Why Every Recruiter Should Pony Up & Do Some Employee Relations...

My friend Kris has written about how HR people can best align themselves with the business - by always being involved in recruiting. Regardless of what level the HR pro, he argues we should all recruit with his rationale being that if you recruit properly, you are forced to get to know the business very well in order to find the right hire. Makes sense to me. But I was thinking about the opposite of that issue recently. Why shouldn't (more) recruiters be involved in HR and OD? 

I know - some, if not most, recruiters see themselves as being different from better than HR. You don't want the HR taint! Some have questioned whether the recruiting function should report into HR. Recruiting is well liked, even sexy and meanwhile, HR is hated and non-sexy. And I know that people also talk about the death of HR generalists and why they suck. But I'm a recruiter who is more of generalist and does a little bit of all, and was raised as an HR pro (think COBRA, FMLA, W/C, and harassment. Yayyyy!). And I still stand up for the generalist because you basically get to see employees through an entire cycle - recruiting, development, exits whether voluntary or not... but there's also the circle of life with marriages, births and deaths too. And I think this changes how you view employees entirely. 

It's never sat well with me that as a recruiter, it's entirely plausible that you might recruit, recruit, recruit and bring new talent in the door... and then once they've joined your company, you lose touch and no longer have much of a relationship with them. That being said, imagine what kind of lessons a recruiter could learn if they were involved in development or employee relations issues for someone they hired.

When you're involved in employee relations, you see the ugly underbelly of humanity. It's eye opening. You see very clearly when an employee is in the wrong job. You see when personalities clash and maybe someone isn't the right fit for a team or with a particular manager. You see when one's skills fall short of the demands of the job. Sure, sometimes, the environment, the people, the business needs, and the role itself changes, and then the employee seemingly is no longer a good fit. But sometimes, it's also that people are recruited into the wrong roles or into the wrong environment altogether. And when it's realized that the pieces don't fit? Something has to change.

Change can come in the form of looking for a better match for that person's skill set elsewhere in the organization. Change can mean investing in that person's development to make it a better match. But change can also mean seeing someone you recruited leave the organization - whether it's voluntary or not. Each time I sit down for an exit interview, or in the cases where I've been involved in someone's termination, and the departing employee is someone I recruited? In all honesty, I can't help but feel like I've failed in some ways. So, I begin asking myself... where did I go wrong? Why didn't I see this coming? What could I have done differently? And in replacing them, what are my lessons learned? What will I do differently this time? 

Failure is important. It's a great way to learn lessons. And feeling like a failure, as crappy as it can feel, is precisely what makes me try to do better. It's the persistent nagging that the feeling of failure brings that causes me to recruit better. But if you're a true recruiter and do nothing but recruit - I'm not sure you ever get this same opportunity. You have to get exposure to the ugly underbelly of humanity. Employee relations = street cred, friends. 

Editor's Note- Jessica Lee is a Sr. Employment Manager for APCO Worldwide, a global PR firm based in D.C. Like most upscale HR pros, she spends half of her time on recruiting, the other half on ER, Training and OD.  When she's not hammering a candidate to determine Motivational Fit, she's thinking about the future of HR, wondering how she can avoid using the job boards to fill the next spot in her organization and tweeting about all of the afore mentioned on Twitter.

Comments

[Michael VanDervort]

True dat!

[Pete Radloff]

I think in many companies the "recruiting function" is (purposely?)separated from the employee relations function, even though one can't live without the other.

In each recruiter, you have to have a certain "career advisor" aspect to your nature/job. People will eventually seek out your advice, and furthermore, you'll have a good pulse on what is REALLY going on in the organization, aside from just new reqs.

Recruiting is a micro function of recruiting these days, if you catch my drift.

[Rob]

I evolved from a third party recruiter to a corporate recruiter to a recruiting manager and now oversee all talent and development with some ER responsibility. I really enjoy managing the entire employment life-cycle for employees, getting to know them through the recruiting process and then helping them develop and succeed.

While I still struggle with the ER piece (empathy and patience are not my strengths), being involved in that aspect allows me to really get to know people, figure out what makes them tick and then use that information to further guide their development. It has also led me to approach recruiting from a different angle and see things in a way I didn't see previously. I think it has made me a better recruiter because I think through potential scenarios and cultural issues earlier in the process and address them before we make a bad hire. I also have my finger much more on the pulse of what is going on in the organization and can use that to make a better determination of cultural fit.

It has also helped me develop personally and professionally. Through my own leadership development activities I have been focusing on emotional intelligence and other areas where I could stand to improve. Being involved more in ER issues and helping employees through difficult times has helped me grow as a leader.

[Trish McFarlane]

You really hit on something Jessica. Like you, I spent a good portion of my career recruiting and as a HR generalist (although I don't do that now). I can attest to how awful it is to be that cheerleader who brings employees into the company, totally exited about their new career, then have to terminate them a few years later. Street cred is right- being a generalist you definitely see all the good and the bad that an employee goes through in their life cycle with the company. In the same way that a HR generalist can learn about the business quickly by recruiting, a recruiter can also learn about "fit" from doing the generalist role. They go hand in hand. I also give you a TON of credit for still being able to do both. I think that is the hardest job of all. Great post.

[Kelly]

I think it's critically important for all recruiting pro's to have been in the so-called "underbelly". I would say one of my best HR jobs ever was when I was a Recruiter with Employee Relations duties. Truly a situation of "I brought you into this world, and I'll walk you out if I have to". And I did. It's not fun to see your recruit fail, but if they do, it's excellent that the person that brought them in, takes 'em out. It's good to know where people fail. It helps in the next interviewing process and is a great check for making sure the job requirements are crystal clear from the get go.

[jessica lee - fistful of talent]

@pete - i think utilizing recruiters as career advisors once someone is in the door is so smart. who better knows the newly hired employee's skill set and such? i'm amazed that more recruiting folks aren't involved in T&D and career pathing on a greater level.

@rob - great for you. i like hearing about a third party recruiter transitioning into the corporate environment successfully. time is the only thing that makes managing employee relations easier, yeah?

@trish - yay for the generalist! i know we hear about the death of the generalist and how the role is on the way out... but HR pros having that well rounded perspective is so crucial.

@kelly - i know folks think exit interviews are on the way out or purposeless... but the recruiting perspective is one of the things i spend the most time on when doing exit interviews. i want to know what do i need to find as i replace the person.

[Victorio]

Hello,

As a ER Generalist, I'm happy to see my function get some positive recognition. I agree with most of the comments made that performing this function can enhance one's effectiveness at recruiting. The insight gained from one strategic partner (recruiting) should be shared with ER, and vice-versa.

The other reason people should consider ER is that we're the policy police. Especially in this political climate, it's the ER function that has to put together the best approach to legislation that impacts the workplace. If done well, we can have a significant impact on the company's perception in the marketplace.

Thanks for the post Jessica!

[debbie]

great post- with all points-!

Debbie

[Mark]

I worked my way into HR via the recruting track. Recruting has always been an HR function where I come from.

HR is Talent Management, not administration; we market our company's values and culture, we seek out top talent, we embrace them in the organization, we partner with them through the lifecycle, and we shake hands with them as they walk out the door.

Why? Because everyone in the department has a stake. Its called a TEAM, not HR vs Recruiting vs Sales vs...