Recruiting = Relationship Building
[Guest Blog by Experience Human Resources Recruitment and Engagement Manager, Chantelle Painter, at The Brick in Devon]
Chantelle is also a nominee for Canada's 2019 Top Recruiter Awards.
As a recruiter, I have found one fundamental truth: The best recruiters forge the strongest relationships. At the heart of those relationships is the commitment to learn: about the company, your candidates, hiring managers, industry, agencies who can support you and how you can support them in return. So much of my journey as a recruiter has blossomed in the presence of others and how I fostered those relationships. When I originally took on my current role, I was given two directives: Find the best candidates and make as many friends as I could. As it turns out, it is way easier and way more fun to get quality candidates when you foster the friendships you make along the way.
Hiring Managers – It is so vitally important to get to know your hiring managers. Managers hold the key to the right fit for their potential employees. From personality to skills, they are the experts in what they need to run their business effectively. The more you know about the individual they see joining their team, the more effectively you can fill that role.
Talent Community – Even those who aren’t looking for a job today may be looking tomorrow. You can help show someone their skills are transferable and suited for more jobs than they are currently considering. Your recruitment presentation will vary between people: different demographics, different backgrounds, different occupations can all lead to different conversations about the benefits of employment. Until we spend time getting to know our talent pool, we can’t truly understand what draws them to a particular role or employment opportunity. Once we understand that, we can truly make the best matches.
Agencies – We all don’t know what we don’t know. We can read articles, attend events and seek to engage with all sorts of people, but there will always be more insight and more information you can attain. Agencies representing people with various barriers to employment can be a lifesaver. From assisting in policy development to helping to place dedicated people with a variety of skills into positions they may not necessarily have had access to with traditional application methods. The insight from partnering with these agencies has been instrumental in supplying committed team members to our organization. A custom hire is one that in the right team atmosphere.
Industry – Though we may be competing for the same people, we are each other’s greatest allies. Having solid industry networks is great for so many reasons. Sharing ideas in a trusted open forum ensures we are all benefitting from multiple sources for trends, solutions, best practices, and so much more. Sometimes you do need that reassurance from something more than a labour market report to confirm your gut feelings or geographic challenges.
The more friends you make, the wider your network grows. The wider it grows, the more access to knowledge you will have. The more knowledge you have the better equipped you’ll be to affect positive change for all stakeholders.
About the Author
Experienced Human Resources Recruitment and Engagement Manager, Chantelle Painter has a demonstrated history of working in the retail industry. Skilled in Relationship Building, Coaching, Retail, Customer Satisfaction, Driving and Measuring Engagement and Policy Development. Strong business and relationship development professional with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) focused in English Language and Literature/Letters from Concordia University College of Alberta. View her profile (you may need to click this link again after logging in).
