Recruitment is never easy, and recruiters undergo multiple challenges when seeking qualified candidates, conducting the selection process, and onboarding employees. They must meet the company objectives, clients’ expectations, and candidates’ needs.
Thus, recruitment teams often work with tight deadlines and must find top talents for hard-to-fill job openings. They encounter numerous internal setbacks sometimes, but that’s never all.
Additionally, recruiters also must handle external pressures and perform well in a rapidly changing environment. That can affect their motivation, productivity, and success.
Because of that, high-performing recruitment teams are invaluable. These recruiters provide stellar results during challenging circumstances and contribute to business continuity.
Moreover, they develop the future generation of leaders and bring the brightest minds to the company. As a result, the company's goals and mission are sustainable and far-reaching.
Revenues and talent attraction also increase, contributing to workplace success. But although recruiters’ work makes an invaluable impact, various conditions affect it.
High-performing recruitment teams are every company’s goal, but it remains difficult to maintain stellar performance and continuously produce flawless results. The pandemic has made that responsibility even more demanding, confronting recruiters with multiple difficulties.
The Great Resignation encourages employees to quit low-wage jobs, say no to disrespectful treatment, and require more from employers. This trend won’t slow down in 2022, and workers globally are taking the same route as their US colleagues.
Thus, recruiters must overcome another pandemic-related challenge. The talent shortage is slowing down recruitment efforts and making it nearly impossible to find qualified employees in a short time.
Therefore, it’s crucial to identify the principal struggles that successful recruiters encounter. However, we’ll start with what defines high-performing recruitment teams.
What are High-Performing Recruitment Teams?
High-performing recruitment teams consist of solutions-oriented individuals with knowledge of the HR industry and an understanding of labor market trends. They are experts in their field, regardless of tenure.
Moreover, people who make high-performing recruitment teams have complementary capabilities and focus on efficient collaboration and driving top-notch results and innovation. These individuals share the same values and strive toward the same business goals.
They understand the company vision and contribute to it with their effort and insights. Communication typically flows seamlessly in high-performing recruitment teams, and teammates help each other complete their tasks.
Rules and expectations in high-performing recruitment teams are clear, and everyone understands their responsibilities. The accountability is unquestionable, and team members trust one another.
As a result, the group dynamics are healthy, and everyone can be the authentic version of themselves. These factors enable high-performing recruitment teams to work together easily to fill vacancies, find the most qualified people and foster employee retention.
That isn’t to say that they never encounter hardships and setbacks. Like everyone else, high-performing recruitment teams sometimes struggle with challenging hiring processes and the inability to deliver stellar results.
Characteristics of High-Performing Recruitment Teams
Share the Same Objectives
Recruiting teams, like any team, should support one another and work together to achieve great results. Although they might be hiring people for different job roles and departments, they should all share the same goals.
These objectives should be clear and easy to understand. For example, a company might be hoping to improve its position in the IT market and find top talents in this industry.
Whatever the goal is, recruiters should complement each other’s efforts instead of competing to be the best individually. Otherwise, their performance and company success could suffer.
Diversity and Different Perspectives
High-performing recruitment teams typically consist of professionals from different backgrounds and demographic characteristics. They are heterogeneous, and each team member brings something unique to the table.
These teams thrive because everyone has a different perspective, contributing to cognitive diversity. They can always think of new methods and approaches to improve recruitment strategies and reach their target audience.
Smaller Team Size
The bigger, the merrier isn’t a rule in high-performing recruitment teams. Instead, the ideal would be between six and ten team members.
Otherwise, they could struggle with decision-making, effectiveness, and divisive behavior. It’s crucial to balance recruiters’ capabilities, experiences, and knowledge to develop a diverse and efficient team.
Well-Defined Roles & Responsibilities
Every team member should know their responsibilities and have a well-defined role, enabling them to project desirable outcomes and generate strategies that will get them there. Thus, they will understand how to help each other and accelerate processes.
What Makes High-Performing Recruitment Teams Different
Not Afraid of Taking the Initiative
Speed and efficiency are among the essential skills needed for successful recruitment. These two often require recruiters to take the initiative instead of waiting for directions and guidance.
Although they should acknowledge their supervisors’ recommendations and expectations, recruiters should avoid always waiting for others to tell them what to do. Time is an invaluable asset, and they should do their best to use it wisely and be courageous.
In high-performing recruitment teams, recruiters aren’t afraid of making calls, setting meetings, and reaching out to clients and candidates first. They are intuitive and know what’s beneficial for the company.
These recruiters take a calculated risk and foster efficient decision-making. Thanks to that, C-Suite and hiring managers can be calm because their recruiters are enterprising and can work out solutions independently.
Strategic Meeting Management
Time management is among the critical skills in high-performing recruitment teams. But these recruiters also know what meetings to prioritize, arrange their schedules, and communicate with clients.
They think fast and have top-notch strategic meeting management. As a result, these recruiters get things done, quickly agree on crucial matters with stakeholders, and never forget significant dates and arrangements.
Discuss Non-Work-Related Topics and Foster Team Bonding
Although business leaders often believe that employees can only be efficient if they talk about work all the time, that’s far from true. Instead, successful professionals can relax and know when to tune out and discuss different topics.
Hence, high-performing recruitment teams talk about non-work-related issues on lunch breaks and outside the office. They have nothing to prove and know they’re good at their jobs.
Because of that, they prefer to spend time bonding with their team members, sharing life experiences, and decompressing. Moreover, high-performing recruitment team members foster a high level of trust and respect for each other.
Show and Receive Appreciation
People in high-performing teams aren’t shy concerning their accomplishments. They acknowledge what they did right and are accountable for their mistakes.
Achievements make these recruiters proud and give them the motivation to work harder. But they treat others the same way.
Hence, high-performing recruitment teams champion each other and enjoy showing appreciation. These professionals love making other people feel good about themselves and ensure one’s effort is left unrecognized.
Authentic and Expressive
High-performing recruiters are skilled professionals and can measure when is the right moment to say something. However, they are authentic and not afraid of expressing their thoughts and ideas.
These recruiters are confident and share their expertise with others. That’s necessary for diverse teams where everyone contributes with their unique perspective and experience.
But high-performing recruiters will also say when they disagree with something and think there’s a better way to do it. Others appreciate them for this courage and acknowledge how that helps increase the team’s success.
How to Develop High-Performing Recruitment Teams
Establish a Culture of Shared Values
Business and HR leaders should develop a tight-knit company culture that brings people together and evokes a sense of belonging. That reminds employees their work has a higher purpose and drives their efficiency.
Moreover, companies should clarify the mission, values, and goals teams follow. As a result, employees will have a clear sense of direction and understand how their work contributes to business and society.
No one should be confused about their job role, assignments, or contribution. Otherwise, employees could fail to achieve stellar results due to not understanding the company and team objectives.
Balance Team Diversity
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential for high-performing teams. Company leaders should hire people from different walks of life instead of solely focusing on impressive credentials and accomplishments.
They should be willing to grow high-achieving professionals and help them expand their expertise. But companies should also foster cognitive diversity and ensure different thought patterns and approaches to problem-solving.
Without that, teams will hardly ever generate ground-breaking solutions or think of unorthodox ideas. But these qualities are essential for high-performing recruitment teams and staying ahead of the competition.
Foster Efficient Work Practices
Companies should continuously gauge their work practices, improve them, and add more efficient ones. They should assess their teams and understand what they need to perform their jobs better and faster.
Moreover, company leaders should understand what makes their employees more motivated and increases their morale. For example, they can consider introducing work from home, remote work, or sabbaticals.
Cultivate Trust Between Leaders, Managers, and Teams
The work atmosphere should be friendly, relaxed, and welcoming. Employees should know that they can trust their bosses and managers.
Otherwise, they could struggle to bring their authentic selves to work and give their best. Because of that, business and HR leaders must cultivate transparency and clarify how different operations function and what to expect.
They should be upfront about any change that affects employees. Lack of trust corrodes high-performing workplaces and leads to a toxic work environment where no one feels comfortable.
Nurture Transparent and Regular Communication
Instead of only reaching out to teams in times of updates and announcements, business leaders should foster regular communication with recruiters. Moreover, they should ensure they have a seat at the table and can influence crucial decisions.
Without transparency and equal treatment, it will be challenging to maintain high-performing recruitment teams and have them reach out to leadership when in need. Because of that, companies should leverage efficient communication channels and keep in touch with their recruiters and hiring managers.
Ensure Workplace Stability
Employees should know that their job roles are safe and won’t fall victim to layoffs in times of uncertainty. Company leaders should ensure job security and implement mechanisms that foster workplace stability.
That includes physical safety and relevant health measures. For instance, recruiters should know whether it’s safe to go back to offices after the pandemic and how things will function in the new realm.
Emphasize Lifelong Learning
Efficient career growth programs are critical for establishing high-performing recruitment teams. Recruiters should have various opportunities to learn new skills, techniques, and tricks that help them be more efficient and better at their work.
Moreover, company leaders should emphasize lifelong learning and leverage upskilling and reskilling to keep their workforce’s capabilities sharp and up to date.
Equip Them With the Necessary Technology
High-performing recruitment teams require modern and well-equipped workplaces. They shouldn’t struggle with multiple manual activities if there’s a technology that could help them complete their tasks and be more efficient.
Therefore, company leaders should invest in top-notch tech that accelerates hiring processes, such as the applicant tracking system (ATS) and customer relationship management (CRM).
Determine Measurable Objectives
Finally, companies should choose KPIs that enable them to track and measure the success of their recruitment teams. That includes setting measurable and achievable goals for recruiters and helping them accomplish them.
Top 5 Challenges High-Performing Recruitment Teams Encounter
1. Talent Attraction
Over 76 percent of recruiters encounter problems attracting high-quality candidates. That’s no surprise considering that talent shortages have taken the labor market by storm. For most high-performing recruitment teams, entry-level positions are the most challenging. Compelling job ads alone aren’t enough to reach top job applicants for a diverse selection process. Nowadays, job seekers have higher expectations, and they won’t fall for stellar marketing only. They require more and want a respectful approach. That leaves recruiters with a limited talent pool, making it hard for them to fill available vacancies in no time.
2. Candidate Engagement
Regardless of their strategies and approaches, it can be challenging to engage top talent. These job seekers know multiple companies would love to work with them, giving them control over the selection process. Thus, those with hard-to-find abilities can choose the most influential companies in the industry. Because of that, high-performing recruiters will likely struggle with making their email and profile stand out. It’s even harder to attract passive job seekers, yet these candidates are among the most sought after by recruiters.
3. Recruiting in a Remote Setting
Even the most high-performing recruitment teams can have a hard time adapting to the post-pandemic realm, including remote work. Many recruitment teams only meet new employees during or after onboarding, making it more challenging to form a connection. Besides, in-person interviews are different from video conferencing and allow recruiters to read body language and know candidates better.
4. Miscommunication
Disagreements, lack of collaboration, and miscommunication can affect even the best recruitment teams. Data silos prevent recruiters from working closely with other relevant departments. Without regular data sharing, recruitment teams could struggle with slow processes and provide a less than optimal candidate experience.
5. Slow Time-to-Hire
Most candidates loathe waiting to hear an update about their application process. But it often takes over two weeks to reach job applicants after they applied. In some industries, things are even worse. For example, the average time-to-hire in engineering, research, and project management is more than 45 days. On the other hand, Human resources take around 39 days to recruit the top candidate. That can leave job applicants upset and cause them to withdraw their applications.
How to Solve Challenges in High-Performing Recruitment Teams?
Clear Communication and Respectful Approach
Recruiters should publish straightforward and easy-to-understand job ads. They should communicate openly and consistently with candidates throughout the selection process and keep them updated about their job application progress.
Moreover, recruiters should avoid having job applicants wonder whether a company has dropped their resume from consideration or is no longer looking for an employee.
That leads to the most significant aspect – a respectful approach. Job applicants are also humans and deserve fair treatment. Avoid ghosting them or disregarding their job application without clarifying why.
Research Your Target Audience and Understand What Matters to Them
The safest way to attract high-quality candidates is to research your target audience. Identify their goals, needs, and struggles.
Understand what makes them tick and how they would like recruiters to approach them. Try thinking like them to ensure your company stands out.
Foster Ongoing Communication and Stable Company Culture
After the job applicants enter the pipeline, maintain ongoing communication, and keep them interested in the job. Moreover, foster a stable and attractive company culture to highlight job security and a tight-knit community.
Be Upfront and Acknowledge Everyone’s Contribution
It’s necessary to address internal issues and nurture team harmony. Otherwise, potential disagreements could affect the selection process and candidate experience.
Team members should foster accountability and acknowledge effort and contribution. That drives high performance and enables recruiters to focus on the best for the candidates.
Leverage Technology
HR technology has been an invaluable part of recruitment in the past decades. It helps speed up processes, make collaboration seamless, and increase candidate engagement.
For instance, ATS offers numerous features that help high-performing recruitment teams do their jobs better and stay ahead of the deadlines, resulting in a faster time to hire.
Maintain your high-performing recruitment team successfully and job applicants happy with the selection process. Try Manatal’s ATS today and explore its top-notch features that simplify hiring activities and offer invaluable tech support to recruiters.
Request a demo or start your 14-day Free Trial and solve your recruitment struggles.
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