Tag: sourcing

Fraction Talent Acquisition and how you can maximize results without breaking the bank.

Unlocking Growth and Flexibility: The Power of Fractional Talent Consultants

Posted on by The Organic Recruiter in Uncategorized

In today’s fast paced business environment, flexibility is the key to success. Whether you’re a growing startup or an established enterprise, access to top talent is critical for sustained growth. But hiring a full-time talent acquisition professional can be costly. Enter Fractional Talent Acquisition Consultants, an innovative solution offering companies the expertise of recruitment professionals without the overhead of a full-time salary. Let’s explore how this benefits both consultants and companies and dive into other fractional roles that can bring immense value to any business.

The Consultant’s Advantage

For consultants, working in a fractional capacity offers several attractive benefits:

  1. Diverse Client Portfolio: By working with multiple companies across various industries, consultants can leverage diverse insights and remain agile in their approach to problem-solving.
  2. Enhanced Work-Life Balance: Fractional work provides flexibility, enabling consultants to take on projects that align with their schedule and personal life.
  3. Increased Earning Potential: Working on multiple projects at once often results in higher overall income potential compared to a traditional full-time role.
  4. Expanding Skills: Exposure to different companies’ cultures, tools, and hiring needs allows consultants to continuously sharpen their skills.
  5. Authority in the Field: As fractional consultants are typically engaged for their specific expertise, this role positions them as a trusted advisor in the realm of talent acquisition and recruiting.

The Company’s Advantage

On the other side, companies gain immense value from hiring fractional consultants:

  1. Cost Efficiency: Hiring a full-time talent acquisition professional can strain budgets, especially if the demand for recruitment fluctuates. A fractional consultant allows companies to only pay for services when needed, making it a more cost-effective solution.
  2. Access to Expertise: Fractional consultants bring deep expertise to the table, having worked across multiple sectors. This often leads to faster, more effective recruiting and onboarding processes.
  3. Scalability: Fractional consultants can adapt to your needs, whether that means scaling up recruitment during a busy hiring season or scaling down during slower periods.
  4. Reduced Overhead: No need to worry about benefits, paid time off, or other full-time employee perks, which can significantly lower overall costs.
  5. Faster Hiring Process: With the ability to source, recruit, and onboard top talent efficiently, fractional talent acquisition professionals reduce time-to-fill, helping your business meet its goals sooner.

How Fractional Talent Acquisition Consultants Help

Fractional Talent Acquisition Consultants provide the full spectrum of recruitment services:

  1. Sourcing & Recruiting: Consultants use proprietary tools, advanced sourcing strategies, and techniques to identify top talent, ensuring your company gets the best candidates quickly.
  2. Recruitment Process Optimization: Consultants streamline the recruitment pipeline, from posting the job to final offer, cutting unnecessary steps and reducing time-to-hire by up to 25% or more.
  3. Onboarding: The role doesn’t stop at hiring; onboarding is also a critical function that fractional consultants can manage, ensuring new hires are smoothly integrated into your organization.
  4. Technology Integration: Consultants bring knowledge of the latest AI-driven technologies, reducing recruitment spend and increasing applicant flow.

Other Fractional Roles Your Company Can Benefit From

Fractional work isn’t limited to talent acquisition. Here are other high-value fractional roles companies should consider:

  1. Fractional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO): Perfect for companies needing marketing leadership without a full-time commitment, fractional CMOs can develop and execute marketing strategies aligned with growth objectives.
  2. Fractional Chief Financial Officer (CFO): Managing budgets, financial planning, and growth strategies are crucial, but hiring a full-time CFO may not always be feasible. A fractional CFO provides strategic financial insights when needed.
  3. Fractional Chief Technology Officer (CTO): For companies navigating complex tech landscapes, a fractional CTO offers technology leadership to drive innovation, enhance product development, and implement tech strategies.
  4. Fractional Sales Leader: When sales strategy and leadership are key but you don’t need a full-time executive, a fractional sales leader can improve revenue streams while maintaining flexibility in the workforce.
  5. Fractional HR Consultant: These consultants offer strategic HR services, including talent management, employee engagement, and compliance, without the cost of a full-time HR department.
  6. Fractional Operations Manager: Focuses on process optimization, scaling operations, and driving efficiency, especially useful during periods of rapid growth or restructuring.
  7. Fractional Sales Directors
    Helps develop and implement sales strategies, mentor teams, and boost revenue growth on a project or part-time basis, enhancing sales performance without committing to a full-time role.
  8. Fractional Digital Marketing Experts
    Manages digital campaigns, SEO, and social media strategies, enabling companies to enhance their online presence and drive traffic without the overhead of an in-house team.

The rise of fractional talent, particularly in talent acquisition, provides a win-win for both consultants and businesses. Companies gain access to high-level expertise without breaking the bank, while consultants enjoy flexibility, diverse opportunities, and competitive pay. In a world where agility and cost-effectiveness are paramount, embracing fractional roles is a smart strategy for forward-thinking organizations.

Considering fractional support for your business? Get in touch to discover how a Fractional Talent Acquisition Consultant can transform your hiring process, or explore how other fractional roles can boost your company’s success.

Now you might ask how can I sell this up the ladder? A Fractional Talent Acquisition model can benefit a wide range of companies and fit various business scenarios. Below are common scenarios and target companies that would benefit most from adopting this model:

Scenarios for Fractional Talent Acquisition

  1. Scaling Startups
    • Scenario: Startups experiencing rapid growth need to hire quickly but cannot afford full-time HR staff or recruiters.
    • Why Fractional Works: A fractional talent acquisition consultant can manage high-volume hiring efficiently without the long-term financial commitment.
  2. Project-Based Hiring
    • Scenario: Companies with short-term projects or contracts require specific skills on a temporary basis.
    • Why Fractional Works: Consultants provide agile support by sourcing and hiring talent for temporary or contract roles, saving the company from hiring full-time staff for short-term needs.
  3. Expansion into New Markets
    • Scenario: Companies expanding into new geographical regions or markets need local talent quickly.
    • Why Fractional Works: A consultant experienced in various markets can handle recruitment efficiently, tailoring the process to the specific needs of new regions.
  4. Seasonal Hiring Peaks
    • Scenario: Industries with seasonal spikes in demand (e.g., retail, hospitality) often need to scale up their workforce for a short period.
    • Why Fractional Works: A consultant can manage the seasonal surge in recruitment needs, ensuring the company is adequately staffed without long-term payroll obligations.
  5. Internal Recruitment Overload
    • Scenario: Internal HR or recruitment teams are overwhelmed by multiple open positions and high hiring demand.
    • Why Fractional Works: A fractional consultant can step in to relieve pressure on internal teams, handling the overflow and enabling quicker placements.
  6. Niche or Executive Hiring
    • Scenario: Companies need to hire specialized talent or fill executive-level roles, which requires a targeted search and niche expertise.
    • Why Fractional Works: Fractional consultants often have experience in specialized areas, making them ideal for niche or senior-level hiring, without the hefty fees associated with traditional headhunters.
  7. Company Reorganization or Restructuring
    • Scenario: Companies going through restructuring or downsizing still need to hire selectively but can’t justify a full-time talent acquisition team.
    • Why Fractional Works: Fractional consultants provide flexible and cost-effective recruitment services during periods of uncertainty or transition.
  8. New Product Launches
    • Scenario: Companies launching new products or services may require specific talent quickly to meet development or sales deadlines.
    • Why Fractional Works: A fractional consultant can quickly source talent in product development, marketing, and sales to ensure the successful launch.
  9. Limited Recruitment Budget
    • Scenario: Small to mid-sized companies need to hire strategically but face tight recruitment budgets.
    • Why Fractional Works: Hiring a fractional consultant helps companies optimize their recruiting processes at a lower cost, providing expertise without the overhead of a full-time salary.
  10. Crisis or Emergency Hiring
    • Scenario: In case of unexpected departures or urgent hiring needs, companies must quickly replace critical staff.
    • Why Fractional Works: Fractional consultants can mobilize quickly, filling roles without the delays of a full-time hiring process, and minimizing disruption.

The Fractional Talent Acquisition model is a powerful solution for companies looking to scale quickly, manage short-term hiring needs, or optimize their recruiting process without overcommitting financially. Whether it’s tech startups, retail businesses, or healthcare organizations, fractional consultants offer expertise, flexibility, and efficiency that traditional hiring models cannot match.

By embracing this approach, companies can stay nimble, reduce costs, and hire the right talent at the right time.

#FractionalConsultant #TalentAcquisition #BusinessGrowth #FractionalHiring #Recruiting #HR #CostSavings #BusinessStrategy #FlexibleWork

A Speedy Sourcer’s Guide To Conquering The Intake Session

Posted on by The Organic Recruiter in Hiring, Interviewing, Latest News and Articles, Tools, Uncategorized

There are many ways companies want to set up their processes to find the right people. From finding the people,to who talks to them first and how many people are in the interview process. One thing is for sure, you need to hire people. So why is it taking so dang long? This is the first time I read an article from Nicole Nespeca and I find myself to be in love with what she has to say about sourcing.

Time to fill is taking far too long. You can blame it on the supply (just ask me for supply and demand information), the economy or even the election for some weird reason. But I think it is time for some reflection and accountability that you are just getting in your own way.

Let’s look at the 5 techniques Nicole has put in front of us and see if that makes it easier for you to make that sound decision quicker.

~ The Organic Recruiter

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By  Sourcecon

Now that the election is over, we no longer have to listen to donkeys or elephants. However, if you are a sourcing professional, you probably don’t mind purple squirrels and pink elephants and the PETA-approved hunt. Consequently, you will need to do the quintessential intake session and must prove just how valuable you are to your company’s talent acquisition team.

So where do you start? Should you read the job description first and start researching, or wait until you speak to with the hiring manager? Every recruiting paradigm is different and therefore will continue to shift. Some talent acquisition teams have intakes between the sourcer and the hiring manager and some are with the aligned recruiter only. The most advantageous are with the hiring manager and recruiter as it’s more streamlined. Anticipating the needs of your hiring manager and/or aligned recruiter is crucial to your success in finding the right candidate.

Here are five speedy techniques a sourcer can do to master the intake meeting.

  1. Forget about refreshing your Facebook page every two minutes, you need to research as quickly as possible before the intake session. I recommend focusing on market intelligence, specific demographic candidate pools, and the potential difficulty of the search.

Primarily, you must research the demographic of the open position as well as the candidate supply and demand. You can get this free data from Salary.com, Glassdoor or just by using a search engine. You want to know what the market looks like. Research this before the intake so you can speak to the statistics of the candidate pool and how you will circumvent any supply challenges. You want to come to the intake session armed with as much information as possible. This leads to my second action you should as a subset of research.

  1. Remember the old adage “In a race, I never look back?” Well, ironically it’s just as important when knowing your competitor.

Know your competitors and the market intelligence of the industry you are hiring for.  Sourcers are quick studies. They are fast and know how to speed read. One must be able to do this expediently prior to the intake session. Understanding the back story is pertinent to the search. You will impress the hiring manager and recruiter alike if you know what companies are downsizing candidates that could fit into the open opportunity. Furthermore, gaining knowledge as to where to find untapped talent is paramount.

  1. Use past resumes to source candidates in the future. Nothing compares to reading a resume in terms of learning about a person.

Once I reviewed a resume that had “Atari” as a skill. Until I saw that, the candidate looked like a match for the open requisition. You need to see resumes of previous candidates to succeed in a hire. Consequently, please get the resume of the person in the position being filled and read it carefully. Use the keywords in that resume to make Boolean searches and resume matches on social media. If the hiring manager or recruiter doesn’t have the resume, you can usually find it in your company’s ATS. If it’s a new position and therefore no resume exists, ask the hiring manager what keywords you should look for in your search and where the hiring manager has hired from previously in terms of competing companies to your own.

  1. Lighten your link’s load. It only takes two seconds to make a Bitly.

Every sourcer should construct a Bitly link because it makes campaign drivers and website pages much shorter for sharing on social, email, and SMS and directs applicants to an application typically. I highly recommend you write a catchy social media blurb to drive prospective candidates to your open requisition. When speaking with your hiring manager and recruiter on the intake you should share the blurb you will use on social media and ask them to share the same blurb. Leveraging another’s network is significant in giving visibility to the open requisition.

  1. “Organizations, schools and trade shows…oh my” as I say in my best Wizard of Oz impression.

When summarizing the job on the intake, make sure you ask about any organizations, schools or trade shows the team hiring might belong too. Part of being a good sourcer is uncovering lists of candidates online from job fairs or symposiums for example. In order to find these types of lists, you must delve deep into the hiring manager’s repertoire. Also, connect on LinkedIn with your hiring manager. Not only is doing so good for building a relationship, but it also allows you to see your hiring manager’s connections which could yield a hire.

Researching fast prior to your intake will help you establish credibility right away with your hiring manager and recruiter. You must perform this due diligence in order to be effective in hiring. Coming to the intake already understanding some of the challenges involved and then sharing resolutions to circumvent these issues will impress on the intake. Coming prepared is tantamount to being a successful sourcer. And all triumphant sourcers study and educate themselves on each position they recruit for. I hope these five tips will help you nail your next intake and if you can get a hold of an old Atari to play after a hard search, even better.

The 1%ers and Their Poetic Sourcing – My SourceCon 2016 Experience

Posted on by The Organic Recruiter in Employment Value Proposition, Hiring, Interviewing, Latest News and Articles, New Job

 

hackathonOn a very poetic weekend for this Los Angelino as our greatest baseball announcer was sent off to retirement from 67 glorious years of telling stories like no one’s business; he is sent off with a walk-off home run.

This gives me joy as I am here to write about a bunch of other all-stars from the recruiting and sourcing world of which I work with daily. Last week I had the great fortune to go to SourceCon for my second time in as many years. I got there, not as a vendor, but as a user. You see, I spent nearly a decade as an IT recruiter in the staffing world and always* believe once a recruiter, always a recruiter (*if you stay up on your game). So my goal, when I left and started selling recruitment services was to always recruit and stay fresh on my game.

Being a rep that touts free recruiting tools and ideas to their clients seems counterproductive, however I feel it lends credibility and confidence in what I sell as well. So suggesting for the last 5 years to my clients they should attend SourceCon has been a no-brainer to me. Now having been the last 2 years, I can tell you these sourcers are the 1%ers in our industry.

The last 2 years have confirmed I am still on my game but what some of the things these guys and gals pull off is just amazing. I affectionately call these 1%ers the Ultimate Geek Squad. From tools to tricks to Chrome extensions, they have it all plugged in. Admittingly, they do say they use media, job ads and databases, just a lot smarter and don’t depend on the post and pray model of sitting around ands waiting for candidates to flow in as they want to beat you to the rock stars.

Kerri Mills from Indeed was one of my favorites (yes, I loved one of my competitors). Six Secrets to Sourcing Like a Grandmaster was well…masterful. Her ideas of hyper-personalization should be locked in your brain forever, even after (gawd-forbid) you leave recruitment. This idea is “stop templating your messages”. Find out more about your candidate and make them feel like they are the only one you want to hire EVER. She is not saying she does not use templates. You just don’t know it because she is a poet to what she knows about you.

So as I sit here and romanticize the similarities of the Ultimate Geek Squad and their correlations with the great athletes and play by play announcers (like I have been spoiled with like Chick Hearn and Vin Scully of the LA great), I want the world to know that recruiting isn’t, “where are my resumes” or “I pass” with no explanation. Rather, it is all about these ridiculously talented sourcers who find these amazing people and transform them into even better candidates. Like Kerri spoke of when she said, “oops, I got lazy and did not pick up the phone to her hiring manager to which he said I pass”. Then Kerri, who knew this candidate better than anyone, refused to lose this rock star and called the hiring manager and said, “no, you are not going to pass…you will interview him for the reasons of…”. The candidate turned into a hire because Kerri was the grandmaster that knew WHY her candidate was amazing.

Fast forward to the evening Hackathon (dang late after a long conference day) where the eager and the best of the best converge on a challenge to be the next Grandmaster by competing on a req challenge merely to get to the best 16 in the room and eventually the best of 2016. It was awesome to see all these brains get together to geek out to see the best chance to find best 6 candidates and their search strings first. From that point, the 16 are found and hardly anyone left in anticipation for who was to win.

My reason for this part is not who won but the fun of open-source recruiting and how passionate these competitors were. The fact that each person had so much love and so many people wanting to help, it brought back the feeling of love for the game and how fun it is to win as a team and willingness to receive input from others. Recruitment is a team sport and we forget that when our hiring managers are hounding us for “more resumes”. Remember, we at SourceCon are the 1%ers, not coordinators slinging resumes. We have passion for geeking out to find the best PERSON for the job, not as many resumes to get the hiring managers off our backs.

Day one is not over as I haven’t talked about the networking. LinkedIn in is the online professional network of choice, but meeting my sourcing heroes like Shannon Pritchett, Editor, SourceCon, ERE Media, Stacy Zaper, Netflix and Dean Da Costa, The Search Authority to name a short few was priceless. You can have 3,000 connections on LI but talking to these greats just makes it worth it.

As we go into day 2, my favorite speakers were Jenny DeVaughn, Senior Director, Internal Communications, ADP and Maisha Cannon, Global Talent Strategist, GitHub whose presentation on From E! To Google – Missteps, Metrics and Methods just had me at the edge of my seat.

First, let’s talk about Jenny and the idea of taking a chance.  Jenny’s story about ‘do what you want to do at whatever cost’ was hitting me right in the heart through her presentation of Learn From My Mistakes – Don’t Be a Basic ‘Brander’. Her story as a single mom and taking chance was exhilarating because no one with little support can take a plunge into independence. Yes she now works for a huge company, but the fact she tried her own thing was pure inspiration.

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Lastly, there was Maisha who was truly a treat and so warm on stage talking about a common theme of being unique and personal. To borrow one of her acronyms of ADD, be authentic, different and delightful of which she was to an exponential degree.  Going back to one of my initial thoughts of people aren’t resumes, Maisha focuses on knowing these candidates and equally important, having the hiring managers on strategy sessions (you call them intakes) and making sure the hiring manager is engaged weekly. To quote her reply to my tweet from her, “Craig. If the HM [hiring manager] says 45M a week, it’s a good time to say…We have a problem.”

In closing, my take-away from SourceCon and the great athletes and sports announcers of old is let’s respect the people that have laid the foundation, work on making it greater through open-source and always remember, candidates aren’t resumes, it’s the story you learn about your candidate that is poetry to the candidate and hiring manager. Let’s follow the steps of the great Vin Scully after 67 years of poetry for the Dodgers and make all our players legendary.

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Some Special connections I made and you should too:

~The Organic Recruiter