As business leaders, being aware of, and addressing the challenges of our businesses is an essential part of what we do, and regardless of how uncomfortable it makes us, there’s always a great benefit to be found in leaning into the issues that hold us back.
For my company, and I’d imagine for my industry colleagues, the greatest challenge that presents is the current perception of recruiters as annoying sales people, rather than genuine business partners.
It’s a challenge I reflect on often, and as our team seeks to overcome it, here are five actions that we are taking.
Educating on what we do
We understand that there’s always a conversation about recruitment happening, and we have the option of spectating or leading. We choose the latter, proactively educating people on the way we see recruitment, and in turn adding a positive voice into the mix.
Investing time
We come across a lot of prospective clients and candidates who, because of past experiences, have concerns about engaging an external company. We address this by taking the time to listen and then build bridges, which represent a strong foundation for the future.
Refining our focus
Whilst being the recruiter of choice for all could be seen as appealing, the reality is that it’s an unrealistic objective. We believe that better understanding our clients, and choosing to engage with those that share a similar vision and values set are better for all involved.
Doing, not selling
With the current perception being that all recruiters are sales people, we need to ensure that we’re not fulfilling this belief through our actions, and with this in mind, we focus on doing what we say we’ll do in a way that demonstrates our care, competence, and dedication.
Embracing improvement
As I noted in my post creating and running a cloud-based company, our industry is always changing, and in addition to the above, we maintain a commitment to constant innovation that we believe will further help us in shifting both the conversation and perception.