When is Recruitment Consultancy really Recruitment Consultancy and not just People Placing on commission-only.

Employer: What do you do?

Consultant: I’m a Recruitment Consultant.

Employer: Ok so you advise me how to recruit - right?

Consultant: Well not exactly. I find people for your jobs.

Employer: So if there was a better way to find people, would you recommend that?

Consultant: No I only get paid to place people with you, not for pointing you in another direction.

Employer: So where’s the “Consultancy” in that?

Consultant: Pay me to advise you on how to optimise your recruitment processes and I’ll show you.

Now that recruitment has changed so much, should People Placers look to offer more Recruitment Consultancy regardless of who actually finds the candidate?

What the Recruitment industry must learn from Steve Jobs.

There’s stuff you’re happy to pay for and stuff you begrudge paying for. Think about that one for a second - the list of examples forms quickly in the mind! I’m pretty sure iPhones fall into the first category and life insurance falls into the second.

What about recruitment consultancy?

Well, we have all experienced the moment when a client hires a great candidate and just for that moment they’re not thinking about the cost, they’re thinking about value. Unfortunately the moment tends to evaporate the next time they get a commission-driven sales call or an over-sold candidate.

What Steve Jobs did so well was create a product that resonated with a generation. It was so cool people couldn’t wait for it. They queued around the block for it. As Recruitment Consultants we need to do the same for our clients so that, when we call, they are dribbling with anticipation.

What product or service can we offer that resonates with this generation?

I believe it involves turning our backs on the volume cold-calling “Big Biller” self-interested mentality and taking an holistic consultative approach to recruitment: what’s in the best interests of the client? How can we help make this company better at hiring? How can we reduce their hiring costs? You may never introduce a candidate to them directly again!

This is what I am now doing with www.rsg1000.com. Its recruitment consultancy but not you have known it!

It’s not going to be easy and for many it will be beyond their capabilities but I believe the answer to the question above is:

“Give your client the coolest recruitment strategy they’ve ever seen, upgrade it regularly and leave them feeling in awe.”

Let me know what you think?

Those that would like to become involved should email me david@rsg1000.com

What has the King of Tonga got to do with Recruitment Agencies?

I think we have all accepted that Social Media and the In-House recruitment model have taken root and we need to adapt our recruitment agency offering accordingly.

Does this acceptance mean that a large part of the £20 billion per annum spent on agency recruitment will disappear? The answer depends on to what extent agencies evolve new services to generate new revenues that will replace those that will inevitably be lost.

So what might Recruitment Consultancy look like going forward?

New Services:

Agency recruitment has traditionally been a single outsourced function. Your clients are now exercising the option to take that back in-house. However there are new challenges they will face. These challenges are actually bi-products of the very changes that triggered the move back in-house in the first place. They include: fast-evolving social media, software, technological and cloud based recruitment tools. We may also see: agency licensing, professional qualifications for in-house recruiters, national recruitment agency networks, global recruitment agency alliances. In 5 years time there will be many more. If your client wants to remain recruitment-competitive they may well seek expert help in choosing and integrating the best resources. Are you equiped to provide it?

Greater Accessibility:

What Agencies must also do is overcome market fragmentation and become more accessible. We need to create a supply side where 1000s of great agency recruiters no longer have to shout to be heard.

Due to the nature of the job, the way you are rewarded and zero barriers to entry, fragmentation is inevitable as Recruitment Consultants ultimately seek and value their independence. However there is a possible solution.

The one-stop Recruitment Network who's members cover: all Recruitment Agency sectors, Contractor management, Social Media consultancy, HR consultancy, In-House consultancy, New Product reviews and Global recruitment solutions offers the client an accessible resource that meets all possible needs. It also goes a long way to removing the now redundant PSL.

Like the King of Tonga ruling a tiny kingdom may not be what it once was.