As search consultants, all of us have had experiences in dealing with HR departments. Some experiences have been good, others, not so good. In our position, it is imperative to be able to convincingly convey to an HR manager the value of using search versus handling an assignment in-house.

Recently, I was in conversation with a Sr.VP of HR for a major banking institution who discussed an internal hiring strategy for bringing senior level lenders to their organization. The individual hiring managers within the bank were asked by the president to develop lists of individuals at competitor banks that would be likely candidates. The following is an excerpt from a letter I wrote outlining compelling reasons for using our firm over their internal recruiters and why we would have a significantly higher success rate.

1. It is not merely enough to simply contact potential candidates. Is it fair to expect an HR recruiter who has such diverse responsibilities to have the level of expertise necessary to make a presentation that is compelling enough for a qualified candidate who is not looking for a position to consider a move? Will that individual know enough about the candidate's present company to provide comparisons between your bank and the candidate’s bank? Will the HR recruiter be able to "dig" into motivations, aspirations, career goals, etc. to have the candidate even contemplate a job change? 
  
2. When an HR person from your bank calls a potential candidate, a vast number of candidates are fearful of confidentiality. They are not familiar with the caller and immediately have apprehension. Many lenders are aware of me in this market because we have had conversations previously and, in many cases, multiple conversations. There is a level of confidence in sharing information with me as a third party. Many candidates will say "no" to a call coming from your recruiter, when they actually mean "yes" because of fear of reprisal.
 
3. What happens when a potential candidate says "no" for various reasons? Will the HR person know how to turn this around to convince the candidate that some of the candidate's perceptions may be incorrect? I have been dealing with your organization for a considerable time now, having many discussions with executives about dealing with negative perceptions in the marketplace. I have been able to turn a "no" into a "yes" in many situations, and a number of those individuals are now happily employed with your bank.
 
4. When an individual says "no," how hard will the HR recruiter "push" to engage the candidate in dialogue? Do you even want your HR recruiter viewed as aggressive by your competition? This is an extremely candidate-driven market now, and banks are in a frenzy for top talent. Persistence is the key. Will the HR recruiter simply mark the candidate off the list, or will he/she make another call to the same candidate in a few days? What will the HR recruiter say to differentiate your organization in the marketplace? The top candidates in the market receive calls frequently. They are not going to make a move just to make a move. As a veteran in the search field, I can bring the level of expertise needed in the market today.
 
5. How willing will a potential candidate reveal his/her personal information, including true motivation for making a move, troublesome issues within his/her workplace or home life, etc., to an HR person? Will your recruiter even ask questions relative to these issues? Responses by the candidate to these types of direct questions are clear indicators early on whether we can "land" a particular candidate. I do this on a regular basis and am not at all apprehensive about asking tough questions.
 
6. If you engage me on this project, there is a fixed cost associated with bringing top talent to your organization. If you don't, consider the cost of filling your positions with a qualified candidate versus the "best" qualified candidate. The better the candidate, the harder to recruit; there is a higher level of competency needed to recruit the top-tiered candidate. Basically, not all fishermen are the same. Fishermen have different levels of expertise. Some bring in the big fish while others can't.
 
7. Since the HR recruiter will be getting voicemail most of the time, how compelling will his/her voicemail presentation be? What is the likelihood of a return phone call? How persistent will the recruiter be in making contact with the candidate? It is infrequent that I do not receive a return phone call. I would say my average is 95%+.
 
8. When receiving a call from an internal recruiter, many candidates are paranoid that it could be an internal loyalty check. In other words, they think someone within their  organization is trying to obtain information about whether they are considering looking elsewhere.
 
9. How well does the HR recruiter know your geographical marketplace (institutions, practices, issues)? Does he/she have the expertise to engage in complex dialogue with senior level candidates?
 
10. HR recruiters are generalists, placing all types of individuals within banks, including people in administration, finance, retail, etc. My background and expertise is in recruiting potential candidates that are primarily associated with commercial lending who earn salaries of $90,000+. Also, HR recruiters are involved in "passive" recruiting versus "active" recruiting. In addition to their responsibilities in recruiting, they are also involved with many other facets of HR, including EEOC, benefits, etc. It is unrealistic to expect them to be specialists in recruiting individuals within this targeted search in commercial lending.       
 
11. By hiring our firm, you will have consistency of the message in the marketplace from one person (me).                  
             
12. Will the internal recruiter be able to obtain a number of referrals as a result of his/her presentation?
 
13. Our firm can handle this assignment in a very timely manner. My report will be 95% complete within ten working days.