With over 25 years of experience, Amy Arenz, Founder & CEO of Concero, is a national leader in the Recruitment Industry.
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I first understood the value of transparency while facing a tough crowd of sales executives, having to explain my recruiting activities despite having zero candidates to present. What helped me out was the proactive approach I developed early in my career of recording tangible proof of my efforts.
Beyond providing evidence of work done, this kind of process transparency helped establish the trust necessary for truly open dialogue with those executives. Being honest in this way helps reinforce accountability and inform high-level hiring strategies beyond filling holes in the roster.
Transparency in recruitment partnerships benefits everyone. From the recruiter’s perspective, gaining details about a company’s track record in a certain market or the real reasons roles haven’t been filled is invaluable to honing strategies and engaging talent. As the client, learning about a recruiting firm’s approach to generating interest in positions, its cadence of outreach and the robustness of its reporting can reveal the caliber of potential hiring processes.
For companies sizing up recruiting solutions, an early commitment to verifiable transparency from potential partners will be an indicator of a healthy, fruitful relationship to come.
Expectations set the tone.
Telling the truth is hard. However, I believe that being forthright and direct about things upfront is the only way to get the best results. One lesson I've learned during my recruiting career is that overly ambitious people-pleasing can backfire in a hurry when they don't deliver on those promises.
Simply put, transparency means honesty and communication. When engaging with recruitment firms or specialists, have discussions about realistic, practical expectations. It may feel uncomfortable, but I’ve had many clients express gratitude for straightforward reality checks that are far more refreshing—and helpful—than lofty targets and polished presentations. Honest assessments reveal long-term intentions of getting real results and can alleviate doubts.
Pull back the curtain.
Commitments are great. Built-in mechanisms are better. Transparency doesn’t have to be complicated; the basic candidate information I stored in my earliest humble spreadsheets still lays the foundation of the data I track with the most sophisticated CRM software.
The differentiating factor between raw numbers and impactful insights lies in whether the data tells a story. During regular touch points with your recruiting partner, such as weekly meetings, any comprehensive reporting shared should help bring to light important trends, like whether regional talent pools drying up or if uncertainty in labor markets is leading to passive talent staying in current roles.
An even more reliable way to filter out good data from fluff is to see if the numbers tell a story over time. For instance, if a recruiting firm shares with you that they’ve engaged 100 candidates from the outset, they should be able to report on each of those prospects' status as they progress through the pipeline. Akin to blockchain technology, data provenance delivers traceable accountability.
Crucially, rich data paints an accurate picture of markets and gets to the why behind patterns. Transparent reporting that includes feedback from candidates can reveal important knowledge about your hiring processes, like dissonant brand messaging that isn’t landing, misaligned compensation and benefits packages or even an underperforming hiring manager who's blowing up the entire process.
Be collaborative as you (re)calibrate.
Recruiting as a service that embraces transparency has the potential to yield results far beyond placing candidates. When parties mutually divulge critical information right off the bat, a consultative partnership is initiated. Extending that relationship to the recruiting process, the regular exchange of updates and ideas may uncover improvements that can equate to faster hires or pivoting the game plan altogether.
When you allow a recruiting partner to fully grasp your company’s culture and vision early on, it empowers them to act as an advocate in the marketplace. For example, you might decide to tweak the timing of an offer if the ideal candidate shares with a trusted recruiter that an upcoming wedding is affecting their decision. Other candidate feedback could show that requests for an extensive personality test early in the intake process are stalling momentum. Executing a talent search in a mindful way can boost word-of-mouth inquiries for positions and strengthen brand identity in an industry where reputation is paramount.
Meaningful success comes from doing what's right, not what’s easy. Stepping into challenging conversations early and often, especially when partnering with external providers, will help any organization make the most informed decisions possible and lean to sustainable success.
I’m passionate about transparency because it reflects my values, and it’s the best way I know to conduct business with confidence and integrity. Laying out your cards doesn’t mean giving away secrets. It can mean revealing your strengths.
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