Recruiting vs Talent Management

I recently participated in a panel discussion about the future of the recruiting industry, and quite frankly, I was surprised by many of the prevailing attitudes and thoughts surrounding the topic at hand.

As is often the case, I was the contrarian on the panel, and while I probably shouldn’t have been shocked, it was the fact most recruiters seemed to believe the status quo was fine, the future was bright, and they didn’t see the need for change that perplexed me. In today’s post, I’ll examine the future of recruiting from a bit of a different perspective than many in the executive search business…

Those of you who read my work with any amount of frequency know how strongly I believe business is fluid, dynamic, and ever-evolving. Furthermore, you are likely just as familiar with my position that a static business, which doesn’t constantly innovate around the changing needs of the marketplace is the same thing as a dying business. While many recruiters and executive search firms may think they’re exempt from the aforementioned business principles governing sustainability, they would be sorely mistaken to be so brazen in their attitude and approach.

The fact of the matter is both employers and job seekers continue to become more demanding in their requirements of one another. This phenomenon is occurring during a time where employment markets worldwide have never been more competitive. My question is this; Does this sound like an environment where service providers (namely recruiters) can stand idly with business as a usual attitude?  I think not.

The reality is in maturing and complex market environments clients demand more from their service providers. Executive search firms desiring to remain competitive must focus on increasing their value-added benefits in order to stay in the game. Those recruiters who have incomplete service offerings, and who don’t completely immerse themselves in understanding the culture and environment at their client companies will find it difficult to eke out a living moving forward.

While my personal practice is focused on providing leadership advice and counsel to Fortune 500 CEOs, as the senior operating executive at our firm I also have oversight responsibility for our talent management practice.  From my perspective, I can’t imagine not integrating services throughout the talent management lifecycle. The identification, recruitment, deployment, development, retention, and succession of talent are clearly issues that are best addressed in an integrated service offering. Approaching talent management in a fractionalized approach is an inefficient and flawed process.

I am so committed to the beliefs espoused above that our firm engineered its talent management practice in a fashion that offers clients a broad array of service offerings. The simple truth of the matter is that it aligns our agenda with that of our clients, and makes for solid long-term relationships driven by much more than placement fees.

Here’s the thing – “recruiters” while filling an important role, simply don’t add the value a sophisticated client will desire in the future. Those recruiters looking to grow their business must transition from candidate sourcing to embracing a comprehensive approach to talent management aligning their interests with the long-term objectives of their clients. Executive search firms not working with their clients’ pre and post-placement have failed to understand recruiting is no longer a business, but simply one component of a much greater process. Anybody can make a hire, but that’s not the end game – rather it’s just the beginning.