The customer is always right......right?

I have been on a business trip to Manchester this week, and another great trip it was meeting excellent candidates.

I had a very pleasant stay in a hotel that I have not used before, but unfortunately, my breakfast booking had not filtered through onto their system.  I therefore had to have several conversations with several different individuals before anyone was able to believe that my booking confirmation (with the words 'Bed and Full Breakfast included' clearly written on it) did actually include breakfast!

Finally over breakfast, I got to thinking: what happened to the customer always being right?  I certainly didn't feel right this morning, even though I was.  Then it struck me, the customer isn't always right.

In recruitment this is more the case than any other industry I know.  How often do we pull our hair out because clients won't agree to see candidates we know are great?  How often will great candidates not entertain brilliant opportunities for reasons which we know aren't the issues they perceive them to be.

Of course, it’s our job to convince, cajole and manage these objections, and we should be able to provide all the information needed for our clients and candidates to make informed decisions.

It isn't always that black and white though is it.  The thing we fell in love with about a candidate can't be captured on a CV or in a consultant overview; the potential of a role or organisation can't be accurately mapped out on a spec or organisational chart.

The connection which makes a good piece of recruitment into a great hire, or great career move, is typically based on the human element, which you only get from meeting.

Our job isn't to sell CV's or job specs, and our job isn't to simply agree with clients or candidates.  They aren't always right, that isn't their fault, they don't know what we know, and haven't (yet) felt what we have felt.  Our job is to have a relationship of trust with both our clients and candidates which means when we say, please, just meet this candidate, or please, just have coffee with this client...they say yes.

One of my favourite and widely used lines in recruitment is: "Look, meet this individual, if, after that, you don't know where I am coming from, never use me again, but I promise, once you have spent some time together, you'll understand why I am pushing you, and be glad I haven't let you make this decision and live to regret it"

It's a bold phrase and opens you up to be criticised, but only if you are wrong.   So, do your job properly, make sure your candidate or role is as good as you are saying, and if it is, then be confident and be bold.....the customer isn't always right, but, in this situation, you must never be wrong!