Decreasing Recruiter Turnover

By: Michelle J. Spellerberg
Date: 1/1/2007

Recruiter turnover in the staffing industry is high. In fact, according to the American Staffing Association, the most recent turnover rate for recruiters performing temporary and contract recruiting was 41 percent. This is a critical issue considering that vacant positions can translate to slow placements, lost deals, lost candidates, and recruiter on-boarding costs. Staffing is a relationship-based business. When clients and candidates continually bounce from recruiter to recruiter, you must rebuild these relationships.

Blueprint the Best
The first step in decreasing recruiter turnover is to track hiring metrics. Track the companies and industries from which your recruiters are coming as well as their previous positions. Track the source of hire, such as outside or inside referral, job board, or industry network. Identify time-to-hire trends among long-term and short-term employees. Once you can spot the difference between what leads to a long-term top performer and a short-term employee, you can start "smart recruiting" by searching for candidates with similar backgrounds. Essentially, this process will help you create a blueprint for a perfect hire.

Provide the Right Tools
Once you know how to find the perfect hire, provide your employees with the technology tools they need for not only sourcing, but also tracking candidates. These tools are essential to help recruiters succeed in their jobs and make as many placements as possible. Having the right software can increase productivity; set the right priorities on projects; prevent knowledge loss when a recruiter does leave, and help maintain communication with customers and candidates. Applicant tracking systems, customer-relationship management tools, and even job boards can provide you with tools that automatically send emails, resumes or reminders.

But, having a recruitment system in place doesn't guarantee your recruiters are using it correctly or to its fullest extent. Provide entry-level and advanced training on your software. Many applicant tracking systems and job boards offer free training if you simply call your account manager and ask for help. The more your recruiters can use automated tools to get their work done, the more time they can spend interviewing candidates and grabbing new business.

Invest in Your People
Once your recruitment systems are in place, look to your internal culture to make changes. Recruiters tend to have a high burnout rate. Take note of this and give your employees what they need to de-stress; continue their education, and move up the corporate ladder.

Especially in demanding niche industries, the recruiter position can be a high-stress one. Offer bonuses such as exotic trips so recruiters who meet their quotas get the time off they deserve. Provide flexible schedules for top performers and set a formal vacation plan for all employees.

Next, invest in your employees' education. By providing onthe- job and outside training opportunities, you can actively engage your workforce and improve your business. If you have a recruiter who shows great potential, but needs help understanding your customers' business needs, register him or her in a business class or seminar. Register your top recruiters for staffing conferences where they can learn from industry experts and come back energized with new ideas for your firm.

Last, if your recruiters feel that being in a recruiting position means they are in a dead-end job, create a formal career progression for this position. Ensure your recruiters will always know what the next step is and how to get there. Whether you do this by creating different levels of recruiters or by providing paths into management it is up to you, but all employees need something to strive toward.

Track Performance Trends
Once you have made changes to your culture, the next step is to pay attention to on-the-job performance and look for patterns. Determine how many requisitions each recruiter filled per month; the average time-to-hire for the recruiters' placements, and the average additional business brought in by each recruiter. The more job-related data you can track, the more likely you will be to find patterns that will tell you what makes a good recruiter, and where you can find these workers. These statistics will also help you find the recruiters who need help and more training to be successful.

Conduct Exit Interviews
The final step in reducing recruiter turnover is determining the reason behind it. Conduct exit interviews with all your recruiters, encouraging them to be candid with their answers and assuring them their responses will remain confidential. Ask them why they are leaving, where they are going, and how you can improve the position from which the person is leaving. If you are constantly losing recruiters to a competing staffing firm, you need to find out what is pulling your employees away, and make the necessary changes.

Michelle J. Spellerberg is a marketing manager at CareerBuilder.com. She can be contacted at 773.527.3630, or by email at michelle.spellerberg@careerbuilder.com.