Over the last few months, I have noticed an uptick in the lack of research that is being done by Sourcers at the onset of a job search. It is vitally important as a Sourcer that we complete this initial research for a successful strategy. This means doing research: organizational charting, researching leaders within the organization, competitors in the marketplace, what companies are presently looking for the same requirement, etc. The “hunt” begins …
Influences of Workload
The drop in upfront research can be attributed to workload . With the increase of Recruiter workload, many with a req load of 45+jobs, there is more weight being placed on the Sourcer to assist. With many having a req load of 20 Sourcing reqs opened, an even greater strain is being placed on the request being more involved in the end to end recruitment process. Instead of sourcing and providing candidates to the Recruiter, the Sourcer is being tasked with interviewing candidates and providing written submissions which in many cases are shared directly with the hiring manager. Interviewing candidates have become the request of the Sourcer, which in turn leads the Sourcer to be on phone screens lasting an average 45 minutes.
Have We Lost Track of What Sourcing Really Is?
I recently did a survey to see what the average req load is for those working in a Sourcing capacity. My discovery, an astounding req load figure of 19 active req’s, with a difficulty level of medium to hard. Of this req load of 19 reqs, 70% of Sourcer’s were phone screening candidates for the Recruiters, and submitting directly to the Hiring Manager which led them to be more involved in HM meetings. See anything wrong with this picture?
So I answer my question, have we lost track of what Sourcing really is?? Absolutely. With high Souricng req loads and an increase of Sourcer phone interview and hiring manager involvement, Sourcers do not have the time to spend doing what they do best, research. We need to get back to our roots!
So Just How Do We Get Back To Our Roots?
Aside from the obvious, (speaking up and letting leadership know that there is some value lost when we cannot effectively spend time completing upfront research), we need to think about utilizing tools for efficiency to make the time needed.
Social media seems to be the best way to get our message across to qualified candidates who approach us. My favorite is utilizing Bitly campaigns where I can use analytics tools to track the number of clicks that I have to see if candidates are engaged, and tweak appropriately. HiringSolved is another example of an efficient tool working as an all-encompassing source, combining information from multiple resources; resumes, social profiles, groups to reduce time spent sourcing separate multiple sources.
