Everybody wants to be successful. Of course they do. But does everybody do what is necessary in order to become successful? The answer to that question is “No,” because if everybody did what was necessary to be successful, then . . . everybody would be successful.
It’s the same with recruiting, which is a profession that demands almost constant training if one wants to hone their skills to a fine edge and reach their full potential as a professional recruiter or executive search consultant. But, once again, not everybody is willing to invest the amount of time, energy, and effort necessary to receive a return on such an investment.
“Unfortunately, the reality is that most people—in the absence of a truly life-changing event—are not self-motivated beyond a certain point,” said recruiting industry trainer and speaker Steve Finkel.
The fact of the matter is that not everybody is self-motivated. In fact, it might be a stretch to stay that the majority of people are. Because they might not be. According to Finkel, allowing training materials to “sit on the shelf,” either literally or figuratively, is the same as buying exercise equipment for a spouse who’s not motivated to exercise. In short, you’re going to get about the same results.
“Improvement by osmosis is highly unlikely,” said Finkel. “There is hope, but it requires personal involvement and work from the recruiting manager.”
Recruiting managers shape the organization
According to Finkel, recruiting managers are ultimately the ones who shape an organization. They do this mainly by developing corporate attitudes and forming the culture. As a result, if recruiters allow training materials to go untouched and there are no consequences for doing so, then this sends the message that continued learning is an option and NOT mandatory.
“That message is wrong,” said Finkel. “Professional growth is NOT an option in a well-run recruiting firm. However, it is the recruiting manager’s responsibility to develop a plan—and enforce that plan—to bring it about.”
But how can recruiting managers accomplish this? And how can they strike the proper tone while they’re doing it to get the “buy-in” of the other recruiters in the organization? Finkel recommends that recruiting managers take the following three steps:
#1—Do not allow group meetings to be interrupted.
This includes allowing recruiters to take calls during the meeting or even having their cell phones with them. Sure, a candidate or client might call them during this time, but they can always call back.
“To allow calls to be taken during meetings addressing skill improvement is to send the message that these meetings are not of the highest priority, thus reducing the quality of the meeting,” said Finkel. “Eventually, everyone will be filtering in and out of skill improvement sessions, reducing the focus and concentration of the entire group.”
#2—Conduct sessions twice a week.
According to Finkel, these improvement sessions should be conducted twice each week. There are two main rules associated with this tip. First, recruiting managers should conduct the meetings in the morning, and second, they should not conduct them on Fridays. Finkel also recommends that the sessions last anywhere from 30 minutes to 45 minutes.
#3—Prepare, prepare, prepare!
The biggest problem that recruiting managers experience in this area is coming up with topics and then organizing the material once they do. Needless to say, Finkel is decidedly not a fan of “winging it.”
“Without sufficient preparatory work, recruiting managers simply pick a subject and blindly stumble into it on the morning of the meeting,” he said. “They rely on their recruiters to bail them out of their lack of structure by making contributions. This is rarely productive—and totally unnecessary.”
This is why recruiting managers are responsible for driving growth within their organizations. Because in many cases, if they don’t do it . . . who will?
