Investment in developing recruiting skillsets is the key to hiring top talent

Interviewing Skills

You knew this would be high on my list!  Screening out the best candidates is an incredible miss that happens too often in companies.  Spending so much time and resources in identifying the best candidates is wasted if you don’t have the ability to select the best fits for your company.  And contrary to what many managers or recruiters tell you, interviewing skill is not an art, a gut feeling, or something you’re born with.  It’s a science that can be taught and a skill that can improved.  This is must-have training for every company.  For more information on the science of interviewing and how both hiring managers and candidates can understand how their interview types affect hiring decisions, read Interviewology by Anna Papalia.

Sourcing Skills

Companies pay big money to recruiting firms to find top talent.  Investing in training your corporate recruiting team on the art of sourcing can bring this skill in house.  Why are headhunters good at what they do?  They are typically specialized, have a vast network of contacts in that specialty area, and know who in that network is ready to consider other opportunities.  While it may be impossible for corporate recruiting departments to dive this deep for all of their openings, it’s not out of the question to have recruiters develop specialty skills in one or two areas which are critical to the company.  And the company is better served to invest those headhunting dollars into assisting their recruiting teams in developing this expertise.

Technology Competence

Recruiting technology is constantly evolving, from nothing more than applicant tracking systems twenty years ago to solutions for literally every aspect of recruiting today. From social media recruiting tools, advertising technologies, and sourcing tools to employee referral programs and more, it can be a full time job not only understanding the value of these tools, but the best way to utilize them for your specific company needs.  Often companies stop short of in-depth training for all users of their recruiting technologies.  Given the size of the investments for many of these tools, it would be wise to make sure recruiting teams are prepared to get the most out of them.

Data Analysis Skills

This topic is forgotten when considering recruiting training topics.  For most companies, applicant tracking systems collect large amounts of data that can be leveraged in many ways to find the best source of candidates, improve the candidate experience, improve recruiter skills, etc.   Teaching recruiters how to collect and analyze data effectively opens up a whole new world in adding value to the entire organization.

Branding Knowledge

Why do companies put the effort into building a strong employer brand without adequately training their recruiting teams to properly leverage the information?  No matter what the nature of the business or where the company has evolved, there is a story to be told.  And, especially for smaller or less known companies, being well-versed in communicating why your company is a great place to work, company culture and values, and advantages over competitors is the secret weapon that attracts the best candidates.

Compliance

The value of compliance training is obvious and recruiting regulations are constantly evolving (example: Do you know which states in the U.S. now require companies to list compensation information with their job descriptions???).  Compliance training is a must to ensure teams are aware of equal opportunity hiring laws and other relevant regulations in the areas they recruit. And avoiding legal pitfalls is a sure way to protect your company’s reputation in the marketplace.

These are just a few of the key training topics that can elevate your corporate recruiting team’s skills. By making training an ongoing commitment, companies can ensure recruiters have the tools and knowledge they need to attract, assess, and secure the best talent.

For more discovery on this topic, read Indeed’s, “11 Tips for Training Recruiters” or Finn Bartram’s, “Top  15 Recruiter Certifications“.  Let me know your thoughts!  What other training topics are important for improving recruiting skills? Share your experiences by commenting on this article or feel free to reach out to me directly with any comment/questions.