How to motivate a recruiting team
Recruitment is a highly competitive environment – within your agency and in the marketplace.
Whether you are leading the agency or a team of consultants, recruiters and/or resources, you’ll occasionally have your skills tested. This circles back to the agency’s culture, approach, resilience and communication. Your team(s) are looking for leaders, and now again, will need an ‘arm around the shoulder’ to provide a pick-me-up. When things are going the way of your colleagues, sometimes they need clear signals that everything will be OK.
Afterall, employees work 20% better when motivated, according to Teamstage*. Yet, motivation is not black and white, and you can’t expect your team to be on top form 100% of the time. But there are strategies that can help you inspire your team and ensure everyone is well looked after.
Why is motivating your team so important in recruitment?
When employees feel motivated, they are likely to work harder, will do a good job and will want more accountability.
And the benefits don’t end there. When employees are motivated, this leads to enhanced levels of productivity in the business, your employer brand is boosted and helps directly in retaining your colleagues and recruiting new members to the business.
How to motivate a recruiting team
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Set expectations
If you’re expecting one thing, but your report(s) delivers something else, you’re not on the same page. Whether it’s weekly, monthly, or during performance reviews, set the ground rules and outline what is expected. This could be a 360-degree conversation so then everyone knows exactly what is required of all parties.
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Invest in employee's professional development
Providing training opportunities – either internal or externally delivered - will help your team’s motivation with the aim of helping performance for the business. Many of your colleagues will feel energised with the identification and delivery of training because they recognise this will assist their performance.
Just by asking your reports what externally delivered training they feel they need will provide motivation in itself. By assessing and communicating what can be delivered is part of managing all stakeholders' expectations.
Internal training could take the form of lunch and learns to leveraging technology to improve performance – sometimes areas the employee is unaware of and where they can enhance their skillset. Access Northstar is a productivity and performance tool that integrates with your CRM, enabling recruitment agencies to turn information into intelligence and data into decisions. This helps your consultants to be more successful every day and enables your business to continue its journey of growth.
Access Northstar is just one product in the portfolio of Access Recruitment; all here to enhance your recruitment agency sustainably, and effectively and build your growth momentum.
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Recognise employee successes
If your direct report(s) perform well and deliver a service above and beyond the call of duty, by giving a shout-out to their efforts in front of colleagues or privately will put them on cloud nine and encourage them to continue their excellent progress.
Additionally, recognising personal landmarks like birthdays and taking time to find out about them will make them feel valued, welcomed, and embedded.
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Be flexible
Work is an important part of our lives, but sometimes a little flexibility goes a long way. If a family member is ill, being flexible to let your colleague care for them or allowing an extended lunch or leaving work for reasons other than work will be recognised by your colleagues and again build loyalty and a motivation to help their employer build.
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Put time in the diary
No one wants meetings that are unnecessary, but scheduling team meetings and one-2-one's, shows you are supporting them and giving all parties an opportunity to check in and talk through challenges and what is going well. This also helps communication flow, keeps everyone in touch, and fosters a healthy team ethic.
Take the time to understand the level of contact each team member needs. No one wants a manager who’s checking up on them every five minutes, but it’s important you know how your team is faring – this is motivational in itself and comes back to setting expectations.
How to manage a team of recruiters?
No one ever said this was easy and challenges could vary from day to day. However, a healthy mix of the tips of the above, as well as factoring in socialising to build team spirit helps instill team togetherness, loyalty, and motivation.
By involving your team on your business' journey, consulting them on items such as tech or process change, and encouraging the building of personal brands demonstrates a willingness to let your consultants' personal and professional development growth for your agency’s ultimate benefit.
Listening and communicating effectively ultimately establishes firm foundations that many revel in.