Recently in Recruiter Strategies Category

Every candidate we bring to light or enter into our tracking system is like a little piece of a dream: a new and exciting job for the individual; a problem solved for the employer; and - just maybe - a bigger paycheck for the recruiter.

Unfortunately, whenever placement fees are split, even the most well-meaning staffing firms can get sideways with their recruiters over who gets credit for what. That's not to say there's a conspiracy afoot to short the recruiters or play favorites. It's just that whenever money's on the table, the issue of how it's divvied up can get confusing and emotional.

If you've ever had to fight a fellow recruiter for what you felt was rightfully yours - or played King Solomon with a $25,000 baby - you know firsthand how fleeting the sweetness of victory, compared to the enduring bitterness of defeat.

Property Rights for Recruiters

Luckily, there's a simple way to minimize split-placement disputes - and settle more equitably - those that cross your desk. By setting up rules that are fair and enforceable, you can turn a fractious, suspicious environment into one that's more positive and productive.

The first step is to set up a policy regarding the terms of ownership. For anyone not familiar with the lingo, "ownership" simply refers to which recruiter is tagged to a specific candidate, usually for the purpose of earning a commission when the candidate is placed. Here are three simple guidelines:

Read the full article

At that point I questioned whether or not I should have joined an industry that seemed to enter business relationships with trepidation about the truth. But I learned that when it comes to this business of recruiting, the candidates and clients probably aren't intentionally lying to us to make our lives miserable. It's more like they're playing poker with us and we have to know how to read them so we can take them to the next step which ultimately benefits them. And if you approach it this way, then learning about human behavior and trying to figure out what is really going on beyond the surface level of facts becomes both intriguing and interesting. And when you get good at it, it gets fun.

Don't think of people as lying because then you'll turn into a washed-up and cranky low-billing cynic and you'll lose all your friends. Instead, learn how to read the 'tells' of candidates and clients to help you learn when they are bluffing and what type of hand they hold. They don't lie. They're just playing poker with you.

Here are eight considerations in determining whether or not you can get to the real truth with a candidate or client:

Read the full article

"The salary you're offering is too low," he told the CFO. "That's why you're not attracting qualified candidates."

"Money isn't everything," replied the CFO. "Besides, our own salary survey puts us in the middle of the range."

"Well, your survey is wrong," said Kenny. "It's either out of date or it doesn't adjust for what other companies are paying."

"Hey, we spent a lot of time working on that survey," snapped the CFO. "Are you saying our HR team doesn't know what they're doing?"

"No comment," said Kenny, rolling his eyes.

"You know what?" said the CFO. "I don't like your attitude. Maybe you're not the right recruiter for our company."

Read the Full Story

So for example, let's say that you were a man and wanted to increase the size of your chest from 41" to 44" through a strength training program. If the minimum effective dose for creating a 44" chest was that you'd need to do 250 pushups per day, then it would be a waste of time to do 500 pushups per day. The "trigger" for getting you the result you wanted would be 250 pushups per day.

So in terms of recruiting and owning a business, we want to think in terms of the same simple prescriptions. Things do not generally translate into crystal clear dosages for our business but we can come up with general guidelines that make the process of recruiting less complex and more repeatable. In my work with owners and recruiters I find that they are generally feeling overworked, overwhelmed and scattered between competing demands. They are craving simplicity and systems that they can rely on.

With that in mind, I thought I'd share with you what I consider to be the simplest and most important goal that any recruiter can set for himself in terms of affecting production. This goal is simple to understand but not always easy to achieve. However, if it's achieved even seventy percent of the time, it would put you in the top five percent of all recruiters in terms of billings.

Read On

If it breaks, you simply return it to whoever sold it to you and get a full refund. The same is true with a flat-screen TV or a weed whacker. Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back.

So why should the placement of a candidate be any different? If the person doesn't live up to expectations after being hired, shouldn't the employer be able to return the candidate to the recruiter and get his placement fee back?

The answer is no--for three very good reasons.

First of all, a candidate is a person, not a piece of merchandise. And the last time I checked, it was illegal to buy and sell other human beings. You can own a weed whacker. You can't own a person.

When an employer agrees to hire a qualified candidate as a result of my referral, it's not as though the candidate is changing hands from one owner to another. The candidate and the employer are simply agreeing to work together, exchanging the employer's money for the candidate's time and services.

Besides, the two principals have had the opportunity to interview each other and engage in due diligence prior to making a decision of their own free will. To compare a candidate to a weed whacker is like comparing an apple to an orange.

[read more]

Did you know that you can still make money when your deals fall apart? I learned this about eight or nine years ago when the recruiters in my office went through a series of one counteroffer after another. Instead of getting upset with those darn selfish candidates, I thought, "Hey, it happened. Let's see if we can still make money out of this." So I designed a formula of analyzing deals and transforming these catastrophes into learning moments. As a management consultant to the industry and as a professional trainer, I think my mind is wired this way. I just can't help it. I'm always looking for new and fun ways to explain why things work and translate that into specific step-by-step action steps, a workable system that is replicable across all levels of tenure and skill in the profession.

So the next time something really, really bad happens with one of your deals, say, "Wow, look at this big pile of manure on my desk. I'll bet there's a pony around here somewhere." Train your mind to immediately respond this way to setbacks. Your first question should be, "How can I make money off of this catastrophe?" It'll help quell your emotions and bring you to a place of resilience.

Here's the exercise you can use. Even if you are the owner or manager, give your consultants a chance at facilitating these discussions. Follow this line of questioning to make sure you can turn this tragedy into a triumph.

Here are the seven steps and ten investigative questions to follow when conducting this 'Deal Autopsy'

[continue]

Well, here's one idea that sounds almost too good to be true--you simply ask for it. Savvy recruiters know that at any given point in time, there are companies out there with staffing needs so urgent, they'll do whatever it takes to get the position filled.

Like stranded airline passengers who are sick and tired of hanging around the terminal, they're more than willing to open their wallets, just to get going.

Besides, the fee component isn't so critical to every client that it always trumps everything else. In fact, I've known hiring managers--and HR managers--who have learned that giving an incentive to recruiters can actually yield higher quality results than beating them up on price.

Being penny-wise and pound-foolish is a pretty common phenomenon--in all aspects of life. For example, I have a friend who takes pride in haggling with home improvement contractors until he gets the absolute lowest price. As a result, the winning contractor feels slighted and does shoddy work, and my friend ends up with a job that has to be done all over again. I keep telling him that sometimes it's actually SMART to pay retail price--but he's not ready accept such a radical concept.

The point is, if you're patient and you can sidestep the demons, you'll find better angels with whom to do business.

The Fee You Deserve

But what if you keep asking for a higher fee, and you never get it? If that's the case, you'll need to counter the fee objection with a compelling reason why you're worth the extra money.

The phrase "Differentiate or Die" isn't just the title of a book by advertising legend Jack Trout. It's a concept that directly applies to premium pricing, and how to sell it. Consider this. If you're not more:

• well-connected in your field;
• knowledgeable about your market;
• capable of saving your client time;
• willing to work hard and commit all your resources to succeed; or
• better able to apply creative or innovative methods than your competition,

then you haven't found a way to differentiate yourself. And if that's the case, you probably don't deserve a higher fee anyway.

Negotiating a higher fee generally requires the willing participation of what I call an affluent or a self-actualized buyer. Rarely is price the issue with this type of customer, who more than anything else is looking for results--or a pleasurable buying experience.

If you find that you're focusing mainly on price, the perceived value of what you're offering will almost always get lost in the shuffle. It's only when value takes center stage that price ends up in the back row where it belongs.

So, whether your strategy is to wait in the weeds for the right type of customer to come along, or to build up your value relative to other recruiters, a stronger fee will make life a whole lot more enjoyable--not only for you, but for everyone else, too.

-Bill Radin

Bill Radin is one of the most popular and highly regarded trainers in the recruiting industry, and has trained many of the largest independent and franchised recruiting organizations, including Management Recruiters, Dunhill, Sanford Rose, Snelling and Fortune Personnel. His speaking engagements include the NAPS national conference, the annual Kennedy Conference, and dozens of state association meetings and network conventions, including Top Echelon and Splits.org. The Radin Report is published monthly.

www.billradin.com

This monthly article gives you quick, easy-to-implement ideas on various subjects. This month's topics have to do with creating systems, the "10% rule" and getting paid in a timely manner.

Topic #1:

The 5 Step Systems Creation Process

We've all heard the grim statistics regarding how many businesses fail to survive and prosper. Fifty seven percent of all small businesses fail within first year. At the five year mark, whopping eighty percent fail. Here's a stat you may not be aware of; eighty percent of those who survive the first five years end up failing in the second five years. Those are staggering statistics.

One of the main reasons for these failures is that most businesses operate without systems. Often they operate on adrenaline with the owner running around with his or her hair perpetually on fire. In essence, they lack a clear system of operation.

The beauty of systems is that if you take the time to document them once, you never have to re-create them from scratch again. Below, I'll outline a 5 step system creation process that I learned from Michael Gerber. Before I do that, here are a couple of helpful definitions:

System: a documented way of performing a task that solves a problem and ensures that the task is performed properly and consistently.

Frustration: a frustration in your business is an undesirable pattern of events that can be eliminated by installing a system.

[read more]

During a StaffingU TeleClass last year, I challenged the participants to create and implement what they considered to be a radical idea that might WOW a client or prospect. The only rules in this game were that they had to make up something that they would enjoy doing and to detach from the outcome. With their permission, here are some of their ideas:

The Birthday

Susan learned the birthday of one of her key clients. With the help of that person's manager, she threw a birthday party for her that included all of the trimmings...presents, cake, and great food.

Random Acts of Under-Billing

A staffing firm in Michigan decided to play with the popular idea "random acts of kindness." Their version was to pick a few clients to under-bill. They printed the following message on their invoices:

[read more and leave a comment]

Topic #1: Getting a "Yes" on 90% of your recruiting calls

When you make a cold call (to a candidate) are you first looking to pitch a job or learn about the candidate's skills and aspirations? Are you looking to open a dialogue or sell a job? If you are like a lot of recruiters, you start off the conversation by attempting to sell the candidate on the job opportunity.

Pitching a job or asking for a referral right off the bat puts you in a low level conversation with your candidate. Passive candidates who are top performers will see you more like a tele-marketer than a career consultant. These conversations tend to be very transactional and do not build rapport as quickly as other approaches.

Here's an excellent leading question that will get you a "yes" 90% of the time and will put you in a more consultative role: "Would you be open to exploring a new career opportunity if it was clearly a stronger fit for you?"

When they say "yes", don't tell them about the job yet! Say, "Great, why don't you give me a 2 minute overview of what you do and what you are looking for and then I can give you a quick overview of the job, and if it makes sense, we can go into more detail"

Most people you call are not going to be a candidate for the job at the moment- but they know people they could refer. The referral is much easier to get if they first trust you and your professionalism. Try to establish a professional relationship before pitching a job.

Topic #2: Expand your marketing reach

How many people hear about your service on a regular basis? Your marketing "reach" has to do with how big of a net you are able to cast with your various marketing efforts. In a slow economy, expanding your reach and delivering your message to a bigger audience has to be a top priority if you want to be able to sleep well at night.

Let's say that you offer an excellent service and have a strong follow up marketing plan but you only expose your offer to 10 prospects in a year. No matter how good your presentation is, your plan will likely fail because you don't have enough client exposure. You may be the best kept secret in your niche and if so, it's your job to change that and get your message out there.

An example of expanding your reach:

Let's say that you decide to write an article for a niche publication that your target market tends to read. First you interview 10 industry leaders for information and then you write the article. The article gets published and is read by 10,000 people. Your reach for that effort would be 10,000.

If instead you interviewed 100 leaders (potential clients) and got the article published in three publications that would be read by say 50,000 people, you would have 5 times the reach as compared to the example above. Keep in mind that writing the article takes the same amount of time either way. But by focusing on expanding your reach you have gotten much more leverage from the effort.

Another way to expand your reach is to think about growing your client email list. This is your "goldmine" that you want to send a client newsletter, candidate hot list or articles to on a regular basis. If you send these items to 100 people that effort is less valuable than if you send them to 500 people.

Again, the effort of creating the hotlist or newsletter takes the same amount of time no matter how many people you send it to. Set an aggressive goal to increase your prospect list by 30% in the next 90 days to be sure that you are getting the best results possible for your existing marketing efforts. Assign this task to yourself or someone else in your office and then schedule a follow up meeting to review your results after 90 days.

- Gary Stauble

Gary Stauble is the Principal Consultant for The Recruiting Lab, a Coaching Company that provides Recruiting Professionals the Training, Tools and Systems to make More Placements with Less Effort. Gary offers several Free Special Reports on his website including, "$1 Million Time Management", 15 Critical Candidate Questions" and "The 3 Things that Lead to Placements". Get your copies now at www.therecruitinglab.com.