The Golden Rule of Recruiting: ABR

Recruiting into your organization goes well beyond the people you hire within. Recruitment also applies to the entire network of influence you inherit and WANT to grow, as great connections and relationships grow business.

Unfortunately, most companies leave their company’s recruitment efforts at the door of HR. Yes, departments have their own relationships, and the right leaders nurture these. Unfortunately, it has come into the common business parlance that companies should “grind their vendors” on price. Unfortunately, this goal also stops the aim of proper recruiting into your organization dead in its tracks. When you always trade on price you are signalling to vendors (and employment candidates and staff) what’s most important to you. If you are prioritizing price over all things, you are also sacrificing the bounty of goodwill with your reputation. Likely, your reputation and your brand rests on ideas of quality, innovation and partnership. Driving everything on the road of price ensures you miss the golden opportunities of committed partners who will go the extra mile.

There is a Golden Rule in life that every three-year-old can comprehend. I propose a Golden Rule for Business, a twist on the sales mantra made famous by Alec Baldwin in the movie Glengarry Glenn Ross. Baldwin told his sales staff to Always Be Closing, ABC. I propose the recruiting mantra, ABR: Always Be Recruiting. Recruiting never ends and treating it with respect across your organization will provide individuals and networks of people who strongly advocate for you because you strongly advocate for them. You are all part of one big team.

Imagine instead that your recruiting efforts aren’t only everything you do inside to ensure you have the right internal teams. Make sure you push these team concepts into the world of business when you’re looking for individuals and companies to support your own goals. You’ll find them much more eager to do all the little thing that make the biggest differences, just by remembering this Golden Rule of Recruiting. It will make your own business more profound every day.

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