Contributed by Greg Moran, the co-founder of the Tech Valley Angel Network, a not-for-profit organization formed to bring together Tech Valley entrepreneurs and investors. Moran also serves as president and CEO of Talent Management Group LLC and PeopleAnswers America. His book, “Building the Talent Edge: A Manager’s Guide to Recruiting the Best,” was released in May 2005.

After working with hundreds of growing and emerging businesses on recruitment issues for more than a decade, I can say one thing with certainty: Most entrepreneurs, while paying lip service to the critical task of identifying and landing talent, treat the actual task of recruitment as administrative in nature and best left delegated until the final stages of candidate screening. Alternately, great entrepreneurs view themselves as the company’s Chief Recruiting Officer and drive the process as if their business depended on it … because it does. Building and maintaining a healthy pipeline of talent must be our top priority as entrepreneurs.