We may be hiring experts, but I'm sure you'll agree that hiring your own recruiters is a whole other kettle of fish! Your best recruiters didn’t study recruiting to get where they are today, so there's no qualification that tells you someone is going to be great a great recruiter if you hire them.
For proof of delivery, we have to rely on figures that the recruiter presents to us. Unsurprisingly, these are often totally inflated and we have no clear way of proving or disproving them.
And the really confusing part is, often the recruiters who have the longest employment history in the industry aren’t the ones who are going to bring in the most revenue!
So how can you be confident that you’re hiring someone onto your team who will boost productivity and improve brand reputation rather than end up damaging your business?
Here are 3 important – but often overlooked – traits to look for in every new recruiter you hire:
1. Tech-savviness
Ten years ago, you could get away with hiring a recruiter onto your team who wasn’t the most confident person when it comes to handling technology – if they had all the other usual qualities that make a great recruiter.
But nowadays, the chances of having a top biller who’s not tech savvy are slim to none.
To ensure you’re reaching your business goals, you need to feel confident that your recruiters are maximising your recruitment software to recruit candidates no one else is finding and keep your database clean and GDPR compliant.
Hiring a recruiter who you know will keep their finger on the pulse in terms of new sourcing tools and marketing tech is more valuable than you might think. You need recruiters who are out there representing your brand online in a way that builds your reputation as innovators in your niche – and they’ll need to be tech-savvy to do this.
Read: 3 Ways You’re Not Maximising Your Recruitment CRM
2. A good listener
It’s easy to think that the best recruiters to hire onto your team will be the big talkers; the ones who can confidently hold an entire room’s attention without anyone losing focus. But in practice, great talkers won’t necessarily win your agency recurring business.
It’s those recruiters who are great listeners as well as speakers – the ones who know how to ask clients the right questions, read their reactions and take on board what they tell them – who will be most valuable to you.
A recruiter who does more listening and less telling clients and candidates what they need will build more trusting relationships where communication is strong. And whether it’s good news or bad news, you need a team that’s approachable if you’re going to keep your businesses running smoothly.
So, if a potential new recruit comes into your office all guns blazing, ask yourself – would my network enjoy communicating with this person?
3. A keen learner
You might think that a keen learner isn’t immediately something you want to look for in your next recruiter. To get the job done, you just need someone who can come into your business and start billing with no support from you, right?
Well, this kind of hire won’t do your agency or your team dynamic any favours. If you hire a proven top biller onto your team who thinks they already know everything there is to know, you’re setting yourself up for disaster. Recruiters like this aren’t adaptable and can be difficult to work with.
You want to be investing in recruiters who are keen to adapt to your business’s way of working and who always remain curious about the industry, no matter how much they know. These are the kind of people who will drive your recruitment business forward.
Look for these three things in each new hire you make, and you’ll be ready for whatever the recruitment market throws at you next! Download the eBook below for more on how to futureproof your agency.
