In cutting HR costs, don’t cut out graciousness
Even in organizations that grant Human Resources a seat at the executive table, HR can come up against budget constraints. Since it’s sometimes hard to demonstrate the exact dollar-value of individual candidates, quantifiable costs are more likely to get cut. However, as soon as those cuts start to affect an organization’s ability to hire and retain quality talent, business will start to go bad. If you’re in HR or recruiting, there are things you can do to make sure that cost-cutting doesn’t make you a loser in the War on Talent.% M/ [& Y$ N1 A8 T
. T# h2 k6 l8 p; x* ~/ xFor starters, think about how you treat candidates throughout the hiring process. Graciousness should be a no-brainer in nearly every other aspect of life, but it’s often the first part of the hiring process to get cut in a time- or money-crunch. Just last month at the HRO World conference in New York, “IDC analyst Lisa Rowan shared data that showed cost savings as the top reason for both large and midmarket companies to sign HR business process outsourcing agreements,” according to Workforce Management. Rowan said that
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“more than 30 percent of midmarket employers and 28 percent of large-market employers expect cost savings of 20 […] to 30 percent as a result of an HRO deal. Ten percent of large-market buyers expect those savings to be as high as 50 percent.”
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However, she said a more accurate number would be between 10 and 20 percent. That could lead to further HR cost-cutting down the road at the expense of keeping quality talent happy.; B+ C0 {; o$ S7 g( ~9 c
: `" B! ^: h3 w1 O/ i- X2 Z) @The good news is that communication costs next-to-nothing. Remember how important feedback is. If you’re part of an internal HR group, follow-up with recruiters and candidates. If you’re a recruiter, follow up with HR and your candidates. If you’re a candidate, follow up with anyone you can. Keep those networks healthy so that they don’t suffer from cost-cutting. Citing a recent study by DayTimer, rezamaze.com goes so far as to recommend hand-written follow-ups, because “over 70% of respondents […] said sending a handwritten note was friendlier, ‘demonstrating special effort to communicate.’” You can even hand-write a post-script for a typed follow-up. Even if you only follow-up via email, you should reference specifics about the contact and/or the interview, letting the recipient know that you at least paid attention.
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4 |7 D6 o; Y5 ~7 t6 ^The post also reports that Hiring Mangers said that only 10% of candidates sent follow-up thank you notes after an interview and that 90% of that 10% got subsequent interviews. Recruiters and HR personnel would do well to remember that, in the War on Talent, those percentages can easily translate into lost candidates if the folks in acquisition aren’t also following up on in-demand talent.
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Our new network can put you into one-on-one contact with candidates who accurately match your needs. However, gracious treatment of those candidates is up to you. If you remember their needs, especially regarding communication and follow-up, placing those candidates and keeping unplaced candidates in your network should be a breeze. If you forget to treat them graciously, you better start cutting your costs now.
