Will Recruitment Die?

You know you're onto something when you polarise opinions. When people passionately defend a model that they know, deep, deep down, doesn't serve the Customer.

Delulu.

An article on LinkedIn can set off a series of heated debates offline, and so it was last week. The fantastic piece by Trent McLaren on the BS rates that are being quoted for financial Recruitment of mid-level roles for Public Practice at the moment started it all. And it's not just an issue for Accounting firms, it's no better if you are a growing business turning over a few million and need a great Finance hire. It's the same. $30K. $40K. With a one-time special offer – a 3-month replacement free of charge…

For business, there's another headache. At least Accounting firms know what to look for. Most business owners and investors find it very difficult to vet candidates with any sense of confidence that the person they choose to fill such a critical role is a good Match. That the person they've chosen can actually do what they say they can. That they'll gel with the rest of the team. And often this choice is made quickly because any finance role can't stay empty for long without things starting to hurt.

So you'd think that this would be the advantage of going to a recruiter? Not likely. In the ten calls I made to recruiting firms this week for some old-fashioned market research (and some of them were accounting specialists), none of them included technical assessments and/or soft skills/psychological testing as standard. You have to pay extra for that. Or do it yourself. For $30K? A bargain.

I won't repeat elements of the original article featured at The Fir. Still, it's well worth a read and clearly reflects what many people in Public Practice and business more generally are feeling and have felt for decades.

The model's broken.

I've heard the arguments in defence of the sector and the model:

'Look at the value we deliver!'

'Our customers appreciate all the work we do to find them the right candidate. We do things differently!'

'The work we put into this is unseen and easy to dismiss, but you have no idea!'

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of people who see value in their recruiter of choice. The relationship that's been built, and how tirelessly they work to find the right candidate. It's the business model that sits behind Recruitment that sucks. I don't know a single person in the nearly 20 years I've been in business who pays their recruitment invoice with an inner glow of satisfaction.

I thoroughly enjoy reading the work of Greg Savage, who sums up perfectly how AI (the collective term) is going to change the recruitment model in the coming months and years. And he's SO right.

Be warned. The market hates this type of anti-Customer model with a passion. As soon as it can be replaced, it will be. And this time it won't take decades.