If business is war, nowhere is that truer than in
recruitment. At every step, a recruiter enters into a binary competition, to
win the PSL’s, to have the best candidates and to fill the roles. Winner takes
all where second place is nowhere. Therefore to win at recruitment means to
apply the art of war. Sun Tzu wrote of this, to act as a guide to his generals,
where several passages can easily be applied to recruitment. Key quotes
include:
“The clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but
does not allow the enemy’s will to be imposed on him.”
Define how you want to go to war and play to your strengths.
If you are a small company then a winning strategy could be to build
relationships with candidates where they look to work with you exclusively,
where you can then work for them tirelessly in the knowledge that if you find a
role they are suited for, you will win the fee. In contrast, if you are a
manager in a bigger company, can you negotiate with clients exclusive terms so
lock out competitors, if only for a window to allow for first mover advantage?
Put simply, understand your own strengths and play to them.
“Now the general who
wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought.
The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do
many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much
more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee
who is likely to win or lose.”
Identify every variable which can impact on the success or
failure of filling a given role. How many other recruiters are working the
assignment? Is there an internal recruitment team on this too? How early in the
recruitment cycle have you been briefed? If you are working the job along with
say four other recruitment firms, why is your chance of filling the role any
better than 20%? Similarly with the candidates you have registered with you,
how many are solely using you? Could it be better to work with fewer good
quality candidates and look to present them to every opportunity in the market?
“We cannot enter into
alliances unless we are acquainted with the designs of our neighbours.”
Identify people who share the same clients as you and look
for ways where you can collaborate to create win wins.
“He wins his battles
by making no mistakes, making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of
victory.”
Establish and codify best practices within your market. Create
a process which incorporates them and maintain it. for some markets, best
practice could mean high volume cold calling, in others it could require a high
level of close contact with clients. Whatever it is in your area, know what it
is you need to do and keep to it.
“Can you imagine what I would do if I could do all I can?”
During the working week, how productive are you really? How
focused are you to maximising your effectiveness? How much more time would you
have if you only do what fits within your process? People talk of giving 100%
but what does giving 100% really mean? Do you really give 100%?
“Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one
victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of
circumstances.”
Don’t let your process be too rigid. Different clients will
want different approaches, be flexible enough to understand when an alternate
approach is needed and be creative in looking to work with them. The same
applies with candidates.
“If the enemy leaves a door open, you must rush in.”
If a client presents a role due to the failure of a
competitor, don’t hesitate and proactively engage at the first opportunity.
Take the chance, at worst you lose nothing, at best you win a client you never
would have had and your competitor loses one.
“Now a soldiers spirit is keenest in the morning, by noonday
it has began to flag and in the evening, his mind is bent only on returning to
camp.”
Carl Icahn the investor famously would schedule his toughest
negotiations for late afternoon, where on the day he would wake just before
lunch, and prepare in peace for the meeting to come. Why? So when the
negotiations would commence, he would be sharp and ready, whilst the counter
party would be weary from their working day, where often they would have woken
twelve hours before. Learn the lesson from this. If you can’t control your
working hours, control your schedule, make sure to start your day with the
toughest meetings and end the day with the easiest tasks.
“Soldiers must be treated in the first instance with
humanity, but kept under control by means of iron discipline. This is a certain
road to victory.”
With people in your team, firstly make sure they know
explicitly what is expected of them, where rules are applied consistently.
Nothing destroys morale like one person seemingly getting preferential
treatment, or breaking rules and nothing being done about it. Equally be
professional and courteous at all times. This is a balance though. You can
never befriend someone who you may need to fire one day, so don’t try to.
Instead, keep a distance, in a way where people in your team know you will
listen and be sympathetic to any concerns they have. If someone needs special
working conditions, make sure they then keep to whatever they commit to.
“There is no instance of a country having benefited from
prolonged warfare.”
Possibly the most important rule of all. A prolonged war
saps resources whilst provides no spoils. The client who can’t make up their
mind and needs five different people to meet a person before making a hiring
offer. The candidate who wants to leave but doesn’t seem to know what they want
to move to. There are a hundred different ways in which your time can be wasted
by people, where you are working for free for them, unless someone is hired.
Therefore set a hard limit on how long you are prepared to actively work on a
job or with a candidate and keep to it. Save your resources and apply them
elsewhere.
About the Author: James Chaplin
Article Source: https://vacancysoft.com/applying-art-war-recruitment/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=february_2018_newsletter_vol2