(December 23, 2003) - Competition creates a set of incorrect perceptions. While it is extremely important to be aware of and vigilant about the competition, comparing their externals with your internals is a recipe for disaster. The competitive environment is currently excusing excessive me-too product evolution in the Recruiting software industry.

More importantly, the admonition that internal recruiting should learn from third party firms needs a bit of gentle guidance. In the extreme, internal recruiters who behave like their third party counterparts represent a powerfully destructive internal dynamic. That is, Recruiting is an aspect of the workforce management problem that must be balanced with other concerns (attrition, career development, salary tracks).

While the independent Recruiter can move very effectively, exploiting the differences between companies, the internal Recruiter is a part of a team whose objective is to build and refine the internal organization. While it useful to benchmark performance against external players, a larger, non-competitive perspective is important to maintain. Both approaches are valid means to an end. Like parts from a component supplier, the independent Recruiter's work always requires a level of retuning when it comes into the company. Internal players (in theory) must be more aware of the consequences of nuance.

The difference between the two approaches shows in attrition-retention rates. While the third party approach cultivates a 'me-first' approach to the optimization of opportunity, the internal team is bound to operate within the boundaries of policy, making an 'us-first' position relatively inevitable.

While both methods have their strengths and weaknesses, it is incorrect to say that one is better than the other. It is a high order judgment error to model internal processes on the successes of external operators (and vice-versa).

John Sumser