Recruiters aren't the type to dwell on lost placements, offers without acceptance and last minute candidate drop outs, so lets turn these low points into areas where you can improve your processes and start increasing your placement rates!
Tracking your processes meticulously allows you to work backwards and find out where you went wrong. Take a look at our top 3 reasons why placements are lost and use our solutions as a starting point to work on your weaknesses.
Response: After you’ve gotten over the defeat it’s always a good idea to take a look at the profile of the candidate who secured the role. Comparing their credentials to your candidate’s is a great exercise as it allows you to learn more about what your client is looking for. This isn’t always exclusively limited to work experience or responsibilities, so try and find out what the winning candidate’s outside interests are, as well as their talents in the office. After all, a good team fit is key in any working environment. Maybe your client was looking for a very sociable addition to their team, and your candidate was more of an introvert.
Response: This is a hard one to take; you got the offer – but no acceptance, what went wrong? Always, always, always make sure you talk to the candidate about their reasons for refusing. If it’s money, location, or flexibility there may be a way you can renegotiate the terms of the offer and save the placement. Even if it’s a definite loss you can still learn from it. Figure out why your candidate turned down the offer and, if it was something you could have influenced, take steps to ensure future candidates don’t do the same.
Response: This isn’t strictly a loss seeing as you weren’t in the game, but it’s still an opportunity missed. This situation is usually the result of being too busy, spreading yourself too thin and not being able to effectively work across multiple jobs. Would this role have ever been a priority if you weren’t rushed off your feet? If so, think about taking some time to work on your database and make sure it’s up to date. Candidate sourcing won’t take up as much of your time if up-to-date information is available in one easy to search place.
Tracking you data in this way is such a valuable process – no matter why you lost out on a placement, analysing the outcomes gives you the opportunity to improve your personal way of working in the light of what you learned. Continuing to learn from your figures hugely improves the way you work, and will help your placement rates to rocket too.
Why do you tend to miss out on placements? Get in touch and let us know!
Images: Martin Vorel, Stuart Miles