Many companies file recruiting under HR in their organization charts. I am here to make a case that recruiting belongs to Sales teams and Marketing departments instead. Human Resources departments are awesome and keep companies humming along, but their primary responsibilities don't really fit in with what recruiting actually is. HR departments unfairly get saddled with recruiting without having the tools and skills necessary to be effective recruiters.
Companies who win at recruiting realize it belongs to Sales and Marketing.
Recruiting = Marketing
Recruiters use marketing in almost every aspect of their career. They market to both their candidates and clients in a variety of ways:
- Recruiters write and craft fascinating job ads
- They tell about the company culture, role, and benefits
- Recruiters use attractive products (job ad) to target a market (candidates)
- They write compelling copy to resonate with their target audience
Recruiting = Sales
Most people don't realize how much of recruiting and hiring is actually sales. Recruiters use sales on every job order.
- They sell candidates on the opportunities of the company and role
- Recruiters sell candidates to their clients
- They anticipate and handle objections
- They know the ways a deal could implode and work to reduce problems
- Great recruiters analyze the numbers and learn from every opportunity
As you can see, both marketing and sales functions play a huge role in recruiting. And just like on your teams, recruiters know when their efforts are paying off – when a client “buys” our product and hires a candidate.
Marketing + Sales = Success
Marketing and selling the company, role, and candidate in the right way leads to a successful placement. Surprisingly, recruiting efforts and success is measurable.
Recruiters who win, know how many candidates need to be found to get down to 1 great hire. They understand tweaking and adjusting tactics to get to a better ratio. They know it takes many people saying no before the right ones say yes. Ideally, they get through objections before getting to the interview process so when the job offer happens you can rest easy and expect a yes.
Making It Work For You
So, how does any of this apply to your company?
If you want to amp up your hiring results, you might reconsider who has responsibility for recruiting. Get your top sales and marketing brains involved in the process and approach recruiting in a whole different light.
I may never get recruiting moved from HR on the org charts. But, successful companies will take a Marketing + Sales recruiting approach and see better results every time they hire.
