Namaste Recruitment – (Article # 2 of the series)

In an acute view, one observes the Triangular formation of the Recruitment Industry which is a confluence of the 3 C’s – ie, Company, Candidate and the Consultant. While I would have liked the formation to be that of an Equilateral Triangle, many a time I find it to be Isosceles (2 sides equal) and at worst it is a Scalene (all 3 sides different). At all times I find the Consultant to be the shortest or the smallest side in any formation….or rather, do call it the weakest???? (The power perspective). Seldom have you found a Consultant to be at the Demand end as he ends up at the Supply side on all formations.

It is funny, that in India we talk about unemployment. You ask any recruitment Consultant and he will never agree to it, even if he is an Economist!!! For, he is always convincing the candidate to look at a certain Job opportunity and the candidate obliging him by attending the interview! Never mind, the half a dozen times of follow ups and coax. Consultant perpetually awaits feedback from the company as he would be mandated to fill up the vacancy ASAP. Company may take their own time to revert since they are usually entangled in their internal process challenges and finally the position goes on hold!!! Whatever the case may be, the recruitment consultant has to search, assess and submit CV’s on time………….After all, the consultant ends up feeling that it is for him that the company is hiring, it is for him that the candidate takes up another Job!!!

God………Why is the Recruitment Consultant on the short side of the Isosceles Triangle always???

In this given state of affairs, let us conclude ourselves, analyzing - 1. Need 2. Speed/Urgency 3. Options.

Need

Interestingly, when asked, majority of the working candidates are open for a change or at least interested in knowing their market worth. I am sure there are exceptions like the one who is reading this article!!! It is worthwhile to analyze this attitude of “Open for a change” is real need based or “Checking my value” kinds. I remember reading somewhere that “Career is all about the size of the Pay Cheque”. The percentage of Candidates who really move their job to another is less than 5 % of the approached.

Now there are the fresher, who really need a break by having a Job to start with and you find in India hardly about 25% graduate pass outs are employable and the rest has to sweat it out!!! I some time wonder…..if there were jobs for the available skills, or if there were candidates for the required skills and if Recruitment consultant realized that he should provide service based on the Market need ………we would have ended up in a formation of an “Equilateral Triangle”.  “ Need for a Job ” is seemingly different from that of “Need for a change”.

From an Employer or a Company point of view, there is a Business Plan according to which Manpower need is determined and the recruitment plan rolled out. Most of the times, the Consultant is engaged to begin the search not only for the current but the expected need as well. Then comes the good fortune of attrition under control, and other times, the business fluctuations if in the negative, effectively pushes the hiring plan by a quarter or so. Either ways the Consultant suffers because of the regular reason “Position is on Hold”, Proving once again right, his position of the short side of the triangle! My colleagues have a ready solution - “We must have 2 kind of pay offs 1. For the ‘Search’ and 2. The ‘Hire’…..I have started agreeing to this as the Consultant ends up doing half the work as the Client mandated him to do so….the low hanging fruit…..With multitudes of Recruitment consultants at service, Company rarely have an issue (at least as perceived) if the consultant complained. To be fair…not all Companies or Clients are so.“A fluctuating need” seemingly is different from that of a “Considered or planned need”.

For a Recruitment Consultant or agency….he always has the need for business. The only or one of the very rare business fields in which, the market demand always overshoots the supply in terms of “ORDERS” but delivery is not even 25% of the demand…for various reasons ranging from the “serious demand” to “availability of the right candidate”. “ Recruitment Consultant has a perpetual need for offering services ”.

Speed /Urgency

This is an interesting facet of the Triangular Confluence.

Normally company requires to hire the candidate at the shortest possible time as mandated to the consultant. Candidates approach consultants for immediate change (sadly these candidates seldom get a quick opportunity) and Consultant is at his wits to provide the client with the best Turn Around Time “TAT”. The performance of the Consulting agency is assessed by the client based on TAT and for the Recruiter; his performance at the Agency is also assessed on the same parameter, apart from the revenue target that he normally carries.

“A classic example of “Looks are deceiving”…please replace ‘looks are’ with ‘Speed is’ and you have done justice to yourself in assessing the situation.

Options

Interesting as it could ever get to, as this parameter narrows down all the play grounds that the Recruitment consultant ever played on or at least hoped to……

The Company has multiple or many options available as far as the consultants are concerned…

Employable or hirable Candidates have more options as far as opportunities are concerned and as long as they are available in the shelves of the “Job Portals”. Even otherwise, the more efficient category of Recruitment consultants would ‘LinkedIn’ or ‘head hunt’ them and such candidates would have multiple offers at a time. Doesn’t matter, since the choice is with him!

Normal run of the mill Consultant ends up with few options as far as Clients are concerned and shared options as far as Candidates are concerned. There are always multiple numbers of Consultants and sometimes the In house company recruiter themselves will come to the same “Job Shelves” to pick up the CV’s. The one who runs the fastest to pick up, assess and place the CV to the company first, will only have the chance…..No options……

Now you know why the Recruitment Consultant is always on the Supply side or the shortest side of the Isosceles triangle.

Short live the dynamics!!! Time for the formation to change…..Need for Quality assessment and knowledge orientation at Recruitment Consultancies, Time to engage only well practicing agencies by the Companies and offer job opportunities to the well assessed and need based candidates !!!

After all someone had said…..’Time is a great leveler’ …Miles to go before the “Balanced market formation” in this context, to be an Equilateral triangle.

• For more on Namaste Recruitment…(Keep reading this space and comment or write to me on mathew@taskstaffing.com)
• In case you missed (Article -#1 of the series - http://www.taskstaffing.com/blog/recruitment-then-and-now