Recruiters need plans, focus, skills, and organization to succeed. But, even with all of that in place, there is one ingredient that most recruiters miss. From working with thousands of managers as a CRB (Certified Real Estate Broker) trainer, and in my own leadership coaching business, I have found how critically important this ingredient is to recruiters’ successes. By the time you finish this article, I hope you’ll be embracing the importance of this ingredient, and how to implement it to recruit successfully. (If you’re an owner or a general manager managing your recruiter, this is terrifically important for you to read, because it will raise the effectiveness of your recruiting at least 100%!).
Getting Those Recruiting Priorities Straight First
To see how you rate recruiting as a priority, answer the questions below. Do you
Have a database and contact management for your candidates?
Use that contact management faithfully to work with your candidates?
Have a detailed recruiting plan (with a budget) that you use to direct your daily activities?
Block time to recruit each day?
Block time each day to interview?
Have specific recruiting call goals, interview goals, and hiring goals for the week, month, and year?
Look at your recruiting activity and result goals daily and measure your successes?
If you answered ‘yes’ to the questions above, congratulations. You have most of the recruiting job description and activities mastered. But, there’s more.
Do you:
Have someone who holds you accountable to your recruiting goals?
Have standards (minimum expectations) of you for recruiting? (What you must do to avoid being terminated)
Accountability: The Missing Ingredient to Recruiting Success
Goal achievement studies consistently show that one of the most important criteria for reaching goals is accountability to someone else.
Yet, my experience working with managers internationally is that very few are held accountable by someone to their recruiting goals. Why? Perhaps the manager wasn’t hired with a prioritized job description, so he doesn’t know specifically what he’s supposed to do. Most likely, he doesn’t have a recruiting plan or recruiting goals. It’s no wonder, then, that most managers don’t realize the importance of recruiting to the bottom line of the company.
(For a prioritized manager’s job description with suggested standards for measurable activities, go to www.carlacross.com, free downloads).
Who holds the recruiter accountable? The obvious answer is, whoever hired that person. However, in my coaching, I find that some owners don’t want that responsibility. They tell me, “I’m just too busy/I don’t like to hold people accountable/I don’t have a plan to do it” reasons for not holding their managers accountable to their recruiting goals.
If there’s no accountability: If the ‘recruiter’s manager’ does not hold the recruiter accountable to recruiting standards and goals, that person is really saying (without using words): “Recruiting isn’t really important to the success of our company. We’re just giving lip service to it, because everyone says someone should do it.”
To Engage Accountability: Start with Measurable Standards (Minimum Requirements) and Goals
How many hours a week will you recruit? (lead generate)
How many lead generating calls will you make per week?
How many interviews will you hold per week?
How many hours a week will you interview and select (to your agent profile standards, of course)?
How many people will you hire per week? (Break this into new and experienced in the ratios you want)
Standards, Goals, Action, and Accountability Equal Recruiting Success
Now, you’ve got it all going for you. You’ve got a plan, you’ve got focus, you’re learning by doing, and you’ve got deadlines. You have the needed support and frequent coaching and accountability from someone who cares about your success. With those systems in place, I can assure your success—more productivity and profits for everyone.
For more information
P: Carla Cross (425) 392-6914
W: www.carlacross.com
E: carla@carlacross.com
