Different recruitment models correspond to different working techniques. Many employers are inclined towards micro-management whereas others discourage the technique. Some companies encourage remote work, while many organizational working models do not appreciate the same technique. Similarly, among numerous recruitment models, the decentralized recruitment model is also featured with its pros and cons. There is no evidence to claim that the decentralized recruitment model has the greatest sustainability and vice versa. Therefore, a driving factor in deciding what recruitment model works best for you is the nature of your working model. It can either be central or it can be a decentralized recruitment model depending upon the core nature of your organizational structure, and scope of the organization. Before we dive into the detailed analysis of the decentralized recruitment model, let’s briefly compare different recruitment models.
What is a centralized recruitment model?
A centralized recruitment model, as the name suggests, is a talent sourcing model whereby all the responsibilities and decision-making of recruitment lie on a central HR department. This core department has the responsibility to oversee all the hiring, and job marketing processes. In this way, all the hiring personnel experience a similar candidate experience and onboarding journey.
Centralized recruitment models offer synchronous hiring workflows. However, it overlooks the unique hiring needs of dedicated roles which are not processed fairly through a standardized system. Thus, a centralized model can better perform under a more local organizational structure. For a variety of demographic candidates, a more decentralized recruitment model has promising talent acquisition KPIs milestones and hiring outcomes.
What is a decentralized recruitment model?
In contrast to centralized recruiting, a decentralized recruitment model is open to incorporating demographic variations of candidates effectively. Instead of a humongous HR headquarter, a decentralized recruitment model offers a great degree of freedom. Therefore, the scope and domain of such companies are often global. Every unit in every location has the liberty to undertake its own talent acquisition processes as they deem fit.
A decentralized recruitment model corresponds to a greater degree of flexibility in the hiring workflows. This model takes into account the deeper and distinct requirements of unique job roles. In this way, the candidate experience is much more personalized and unique to their applications. The decentralized model of recruitment tends to optimize recruiting processes, but it isn’t the only one.
Benefits of a decentralized recruitment model
One of the greatest benefits of a decentralized recruitment model is that the talent acquisition specialists offer tailored and customized candidate experiences. In this way, the applicants feel acknowledged and recognized for the roles they apply for. Consequently, greater flexibility is noticeable in the talent acquisition processes.
Enhanced Flexibility
The flexibility in the hiring process is directly proportional to the candidate’s experience and hence a better company’s image. A better company’s image attracts an even greater talent pool in the application process. Therefore, a decentralized recruitment model generates an overall good quality of hire as well as better recruiter’s experience.
Exponential Productivity Curve
Corporate HR departments make all decisions in centralized recruiting. This leads to an increase in the average time-to-hire. The hiring process consumes a significant amount of time. For instance, resume parsing, shortlisting, interviewing the shortlisted applicants and subsequent onboarding processes consume a lot of time resource.
Decentralizing the recruitment processes enables the departmental managers and team leads to undertake the talent acquisition processes themselves. In this way, a greater amount of time is saved by liberating these processes to the local departmental bodies. Consequently, the productivity of talent acquisition processes is increased exponentially and new recruits are able to fill the vacancy faster.
Improved Candidate Engagement
Providing localized departments with recruitment authority brings relatable engagement to candidates. If the recruiter belongs to Kansas and the applicant is also from Kansas, they can relate to the job trends better. There is therefore a higher level of candidate engagement and a higher level of recruitment quality. A centralized recruitment model that relies on a centralized decision-making body cannot provide this localized experience. Improved candidate engagement in the initial hiring process leads them to quicker decision-making and streamlined onboarding. This quality engagement also boosts the candidate’s alignment with your workplace culture.
Empowered Employees
When employees have a voice in decision-making, their morale and confidence increase greatly. The employees feel better connected to their managers better when they actively participate in addressing the needs of the organization. Departments and teams become autonomous in their talent acquisition needs. This enhances the employee experience as well as their sense of empowerment. A content employee in turn yields better productivity for the company in contrast to an under-appreciated employee.
In the nutshell, both the recruitment models are suitable with their own pros and cons. The decision is driven based on the nature of the deliverables of the recruitment process. For a diverse pool of applicants, a decentralized recruitment model is more productive and conducive to the success of hiring processes. For mid-sized national-level companies, a centralized recruitment model with standardized processes is more productive and successful. A hybrid approach to recruitment concerns is best suited to optimize the processes of talent acquisition specialists belonging to multi-national companies.
