'If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.' - Sir Isaac Newton
Any organisation that is not forward thinking, risks becoming stuck in the past. It is crucial for businesses to be up to date with not only their industry, but any advancements in wider society. We recently wrote about some external events that could impact our industry.
This is pretty obvious to anyone who has been a part of the business world.
What is less obvious, and indeed, overlooked, is balancing this future outlook with the past lessons.
Recruitment has been around as long as modern humans have been. One of the human races greatest strengths has been the ability to form groups of people, who are moving towards a shared goal. To this end, recruitment has been essential.
There has been some slight changes since recruitments early days. I struggle to imagine a caveman correcting a spelling mistake on a stone CV. But the lessons that years of experience have given us should not be ignored.
The crucial thing to note is that at the heart of it, recruitment hasn't changed. We still struggle with the same issues, like how to inspire people to join our cause (or organisation), and truly buy in to our philosophy.
The techniques, technologies and knowledge available today can give us an advantage, if mixed with the older, still relevant techniques.
For those of you who are digital natives, you may be aware of a strange app on your mobiles. If you type in a number you can actually hear another humans voice, and not only that, they can hear yours!
This is often overlooked in modern times due to the prevalence of direct messaging and e-mailing. Actually calling someone can be a super simple, but super effective way of building an instant rapport, which is crucial to recruiters.
For a stellar service, phone etiquette should be a top priority.
Your values, or your purpose, are what drive you to get out of bed on a morning. Do they match your organisations purpose? Are your goals aligned, or are your employees just in it for the pay check?
How do you find out?
Communication is key in this instance. Most of the time, people will tell you what you want to hear. So a culture of good old-fashioned open discussion will help to find out more. This must be a regular part of your staff communications, and must be shown to have no repercussions if someone criticises. Use this to find out what drives your employees, and what brings them down.
Networking is a key part of building your professional profile. In the digital era, LinkedIn and other apps purport to be the go to for all things networking, but is this the case?
Apps and Social Media allow you to network from the comfort of your own home. Whilst great for introverts, not necessarily ideal for your long term development.
A key part of a recruiter’s development is actually meeting people. It allows you to develop your interpersonal skills, makes you a better communicator, and allows you access to a great amount of information.
Is this something you can get from solely using apps? Probably not.
We push throughout our own processes the need to develop old techniques, and make use of them in a newer context. What keeps a business afloat is the ability to adapt, and past experience can help to build a new competitive advantage for businesses.
I’m still weary of trying to adapt a stone tablet CV however….
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