I read with interest the article in your 22 September edition reporting on Suzanne Kallenbach’s recent poll of recruitment consultants and HR managers
I read with interest the article in your 22 September edition reporting on Suzanne Kallenbach’s recent poll of recruitment consultants and HR managers.
Prior to joining the ranks of executive search and selection consultants my career as an active HR professional included a number of years on the IPMA Council (now AHRI) and the conflicting interests of HR practitioners and consultants was the subject of debate on numerous occasions. This isn’t a new issue but it does seem to be gaining significance again.
I have some sympathy with the findings of Ms Kallenbach’s survey although HR practitioners must share some of the responsibility for the survey outcomes. A number of the top 10 irritating things wouldn’t happen if there was a little more consistency and a little more professionalism in the approach to the recruitment process from both sides.
How often do HR managers give the response “we have a national agreement in place” when the reality is that line managers are not bound by this agreement? It’s no wonder that enterprising consultants (who probably depend on commissions to feed their families) bypass HR and go direct. Is it the consultant’s fault that the line manager is prepared to bypass HR?
The recruitment process is one of the most critical areas of HR responsibility, and is increasingly more so in the current environment of near full employment. Before criticising the recruitment consultants it may be more appropriate for the HR profession to ask what it should be doing to improve the performance of recruitment consultants.
The reality is that publishing surveys such as this does little to help improve the situation. After all, isn’t the objective of both sides to match the needs of the company with the needs of the candidate? Whether it be the employment of a managing director or a mailroom supervisor, the objective is the same. HR practitioners and recruitment consultants are actually on the same side although after reading the survey results one could be forgiven for thinking otherwise.
– David Parker, director, Geddes Parker & Partners
