What has fast food got in common with the recruitment industry?

The recruitment industry is saturated. And with the massive rise in competition has come the race to deliver candidates faster and cheaper.

Even firms specialising in quick-fire placements are under pressure to deliver shortlists faster to compete. This has affected search firms as well. But while competition is obviously healthy, it should never come at the expense of good recruitment.

Some companies have bought into the transactional approach—it's needed if you’re working in an environment with high staff turnover. But while rapid churn creates new job opportunities and revenue for recruiters, businesses and their long-term staff often suffer.

So, what’s wrong with fast recruitment?

For one thing, you’ve got a better chance of getting your placement wrong.

The beauty of the executive search process is its value, not just in the form of market research and talent benchmarking but also in that an experienced consultant can attract the best candidates from their nests, build their trust quickly, and help them over the finishing line into a role. 

Every touch point is an opportunity to assess the candidate’s suitability for the role and the company culture. So the more touch points the better.

Fast-tracking recruitment is functional, never savoured and rarely feels good.

If a company wants to recruit fast, are they panic buying? Or is the sign-off process dragged out or last-minute? Do they trust their recruitment partners to give them an early heads-up?

As I said earlier, sometimes speed is good, especially when recruiter fees are bypassed. But if the placement doesn’t work out, the process has to start all over again, and then you’ve wasted time and money.

The fast food industry doesn't supply nutritious food, and I’m not convinced that fast recruitment is necessary for businesses to succeed.

So what’s the alternative to chicken nuggets?

The best alternative is nutritious and satisfying, where candidates are well-sourced, carefully prepared, and thoughtfully served. It's not pretentious or cheap and cheerless; it's good, wholesome, and real.

Good recruitment involves the ability to source, engage, and hire the vital ingredients—the people who will sustain the business and the leaders who will inspire, nurture, and feed the company with vision, expertise, and goodness.

Tracy Short & Co offers executive career coaching, recruitment & talent services, and exclusive networking meet-ups.

Tracy has a unique approach to career success – a fresh alternative to traditional career coaching and executive headhunters.

Get in touch to find out how I can help you or your company.