Cronyism in recruiting: is it possible to deceive the employer?

3.10.2020

The main recruiting agency in Ukraine is young people working in the field from 2 to 10 years. They know the labor market well, understand the average level of wages and the likelihood of finding a job for one of the best companies in the country. As a rule, they are good psychologists, which, theoretically, could help their friends without the necessary competencies to happen to be “in the right place, at the right time.”

But will this work in practice?

According to the contract between the recruiting agency and the customer company, the average duration of the trial period is from 1 month. This means that the suitability of the candidate will be tested directly in the working environment for at least 4 weeks, after which the recruiter will receive feedback from the client and payment for the work. But it is important not to forget about the service period, namely another 2-3 months, during which even the most cunning employee runs the risk of being caught in the absence of knowledge and skills.

What happens next? The employee is fired, and the recruiter is looking for a replacement for free. Only this time the client will be more picky and attentive to the work of the recruitment manager.

Conclusion: for serious posts with a salary higher than the market, such risks have no prospects either for the applicant, or for the recruiter, or for the executing company.

On the other hand, there is a recommendation recruiting method. In Europe, almost 40% of vacancies are closed in this way, because no one knows the project inside as well as its participants. Therefore, employers do not see anything bad in finding good specialists among friends of their staff and recruiters. Moreover, in the IT sector, it is customary to give a reward for assistance in closing a vacancy on your own.

What is important to know and do to the employer so that he is not deceived:

• come to terms with the fact that such a method of staff selection is not suitable for all posts (branch managers still should not be looked through through his future subordinates – there is a risk of bias, underestimation of indicators, etc.);
• to check whether the conditions inside the company really correspond to the market ones, because if the company “sags”, for example, in the quality of social packages, then most likely, instead of the joy of closing the vacancy, the anger of word of mouth will fall on the company;
• create a working unique algorithm for checking the quality of candidates: test task, situation modeling, etc.
• anyway, on their own to monitor the labor market in order to have an idea of ​​the real needs of worthy candidates.

Summing up, it is worth recalling one unconditional plus of сronyism recruiting – the creation of a truly friendly, trusting atmosphere within the team. Indeed, knowing each other, employees will be more open and more root for the results of team work.