Do recruitment supplier panels add value or destroy it?
by jed simms on March 17, 2010
Strategic sourcing outfits love to set up recruitment supplier panels to minimise the number of vendors and get the best terms, conditions and prices. This is an exercise in purchasing efficiency. What you want is operational effectiveness.
The true measures of success (ie operational effectiveness) of recruitment are
- fit to need – can the person do the job?
- speed of getting going – how long does it take them to contribute effectively?
- retention – that they stay and you don’t lose their knowledge
- ability to grow as necessary.
These are not ‘panel’ delivered dimensions.
There appears to be a hierarchy of recruitment approaches – ad hoc, panel, specialist, search and reputation. You’ll notice that on this model ‘panel’ is a low-grade option.
To get and retain the best people you want people who have the right attributes and attitudes as well as the right skills and experience. Panels are fine for commodities perhaps, but for specialist roles you want specialist organizations – and generalist recruitment firms are not specialist (even if they have ‘specialist’ departments).
Your best approach is to have the reputation as ‘the place to work’. You can then attract the best often directly with no recruitment costs.
But how do you generate a reputation as ‘the place to work’? Post your ideas on the blog.
© Jed Simms, Australia, 2010
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