Make no mistake, a “war for talent” rages in the U.S. job market and is particularly fierce in the veterinary profession. As of mid-March, the AVMA Veterinary Career Center showed over 1,500 employers trying to fill more than 4,700 jobs. From my experience as a recruiter and search consultant, I can tell you that the market for veterinarians is the tightest it’s been in years. Because of the conditions, now is the time for animal health and veterinary employers to foster collaboration between their internal recruiters and outside recruiting firms.
Unfortunately, an atmosphere of competition sometimes exists between the two sets of people. For example, practice leaders responsible for hiring veterinarians often think they don’t need an outside recruiter if they already employ an internal recruiter or a human resources representative who oversees hiring.
Cooperation between internal and external recruiters leads to more success with hiring. And considering the job market and severe shortage of veterinarians, collaboration is necessary more than ever. Successful hiring requires the combined efforts of recruiters, hiring managers and HR representatives. That’s because all those people play to their strengths, with external recruiters hunting for passive candidates not actively looking for a new job and internal recruiters gathering active job seekers and managing the process from within. Without everyone rowing in the same direction, the chances of success diminish greatly.
Building a collaborative relationship, though, isn’t easy. It’s like creating any other successful relationship between people. It takes time, effort and patience and requires these four critical elements.
1. Identifying Objectives
External and internal recruiters must be on the same page from the beginning of the candidate search process. The simple reason is that two people likely view and perceive things differently. For example, what one person believes is the initial screening stage, another might see as the final hiring period.
When both parties identify shared objectives, the rest of the process is set up for success. Conversely, a lack of goals can sabotage the whole process, even though neither person realized what happened and why.
2. Setting Clear Expectations
Both parties must know what is going to happen and when. Here are aspects of the search process for which clear expectations should be set:
- The duties associated with the job description.
- The types of candidates being sourced and presented.
- The responsibilities of the people involved in the recruiting and hiring process.
- The timeliness of the feedback from all parties.
- The time frame for completing all the steps in the process.
The phrase I like to use regarding setting expectations is this: “Inspect what you expect.” If you expect someone to act or get something done, you must set the expectations at the outset. Setting expectations at the midpoint is counterproductive and can derail the candidate search.
3. Consistent and Effective Communication
Communication is of utmost importance in building any relationship, including between external and internal recruiters. Miscommunication or a lack of communication causes many failed relationships, so I tend to overcommunicate with people. When you try to overcommunicate, you usually end up communicating just enough. People often believe they’re doing a good job communicating but then discover the opposite, much to their dismay.
Technology is not the cure-all for communication difficulties. While it provides more communication opportunities, it also offers more chances for miscommunication. Things can become lost in translation when you rely too heavily on email and texting.
4. A Collaborative Mindset and Approach
This is a crucial element in the internal-external recruiter dynamic. Unless both parties are committed to forming a collaborative partnership in the pursuit of a common goal, the search is susceptible to failure. With that in mind, each side cannot view the other as a “necessary evil” or someone to tolerate. While people in such situations might not be competing against one another, they’re certainly not being proactive in their attempts to collaborate and cooperate.
For the partnership and relationship to work correctly, both sides must have 100% buy-in. They must view each other as an ally, not an enemy, and they should put aside differences, including a clash of personalities. They should strive to exhibit the highest professionalism and focus throughout every stage of the recruiting and hiring process.
The “war for talent” in the veterinary profession won’t abate anytime soon. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, veterinarian jobs are projected to grow by 17% this decade. Consequently, the demand for veterinarians will remain just as high as it is now, and by some accounts, it could be even greater by 2030.
Even in the best of times, internal and external recruiters should have the same goal. That is, ensuring that the veterinary organization they represent hires the best candidates possible in the shortest time possible.
While the competition for talent remains fierce between employers, cooperation, not competition, must be the driving force for internal and external recruiters if a practice hopes to enjoy more success in hiring veterinarians.
WANTED: WORKERS
According to a February 2023 statement from the National Governors Association, “Although the economy has regained the 20 million jobs lost during the pandemic, the United States is facing a labor shortage. There are over 10 million job openings in the United States right now — but only 5.7 million unemployed workers actively looking for work.”