I read a story about the late Prince Phillip recently, it described how he had stopped the practice of a bottle of Scotch being placed by the Queen’s bed every night and removed, unopened, the next morning.

It turns out that a doctor had once told Queen Victoria that a “snifter” at night might help ease her cold. The bottle was duly produced and went on being placed there for the next five monarchs. Nobody thought to question whether it was still appropriate, or what purpose it served. It was just what was done.

But it did make me think about some outdated practices I still see in recruitment. Maybe not dating from the Victorian age, but definitely from a different business climate, making them well overdue retirement.

Here are a few of my ‘favourites’:

• Measuring sales activity by “minutes spent on telephone” or “calls made per day”.
• Rewarding consultants solely or mainly for jobs/clients generated, rather than candidates placed or jobs filled.
• Sending out CVs as bait to clients – without terms agreed, and expecting them to submit to a “deemed acceptance” clause in your terms.
• Whacking CVs over to clients before speaking to a candidate.
• Trying to measure ROI on marketing by “revenue attributable directly to an advert” or similar.
• Using your old employers Terms of Business and employment contracts without even realising they are unenforceable or inadequate for the times.

If you don’t understand why these practices are outdated need to be retired, please book a call with me here. If you do understand, but are struggling to get round to it, you could probably do with some support. Call me here.

Or, if you have begun to realise that there’s a bigger issue behind the apparently small change – like your whole service proposition? Then get in touch.

Alison Humphries Hon FREC is an award-winning business mentor and NED with a track record of working hands-on with recruitment business owners and directors to improve profitability, build capital value and take businesses to sale, MBI and investment.