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When I first began my recruiting career I had an old school manager that explained to me how the job is really sales and that it is best to view your commodity as being people. I took it for what it was and went on my way to begin building my desk. Sure there were a number of sales techniques that I learned along the way. Some that worked, and others that I need not mention again, but I never lost sight of that people aspect. In fact I would often tell people that my biggest strength in my chosen field was that I was a people person. But what did that really mean? In my mind it was that I brought a compassion, a caring attitude, and a human touch in working with candidates and clients.

Last week a chief executive of Adecco Group addressed an audience at a UK convention warning them that the recruitment process is moving away from human beings.

The worry I have as we move forward is that social media, RPOs and managed service providers are all moving the recruitment process away from human beings.

I know I am not alone in saying that I just do see that being the case. In fact Noel just recently wrote a great post for the doomsayers and this can just be lumped into the mix.  As a recruiter that has worked for one of the nation’s largest staffing firms, and as a recruiter that has worked in small niche firms, the human element is what recruiting is all about. To think that advancements in technology and/or RPOs will remove the human element as the key metric for success is almost silly.

Advancements in technology if anything have only improved my overall efficiency. They in no way diminished my human touch, but rather allowed me to be quicker and more accurate in finding what I needed to find. Social media takes at the very least two to begin the conversation, and if anything it is bringing my human touch into the mix that has taken advantage of these avenues for networking and making connections.

So what am I missing here Mr. CEO (no this is not an Adecco rant- just a generic CEO)? It appears as if the large staffing organizations are most fearful of the direction of the industry. Perhaps their dominate grasp on how they conduct business is really what might be getting squeezed out of today’s recruitment process. From my seat I am just learning, adapting, and moving on.

And I’ll keep my human touch very much in place thank you very much.

Agree? Disagree? What is your take on the human aspect in today’s recruiting? Feel free to continue the conversation in our comment section below.

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Motivation Recruiting Recruiting Advice Staffing
By Tim Spagnola