantage.
But no matter how connected we are digitally it is our human interaction that remains the most fundamental component of the hiring process – face to face wins over every time.
The human element is what gets people across the line, and what gets them engaged. Selling the dream that’s right for them is never going to be enough coming from a 4.7” screen in the palm of their hand.
That may be enough to initiate the first contact but after that it is the personal approach that can make or break the final decision.
At the end of the day individuals and corporations alike want to be heard. Their journey is unique to them and therefore worth more than just words on a screen.
That’s where recruiters can and will continue to provide a point of difference. Arranged marriages may be an outdated philosophy but arranging the right employee with the right employer is not going to lose value until people stop caring about their future.
In 2017, team culture is the key ingredient in the recipe for success, with all the best businesses out there having an internal framework of people that is as worthy as the products or services they sell. Recruiters are there to source talent that will fit the role but also fit the company and be beneficial for the business at large.
Sourcing is another key advantage that the recruitment industry has on its side, in networking and being able to access candidates from various areas to find and secure the best person for the job. So regardless of technology, without having a recruiter to do the digging companies can often settle to fill their roles.
The long-term picture here is that recruitment is in essence two things; resourcing and relationships. And neither of these can be wholly solved by a computer and a digital network.
The phone calls, the face-to-face, the human relationship – will always be more valuable of an asset in determining character, mindset and emotional intelligence, amongst other key recruiting components.
Taking a quote from Simon Sinek, “If you hire people just because they can do a job, they’ll work for your money. But if you hire people who believe what you believe, they’ll work for you with blood and sweat and tears.”
At Kingfisher we believe in finding the candidates who believe.
