Knowledge Based Recruitment - A Lean Approach

I know this subject has the potential to sound rather dry, but it is something I’m genuinely passionate about. It’s arguably the most important subject in our industry right now – combining a grown up approach to getting the right resource with the need to save money. The danger is to ramble on about theory without actually achieving anything.


Presenting a Masterclass

Last week I was asked to present a masterclass at a Lean Government event, focusing on cost efficiency and the development of a lean approach to resourcing and recruitment. The challenge was to ensure that the session was informative and left those attending with some practical measures to implement within their own organisations. At the same time, the subject needed to be covered in sufficient depth to do it justice.

After much deliberation, we decided to cover three key areas;

i) Process Efficiency,
ii) Skills Acquisition, and
iii) An Alternative Solution to Consultancies.

Getting the theory out of the way

I’m hoping to give you the same information via this and subsequent blogs, but wanted to set the whole thing up first. So, having said I’d stay away from theory – here’s the theory bit!

It’s just not possible to successfully make your resourcing process ‘leaner’ if you don’t have a relationship that you can rely upon with a recruitment partner (or partners).

What became apparent to me whilst putting the masterclass together was the importance of holding real business relationships in making resourcing leaner and more efficient. It’s just not possible to successfully make your resourcing process ‘leaner’ if you don’t have a relationship that you can rely upon with a recruitment partner (or partners).


Back to basics – a really simple example

Let me explain what I mean. If you need a highly skilled person to come into your business and assist you in delivering a specific objective (whatever your business and whatever the objective) it’s vital that your recruitment process will:

a) deliver someone who can do the job, and ;
b) Deliver someone who is aligned to your strategy - i.e. they share and buy into your vision and are willing to work with you to get there.

Accepting that this underpins the acquisition of critical skills the key question is then - how do you achieve this?


What won’t work...

...picking up the phone to a resourcing or recruitment supplier with whom you have had little or no contact in the past. They don’t know you, they don’t you’re your company and they won’t be aligned to your strategy. At best they’ll be able to provide you with a selection of the most available people who have the skills to do the job – but will they share your business vision?


What will work...

...picking up the phone today and building relationships with recruitment suppliers before you need critical resource. Share your business vision with them, your aims, your objectives and your wildest dreams if that’s what it takes. Then make sure that they are properly connected to the market and will want to share your vision with the best people they know. When the need for skilled resource does arise then your chance of getting someone who is genuinely aligned to your objectives will increase dramatically.


And Finally

It’s likely that you will end up forming a partnership with one or more recruiters. They will be happy to talk through potential requirements, give you a view on the market, or act as an expert sounding board. More importantly, they’ll be motivated to work with you and find you the right person.

Without this approach you’ll run the risk of ending up with a decidedly average solution – and in these ‘lean’ times of efficiency and business change we need to look beyond average.

So, my advice is simple. Develop a relationship of trust with a true recruitment consultant (i.e. a recruitment professional), who will understand your vision, represent you effectively in the market place and use their own relationships to find the best people – preferably before you need them.

Only when you’ve done this are you ready to look at your resourcing process in more detail.

Look out for some practical advice on what to do next in my blogs on ‘Process Efficiency’, ‘Skills Acquisition’, ‘An Alternative Solution to Consultancies’.


Tell us what you think in the comments below, or why not contact me on Twitter @NickWalrond.


"Boxes" Image source: Flickr Creative Commons – (Adam Pieniazek)
"Binoculars" Image source: Flickr Creative Commons - (Paul.Carroll)