A Partnership is Always Better Than a Transaction
Excellence in the way a company recruits and manages its employees – its human capital – can make the difference between long-term success and failure.
Many HR professionals think that they can provide this level of excellence – this value proposition- by creating a self-sufficient, functionally aligned internal executive recruiting group that is set up to handle everything. They believe they are creating value for their company. This is not the case. No matter how efficient, aligned and inclusive you are as a recruiting organization, you cannot handle everything. When you cannot handle everything, you are not providing excellence.
Analysts have estimated that 65% of a company’s value consists of intangible assets such as the company’s brand, its ability to innovate, its culture and reputation. These assets are in turn made up and supported by your employees and their skills, knowledge, work ethic and creativity. Your company’s value impacts your stock price (if you are public) or the price you can sell your company for (if that is part of your succession plan).
Depending on a company’s size and needs, if you are trying to handle everything, you are more than likely torn between either filling back-offices job requisitions or filling requisitions for those jobs that are crucial to your core business (or vice versa). Usually, you end up working with the department that communicates the loudest.
However, HR’s true value does not equate to only hard dollar savings. No one (whether it is a person or an organization or a department) can do everything. Therefore, partnering with a trusted human capital management firm actually adds more value when you factor in the cost of time and the quality of your results.
When you form this strategic partnership, one that is framed by mutual respect and trust, your company is the one that benefits. Increased workforce productivity with decreased recruitment costs/challenges are just two of benefits that these types of strategic partnerships offer.
But what do I mean when I say “partnership”. A partnership is a relationship; it is not a transaction. Transactions focus on the savings of hard dollars, while partnerships focus on long-term quality and value. A partnership encompasses more of a consultative role that can directly impact the cost, quality, reliability and speed of your recruiting schedule.
Sit down with your human capital management vendor and discuss the future demand for search work and other support. This discussion is vital because it puts everyone on the same page as far as the partnership’s “potential”, and it gives everyone a blueprint to effectively allocate time and resources.
This “sit-down” should only happen after you analyze this demand and growth in collaboration with your company’s various hiring managers. Sit down with each manager and align departmental goals with company goals and work to see how workforce planning needs will modify and change.
Set up a preferred provider relationship. Managing multiple search “vendors” can be very costly in terms of slow fill rates, timesheet verification processes, materials and supplies management, consistent orientation and onboarding processes and general reporting issues.
The relationship between you and your human capital management partner can (and should be) mutually beneficial. Form a strategic relationship, not just a purchase order. The value of a true strategic partnership is in what everyone brings to the table…not just recruiting resources, but industry knowledge, the ability to stay current on emerging business trends and best practices, experience in delivering both theoretical and tactical training, etc.
This is where Snelling comes in. We have a proven track record with several of our clients, where our deep industry knowledge (of both our industry and yours) has helped our strategic clients reach their growth potential effectively and efficiently. We are have offices is most areas of the country, and we are ready to work with you to reach your goals. So contact us today!
NOTE: A full-color, downloadable PDF is available.
