Cloud Recruiting
Weddles newsletter 2/27/08
Much has been written about the Google phenomenon. From a silly sounding search engine launched by a couple of Stanford University graduate students, it's become a way of life for a huge and still growing population of users. What's behind this tidal wave of popularity? Something Google calls "cloud computing." The concept involves shifting the user's attention from the functionality on their desktop-where Microsoft was and is king-to capabilities accessed on the Internet. Said another way, it moves the user from the real world to a virtual one, where they can enjoy interactions with friends, peers and even strangers without having to be present. That experience is then made even more appealing by another Google term of art-"the power of free." In essence, free content and activities are used to supplement the online interactions and give users a sense of ownership of what they see and do online which further enhances their allegiance.
What's all that have to do with those of us in recruiting? I think we can adopt the fundamental principles of Google's concept and adapt them into an effective strategy for winning the War for the Best Talent. With full attribution to its roots, I call this new approach "cloud recruiting."
Cloud recruiting involves shifting our attention from the transactional activities on which we have traditionally relied to fill requisitions to a new focus on relationships. As with cloud computing, the locus of this activity is online as that enables us to leverage the time and reach advantages of the Internet and efficiently tap "the power of free." The approach has two important characteristics:
It recognizes the real differences between passive and active candidates.
and
It overcomes the practical limitations we face when recruiting in the real world.
Let's explore each of these ideas a bit further.
Cloud recruiting recognizes the real differences between passive and active candidates.
As their name implies, active candidates are motivated to act. In most cases, they need a job so they are proactive about looking for one. They will come to us, to our job postings and to our Web-sites. Equally as important, they are receptive to the messages we communicate about our employment opportunities and inclined to take them at face value.
Passive candidates, in contrast, are reluctant to act. In most cases, they are employed, so they don't come to us of their own accord. We have to draw them into our recruiting process. No less important, they are good consumers so they take the time to look for evidence to verify (or not) our claims about our organization's employment experience.
To put it as starkly as possible, active candidates are ready to deal; transactions work for them. Passive candidates need reassurance that they are making the right decision; they require relationships. While recruiters often find great prospects among active candidates, they know there is even more talent among the passive population. That's why cloud recruiting focuses on building relationships.
Cloud recruiting overcomes the limitations we face when recruiting in the real world.
You can call or e-mail an active candidate, and they will likely respond. If you call or e-mail a passive candidate, they're going to want considerably more interaction before they will seriously entertain a new opportunity. And, there's the rub. Real world relationships are both time consuming and labor intensive to build. So, what happens? All too often, we are forced to sub-optimize our selection and take the first available candidate who is acceptable rather than the best candidate there is for an opening.
Cloud recruiting provides a way around this problem by building "virtual relationships" on the Internet. Virtual relationships can be developed more quickly and efficiently because they use asynchronous, one-on-many online interactions. In other words, passive candidates can engage with you whenever and wherever it's convenient (and safe) for them to do so-not on some meeting schedule that will often interfere with their business day-and at the same time, they can tap into free content that is useful to their career advancement-not simply a hard sell for a specific open position.
Where does cloud recruiting take place? On your corporate or staffing firm Web-site. Cloud recruiting re-imagines these destinations as the default site for passive candidates thinking about career advancement. In essence, you are positioning your site as the Google for career success among your target demographics. It's the place where they go to search for free content (as well as employment opportunities) that will help them get ahead.
Unlike traditional transaction al sites where the content was all about the company-its jobs, its benefits, its employment experience-cloud recruiting sites offer content that is all about the candidate. Sure, it includes information about your organization, but the focus is on what successful candidates (the ones who tend to be the most passive) want and need to continue their success. When you provide that kind of free information, the magic happens: your site becomes their site.
For example, your site's content might include:
* world class commentary on the professional issues and challenges facing some or all of the career fields in which you recruit;
* user-generated insights derived from professional networking among peers in those career fields;
* a "career alert" when news is breaking in their field; and
* "c-mail," free e-mail for those who want to communicate privately with their peers about career opportunities and issues.
Does all of that cost a lot more money than most organizations are now investing in the career resources they've provided on their Web-sites? You bet it does. But that increase in investment is a pale shadow of what we are currently spending to recruit the first available candidate who is acceptable for an opening. For my money, I think it makes more sense to build a compelling relationship fast with the best candidate there is, and that's precisely what cloud recruiting enables you to do.
Articles
Finding Candidates
- 10 Reasons to Hire Vets
- Hire Older Workers
- Improving Candidate Quality
- Sourcing 101
- Sourcing Candidates Well
- Tips for Building Employment-Related Websites
- U.S. Employ of People with Disabilities: Free Workshops
- Virtual College Recruiting
Interviewing Basics
- 10 Commandments of Recruiting
- 5 Keys to Successful Hiring
- 7 Tips for Successful Phone Interviews
- Behavioral Interviewing Basics
- Contrary Evidence Questions
- Interview Questions: Do's and Don'ts
- Interviewing Opening and Closing Remarks
- Interviews: Common Weaknesses
- Mistakes Amateur Interviewers Make
- Phone Screen Interview Mistakes
- Probing Techniques Explained
- Screening Interviewing: Top 10 Red Flags
- Strengthen the Validity of Your Interviews
- Telephone Interviews: Basics
- Ten Bad Listening Habits of Interviewers
- Types of Interviews
- Typical Probes and Follow up Questions
- What Do Interviewers Need to Know to be Effective?
Interviewing Best Practices
- 7 Keys to Effective Selection Interviews
- A Closer Look at Behavior-Based Interviewing
- Advantages / Disadvantages of Interviewing
- Applying Core Competencies to Selection Interviews
- Are You Really a Behavior-Based Interviewer?
- Assessing Speaking and Listening Skills
- Best Practices in Interviewing Candidates
- Deadly Interview Mistakes
- Death by Interview
- Ensure Hiring Success in Every Situation
- Executive Assessment Should Be Mandatory
- Generational Interviewing
- Hiring Interview + Strategic Applicant Management
- Hold Evening and Off-Time Interviews
- How to Interview a Top Performer
- Improve your Interviewing Techniques
- Interview Questions to Assess Soft Skills
- Interviewing for Ethics
- Interviewing Millennials
- Interviewing: Business or Psychology
- Metrics Interview
- Peeling Back the Onion
- The Positives of Panel Interviews
- Time for Candidate Advocacy?
- Tips for Conducting Successful Interviews
- Two Critical Interviewing Questions
Laws & Documentation
- Applicant Reference Release
- At Will Employment Release
- Avoid Negligent Hiring Mistakes
- Employee Referral Program Metrics
- Fair Labor Standards Act Information
- Four Interview Questions Never to Ask
- Giving Employee References
- Hiring Compliance Guidelines
- Hiring for Small Business
- Interviewing People with Disabilities
- Job Denial Letter
- Legal Issues in Interviewing
- Minimize Employment Risks: Document
- SAMPLE Employment Policy
- SAMPLE Letter: Educational Records Check
- SAMPLE Letter: Reference Check
- Ten Safe Hiring Tools
- What is Negligent Hiring
Line Manager / Recruiting Partnership
- Defending Candidates to Hiring Managers
- Interlocking Core Competency Interviews
- Internal Application Process
- Making Internships Work for You
- Making the Case for Behavioral Interviewing
- Non-Traditional Merit Pay Alternatives
- OFCCP Definition of an Internet Applicant
- Why Managers Shouldn't Do Most Hiring
- Workforce Planning: Strategic Staffing Strategy
Post-Interview
Pre-Planning & Retention
- Bonus or Incentive?
- Brand-Building on a Budget
- Build a First-Rate Hiring Process
- Closing the Deal
- Compensation Plans: An Overview
- Conducting an Exit Interview
- Good Hiring Starts with a Good Job Profile
- Improve the Quality of the Employment Function
- Interview Process Problems
- Interview the Job Before the Candidates
- Job Description Template-Link Pay to Performance
- Linking Pay to Company Performance
- Selecting and Using Salary Surveys
- Succession Planning
- Succession Planning: Identifying Top Performers
- Using a Pre-Interviewing Questionnaire
- Winning the War for Talent
- Worker Shortage by 2010: Preparation
Reading the Candidate
- Beware of Those Who Boast
- Blind Man's Bluff
- Decision, Decisions: Choosing the Better Applicant
- Detecting Deceit in Interviews
- Little White Lies on Resumes
- Suspend Judgment Until the Interview is Over
Recruiting Basics
- College Recruiting Basics
- College Recruiting Essentials
- Cut Down on Interview No Shows
- Discouraging Low Quality Applicants
- Don't Hold Too Many Interviews
- Job Descriptions: Why are they Important?
- New Strategies for Screening Job Candidates
- Preventing Resume Overload with Questionnaires
- Resume Review Basics
- Test Validation Explained
- The Value of Person-Organization Fit
- Three Companies Cut Turnover with Tests
Recruiting Best Practices
- 25 Telltale Signs of the Wrong Candidate
- 5 Overlooked Ways to Hire Winners
- Asking the Right Recruitment Questions
- Attracting Your Competitor's Employees
- BPR.......for Recruiters!
- Candidate Engagement
- Cloud Recruiting
- Evaluate Your Capture Strategy
- Hiring Best Practices
- How Do You Attract and Retain the Best People?
- How to Attract Applicants to Undesirable Jobs
- How to Attract, Develop and Retain Best People
- How to Find and Keep Valued Employees
- Ignorance and the Human Condition
- Onboarding Success Secrets
- Secrets to Non-Profit Hiring
- Selecting Top Management Talent
- Semi-Active Candidates are Best Bets
- Six Core Selling Principles
- Skills Based Recruiting: When, not How
- Smart Choices: How to Hire the Best
- Strategy for Hiring the Best This Year
- The Uses and Misuses of Personality Tests
- Top 10 Employee Selection Mistakes & Solutions
- Treat Candidates with the Carbon Rule