By most people’s definition, all things that have a past and present will have a future. Birth, life and death are understood to be natural occurrences and we assign this human characteristic to other things associated with human behavior. So the thought leaders ask this question about the future of recruiting with an assumption that tomorrow will look much differently than today. Some are predicting that it will evolve into something new and others see it dead and buried. I am an avid student of the topic because I too want to know what the future will bring to the craft that has been the essence of my career. I listen to often conflicting predictions from my heroes and mentors and try to understand those viewpoints from the perspective of the author. It can be frustrating at times. Since I don’t have a crystal ball, I often consult my Magic 8 Ball for clues to the answer.
The problem with the different paths that the experts take to the future is based not only on their varied backgrounds but also in differing assumptions. I often use the analogy of a surveyor measuring a line to a destination and the end point is impacted by both the starting point and the angle used to reach the destination. Rather than picking a favorite in this race, I think it is important to establish the scorecard to measure success. Arriving at different destinations doesn’t mean that one is right and another is wrong. To keep it simple, the following four characteristics of can be used to subjectively evaluate alternative solutions.
- Scalability – How does the model respond to changes in scope and size of mission?
- Evolution – Does the model allow itself to change with environmental needs?
- Effectiveness – Will the benefit of achieving results justify the cost of operating the model?
- Regeneration – Is the model capable of feeding itself and perpetuating results without external interference?
Full-Cycle Corporate Recruiting Model: The most consistently analyzed and criticized model is the one which evolved into a specialty function from the body of human resources activities. Corporate recruiters are tasked with the job of providing soup to nuts fulfillment of talent needs. Inherent scalability is limited with only a finite allocation of headcount for the function and often growth of the organization can only be handled with temporary expansion of the recruiting staff. Similarly, an economic downturn or hiring freeze can result in a misuse of this important resource entirely by reassignment to non-recruiting projects. This model is capable of evolving into specialization areas such as forming sourcing specialty teams to create a more efficient front end for the process and operations teams to facilitate data collection and metrics reporting functions. The effectiveness of this model has proven to be efficient and affordable for larger companies, however it may be overkill for some smaller companies. Companies generally choose to hire recruiters who are experienced with little forethought to regeneration of the model by training more junior talent acquisition specialists. Many junior recruiters learn their craft from the trenches of third-party agencies and then take that experience into corporations. Problems: The corporate hierarchical arrangement of functions often creates a bureaucratic bottleneck to operating efficiency. Ironically, a usual report card metric is Time-to-Hire while at the same time imposing obstacles to optimal performance.
Inbound Recruiting Model: In this system it assumed that the connection using social media and other identification techniques, such as referrals, has evolved to the point that there are fewer degrees of separation between hiring managers and required talent. Such a model would be hiring manager driven with no resumes and no requisitions to drive the process. Candidates would be selected from a talent pool of available, qualified and ready candidates. This model has superb scalability because it is not an event-driven process but a continuous process feeding a pipeline of talent for just-in-time hiring. A problem with it being evolutionary is that accurate forecasting must be present to steer the process for results in an often unstable environment. Just-in-time manufacturing works when the products coming out of the production line match consumer needs. Human education requires longer retooling. The effectiveness of such a model would depend on availability of a sophisticated workforce who understands how the process works and as the current corporate model shows job seekers are relatively unsophisticated when it comes to thinking from the other side of the table. Regeneration of the model would require some occasional recruiting support to fill the gaps and to educate managers, employees and candidates on the process. Problems: Traditional corporate recruiters have incorporated social recruiting through popular online tools as a sourcing technique, but it has yet to produce a larger slice of the hiring pie chart than just plain employee referrals. With recharging the referral process and the advent of new connectivity tools this is definitely a probable model for future recruiting.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing Model: With the advent of business process outsourcing in other areas, it seems to be a natural next step to outsource the recruitment process. This alternative causes shudders to traditionalists, but with the right environment the RPO can be an extremely cost-effective model. This is the ultimate example of scalability in the recruitment process. Without concern for having a critical mass of recruiting talent, a company can allocate only the amount of financial resources necessary for the current economic environment. The critical mass of talent is absorbed by the RPO and allocated as necessary. The RPO can be evolutionary by morphing into a multi-dimensional entity that can provide the JIT talent pool from a broader perspective, analytics from a global basis, and metrics that have an industry-wide yardstick. The effectiveness of this model is similar to traditional corporate structures with the exception that smaller companies with fewer than 500 employees can benefit from the same economies that larger companies enjoy. The regeneration of sourcing and recruiting expertise within this model is parallel to the RPO business model and a growth-from-within program insures continued success. Problems: Economies of scale could actually lead to higher costs because of the overhead associated with an RPO that would be a sunk cost in a corporate model. A key to success is 100% effectiveness in client-RPO communications.
There are obviously alternatives to these models which could be totally different or a hybrid of two or more models. If it appears that my conclusion is that the best future model is to outsource recruiting, actually that fact remains to be seen. I learned what I know today through corporate recruiting, I’m a big believer in social media and the inbound revolution, and I see RPO in my mind as well as in the Magic 8 Ball. Regardless of the future, one thing is certain: the need to replenish talent will continue whether it is called “recruiting†or some other word not yet in our vocabulary. Maybe I will coin the term “peoplizing†the workplace and see if that catches on.
Important references
- Must see video: Fire Away from ereexpo 2011 Spring featuring Lou Adler, Dr. John Sullivan and Kevin Wheeler.
- The Future of Recruiting Circa 2020 by Lou Adler.
- Five Scenarios by John Sumser (link to number 5 in series with imbedded links to series).
- Strategic Recruiting Issues and Trends by Dr. John Sullivan.
- What’s 2011 Going to Bring? By Kevin Wheeler