Better Recruiting
Why Startups Need Recruiters
Occasionally, I will get a note from a startup or other early-stage company in response to my inquiry about recruiting for them that will say, in essence:
“Currently, we’re not using external recruiters, but as we get more established, it’s something we might look into…”
Which is secret code for:
“No.”
Which is secret code for either:
- We don’t have a lot of money, and we’re scared you’ll take it all.
- We don’t have a lot of time on our hands and we’re scared you’ll take it all.
Of course, there’s other things it might mean, but in essence, these are the exact reasons WHY small/startup companies should look at leveraging external, 3rd party recruiters: TO CONSERVE TIME & MONEY.
Economists have proven that specialization is the best way to achieve maximum returns given the investment of your resources. This comes from the concept of the Production Possibilities Frontier or PPF (see diagram). The basic idea is that:
- Resources (assets, time & money) are scarce.
- You can only do “so much”. As in, no matter what, you can’t get more than what is possible.
- Most people and organizations fall under the PPF curve (I admit that I do) by trying to do stuff they’re not specialists in doing.
- Every unit of a resource you put into one thing is, by definition, taking away from something else.
- Doing what you’re BEST at, and leveraging others to make up the difference is how you maximize returns.
- You can push the entire PPF curve outward, meaning you “enlarge the pie” of possibilities, but only after first maximizing returns via specialization.
Think about it: do you ask your friend, who is a pediatrician, to operate on your broken wrist? Well, she is a doctor, isn’t she?? Of course not. She’s not “that kind of doctor.”
Neither should you have your organization spend valuable time, energy & money doing the mundane, low-level recruiting tasks that third-party agencies are excellent at doing. Every dollar you pay your managers to recruit is a dollar you’re NOT getting your best returns from.
Yes, they should interview and hire. No, they should not do the rest (see below).
Using an external recruiter is easy. They boil the search process down to the really crucial part: Interviewing only the top candidates, from a much wider field of possibilities, and making the right candidate selection. Outsource where possible and get your high-dollar returns where it really counts.
Services a 3rd party recruiter should provide to you:
- Free consultation about fees and how to fit their services in your budget.
- Free consultation about exactly what problems you’re trying to solve, and what kind of candidates you’re looking for.
- Job Posting (free).
- Candidate Sourcing (first step in recruiting — determine who is out there).
- Preliminary candidate interviews and skill match.
- Submittal of only highest-qualified candidates along with descriptive reasons thy rise above the rest.
- Coordinating interviews or other screenings you determine.
- Coordinating additional and final interviews.
If desired:
- Coordinating presentation of the offer.
- Informing all “other” candidates that have not been selected, and ensuring they feel good about your company.
- Salary negotiation.
- “On-Boarding” or administering hiring paperwork.
- If contracting: Timecards and payroll administration.
- If contracting: Consolidated invoicing and payment terms.
- If contracting: Free consulting about benefits and permanent-hiring best-practices.
Depending on if you want to use the firm on Retained or Contingency basis, other or different services will be available.
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Tags: 3rd_party, business mix, contingency_search, contingent, exact reasons, heavy lifting, low-level_recruiting, maximize_returns, maximum returns, phone calls, recruiting_agency, retained_search, retainer, small businesses, specialization, stage company, startups, strategic objectives, third_party, time and money, time on our hands 
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