Why you may not need HR anymore

We are recruitingHuman resources (HR) has become an essential department in many organizations. It is primarily occupied with two tasks:

  1. Attracting new employees
  2. Making sure everything is going smooth with the existing employees on daily basis

HR is a middle man between the candidate and the department manager – typically the manager will write a specification about the type of person he or she is looking for and the HR will start posting it around on different job portals, social networks, etc. This may have worked well in the past years, but it is becoming far behind optimal.

You need to engage

If you want to find the best candidate for your position, you have to engage in the process itself as a manager of a department. The HR cannot show the same motivation as you when looking for new colleagues. You are the one looking for a colleague, the HR is just doing it on your behalf. Moreover, it is you that can answer most of the questions related to the position, rather than the HR. If you are indifferent to who your next colleague is going to be, how could you assume the HR will do this for you?

The traditional approach of posting a job offer to different job portals will definitely bring you a lot of applicants, but the chance to find the best one is almost zero. These people require a lot more than throwing a lure and waiting to nibble. These people usually already have a job and do not have time to fill in on-line forms or search job portals (unless of course they really want to change job). You need another approach to attract their attention – you need a personal approach. General messages from HRs like this would not do the work.

Typical job offer

How do you, as a department manager, show that you care about your colleagues? Candidates for a job position are interested in getting to know their potential manager as a person, because they are going to spend their time working closely with this person, rather than with the HR. It is all about the person-to-person communication, but with the relevant person. It is even more compelling if the employees in the department are also using their network to find their future colleague. When the whole team uses time and energy to find their new colleague, it makes things different. It shows they really care. Companies tend to forget that it is also the candidate who chooses the company.

You need to motivate your team

“We provide great career opportunities and place to improve” is what many candidates get as information about a job position, but it is really the case? You have to understand why the candidate is interested in the job and to decide whether that candidate would fit in your team – both as a person and by means of skills.

When a candidate has been approved and employed, the things get even more serious for you, the department manager. Because you are the one to motivate your colleagues. Do not expect them to give their best for you and the company as a whole. Studies show that people are looking for a job they would love and they are even ready to sacrifice their salary for this. And you, as a manager, are the primary responsible for keeping your collective alive.

Richard Branson's quote

Conclusion

Managers, team leaders, everyone in the company is responsible for recruiting talents and for retaining them in the company. All your employees have a network. Explore it. You have to make people feel this is a family they belong to. You have to make people come to work on Monday with a big smile on their face. You have to be ambassador for your company. You cannot let others do this for you. If you want to work with the best.

photo #1: www.moneypenny.com