What HR can learn from sales to optimise recruitment

Over the last 10 years there have been a lot of changes in the way recruitment has been carried out by HR departments. But now, according to Mitch Sullivan, more radical change is needed by HR to get the best results from their recruitment campaigns.

In most companies there is little or no interaction between the sales and marketing function and the HR/recruitment function. Recruitment is, at its most critical end, a function of sales and performs best under a well-defined brand and when underpinned by a strong marketing strategy.
This is an ethic that is embraced in the agency sector (and in many cases is taken way too far) yet isn’t in the corporate sector.

I’ve heard a lot of people speak in business about corporate hiring down the years and much of it misses the point. They seem to see the most important element in employment as the selection process, but this is just the ‘buying’ part of the recruitment life-cycle and important as it is, it’s only actually possible if enough qualified candidates are found.