As a follow-up to my first and second post on the Spring Kennedy Information Recruiting Conference last month, I mentioned I would be taking a look back to the first national staffing and recruiting conference I attended almost 10 years ago to see what’s new and what’s not.

Why? For starters, it was time clean out the many totes I have filled with papers and information saved over the years which included my notes from these events. I also wanted to compare the content and messages between then and now.  Since that time, I have had the opportunity to attend many events including Linkeage Inc., SHRM, NACE, SMA (formerly EMA), Kennedy Information, and ERE.

Here is a look back at some of the information from the first event I attended, the content and key messages.

Recruiting Rules:

• You must declare a talent war and act like a warrior
• The war for talent is over, and the candidates have won
• Top talent matters most
• Measure it and prove it works – or don’t do it
• Measure the performance of the hire
• Be different, create a competitive advantage
• Speed is everything
• There is not a shortage of talent.  We’re experiencing bad tools with low unemployment
• Recruiting is sales and marketing
• If you are not fighting for them, they are not superstars
• Everyone in your organization must be a 24/7 talent scout
• Managers must “own” recruiting
• Pre-qualify talent
• You must “wow” the very best
• Treat candidates like customers
• Have a well defined and communicated strategy
• Assess culture fit
• Become an employer of choice
• Create an employer brand
• Retain Gen X and Gen Y employers

Things that don’t work in recruiting:

• Large job boards
• Job fairs
• Want ads
• College career offices
• Temp agencies
• Multiple interviews
• A consensus approach
• Resume’s

Great employment strategies:

• Hire the best and brightest
• Go after passive talent
• Relationship recruiting
• Prioritize jobs
• Selection based on experience
• Web focused versus traditional
• Hire boomerangs
• Focus on retention
• Recruiting leaders should run recruiting like a business
• Attract-Develop-Retain strategy
• Employee engagement impacts the bottom line
• Workforce Planning
• Diversity is a focus
• E-cruiting is the future
• Next generation networks will dominate E-cruiting
• Develop talent pipelines

Re-design your recruiting function:

• Identify how the war for talent impacts key business objectives
• Survey your stakeholders
• Benchmark your process
• Create a gap analysis
• Develop a world class model
• Achieve 40 day time to fill target
• Create an in-house sourcing center of excellence

While there was no direct mention of social media or social networks which is currently the focus for many, there was one reference to next generation networks and how they will dissolve the big job boards.  Speaking of job boards, it was interesting to see references to they don’t work – keep in mind this was around their peek.

Other than a few buzz words changing slightly and the adoption of new technology, there really has not been a major shift in focus over the past ten years.  Are we paying thousands to listen to recycled information? You be the judge.  The real value for many people I have met and attended with is the chance to network and meet with others, share best practices, validate, meet with vendors and suppliers, and develop/grow professionally.