What Are Recruiting Functins Not Doing

I was reading an article today on a need for a paradigm shift from a Sales role to more of a Marketing role. The idea promotes a turn from selling the organization to developing an employment brand based on employment satisfaction. APQC and Kennedy performed a survey asking the respondents if they every measured the satisfaction of the recruitment experience. Sixty-two percent said they did not.


The article also implied that recruiters are pressured into a sales role because of the desparate need for qualified resources. In addition, the sales roles focuses on the internal needs of the facility to fill a position and not necessarily the needs of the individuals. I'm not sure I completely agree wth this due to the nature of the competitive market. More often than not we accommodate as much of the jobseekers desires as we are able to afford (politically speaking).


I do see the advantages of employment branding. It is effective and sells the organization's goals, mission, beliefs, etc. Branding is not dating; it's commitment. I learned a lesson when I was recruiting in healthcare. If you sell a brand new facility, you'll receive candidates who want the newest and the best and will leave when someone else has built a new facility. If you sell comp and benefits they'll leave when someone pays more or offers better benefits. We tend to sell for the short term.

If you sell your employment brand then you will attract candidates who are looking for the same values, goals and business objectives. This could be more of a match made in heaven. If you are trying to recruit for the long-haul, employment branding may be your best bet.