AUSTIN, TX – EMBARGOED – With the rebound of the economy following the COVID-19 pandemic, the job market has become one of the most active in years. Companies across all industries are facing labor shortages not seen since the 1970s. And with an unemployment rate of 3.6%, they’re desperate for candidates, especially in the service sectors such as hospitality, fast food, and manual labor.
Although direct hiring through websites such as Indeed, LinkedIn Job Search, ZipRecruiter, CareerBuilder, SimplyHired, and Monster still garner a large percentage of the market, many employers are relying upon recruitment firms to better identify candidates. This is especially true if they’re looking for hires who can be motivated to leave their current employment for greener pastures.
Against this hothouse environment, O&H Consulting, a scrappy, Austin, Texas-based talent consultancy is disrupting the industry with an approach designed to deliver greater value to employers while creating an outstanding candidate experience and helping organizations meet diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) goals.
With decades of experience as a talent professional and certified guidance professional, Michele Olivier says her boutique firm is changing the “us against them” dynamic endemic to many recruiter and employer relationships.
“Let’s face it, contingency recruitment by its very nature winds up limiting the choice of candidates presented to the employer because recruiters are incentivized to focus only on candidates most likely to get the job,” Olivier says from her Austin, Texas office. “Not only does this result in the employer not finding the ideal candidate, but it stifles diversity by excluding women, people of color, LGBTQ, and others early in the process.”
The irony is that most employers remain strongly committed to meeting their DE&I goals, says Olivier. However, the need for expediency and the profit motivation within recruiters dictate the nature of the search from the get-go, she says, resulting in a smaller field of less diverse candidates.
“When recruiters are overwhelmed by the volume of assignments, they become myopic in which applicants they interact with simply to maximize the use of their time and to push for candidates which will be the most expensive, not necessarily the best fit,” she adds.
These trends are reflected in a poll of recruiters by Jobvite, an Indianapolis, Ind. firm specializing in recruitment software solutions. In their 2020 Recruiter Nation Survey, they found that while the shift toward diversity hiring was up 22% as compared to 13% in 2018, recruiters were often less able to put diversity and inclusion front and center due to the uptick in demand for their services.
“Recruiters are so bogged down right now, that while it is still important to them, it’s more of a luxury to think about that while being overwhelmed with open requisitions,” Amber Ferrari, marketing manager at Jobvite, told a reporter at SHRM Magazine, the official publication of the Society for Human Resource Management.
To ensure the job seeker field is as broad as possible for her clients, Olivier doesn’t use a contingency fee model. Instead, she says she bills her clients a reasonable monthly retainer and then a modest percentage of the successful candidate’s salary or hourly wage. Employers also don’t have to limit their job searches as Oliver and her team will work on multiple assignments at once at no additional charge.
By championing the interests of job seekers and employers evenhandedly with a balanced allegiance to both, Olivier says that O&H Consulting has “gained the trust of clients on both sides of the interview desk”.
“We work in a partnership with candidates and the employer which is a lot more fair for everyone and creates a positive experience for all parties involved.” Olivier states. “Looking for work sucks. It’s a daily gut punch of rejection, being ghosted, and a roller coaster of emotions. To make things worse the game is rigged. Talent Acquisition isn’t a picnic for employers either. Most of the tools available to them are at best poorly suited for the task and at worst perpetrators of institutionalized racism and inequality.”
Apparently the maverick approach of O&H Consulting is hitting a nerve. Olivier points out that among her clients are investors in startups who admire Olivier’s brash, take-no-prisoners style and delight in the flexibility she provides in serving their recruitment needs.
About O&H Consulting
O&H Consulting are the heroes you need in today’s job market. With customized toolkits for every career level, we provide hands-on coaching to candidates and expert recruitment services to employers. We take a no-nonsense approach when it comes to communicating with clients about the realities of the job market and how to stay competitive. Our success is based on a deep commitment to getting clients where they need to be.
Our list of clients includes Big 4, Big Tech, and FORTUNE 500 companies, Michele and her team have recruited at all levels, from entry retail through executive. Sample engagements include Microsoft, EA Games, Facebook, and the YMCA, Goldman Sachs, and the American Red Cross. Michele also shares her expertise as host of the weekly podcast ‘Hey! I Want Your Job’. Each week, she interviews top professionals on how they got to where they are, the state of the job market in multiple fields and secrets every job seeker should know.
For further information, visit www.oandhconsulting.com, call 737-222-9632, or email us at michele@oandhconsulting.com.
