Recruiters playing a role in retention?

[Kristin Gissaro]

What to do about "Serial Hiring Managers"?

If you are an internal recruiter, you know that these people exist. These 'managers' are the reason my friends and I have such great conversations about their current job.

Let's digress for a second:

Friends know they can come to me and ask me for advice on what to do about their current career issue. Maybe it's because they misinterpret what I do for a living, thinking I'm a headhunter, which I'm not but I don't mind acting as for them, or maybe it's because I lend an ear when they need it most. My guess? Because I'm very outspoken and I'll tell you like it is. I grew up with two very successful career oriented parents who wouldn't take &*^% from anyone. They taught me that if you are being treated badly by coworkers or your boss, then to take action. Don't sit there and become a victim or you only have yourself to blame for your unhappiness.

When people tell me that their current boss doesn't do anything to help make them happy, it sickens me. As a former manager, I know you are nothing without your support people. A manager is supposed to play two roles with their team. First, they are there for guidance, support and above all the rest-leadership. If you want your team to do great things- then you must do great things. Set the standard. Second, they are there to go to bat for their team. They are the team captain. If an employee has an issue, the manager is the one who should be listening, KEY WORD, listening and then helping the employee to figure out a solution.

Ok, back on track:

If only recruiters could be frank with hiring managers about their management style. If you're a recruiter who has to keep backfilling positions, can you go to the manager and ask why the position keeps turning over? Is that overstepping boundaries? If you have a great relationship with the manager, I could see the conversation starting out nice but you'd have to be careful not to come across as accusatory. As a recruiter, isn't it your responsibility to keep recruiting costs low? I wonder how organizations would embrace the idea of recruiters stepping into this territory should they see a "bad egg" and have to continually recruit for one specific manager.

I have had some great managers myself as well as clueless individuals who found themselves on a power trip-which can only be disastrous. Who knows why people act this way. It could be that they are threatened by their subordinates; they are insecure; don't know how to manage or are just plain clueless. My guess is, the bad ones are just plain clueless.

My advice to unhappy friends is to take their concerns to your manager. Document them. Send an email to their manager with an overview of your concerns and ask for a one-on-one meeting. If they feel it is really serious, ask HR to attend. If their manager takes no action-definitely go to HR and ask for a session on what to do. But, DO NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT just let it slip. No job is worth being upset about. Also, if they are upset about something at work, how much work are they really getting done? Are they really putting in 100%?

So thought for today...should recruiters play a role in retention? Not a bad idea if you ask me.