Why is having a recruitment culture essential to a company's success?

The recruitment industry is experiencing a number of different trends, all of which are converging and two of which stand out. One trend is retention, or rather, lack of retention. The other is the apparent scarcity of talent, particularly in the high-tech space. At the confluence of these trends is the issue of culture. And while, on the one hand, corporate culture can be seen as a root cause of both of these problems, I will argue here that culture can also offer a solution. But not just any culture will do. For companies to achieve long-term success in terms of profitability and build a productive, happy, and stable team, a certain kind of culture is necessary - the culture of recruitment.

So how can developing a recruitment culture facilitate talent attraction and retention? The answers lie in what it is and what it does. Basically, a recruiting culture is one that successful companies use to make recruiting an integral part of their corporate culture. In other words, they make recruiting a business imperative.

It's not hard to find the companies that excel in this regard. Lists of "Best Companies to Work For" published by LinkedIn, Forbes and other leading sources show us exactly which ones are doing it right, such as Google, Facebook, Salesforce, Walt Disney and Tesla, among others. All of these companies place a high priority on recruiting top talent, which translates into CEO and executive messaging, a high percentage of co-optation, recruitment support programs, and, most importantly, substantial funding for the recruiting department. Taken together, these factors constitute a strong recruiting culture.

Research and experience have revealed plans that any company can implement to create a successful recruitment culture and embed it throughout the organization.

First, and as suggested above, recruiting must become the responsibility of everyone in the organization. Recruiting is not about ordering items from a catalog. Successful recruiting is a highly collaborative process, and just as studies have shown that millennials prefer a collaborative rather than competitive work culture, it is important that a company's recruiting and hiring practices become collaborative in nature and involve the entire organization. In today's business climate, this requires the involvement and collaboration of an ever-widening group of stakeholders within the organization, well beyond HR and hiring managers, potential mentors and even managers from other areas of the business who may have a legitimate interest in a number of different roles. As in life, this is not a destination, but an ongoing journey or process.

The next and perhaps most important element of a recruitment culture is what happens after the candidate is hired. Many companies are increasingly convinced that hiring practices, onboarding and support of new hires, and ongoing employee education and training all contribute to increased retention and performance of the organization as a whole. This idea was perfectly expressed by Boris Groysberg, Nitin Nohria and Claudio Fernández-Aráoz in the Harvard Business Review.

It's no wonder that companies like Intuit, which have created a culture of recruitment, consistently perform well and experience lower turnover and recruitment costs than comparable companies that have not adopted such a comprehensive approach.

It's also very interesting - and gratifying - to see that many of the recruitment culture principles we've read about recently are already represented in the questions I ask hiring managers at companies that hire us to help them find the best possible candidates. These questions include (but not always in these exact terms):

• What is the career path for this role?
• Who does this position depend on and what is the style and personality of this manager?
• What level of support and continuing education is available?
• What is the culture of this department? Of the company as a whole?
• What are the personal and professional benefits of working for this team? For this company?

At Molitor International Conseil, we can provide recruiting support, helping you build a pipeline of talent that will support your company's strategic growth for years to come. To discuss your talent acquisition needs, schedule a meeting with one of our RPO solutions experts today.