Let's face it, the job of a 360 degree recruiter has become more and more intensive over the last 5 years. A recruiter needs to keep attracting a steady flow of amazing candidates, maintain a constant sales pipeline that delivers, and make sure every single client feels loved. We also need a recruiter to be able to map out job roles, create appealing job adverts, have Boolean search terms at their fingertips, build a credible personal brand, and communicate with everyone from graduates to CEOs. There's also the importance of networking, developing a reputation as the primary talent expert in their niche, and being a whizz on social networks too...phew...
Now, imagine if a client asked for all of these skills in one person, or imagine pitching this job to a candidate! For any good recruiter, alarm bells would ring, and you'd kick into 'manage client expectations mode'. So, why oh why do we still expect our recruiters to be able to do everything?
If you're still expecting your recruiters to work the 360 model, you'll find they'll quickly become overwhelmed and overworked. There's simply too much to do and one person cannot effectively cover it all. So, what do you do about it? You let your recruiters specialise in on specific parts of a 360 recruiter's job. Let's look at what those are...
If your recruiters excel at the sales part of their job, sourcing clients with ease, then perhaps this should be an area for them to hone in on. From prospecting to account management, this part of a 360 recruiter's responsibilities could certainly be a job in and of itself.
If you have a recruiters who consistently deliver exceptional candidates, filling jobs and providing clients with talented new employees, then encourage them to develop these skills further. What's more, in a candidate driven market, finding a constant stream of good candidates is arguably the most important skill a recruiter can have. So, allowing employees to dedicate time to becoming a specialist 'candidate sourcer' will constantly feed your agency with top talent to sell.
Marketing is a full-time commitment. From writing blogs, through social media updates, to recruitment advertising such as job vacancies, there's too much here for a 360 recruiter to do well. When it comes to generating demand for your agency, a full-time marketing professional is needed, and even better if it's someone that already knows the recruitment agency inside and out. If you have a recruiter whom can easily transition into more of a marketing role, then invest in some relevant training and allow them to focus on generating demand for your agency.
It's a constant debate: When do you hire someone to focus exclusively on the internal operations of your agency? It's a decision that many entreprenuers delay and a job many try to do themselves. However, to allow the business to scale and evolve at pace, investing in operations is a necessity. From facilities management, internal recruitment, HR, financial administration to general internal processes, there's a lot for someone working operations to get on with.
As you can see, and as I'm sure you already know, the responsibilities of a 360 recruiter are actually several jobs all rolled into one. It's virtually impossible for a recruiter to do each of these things, let alone to excel at them all. So, don't be afraid to look at which recruiters are good at which tasks and allow them to specialise. You'll benefit from a more specialised team who can deliver exceptional results for your agency, for your clients, and for your candidates too.