Quit Recruiting Like You're Dilbert's Evil Boss

“Our employees are our most valuable asset” –Every CEO ever Yes, it’s corporate-speak. But there’s a reason LinkedIn’s CEO Jeff Weiner repeats “Talent is our #1 priority” at every all-hands meeting, and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt wrote “Never forget that hiring is the most important thing you do”. They know the same thing: you simply can’t win without exceptional talent. Yet when it comes to recruiting, most companies seem like they’re run by Dilbert’s evil boss: Sure, most recruiting teams run a basic referrals program. But it’s another thing to recruit like your employees – and their personal and professional networks – are truly your most valuable recruiting asset. The companies that systematically tap their employees to power the entire recruiting process will win the war for talent. Why? Consider the following scenario: You and a competitor – let’s call them Acme Co. – both need software engineers. You’re both doing everything in the playbook to attract candidates: posting ads on job boards, sponsoring content to showcase your cultures, asking employees to write positive reviews, and pursuing passive candidates with direct outreach. In the recruiting arms race, you’re in a standoff. There’s an all-star engineer, Rachel, who you both want to hire. Rachel already knows people at both of your companies. She’s not actively looking to make a career change. She hasn’t viewed either of your jobs, or clicked on either of your ads. A recruiter on your team finds Rachel’s LinkedIn profile and sends her an InMail. And then they wait. A recruiter at Acme Co. also finds Rachel’s profile, and immediately they see she is connected to four current Acme Co. employees.  Rather than reaching out to Rachel with a cold call, they ask those employees for background.  It turns out two them used to work with Rachel, and both confirm she’d be a great fit for the role. Another went to college with her and mentions she’s a new mom. The fourth, Tom, is a good friend and has plans to catch up with Rachel over coffee later in the week. Tom asks how he can help. Armed with this network-based knowledge, Acme Co.'s recruiter asks Tom to see if Rachel would be open to a conversation – and to mention Acme Co.’s great work-life benefits, including their daycare reimbursement program. A few days later, Tom connects Rachel to the recruiter to pick up the conversation. Your recruiters didn’t know Rachel was connected to several of your employees, and those employees didn’t know your recruiters were interested in hiring her. Rachel doesn’t learn about your equally great work-life benefits over coffee with a close friend.  She doesn't get a warm introduction to the recruiter.  Instead, when she sees their InMail, she makes a mental note to respond at some point… and then flips back to her email. Who’s more likely to hire Rachel, you or Acme Co.? Now scale this out. Your employees connect you to thousands of potential hires like Rachel. But your approach to tapping those networks is ad hoc, whereas your competitors have invested in systems to scour their employees’ networks for every open role, across every function, in every location around the world. Their recruiters hardly ever send cold InMails anymore; they usually connect to candidates through warm introductions. I know you laughed at that Dilbert cartoon. But you are the evil boss. You say your employees are your most valuable asset, but when push comes to shove, you’re recruiting with money and carbon paper. If you want to win the war for talent – if you want to win, period – you need to start recruiting like your employees are your most valuable asset.