Why managing all recruiting internally is the worst (not even a) strategy:

The best of both worlds scenario actually exists

Why managing all recruiting internally is the worst (not even a) strategy:

Recruiting is a timing game. You have peaks and valleys in your hiring plan for a reason.

People leave unexpectedly. New needs arise suddenly. Hiring demand comes and goes at unexpected times.

If that weren’t the case: doing everything in house would be a no brainer. With persistent and unchanging demand, you could build an internal team that would never get overwhelmed.

In practice, you’re hiring and firing internal recruiters every time demand shifts. If you think that sounds bad, it’s worse. The human toll aside, you’re losing domain knowledge of your environment every time you let someone go. Because they’re never coming back.

That’s one thing business leaders underestimate. Your internal recruiters do more than just “find people.” They create and refine a process that gets them through the hiring process and in the door.

They know what resonates with candidates and how to sell them on joining. They know what every hiring manager wants. Where their gaps are. How to help them understand the candidate market. They know what trends are happening in all your key skill sets. And how to communicate that up the chain to refine hiring plans.

(Or at least, they should, but that’s another rant for another day.)

Fractional solutions (part or full time RPO or interim recruiter talent) solves the “faucet on / faucet off” problem. Partner with a firm who can provide dedicated resources as needed, roll them off a project when hiring gets light. Then bring them back when hiring picks up.

Just some facts to get your Monday started…

View full episode of The 10 Minute Talent Rant,, Episode 84 “Does Anyone Actually Have A Talent Strategy?” here.

James Hornick

Partner at Hirewell. #3 Ranked Sarcastic Commenter on LinkedIn.