The recruitment strategy is the most important strategic document in the recruitment and staffing department. It defines almost everything for the satisfaction of internal clients and the visibility of the company on the job market. The recruitment strategy defines initiatives, recruitment sources and the key measures for processes and sub-processes. The strategy defines the mix of diverse talents as the company enjoys all benefits of diverse teams. However, most companies have the generic recruitment strategies.

The generic recruitment strategy does not developing any competitive advantage. The organization uses the same channels as the generic competitors. It has to compete by using other advantages. It has to push its salaries up as it builds the loyalty of employees and job applicants. It is not the sexy employer; it is just a company, which pays a fair salary. Wow, no emotions. Just a pure business.

The outstanding recruitment strategy differentiates the company from competitors. It builds the basis for a different recruitment practices of the company. It is the main purpose of the strategy. Designing the unique approach. The strategy has to be unique; it is not a document on the shelf.

The recruitment strategy navigates HR team in building the recruitment process, which attracts best talents on the job market. It build the recruitment mix, which makes people speak about it. It makes people notice the organization and remember its brand name.

The generic strategy is a pure strategy template, which does not work. It does not bring anything new, it does not build any difference. The organization is the same as the competitors. The job applicant has no benefit to apply for the vacancy in the company, which is not unique. The strategy does not support the corporate culture. It is just a document and one tick – done.

The development of the strategy is not about writing a document and filling the template. It is a hard brainstorming job for Human Resources. The HR team has to identify all strengths and opportunities. It has to identify the potential to build a powerful niche on the job market. It has to define the strong brand name and its position on the job market. It has to define the supporting recruitment processes.

The value added of the strategy is in the alignment of ideas in Human Resources. It builds the consensus. It allows people speak different words with the same meaning. It makes speak people the same way. It is the real benefit of any strategy. The generic one will never work.

The recruitment process is the HR Process, that is easily measurable. The HR Recruiter can measure the speed of the process, costs of the recruitment. However, the measurement of the recruitment quality is difficult. How to measure the quality in the recruitment process? Who is the key client of the process, who sets the standards for the quality of the process?

The speed of the process, the number of errors, the number of resumes received – all these recruitment performance indicators are easy to measure. The underlying recruitment software can show all KPIs instantly and almost online for a defined group of job vacancies. The quality of the recruitment is a different story.

The quality of the recruitment is hard to measure. Each manager has a different opinion. The quality is a quantitate measure and most companies use an index to display some “recruitment satisfaction index”.

The quality has several dimensions. All participants in the recruitment process have the impact on the quality of the process. The most important quality measure is the filling of the vacancy with the job applicant, who is motivated and pass the induction process successfully. The primary goal of the recruitment and staffing process is simple – fill the vacancy with the matching job applicant. Nothing more is expected from the recruitment and staffing departments in many companies.

The additional quality measures indicate the performance of the additional processes. They indicate the satisfaction of job applicants with the clarity of job adverts, they indicate the satisfaction with the speed of the response of the HR Recruiter. They measure the quality of the value added recruitment processes, which have indirect impact on feelings and perception of the hiring manager and the job applicant.

The hiring manager usually mixes the perception and the quality. The process is excellent, if the job applicants are delivered on time and they fully match with the key requirements. It demonstrates the quality of job done by the HR Recruiter. The hiring manager is not interested in the wide presence in social media, if the candidates are not presented to him/her.

The HR Managers usually focus on the sexiness of the process. They want to have the attractive layouts of adverts, they want to use modern technologies. They want to present the recruitment to competitors. It is the quality for them.

There is no common definition of the recruitment quality available. Each company defines its own rules for the measurement of the quality of the recruitment process. You have to identify your own rules, but keep in mind, that the process has one primary goal. You have to fill the vacancy as soon as possible.

The social media recruitment seems promising. It can solve many issues. It can find many job applicants. It can solve our issues with talents and it can build the competitive advantage. Sadly, the social recruitment is not a new recruitment mantra. Many organizations do not realize any benefits from being social. They are not just attractive enough. Their target audiences are not present in social media. They send messages, which are not received.

The social recruitment favors big brands. It favors companies, who attract the attention of the audience. These companies have the opportunity to build large networks of followers who are willing to spread messages and corporate news. The small companies have issues. They have no audience, they are building their customer base. They have to find their recruitment niches. They need to build the competitive advantage. Then they can be successful in the social recruitment.

The company needs to evaluate its potential to build the large and engaged community of likers and followers. The recruitment is about the visibility of the organization and its job postings. The social recruitment is not different. The job posting has to be attractive and visible. It has to be seen as someone can apply for the job. The presence in social media does not mean that the organization is visible. HR has to invest money and time into the development of the large community. The small growing organization has no time. It has to focus on the growth. It needs to hire quickly. It needs new employees now.

Each company has to make the proper social media cost/benefit analysis. The social recruitment is not cheap, if it is done properly. The dedicated employee has to be paid, the employees from other departments have to contribute. The social media analysis has to be done. The organization will have expenses with the social recruitment. It is not another free source of job applicants. The free sources usually do not perform best.

The modern HR Management requires highly skilled and experienced HR employees. They have to be real experts in HR processes, they have to understand the basics of the financial management of the organization, they have to be skilled in negotiation and facilitation skills. The specialized HR training has to be designed in the organization as the HR employees can spread the modern approaches in the people management through the entire organization.

The modern HR management is about different personalities than the traditional HR management. The HR professionals have to be confident, they have to take responsibility for results, they have to share goals with their internal clients, they have to lead cross functional change management projects and they have to develop young high potentials in Human Resources. They need to be trained for their new role in the organization.

The modern HR Training consist from several courses:

• Finance for HR Managers
• Organizational Design
• Modern Recruitment Strategies
• Employee Value Proposition
• Aligning of Compensation and Performance Management
• Change Management
• HR Project Management
• HR Development

Each organization is about the efficiency and profits. It is about the sales of products and services. The modern HR Management is about the real business partnership with internal customers of Human Resources. The HR Management has to be skilled in the financial management of the organization as they can contribute to discussions and they can support many difficult business decisions. The financial management for HR Managers is the essential part of the HR training. The effective organization makes many decision on the basis of the financial performance. HR employees have to understand these decisions and they have to include the cost/benefit analysis into their decisions as well.

The organizational design is a modern HR process. It helps to design effective organization and defines basic rules and procedures for the job design in the organization. HR has the responsibility to keep the organization efficient and it has to oppose managers in the creation of new jobroles, which grind the responsibilities of employees. The modern organizational design leads HR Managers to create job roles, which are needed and bring the real value added for the organization. The HR training must learn HR Managers basic organizational design processes as they can lead and facilitate line managers in the company.

The recruitment and staffing changes dramatically. The traditional recruitment sources do not have to be the best performing recruitment channels for the modern organization. The HR Professionals have to understand the modern recruitment strategies. The recruitment becomes social and HR has to cooperate with the Marketing and Public Relations. The recruitment of the top talents is not possible without the positive image on the market. The employee value proposition is a key and HR training has to include sessions about basic techniques.

The performance management is the essential component for the building of the competitive advantage. The HR Managers have to drive the performance of employees. They have to help managers set the performance standards, they have to train the goal setting for employees and they have to provide the constant, open and positive feedback to managers and employees. They have to participate in the design of the incentive schemes and they have to set the optimum base salaries in the entire organization. The performance management has to be an item of the high importance in the HR training.

The modern organization lives in the constant change. The change management is a core responsibility of Human Resources. The HR Training has to focus on the management of the complex change in the organization. It has to focus on delivering results and keeping the positive momentum in the organization during a difficult change. The positive influencing of the organization is a desired HR skill.

The HR Development is about the development of young potentials in Human Resources. The HR Managers have to focus on the development of the team as Human Resources becomes stronger and more respected in the entire organization. HR Managers have to develop their successors as the organization does not lose the HR know-how. The HR training should include some basic development techniques and processes. HR has to be the role model in the development of young talents for the rest of the organization.

The development of the effective HR training is a difficult process and it cannot be bought from the market. It has to be customized for the company and the entire HR Management Team has to participate on the design of the successful HR training.

As the economic development is not predictable (just MS Excel can project the line), the pay reviews and promotions are uncertain. HR has to solve a difficult puzzle – tell negative message, keep positive motivation. Wow, that is a challenge. No CFO will approve the formula that uncertain sales volumes can be balanced by the certain increase of fixed compensation costs. HR has to solve the puzzle differently. Now. Right now.

The excellent C&B Manager is prepared to live in cloudy times. The C&B manager builds reserves for bad times. However, this period of unluckiness is too long. The reserves are eaten and the complex and innovative HR solution has to be born as the organization stays competitive on the job market. As it stays innovative and ahead of competitors.

HR has to change the compensation and motivation system in the organization. It pains a lot, but it is the only way to make the future of the organization secure. Old components and dysfunctional components have to be removed. New components provoking the internal competition and innovation have to be introduced. Easy to write, hard to implement.

HR has to make a proper analysis of the current compensation system. The system is usually developed for many years and new components are added. Many components have no sense today, but employees use them as they benefit from the usage. Does the organization realize benefits? It is a big question. Many compensation components play its role, but many components use resources without any realized benefits (for the organization).

HR has to change the focus on the key groups of employees. The key employees, top performers, high potentials and the support of creative and innovative employees is a must. The key employees are easy to be identified. The top performers are usually visible in the performance management results. The innovation is the most difficult competency to be identified and supported. The new compensation scheme should not try to address and identify these groups of employees. The employees should find their place in the scheme. They should discover its benefits (for them and the organization, as well).

The organization has to support natural innovation. The organized support of innovation usually does not work. The innovation committee does not work. Innovation is about bringing new ideas into the daily work of employees. It spreads quickly (if the idea is really smart). The compensation component supporting innovation has to be aligned with the corporate culture and corporate values.

The organization, which changes the compensation structure, is competitive in these difficult times. The new components support employees building the competitive advantage. It does not support employees, who just understand the system. It supports the real improvements.

The modern organization identifies gaps in skills and competencies at least once a year. It evaluates employees and matches skills and competencies available with the strategic initiatives and projects. It prepares the development plans for employees and it prepares a detailed recruitment plan. The excellent recruitment plan does not affect just recruitment costs of the company; it has a significant impact on the employee satisfaction (as the company manages the system of promotions in the organization and it manages the internal recruitment).

The modern and competitive organization plans all activities in a high detail. The recruitment and staffing is one area, which needs a proper plan, which summarizes inputs from different areas:

• Career Development
• Performance Management
• HR Reporting
• Recruitment Channels Performance
• Recruitment Agencies Performance
• HR Strategy
• Business Strategy

The recruitment plan estimates the number of required new hires per position/function as the natural attrition is fully covered. The recruitment plan estimates the needs for new skills and competencies. The recruitment plan connects inputs from all HR areas as the balance between the internal and external recruitment is reached.

HR can plan vacancies openings and it can estimate the needed resources in Human Resources. The job vacancies should not be open at one time as HR will not be able to process them. HR should reach the agreement with recruitment agencies about estimated number of vacancies and their structure.

The recruitment plan identifies the opportunities in the organization, which should not be missed. Many managers prefer the external hires, but the internal hires usually have the same qualities. They know the organization. They can lack few skills, but one specialized training course can get them to the same knowledge level. The Career Development unit should deliver outcomes from discussions with high potentials and top performers. They identify the next challenging job opportunity and it should be included and matched with the recruitment plan.

The recruitment of the key job positions is usually a long process and the scheduling should be done in advance. The HR Recruiters can do the proper market mapping and they can conduct informal job interviews with the potential hires. They do not have to offer specific job position, but they can offer the contact in the future. They can investigate the interest of the top players on the job market.

The recruitment plan development is a tough task for HR Recruiters and the HR Management team. It requires many inputs, but the successful plan has a significant impact on employees and managers. Many employees can rotate and change their career path. HR can save the recruitment costs.

Wow, it is a season of regular salary reviews (salary increases) in most organizations. However, the economic outlook is not positive and the compensation budgets are tight. The general and flat salary increase (merit increase for all) can make the financial position of the company less stable. The recession is dangerous for the compensation costs. Should we increase salaries?

The recession does not stop the competition. It makes the competition even tougher. The companies need skilled and talented employees as they build the competitive advantage. The modern organization are able to offer highly competitive salaries and packages to best job applicants. They open many vacancies focused on the future growth of the company.

Most organizations are not able to make a serious decision about the selective salary reviews and increases. They do not make a decision about the significant salary increase for the key groups of employees. They make a limited salary increase for the entire population in the company. They increase the cost base and they become less competitive.

The top management is not in the leadership position. It does not make a decision about the selective salary increase. They make the worst decision possible. They want to make everyone happy.

However, the recession does not make anyone happy. The organization needs to secure the performance and innovation arising from the top and best employees of the company. The company is not able to limit its decision about the salary review to the most contributing employees.

HR has to support the top management in the difficult decision. Spreading a small budget over a limited group of employees can make significant salary increases on the individual level. The top employees with the salary increase feel loyal and they want to deliver results for the organization. The rest of employees have to understand that they are not a key for the success. They can be replaced with no significant impact on the organization’s performance and competitive position on the market.

The salary increases for the key employees make the position of the organization stable and more competitive on the job market. The top performers have no reason to accept the competitive offer. They feel valued by the organization.

The true social recruitment is not a one way communication of the company. The company is in a heavy dialogue with the followers and they spread the good news about the organization around. The real secret of the social media recruitment is in a discussion and spreading the messages through different loosely connected networks.

The successful social media recruiter builds a small committed network of followers, who have influence in their other networks. It should not be a primary goal of the organization to have a large primary network of followers. This network can be almost dead and it does not have to contribute to the success of the company at all.

The social recruitment is the long term activity. The phase of building the committed community of followers requires time. The recruiter has to identify topics interesting for the target community. The recruiter has to discuss regularly and has to communicate the standpoint of the important community from the organization.

The success of the social media recruitment cannot be presented within several weeks. The top management loves to see numbers about the size of the community, the growth rate of followers, but they do not focus on the real important measures. They do not focus on number of retweets and the reach of the organization.

The job candidate is usually not a direct follower. The best job applicant is usually in a different circle of followers and the message has to be transferred to that circle of followers. It is the real success of the social media recruitment, if messages are retweeted and re-posted.

The building of the committed network of followers takes time. They are not recruited after few messages from the organization. They do not react to any job offer in the beginning. They react on the topics of their interest. Receiving job openings is not their primary focus. They want to receive interesting information. They will re-post interesting information at first… and later… they will perceive the info about the job vacancy as interesting… and they will re-tweet it.

You will spread your job vacancy into the neighborhood networks. It is a goal of the social media recruitment.

The social media recruitment is about discovering and the development of interesting recruitment niches. Each company and each Social Media HR Recruiter develop their own niches and they do not allow to other companies make any hunting in their waters. LinkedIn is one big ocean of people, who can be willing to change the job. The social media recruitment is not about posting vacancies on LinkedIn. The real social media recruitment is about building proactive communities.

There are many myths around the recruitment using social media. It is not cheap and it is not easy to find the candidate. At first, you have to know, who is your target audience and what are their interests. Social media connect participants around interests and topics. It is the competitive advantage of social media.

The social recruitment is about the following activities:

1. Identify needed resources (as you can focus on discussions)
2. Develop social media profiles (4 main personas representing your target groups)
3. Definition of the key topics of your target audiences
4. Find keywords describing topics
5. Start communicating and grow your social media presence
6. Build the network and discuss on the regular basis
7. Start sending the interesting job vacancies occasionally.

LinkedIn is a huge pool of many people, but they are not generally interested in changing their jobs. They want to find old friends and colleagues. They do not expect to search for a new job proactively. They hate if they are contacted by headhunters and recruiters. They want to enjoy the silent and confidential communication with old friends from the school and previous employments.

The art of social recruitment is about provoking the proactivity of the target group. They want to apply for the challenging job vacancy. They recommend their friends. They spread the message through their other networks. The message gets amplified.

When they tell you that LinkedIn is the social recruitment, do not believe them. The recruitment in social media requires more than one account at LinkedIn.

The modern organization cannot manage all tasks and duties. It needs the empowered employees, who manage their tasks and deliver expected results. The empowerment is one of the basic HR Management ideas of these days. The leader inspires and empowers employees. The implementation of the empowerment is more difficult. Many HR Managers look for the way that empowers employees. The employees and managers are the main obstacles.

The managers usually do not trust the empowered employees. They lose one of their main roles in such environment. They love to distribute tasks, set deadlines and check the quality of outputs. They do not like to accept the decisions made by employees (at least they want to discuss them). The empowerment is about the major change of the management style in the organization.

The employees demand the empowerment. They see it as the best way for the development of their skills and competencies. However, they do not request the accountability and the full responsibility. They want to be empowered, but they want their manager to be fully responsible. The empowerment without the accountability does not work.

The role of HR is in bringing tools and processes, which allow manager to make employees responsible and accountable for their jobs and deliverables. It is a huge cultural change and it is a painful process. Managers do ignore the changes in the beginning and employees are confused. It is quite common for each change management project.

The change of the behavior of managers takes time. They have to be supported by other HR processes, which are adjusted to the empowerment of employees (and line managers as well). The compensation strategy and the compensation policy has to be designed around the full accountability of employees. The performance measurement has to be redesigned. The performance has to be about the delivery of measurable results.

The implementation usually starts with the idea of the top management. The CEO takes the full responsibility and accountability over the implementation of the employee empowerment in the organization. HR acts as a strong member of the implementation team and the change agent.