Recruiting

3 Steps for HR to Get Recruiting Help from the C-Suite

Whether you need executive buy-in for a new hire or you’re asking for a new recruiting tool, there are three steps to get what you need, according to the director of talent acquisition for Sodexo’s North America operations.Recruitment

Start with a good relationship, collect data, and combine those two to show how your request aligns with the business’ needs, Scott Sherman told BLR®.  Sherman provided details for each step.

1. Build a Relationship

The first step to getting what you need starts well before you actually make a request. You need to have consistent communication with executive leaders, Sherman said. Consider what regular meetings they have that you could attend. If you’re in talent acquisition like Sherman, you should have monthly or quarterly meetings with key executives for whom you hire and provide support, he said.

Learn more about next-level talent acquisition for today’s evolving workforce when you attend BLR’s RecruitCon 2017. Click here to register.

In these meetings, be sure to both listen and share your expertise as it pertains to their business objectives, Sherman said. Find out what executives consider the key strategic and tactical objectives for the company; ask about concerns or challenges. What keeps them up at night?

The relationship you’ll develop will make you “part of the team” and show that you’re in tune with the needs of the business. You’ll also have built credibility by sharing data, ideas, and opportunities, according to Sherman.

2. Collect Data

When you do have a request, you’ll need data to support your argument. Consider the following example:

You’re tasked with staffing a new project outside your usual market. Everyone assumes hiring will be “business as usual” but as you begin the process, you find that this new market is very competitive. Employees in that field are happy and well-paid and don’t consider you a “destination employer.” You realize you’re going to need more time, another recruiter, or maybe permission to retain an outside “sourcer” to find the right talent.

Before you go running to the C-suite, get your data together, Sherman says. Start with your internal data on recruiting and hiring and then compare it to outside numbers. You need solid information on the market and the ability to provide some context.

“Leverage tools like Talent Neuron that can give you salary and availability data within talent pools,” Sherman said. Also consider using data from recruiters or sourcers to learn about a talent market. Tools like LinkedIn, your applicant tracking system, and your candidate relationship management system can help you provide context for that data, he said.

3. Present Insight

Finally, combine your knowledge of the business with your market insight and present the whole story; explain how you’re going to address this challenge to meet the businesses’ needs. Think: What is the C-suite’s key objective and how is this going to impact it?

Continuing with the above example, perhaps the company promised the new project to a client within a certain timeframe. If you don’t have the talent, the company may have to delay the rollout, Sherman said, and any such delay could have a negative impact on the business.

Describe to the executives the return they’ll see by allowing you to hire that extra recruiter. Would you get the jobs filled faster? Would it prevent damage to the company’s brand reputation that could preclude additional work with that client or other clients in the market?

Finally, develop a few concise points and practice them, Sherman says. For example: “This talent market is extremely competitive and we’re not seen as an ideal employer,” or “Without additional resources, it’s going to take double the time to recruit and any delay is going to affect our reputation.”

Your audience is not going to take notes so go in with just a few points that really resonate with them, Sherman said. “Less is more.”

Sherman will be presenting at BLR’s RecruitCon 2017 Conference, being held May 11-12 in Las Vegas, where he’ll provide straight-up advice on how to up your leadership game, so you can effectively communicate with the C-suite to get the resources you need to help improve the company’s bottom line. RecruitCon 2017 will arm you with the tools and tactics you need to keep up with new trends, streamline hiring processes, sharpen interview skills, improve onboarding, and beat out the competition for top talent! Learn more at Recruitcon.BLR.com.

Kate TornoneKate McGovern Tornone is an editor at BLR. She has almost 10 years’ experience covering a variety of employment law topics and currently writes for HR Daily Advisor and HR.BLR.com. Before coming to BLR, she served as editor of Thompson Information Services’ ADA and FLSA publications, co-authored the Guide to the ADA Amendments Act, and published several special reports. She graduated from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., with a B.A. in media studies.

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