ROI on hire and retention. It’s frequently a subject of postings in our industry from ERE, to RBC, to FOT, lots of recruiters and talent pros want to figure out how to make those numbers better, some HR pros want to make them at the very least, obvious to the C-level execs.
Well, I’ve figured it out. At least for me. Today. One of the best things about recruiting within the finance industry is that often your “market” or customer is the “employee”. Because of the structure of many IMOs and RIAs, you find yourself understanding with crystal clarity what the value of each “recruit” is. And, far from the dehumanization you would expect, this makes every agent/advisor/customer/employee incredibly valuable.
It’s a philosophy I first heard voiced at this spring’s Kennedy Conference by a young talent acquisition specialist from Whirlpool. Her bit was “Virtually every employee or employee prospect could be a customer”. I imagine most other large companies have the same issue. For one that has done extensive market research, the dollar amount that the company stands to lose by alienating prospective customers with an antiquated and irritating talent pipelining process is usually quantified. This is a good thing. It’s the same in financial services. I do not do direct to consumer but the quantifiable loss of a possible advisor signing on with a company is something that is seen in clear dollars and cents (not just in the present but in the future).
What this seemingly obvious blog post reveals is that you can get really good at recruiting when your customer is your recruit. Your efforts are solely focused on the RIGHT person and making them feel wanted and catering to their needs. It’s not a battle to prove their worth to upper management, it’s all right there in the numbers. Marketing and sales skills can be brought into play on both sides of the equation. Retention and service are elevated to dare I say “humane” levels. And the qualified and sharp talent pro will be watching their direct influence on all of these departments and transactions. The smart talent pro will be writing down metrics in terms of dollars and cents.
At least that’s what I would do. . .
