5 signs your new recruiter is destined to fail!

In just about every country that Firebrand operates, we are finding it difficult to hire great recruiters. We have pretty tightly defined criteria, so I guess that’s not a surprise. However, what is a little unusual so soon after a severe recession, is the evident rush to hire recruiters across the board. In Australia there is such a shortage of experienced recruiters that one ‘Rec to Rec’ recruiter told me she has over 1200 vacant orders in Sydney alone! In the UK we find that there is strong competition to hire recruiters, and Asia is much the same. So inevitability, recruitment firms (and corporates too, I imagine) will relax their criteria, maybe train more newbies into the industry, and that is no bad thing. But… The biggest cost to every recruitment firm is salaries, and the primary destroyer of profits is under-performing or failed recruiters. That is a fact. So as the recruitment industry gains momentum, we all have to make sure we hire people who can bill consistently, who can learn, and who fit our culture. The irony is that our industry is notorious for making bad hires. We don’t train that well either as a rule, and our own staff turnover is often a disgrace. Yet there is another problem, which might at first seem counter-intuitive. When we make a bad hire, often we are slow to put it right. We hold on to under-performing people for too long. Now please don’t misunderstand me. I don’t believe in ‘Hire and Fire’. Indeed our mantra at Firebrand is to apply the utmost rigour to making the right hire, and then put huge effort into making sure that hire works out. We invest heavily, and for a long time, to bring people to full productivity. But even so there are sometimes early signs you have made a wrong hire and it’s not going to work. I am not suggesting you let someone go if one or even all of these signs emerge, but it should set off alarms and trigger action. Because doing nothing is the one thing you should not do. Slow learners. Intelligence is a much underestimated trait when it comes to recruiting. I always look for it when hiring. A newbie who is slow to learn, repeats mistakes and just does not ‘get things’ is a potential disaster. Proceed with caution. Unwilling learners. “Coachability “ is a key recruiter requirement in my opinion. Poor listeners, know-it-alls, and those who just can’t focus on learning different ways in their new environment, are likely to fail long-term. Social misfits. Seriously, sometimes in the first day I know I have made a bad hire. Not because they can’t recruit. But because they can’t fit in. Inappropriate jokes, over-familiarity, too loud or too quiet. Of course you have to take into account new-starter nerves, and often people settle in over time. But sometimes, you just KNOW…this is wrong! Late and lazy. I always see a red light flashing when the new recruiter starts coming in late in the first week, misses meetings, or does not follow up on simple, basic tasks you have given them. If that’s their “honeymoon” effort, just wait till a few months down the track! Lack of courage. Sounds strange talking about courage in a desk job. But, in fact, you do need to be brave in recruitment. Make that cold call. Tell that candidate they are not right for a job they really covet. Negotiate a fee. Lead a client meeting with your new boss in the room. I have noticed that new recruiters show their “courage colours” early. Don’t throw a raw newbie in the deep-end. That’s not right and unlikely to help. But they do need to be given little tasks, which involve doing tricky things. How they tackle those is a strong signal of their long term success. Please use my tips with care. Every new recruiter will show some of these faults. But on the other hand if you see them in a rookie, hone in on it. Examine it. Test it. Counsel them on it. And look for rapid improvement. If improvement is not forthcoming, you may have a serious issue.

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5 signs your new recruiter is destined to fail!

Tags: coaching recruiters, employee engagement, Industry Chat, managing recruiters, recruiter, recruiter coaching, recruiting recruiters, Recruitment Agencies, recruitment skills, result, Signs

More cool tips on dealing with clients who want a fee discount

Last week I blogged about how you need to move the focus away from dollars and percentages when clients negotiate fees, and on to your value and your differentiators. One of the comments on my blog from Matthew Lancey raised the point that sometimes clients keep pushing, and they say something like “but your competitors charge less”. And it’s this use of the “C” word that often scares recruiters. The “C’ word? Competitors. I love it when clients use that word. If they do start to talk about competitor’s low fees, your response is to ask… “Can you tell me about a situation, Ms Client, where you were charged less than the fee I am suggesting today, where you got the level of service and the calibre of talent you want – on a regular basis?” True, this is a gamble, but the fact that you are there, in the client’s office, taking the order, or even on the phone taking the order, means that it is most unlikely the client is happy with their current supplier. In fact it amazes me when a client spends 20 minutes bagging another recruiter, and then when I quote my fee – he says, but the other recruiter only charges 15%! That’s is the time to remind the client that a low fee, quoted by a supplier who does not deliver, is not a benchmark you will measure your fees against. And nor should the client. Sometimes the client pushes hard for a reduced fee. When that happens, don’t feel pressurised. It’s a purely commercial decision – and it’s your decision to make. Is this client and this order so attractive it is worth taking a lower fee for? Remember this before you discount next time. Don’t think of the fee only as dollars gained or lost – think of the fee as what your service is worth. A discounted fee means a discounted you – never forget that. But sometimes you feel it is worth a compromise to secure a particular opportunity. In these cases I emphasise one golden rule. Never reduce your originally quoted fee without extracting a concession from the client. In other words if you say, “My fee is 20%”.  And the client asks for a discount. And you quickly respond with “OK how does 15% sound?”. You have just signaled to the client that you never believed in your value proposition and your service in the first place. You will struggle with getting his respect ever again – and you will never get your fees back up. So if you reduce your fee, always ask for something in return – exclusivity maybe, client paid advertising maybe, client gives you multiple orders maybe, or maybe you waive the guarantee. Make sure the negotiation involves both sides giving. This way the equal partnership is in tact. So is your self-esteem by the way. And in our business, that’s crucial.

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More cool tips on dealing with clients who want a fee discount

Tags: client management, client skills, coaching recruiters, consultative selling, discount, fee, Industry Chat, managing recruiters, recruiter coaching, Recruitment Agencies, recruitment skills, result

Client wants a discount? Don’t talk dollars, talk value

It’s a fact of recruiting life that clients will push you to negotiate your fees. And with so many recruiters quick to drop fee percentages to secure briefs, that can be a hard discussion to deal with. The starting point for successful fee negotiations is, strangely enough, to get the conversation off the fee percentage, and on to the question of what it is your fee is actually for. And of course, bundled up in that conversation, is your ability to sell your differentiator. What have you got and what do you do that gives your client special value? That’s where you want to focus. At Firebrand Talent Search we emphasize our niche focus, our unmatched access to creative, marketing and digital talent, our multiple branches in Asia Pacific and Europe, our specialist knowledge and understanding of clients needs, our proprietary testing software which means we know candidates have the design skills we say they do, and then we wrap all this up in 110% money back guarantee. But all recruiters will have differentiators, and it’s important you know how to articulate them. So when a client does ask you to drop your fee, go through your entire recruitment process explaining all the things you do to secure the right person. Take your time. Start at the beginning and don’t miss anything out. Talk about your screening, your interviewing, your talent generation strategies such as social media and networking. Talk about your database and the fact you have several offices tapping into talent. Explain how you act as an advocate for the client, and how you will qualify each candidate in terms of fit, salary and skills. When you drill down on this, you find we do a lot! That’s the point. Tell your client. Then, and only then, ask the client why she feels a reduced fee is appropriate. This is important. Get the ball firmly into the client’s court. The client is asking for a discount. She should be squirming – not you. When it comes to fee discounts you don’t have to justify why not – she has to justify why !  It’s a shift in the dynamic and it’s very powerful indeed. Its not as simple as this of course, many clients will continue to push for a fee discount regardless, and then you have to make a commercial decision. But the starting point is not to haggle over a number. Get the attention of the service you provide. Talk about what you do, explain your process and your insights and your connections and your value adds. That’s a far better place to start a discussion on discounts!

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Client wants a discount? Don’t talk dollars, talk value

Tags: client skills, coaching recruiters, Industry Chat, managing recruiters, recruiter coaching, recruiter training, Recruitment Agencies, recruitment skills, trusted advisor

Managing candidates’ salary expectations

Successful recruiting is about lots of small interactions, handled well.  The real job of a recruiter is to manage outcomes in the interests of both client and candidate. This week I have another micro recruitment consulting tip – the key skill of managing the candidate’s expectations around salary. It’s not that we want to find a person the lowest possible salary we can. Not at all. But it is crucial to know what the absolute minimum salary is for a candidate to move for the right job. That is the key. View video on YouTube. Too many recruiters take a stated salary expectation at face value. Often that number is inflated and largely wishful thinking.  However, if taken as a true guide, it could mean the candidate misses out on the perfect job because you, the recruiter, did not understand what his or her true motivators were. Managing expectations on salary starts in the first interview and it involves coupling the perfect job sought by the candidate to the lowest salary they would accept. Sure it’s a technique and it’s a test but it does clarify what the salary tipping-point really is. And you have to know that or you could be the recruiter who has the candidate, has the job, but watches another recruiter put the two together because they did a better job of uncovering the candidate’s salary floor. And that is an ugly prospect. You need to drill down on what the candidate would accept for the right job. Without that how can you effectively manage the candidate’s job search? *************************************************************************************************************************** Subscribe to ‘The Savage Truth’ -  Weekly recruiting tips, videos and insights

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Managing candidates’ salary expectations

Tags: coaching recruiters, expectations, Industry Chat, managing recruiters, recruiter coaching, recruiter training, Recruitment Agencies, recruitment skills, result, salary

Recruiters: What it means if a client rejects your shortlist (video)

Do you accept the fact that your client can reject candidates you present on your shortlist? Yes? Then you lack ‘Recruiter Equity’. View video on YouTube Recruiter equity is the trust, the buy-in, the belief that your clients have in your ability and your judgment. It is the combination of your experience and your knowledge, and it gives you the power to advise clients and truly impact the outcomes of your interaction with them. Most recruiters lack equity all together. The presenting of a shortlist for a permanent brief is a classic example. The fact is, that if a client rejects or will not interview any of your shortlisted candidates, it can mean only one of two things — both bad. You misunderstood the brief. You got it wrong. The client does not trust your judgment. It can mean nothing else. Both of those outcomes is a disaster. And it means you did not get equity into the relationship with this client. Equity means ownership or a share of ownership. In this case joint ownership of the problem and the solution.  Recruiter equity is the key difference between winners and losers in this business. Do your clients trust your judgment? Do they interview every candidate you refer? No? Then your recruiter equity is low – maybe non-existent. It takes hard work to build up your equity. It takes determination, study and practice. But it all stems from our attitude. Think about the best recruiters you know. The relationships they have with clients amount to shared equity. Sharing the problem. Sharing the solution. Sharing the rewards. View the video for more on presenting the shortlist.

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Recruiters: What it means if a client rejects your shortlist (video)

Tags: Belief, client skills, Disaster, losers, managing recruiters, non, ownership, recruiter coaching, recruiter equity, Recruitment Agencies, relationships, rewards, shortlisting skills, winners

10 ways the world of recruitment is changing – right now!

Last week I was honoured to present a keynote address to the RCSA National Conference in Hobart. All subscribers to ‘The Savage Truth’ , will receive the digital version of my presentation over the next few days ( subscribe here to ensure you receive it). In that speech I laid out 10 trends that I believe will impact the recruiting profession and which we need to factor into our strategies and business planning. Expectations of clients are rising and will continue to rise. Clients want insights, not just résumés. They want better service. They want specialist level consulting advice. And they want it faster and globally. Clients and talent are savvier, more discerning, and more sensitive to quality. Right now, publicly listed recruiters are reporting rising revenues and profits. But at the same time we see increasing numbers of small recruiters going into liquidation. Clients will not accept the second rate, the cumbersome or the old-fashioned. Employers will continue to aggressively build their in-house capacity to recruit staff.  Clients will develop corporate in-house recruitment teams, build recruitment technology, enhance employer branding, and use social media. And all of these will be used to cut recruiters out of the process. It’s a major issue for our industry and we have to offer something measurably different to be seen to be providing value. An increasing majority of vacant jobs will not be advertised anywhere. Forget web advertising vs. print media. More and more jobs just won’t get announced at all. Networking, social media, and skilled, specialised recruiters will fill most jobs before they ever hit the mainstream media. That has huge implications for us in the way we develop business, access talent and make the match. And also for the skill-set of our recruiting staff. Talent will become smarter and wiser to the way our industry works. They will be far more discerning about the recruiter they work with. They will take charge of their job search and of their employee brand. Technology has made things so much more transparent for job seekers and the pathway for them to connect with employers is now wide open, potentially leaving third-party recruiters out in the cold. This raises massive questions around the way we engage with candidates and our entire talent acquisition strategies. Reputation and Brand – of recruiters – will become our most valuable asset. And we will not be able to influence brand via traditional PR and media anymore, because social media is so viral, so transparent and so powerful, that your business can be destroyed or made by it at lightening speed. Our brands are being defined by the voices of strangers. Referrals will become the primary sourcing channel for all levels of positions. Not print, not job boards – but word of mouth, reputation, networking and referral programs. Customers’ loyalty will become key. And by customers I mean both clients and talent. Churn and burn will not work. We need to retain what we have, and develop it intelligently and consistently. On top of all this, there will be increasing pressure on price. Clients will not pay the same for what they used to get. To sum it all up, yesterday’s “delivery” market will become tomorrow’s relationship market with both clients and talent.

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10 ways the world of recruitment is changing – right now!

Tags: business, hiring trends, keynote, level, Liquidation, Management Skills, managing recruiters, planning, recruiter coaching, recruitment recovery, result, Savage

Ripper talks…with recruitment blogger ‘Recruitment Dad’

Welcome once again to ‘Ripper Talks…with Leaders in Recruitment ‘ my interview series which aims to uncover some of  our leaders in the recruitment industry.  A concept I often talk about when training or speaking at an event is that leadership doesn’t have to mean that you are the CEO or MD of a company, but rather that everyone is capable of being a leader , whatever their title.  This means that they take personal responsibility for achieving results whether they run the postroom or the boardroom.  They shape culture, stay positive and lead by example.  So I plan to interview a number of people whom I consider leaders in recruitment, whether they have an MD title or whether they are just a top performer in their role – it is their attitude, their state of mind and the way they operate that makes them what I consider to be a leader in recruitment. This interview, the second in the series,  is with  ‘Recruitment Dad’ , the anonymous writer of one of the industry’s leading recruiting blogs www.recruitmentdad.com  that provides expert recruitment training, advice and tips for recruitment and sales professionals. In truth, the person behind ‘Recruitment Dad’ is an experienced recruitment professional with in excess of 15 years service in the industry. Having been very successful as a recruiter, managing consultant, billing manager and senior regional manager for some of the most successful recruitment companies in the world; he has experienced first hand exactly what it is like, and more importantly, what it takes to be successful – consistently. Most recently, he has specialised purely in training, learning and development .   So Dad, what have you done to improve your business knowledge and/or personal development in the last year? I have engaged a business coach to work with me on my vision and business strategy. Sitting with someone who is skilled at asking good probing questions really makes me sit back and think about what I am doing. The facilitated meetings we have give me so much more clarity on what I want and how I am going to achieve it. Who / what inspires you? I find my children very inspiring. They are still young and it amazes me how they have such a natural ability to learn, ask questions and persevere with things. Everyone is born with such a thirst for knowledge and it seems that many start to lose it as they get older. What do you believe to be your most significant accomplishment? I believe it is still to come!!! What is the best piece of advice anyone has ever given you Dad? Remember the dolphins. I learnt some time ago how they train dolphins to leap through hoops that are 20 ft above the water. As a manager developing teams of recruiters I was always told to remember the dolphins…. What tips / advice could you give to a recruitment consultant today wanting to get to the top of their game? Learn to listen properly . There is a world of difference between hearing what someone has said and genuinely understanding what they mean. Recruitment becomes a whole lot easier when you understand your clients and candidates properly. Of course, you also need to make sure you speak to plenty of them! Is there a book that you believe is a ‘must read’ book? If so, what is it? Fiction? Moby Dick – the level of detail and the evocative language is fantastic. The unrelenting desire of Captain Ahab to chase the whale is inspiring. Never give up. Dad, if you could meet anyone in the world dead or alive who would it be and what would you say to them? Bill Hicks – You were way ahead of your time man! What’s the last song you downloaded on your iPod? Something by Faith no More I think. What has been your most satisfying moment in your business career so far? I get a lot of satisfaction from writing my blog . It may not be financially rewarding as it is really a labour of love but it is great get so many emails and comments from those who have found it beneficial. Have you made any business mistakes that you would advise others to avoid? Yes! Plenty. Avoid telling your client during a meeting that you don’t think his wife is very attractive – it generally isn’t very well received. In fact it was very badly received when I did it and I missed out on a nice piece of work because of it. What’s next for you and your business in the next 12 months? At some point I think I will tell the world who I really am. I enjoy blogging anonymously although I realise that some of the other bloggers out there seem to disagree. My secret’s safe with you isn’t it Roy?? Of course it is Dad! And so finally, what is your favourite leadership quote? “Leadership and learning are indispensible to each other” JFK Liked this article? Then take a look at these: Headhunting – four steps to writing your recruitment plan Ripper talks…with Dawn Milman-Hurst 7 Steps to becoming a Leader in Recruitment Don’t miss out – subscribe to the Ripper on Recruitment blog today!

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Ripper talks…with recruitment blogger ‘Recruitment Dad’

“Please note – this post was scraped from the original site as indicated above in the “read more about this article URL” and is in no way reflects the views, opinions or values of the team at Review Recruiter. More specifically, Review Recruiter is in no way connected with, associated with or involved with the original author or the original authors content.

If you are interested in reading more about this article, please visit the original authors site as mentioned above.”

Tags: Anonymous Writer, Attitude, Being A Leader, bill hicks, billing manager, Boardroom, Business Coach, Business Knowledge, business-strategy, Consultant Billing, Dad, dolphins, faith no more, Interview Series, knowledge, leadership, learning, manager, managing recruiters, Personal Responsibility, personal-development, recruiter, Recruitment Companies, recruitment industry, recruitment training, Regional Manager, result, Sales Professionals, successful, Top Performer, understand your clients

7 Steps to becoming a Leader in Recruitment

The ultimate competitive advantage of your recruitment business comes down to a single fact – your ability to grow and develop leaders faster than your competition. The more quickly you can get every single person in your recruitment organisation demonstrating consistent leadership behaviour – regardless of their position – the more quickly you will lead the field and leave other recruitment companies trailing behind you! Read my 7 point plan to help each and every one of you achieve exactly that. Follow each one of these steps and ‘step up’ to take your rightful place in the ‘Golden Hall of Leader’s in Recruitment’! 1. Are you a manager, team leader or director in your recruitment business? 2. Are a consultant? Or resourcer? 3. Do you provide back office support to recruiters or work in any other recruitment head office function! 4. Final question: do you regard yourself as a leader in recruitment? Ok, now here’s my challenge for you all today. By the time you finish reading this post I want each and every one of you to know that you are a leader in recruitment regardless of the job title printed on your business card or written in your job description.  7 Steps to becoming a Leader in Recruitment Step One is: Think like a Managing Director/CEO of a recruitment business. You are not consultants, managers, directors, administrators, etc –from today you are all managing directors of your own recruitment desk which are in effect your own small businesses. Your recruitment company is simply an ‘investor’ that you each need to keep happy. It provides you with resources, structures, recruitment processes and opportunities. You have to return results and keep your ‘investor’ happy! Take personal responsibility for the success of your recruitment business. Show up to work EVERY day like a recruitment entrepreneur. Grow new business sales. Make placements and reduce costs wherever you can. By taking responsibility your recruitment career will rocket and your Directors will love you! Showing leadership in recruitment does not mean everyone will run the organisation. That would surely lead to mayhem – can you imagine? All recruitment companies need someone to set the vision and then direct the team to it. But people within the team need to know their role and be fully present in that role – like a recruitment leader would. Step Two: Focus on getting to solutions rather than ‘navel gazing’ at problems A leadership culture is one where everyone thinks like a business owner, like a ceo or managing director. Its one where everyone is entrepreneurial, proactive and solution driven. They do whatever it takes to keep clients, candidates and recruitment colleagues happy. They worry about revenue generation and margins and take personal responsibility for achieving results and moving the business forward (whether they run the accounts department or sit in a boardroom). By staying positive and leading by example you can help shape your company culture into a leadership driven one. Step Three: Be a Leader in recruitment without a job title Leadership has nothing to do with the title on your business card, the size of your office, or how much money you make. Leadership is an attitude and a state of mind. It’s a way of operating and we can all do it. it’s available to each one of us, no matter what you do within your recruitment business. Take responsibility for your recruitment company’s well-being and growth and begin shaping/changing it for the better. Leadership is action, not position ~Donald H. McGannon Step Four: Give yourself a gift! Being great at work isn’t something you just do for your recruitment company and because you get paid, it’s a gift you give to yourself. Being spectacularly great at your work promotes personal respect, excitement and fulfilment. Every day is a new adventure. A new set of people you will meet and a new set of challenges you will face. You feel so much better after an ultra-productive day at work, when you have given your best and gone the extra mile. Think back to the last REALLY productive day you had at work and how great you felt at the end of it for having achieved something – it’s a gift you give yourself! Step Five: Make time to go to work ‘on your business’ rather than ‘working in your business’! Too many recruiters get so busy doing, doing doing that they fail to take a helicopter view of what they are doing. Schedule to go to work ‘on your business daily or weekly. Look at any of your processes and ask ‘What could I do to improve this’? Look at any specific client you’re recruiting for and ask ‘how can I improve this relationship/communication?’. Look at your candidates and ask ‘what can I do to place this candidate/get more out of my relationship with them?’ Making time to think is a superb strategy for success at leadership and in life. Too many people spend the best hours of their days solely engaged in the doing. In fact, they get so busy doing that they don’t even know what they are being busy for. Why waste all your time, energy and potential swimming an ocean only to find you have got to the wrong island? Taking the time to think and reflect ensures you get to the right island. Step Six: Learn to say no to negativity Don’t waste your time gossiping by the coffee machine or listening to the negative crap of your recruiting colleagues. Learn to say NO and keep focussed on positively achieving all that needs to be done in that day or month and achieve those results. And finally, Step Seven: Become a student of your recruitment business Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy To earn more you must learn more (and keep learning). The compensation you receive from your recruitment company will be determined by the value you add. The more you know, the more valuable you become. Read, study and continually improve yourself. Self development is the best investment you can ever make and if you don’t invest in you why the heck should anybody else? Leadership begins within and organisational leadership begins with personal leadership but you can’t be great at work until you feel great. By ensuring that you are performing at your best, your leadership effectiveness will be guaranteed. These seven steps will be your personal blueprint to becoming a leader in recruitment. Type them up, save them on your screensaver, stick post-its around your bathroom mirror. Whatever way you choose take massive action today to become a true leader in recruitment. The Recruitment Industry needs Leaders! It needs YOU! Take a look at these related articles: Ripper Talks…with Dawn Milman-Hurst How to fail as a billing recruitment manager! How NOT to fire recruitment consultants Don’t miss out – subscribe to the Ripper on Recruitment blog today!

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7 Steps to becoming a Leader in Recruitment

“Please note – this post was scraped from the original site as indicated above in the “read more about this article URL” and is in no way reflects the views, opinions or values of the team at Review Recruiter. More specifically, Review Recruiter is in no way connected with, associated with or involved with the original author or the original authors content.

If you are interested in reading more about this article, please visit the original authors site as mentioned above.”

Tags: billing manager, entrepreneurial, Industry Chat, managing recruiters, managing-director, result, team building, tough decisions, trainee recruiters

How can I manage my time as a recruiter more effectively?

Effective time management for recruitment consultants means working smart rather than just being busy. Being busy is the easiest thing a recruiter can be. Working smart means that the recruiter is spending the majority of his time on those opportunities and candidates that are MOST LIKELY to lead to placements. This sounds easy in principle but a recruiters average day (is there such a thing?) is full of necessary activities and constant interruptions. These interruptions cause recruiters to lose focus and spend time and energy on activities that seem worthy but in reality are not. Here are my suggestions on some of the things you can do to keep your focus directed on the ‘closest to money’ activities. Use a Written Daily Plan The number one piece of advice I give every recruitment consultant I work with is, you MUST have a written daily plan. The second piece of advice I give them is you MUST follow your plan. A good daily plan does not have to be some great big formal thing. Whether you use a daily planner form, recruitment software, Microsoft Outlook, an app on your iphone/blackberry or just a task list written on a pad. The most important thing is that your plan be specific and that you list each task you SHOULD be performing that day. Allocate time to each task on ‘Urgency/Now’ basis How much time you spend on each client requirement and candidate should be based on urgency/now factors. That is you have to specifically determine WHICH requirements and candidates deserve the most time and effort and how much time you allocate to each. New Business development EVERY day No matter how busy you are you must remember to schedule time EVERY day (doesn’t matter how little) for new business development. New business development is the number one thing that recruiters ‘forget’ to do when they are ‘busy’. It’s human nature that we want to speak with people who are warm and friendly and receptive to us. Therefore a lot of recruiters spend time repeatedly calling people they already know. Picking up the phone and calling a brand new potential decision maker means a greater risk of hearing the word ‘NO’ so too often these calls are not made. However decision makers are part of every recruiters ‘inventory’ or ‘stock’ and the only way to build and replenish your inventory is to MAKE time to develop new client contacts. Many of you will already know that over eighty percent of sales are closed on the fifth call or later so take time to make the first call.  Creating extra time Successful recruiters manage their time more effectively by knowing when and how to make use of ‘extra time’. If you are working on a number of urgent requirements and candidates your normal working day may not give you enough time to source candidates, arrange interviews for them and manage the recruitment process. On these occasions only you can determine how much extra time you are willing to put into your job to achieve the activity levels (KPI’s) that will bring you closer to your production and revenue goals. Extra time may mean coming in early, working through your lunch or staying after work – or sometimes all three! It may mean making calls from your home in the evening or over the weekend when you would rather be relaxing. It may even mean coming into your office on a Saturday or Sunday if you feel you need to – though with remote desktop tools that needn’t be necessary. For many recruiters, creating ‘extra time’ is a commitment too far. The urgent job order you have will not be urgent forever; however it is urgent NOW. Only you can determine how much of a price (in terms of your time) you want to pay to cover your urgent assignments and ultimately your success as a recruitment consultant. Review your plan The last tip I have for recruiters to master their time management is to review your daily plan before you leave your desk and to plan the next days activities. Pat yourself on the back for any successes that day and tasks completed but also give yourself a little kick for any activities you’ve failed to complete and commit to completion the following day. Ask yourself “what have I accomplished today?” How many tasks have you drawn a line through or ticked off your plan? Should you stay later tonight to complete, take work home or come in earlier tomorrow?  Were you busy today or did you work smart? And finally ask yourself how could you be more productive tomorrow?   As a recruiter, managing your time can feel like you’re a circus performer spinning plates. You could never spin every plate and invariably some will crash to the ground. One key to success in our business is identifying which plates to spin (planning) and then working hard on those (execution). If you have any further advice for recruiters to manage their time more effectively please feel free to comment below. Liked this article? Then take a look at these: My campaign to send Recruiters home at 5pm Telecoms for recruiters – there’s a bloody app for everything! Is your recruitment boss a ‘MAXPAX scrooge’ or a ‘Daddy Starbucks’? Don’t miss out – subscribe to the Ripper on Recruitment blog today!

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How can I manage my time as a recruiter more effectively?

“Please note – this post was scraped from the original site as indicated above in the “read more about this article URL” and is in no way reflects the views, opinions or values of the team at Review Recruiter. More specifically, Review Recruiter is in no way connected with, associated with or involved with the original author or the original authors content.

If you are interested in reading more about this article, please visit the original authors site as mentioned above.”

Tags: client, decision maker, gif, Industry Chat, managing recruiters, new-business, Placements, plan, recruiter, result, spinning plates, time-management, Urgency

How to fail as a billing recruitment manager

The position of billing manager or team leader in any recruitment company can often feel like the toughest job in the world. A recruiter joins a company and because she bills well and shows an aptitude to help and train other recruiters she is promoted to manage a team. Soon she has three to four recruitment consultants within her group. The team are always asking her questions and she is always answering them. Her personal billing / revenue generation starts to suffer. The Director/owner of the recruitment company asks the manager “Why?” and her reply is “because the people in my team are taking up all my time.” Sounding familiar? Believe me I hear this story in almost every recruitment office I go in to train and every office I ever worked in as a recruiter. I hear owners and directors of recruitment companies bitching and moaning because the superstar recruiter who used to make such a massive contribution in revenue has fallen from grace and nobody else in the team seems capable of replacing the lost billing. I hear managers and team leaders harping on about how little time they now have and how they feel unfilled. What’s the solution? The recruitment manager’s priority needs to change. I know it sounds like a contradiction but personal revenue generation (or billings) is the number one priority for a team leader. I can hear recruitment managers across the globe screaming at me “If I’m a manager of a team, why is my personal billing so important?” The answer is simply that you set an example for the other recruiters in your team. And your job first and foremost is to lead by example. Supporting team members and the counselling aspect of the job is exaggerated in importance usually by recruiters who are always asking questions and by managers who always answer them. You do not help your team members or support them properly by answering every question they throw at you. They either know the answers or should be finding the answers themselves. As a recruiting manager if your team revenue falls you need to refocus on your own personal billing. When your billing recovers, miraculously the whole team will improve. Even team morale will get a boost because “our manager bills too!” It is detrimental for morale when you tell them “make 75-100 new business calls today and you only made 10. Or when you say “get five client candidate interviews this week” but you only got one last week. Or when you demand|£15k this month and the last time you billed it was £5k and it was over four months ago! But how do you find the time to bill and make money? You can’t find it you have to make the time. You HAVE to set aside at least four hours EVERY day when you are there present amongst the team but not available to deal with their personal issues. You are there to recruit and make money! It might sound a bit harsh or mean but it isn’t. You see when the recruitment manager is billing, the recruiters are billing and when everybody is billing everybody is happy. And when everybody is happy then that’s probably the best environment you could ever wish for in any recruitment company. A popular Chinese proverb tells us ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime!’ By answering a recruiters question you feed him for a day or at least until the next question. Teach him the benefit of discovering his own answers and you empower him to feed himself for the rest of his lifetime. The next time a junior team member comes to you saying they have a problem or question, instead of giving them a solution ask them “How do you think you can overcome this?” or “What solutions have you considered”? If they don’t come with solutions send them away to think about some. If they answer with solutions that you know won’t work ask them “What other solutions COULD or MIGHT work?” Keep practising this, it’s hard at first because it will always be quicker to give them the solution but persevere because it will pay off in the end. Recruiters will stop coming to you as often and when they do they will have thought about some possible solutions before interrupting you. Remind your teams that you have a personal billing target to achieve this week/month/year and unless they are willing to supplement your income or pay your mortgage they must permit you the space and time to operate your own desk. Get into the daily habit of asking each team member for their personal objectives for each day in a morning team meeting. Ask them what help they need from you in order to achieve those objectives. Remember to check how well they did against those objectives the following day. Check in with the team at lunchtime and at the end of each day but otherwise this one discipline will enable you to work your own desk between 10am and 5pm without unnecessary interruption. Remind recruiters in your team that of course you are always available to them “for emergencies only”. You can still keep your eyes and ears open during the day, spotting opportunities to coach on the run, praise good performance and add value wherever you can but ALWAYS on your time schedule and when you CHOOSE to rather than being drawn in by others. Liked this article? Then take a look at these: David Cameron will pay for your recruitment training My campaign to send Recruiters home at 5pm Recruiters using YouTube to improve performance Don’t miss out – subscribe to the Ripper on Recruitment blog today!

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How to fail as a billing recruitment manager

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Tags: billing manager, gif, Industry Chat, leadership, management, manager, managing recruiters, result, team building

The Recruiting Manager as coach and mentor

As anyone who has been in recruitment for a while knows, the subtle and varied skills of our industry are best learned ‘on the job’, and they are always best communicated with the help of a mentor or coach, usually your manager, who can show how things work in real life. There are stats on this you can dig up I am sure, but experience has shown me that people learn by doing things, seeing things done and being coached in real time. Sure, classroom-style training has a place, but coaching is often more powerful as a real learning method. People often ask me, what exactly is ‘coaching,’ and how can we learn to coach our teams more effectively? Well, the way I understand it is that there are two primary functions of the ‘coach’. Firstly a good coach focuses a great deal on the positive . In fact, I believe recognition – for things done well – is a highly effective way to reinforce behaviours you want to see repeated. What’s more, that recognition should come publicly and as soon after the behaviour actually happens as possible. Funnily enough, although this aspect of coaching is the easiest and the most positive, I notice many managers find recognition hard to give. It’s as if we are not a ‘real’ manager unless we are always pointing out fault and deficiency in people. In my view, that could not be more wrong. The second primary function of a great mentor or coach (which is what every leader needs to be) is of course correction of behaviours and deficient activity levels. Importantly though, this guidance can and should be given in small bite-size chunks, in real-time and often ‘on the run’. There’s no need in most cases for a ‘meeting’ or ’special training session’. Often this correction is as simple as a two minute debrief when the recruiter puts down the phone to a client or candidate. How could we have promoted that candidate more effectively? When the client said this, did you think of saying that? My next four posts over the coming weeks will drill down on some great ‘on the job’ coaching tactics that I have learned and used over the years, and from which I have seen fantastic outcomes in terms of professional development of the teams I have run. First topic up next week will be ‘Coaching via live feedback’. Until then…

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The Recruiting Manager as coach and mentor

Tags: Bite Size, Classroom Style, coach, coaching, Deficient Activity, Guidance, Industry Chat, job, leadership, managing recruiters, Mentor, people, postings, Real Time, recruiter, recruitment agencies, Recruitment Agencies, Savage Truth, Seeing Things, Size Chunks, things, time, Training Session

How to set goals for new recruiters

Goals are the most powerful management and training tools that we have as recruiters. Unfortunately most recruitment business owners misuse them so much they become totally ineffective. We often wait until the second or third month to set goals for our new (rookie) recruiter. We call him or her into our office, ask them how much they want to earn this year. The new recruiter says “£50k” and we then tell them they need to invoice £150k this year and in order to do that they need to generate 20 send outs (1 st interviews) a month. The rookie recruiter says “I can do that”. We send them back to their desk and then check in one week later. She only got one Send Out. We tell her that she’s way off and she needs to make at least 5 interviews a week to reach her monthly goal. She says “I know, I’ll try harder next week and make up the deficit”. We check in again one week later and this time she has no send outs. Your rookie convinces you she will work harder the following week and keeps missing the goal. We keep sending her back to her desk and she keeps missing the target – INSANE! Recruitment managers and Directors should set goals as follows; A new recruiter should attempt 75 calls per day (any combination of recruiting and marketing calls is ok). They should complete (or connect with) 25 calls and spend at least 4 hours per day on the phone. For the first three months of their time with you the new recruiter should also have specific goals for gaining complete job orders (requirements), sourcing and registering new candidates, presenting candidates to client companies and Send Outs (1 st Interviews) with clients. By month 3 the rookie recruiter should be given a production goal (Monthly revenue target). If your new recruit is achieving early activity goals, achieving the production goal will be relatively automatic and easy. Getting new recruiters into daily habits of having to achieve high activity figures sets the tone and pace of their entire future career. Better to start with the bar set high and then lower later on if you have to. If your new recruiter fails to achieve his or her goals there are only four possible reasons; 1. the goal is too high 2. the recruitment training is not good enough 3. the recruiter is incapable of meeting the goal 4. the recruiter is unwilling to meet the goal If the goal is too high, lower it. If the training is not good enough, improve it. If the recruiter is incapable or unwilling, TIN THEM! (or send them to work for your biggest competitor) Never permit new recruiters to negotiate goals – YOU SET THEM! The key to meeting goals on a yearly basis is to meet them on a monthly, weekly and daily basis first. When goals are first set for a rookie recruiter they should be relatively easy to achieve – number of phone calls attempted per day. By the second week the recruiter has to have a more difficult goal to hit – one Send Out. The recruitment manager or mentor has to ensure that the rookie achieves this goal (even if they have to ‘help’ to make it happen). By the end of the first month, the rookie recruiter will be so conditioned to meeting goals that he sets and meets his own goals on a daily basis. In order to make this happen a manager must help set and monitor the new recruiter’s goals EVERY day for the first two months of their career. Like this article? Then take a look at these: My campaign to send Recruiters home at 5pm How not to fire recruitment consultants Top 10 mistakes when recruiting Recruiters Don’t miss out – subscribe to the Ripper on Recruitment blog today!

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How to set goals for new recruiters

“Please note – this post was scraped from the original site as indicated above in the “read more about this article URL” and is in no way reflects the views, opinions or values of the team at Review Recruiter. More specifically, Review Recruiter is in no way connected with, associated with or involved with the original author or the original authors content.

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Tags: gif, goal setting, Industry Chat, managing performance, managing recruiters, recruiters, result, trainee recruiters

Top 10 mistakes made when recruiting recruiters

Recruitment companies are recruiting again. The ‘war for talent’ has started once more (did it ever stop?) and thousands of recruitment consultant jobs are being advertised on the job boards and recruitment-to-recruitment specialist agencies are getting steadily busier. It’s a sad and ironic indictment of our recruiting industry that the one universal role that we struggle to recruit for is the one of recruitment consultants for ourselves. Even recruitment-to-recruitment companies find it easier to locate and place recruiters at their client companies than to fill their own internal gaps – you work it out??!! For a start, let’s tell people realistically how hard they need to work in their first year including what hours they need to work to be considered doing the job. If the culture in your business is that no-one leaves before 8pm at night it seems only fair to point that out during the interview and not reveal it to them in week 3 of their probation period. Likewise if there is an office bitch (most often a bloke) that makes rookies life hell for the first three months Warn them! If you as the boss only come in after 10am and frequently leave before 5pm (why??) tell them that’s the way it is. If you’re embarrassed to, then maybe you need shut up and change your hours to reflect how hard your team work. If their first three weeks are going to be spent cold calling to build up your client vacancy list then tell them to expect the worst, i.e., lots of rejection, low morale, wanting to give up, etc. The way I see it is if you paint the job as the worst they could ever imagine but talk about the rewards once you get past the initial boot camp feel then you are getting someone whose job expectation is based in reality which ultimately will lead to job satisfaction. If you bullshit the job up, their expectation is artificially high and unreal and will definitely lead to job dissatisfaction and the churn and burn we have come to expect in our recruitment industry just keeps on rolling on. Tell it how it is and remember to keep it real! It is imperative that we don’t make the same mistakes we made previously when re-staffing our teams. Forget about ‘double dip’ if you want to send your recruitment company or team down the swanee, then follow the ten most common mistakes we make when recruiting recruiters: 1. Hiring ‘experienced’ recruiters They are on the market for a GOOD reason. Proceed with caution – you may just end up with someone else’s problem recruitment consultant. 2. Recruiting low energy people because we like them If they’re low energy in the interview process how do you think they’ll be after 6-12 months with you? Do you really want to have to light a fire under people? 3. Not checking references You may as well give them the keys to your house and car whilst you’re at it. 4. Making compromises when we take someone on (settling) If you settle for second best, they will always be second best. Don’t you deserve ‘FIRST BEST’? 5. Hiring to ‘fill a desk’ Far better to keep it empty until the ‘best’ presents themselves 6. Hiring friends A recipe for disaster 7. Paying no attention to what the team says 8. Paying too much attention to what the team says 9. Selling too much to the candidate 10. Taking too long (time kills all deals) I think one of the biggest reasons we get it so wrong is reason no.9 in our list – ‘selling too much to the candidate’. I see it time and time again in recruitment companies I go out to train. Often I am asked to be involved in the selection process of new consultants coming in to some of my clients. They figure if they can get me to endorse them and they don’t work out maybe I’ll give them some money back – yeah right! The mistake I see the client make is telling the prospective recruiter what a fabulous company they are to work for, how they’re about to float on AIM in 2 years, how they will be financially independent within 3 years, how they don’t believe in ‘office politics, how they have an ‘open door’ policy to management and ‘we have never had a staff member leave the company EVER’! Now some of this may undoubtedly be true and of course you have to play up the positive aspects of any job. However I reckon we could dramatically increase our chances of recruiting the right people and retaining them if we were just a bit more truthful during the interview and selection process. P.S. I would like to add in an 11 th biggest mistake when recruiting recruiters and that is ‘failing to train them properly’. Stop spending a fortune identifying and recruiting superstars and then sitting them at a desk with an induction manual and the promise you’ll spend some time with them next week. Do it properly and get me in there! Liked this article? Then take a look at these: Has computerisation really helped Recruiters improve? David Cameron will pay for your recruitment training Is Headhunting sexy or wrong? Don’t miss out – subscribe to the Ripper on Recruitment blog today!

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Top 10 mistakes made when recruiting recruiters

“Please note – this post was scraped from the original site as indicated above in the “read more about this article URL” and is in no way reflects the views, opinions or values of the team at Review Recruiter. More specifically, Review Recruiter is in no way connected with, associated with or involved with the original author or the original authors content.

If you are interested in reading more about this article, please visit the original authors site as mentioned above.”

Tags: hiring recruiters, Industry Chat, management advice, managing recruiters, owner managers, top 10 mistakes

David Cameron will pay for your recruitment training

In the last three months I have worked with two recruitment clients who have had their in-house training with me paid via government funding, and the client whom I worked with last week, was not only getting my in-house training for his consultants paid for, but also the DVD recruitment training programmes from Recruitment Juice. His Directors had also received fantastic management coaching six months before by accessing a Leadership & Management grant. I understand that for small and medium size recruitment companies it can be hard to find the time and finance required for training, but if you are prepared to invest a little time and effort then you will find that funding and business support is available to most recruitment companies. It can be dependent on circumstances and is assessed on a regional and case-by-case basis – but it is out there! I firmly believe that good quality training is essential if recruitment businesses are to prosper and grow – whatever the economic circumstances, and David Cameron’s government via such initiatives as ‘Train to Gain’ is prepared to help you invest in the skills that are vital to help your recruitment business grow. However these are initiatives that were started under Gordon Brown’s leadership and so I would urge you to start your investigations into funding programmes soon as the eligibility rules and criteria could change very quickly. There are different methods to access the funds available from a variety of sources but below are the main contact details of the bodies able to help you. LSC (Learning and Skills Council) 0870 900 6800 Train to Gain (government initiative) 0845 600 9006 Learn Direct 0800 101 901 Business Link 0845 600 9006 Many of the funding and support bodies work together, but by speaking to as many people as possible will give you the best understanding of what is available out there for recruitment companies. Both the recruitment clients I worked with recently received their funding via Train to Gain and so I have detailed below some in-depth information about them and what exactly they can offer you. However they, along with Learn Direct and Business Link will be able to provide funding for training in other areas you may need and don’t forget they also offer often vital business support. Train to Gain Train to Gain is a service designed to help businesses of all types and sizes get the training they need to succeed. Managed by the Learning and Skills Council across England, Train to Gain uses experienced ‘Skills Brokers’ who will work closely with you to: Identify the skills your recruitment business needs Pinpoint the right training Agree a tailored training package for your recruitment team Find available funding for your recruitment company Review progress They help recruitment businesses of all sizes, in all sectors, to increase the skills of their workforce and improve the performance of their business. The service aims to encourage all employers and individuals to value and understand the benefits that learning and skills can bring, and to invest appropriately. They work with the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, the Learning and Skills Council and Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) to support you as you gain the skills that matter in your business sector. If you run a small or medium sized recruitment business, their new package of support can help you prosper during tougher economic times.  What types of training can I access through Train to Gain? From National Vocational Qualifications to bespoke on-site recruitment specific training, they’ll help you find the right skills solutions to meet your needs.  Your adviser will consider the whole spectrum of available training, and tailor their recommendations to your recruitment business. They include: National Vocational Qualifications Apprenticeships Leadership and Management training Bespoke recruitment skills courses Basic skills (literacy, numeracy and English language) Sector-specific skills What kinds of colleges and training providers can I access? Train to Gain works with colleges and training providers of all kinds – from universities to private training companies and individual recruitment business experts. Helping you through challenging times Train to Gain can help you use training to meet your short-term challenges and emerge stronger , ready to take advantage of new opportunities. The service is supported by Business Link Advisers who are qualified to offer quality-assured, impartial and independent advice to help you identify skills needs at all levels of your recruitment business and source high quality, vocational skills training. Priority support for small and medium sized businesses If you run a small or medium sized recruitment business, they offer alternative packages of support to make it easier for you to carry on developing the skills of your recruiters and other employees, particularly when it’s most important during tougher economic times.  You can access smaller, focused training programmes in subjects important to your business, including: business improvement team working and communications sales and marketing customer service new product design cash flow and profit management. If your recruitment business has less than 50 employees you may be able to get a contribution to wage costs to cover the cost of time off to train. To find out more, contact your independent business broker at Business Link. How to access Train to Gain? It’s easy to access the wide range of support available through Train to Gain:  contact an independent Business Link Adviser on  0845 600 9006 fill in their online contact form at www.traintogain.gov.uk or, for general business support and advice, call Business Link on 0845 600 9006 Leadership & Management Funding within Train to Gain The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) through Regional Skills Brokers (such as Train to Gain and Business Link) are offering a maximum of £1,000 funding for leadership and management training to those who have strategic responsibilities for their business such as Directors and Senior Managers. Previous recruitment customers of mine have used this funding to purchase the Recruitment Juice DVD programmes. The Leadership and Management offer is part of a broader package of support available through Train to Gain. Support is aimed at working with recruitment organisations that have not had the resources to date to think strategically about their organisational development. By providing a specific package tailored towards leadership and management, the LSC hopes to provide recruitment companies with the skills they need to consider broader workforce development issues at a strategic level. If other workforce development needs are required at management or supervisory level, it is expected that these will be discussed as part of a broader Train to Gain Organisational Needs Assessment (ONA) with a skills broker. What is the Leadership & Management Funding offer? Money is available to any recruitment company with between 5 and 249 staff (paid or unpaid) to support leadership and management training and development. Who is eligible for this funding? To be eligible for this funding you must: Have between five and 249 employees (paid or unpaid) Have not had any funded management training from external bodies in the last 12 months Have an recruitment office address in England The process is straightforward: A Leadership and Management specialist adviser must diagnose the skills need (through a process called a ‘skills diagnostic’) and write a personal development plan (PDP) with the leader/manager which identifies the training and development needed. Funding is available on the basis of the PDP. How much money is available? Up to £1,000 of grant support is available: the first £500 does not require match funding but must benefit the one person identified as the key leader/manager within your recruitment company. The remaining £500 grant must be match funded in cash by the employer and can be used to support the same leader/manager or one or more other managers (depending on the organisational needs). How can the money be used? The funding can be used to support any skills development activity identified through the skills diagnostic and evidenced within the PDP. This means that the money can be used to support qualification or non-qualification based activity, depending on the individual’s needs. Can you go on any course/ get any training you want to? Yes. That is, providing it meets the skills needs of the individual concerned and is documented within the PDP. The Leadership and Management specialist adviser will work with the individual concerned to identify their skills needs and appropriate skills solutions. When do you receive the money? Train to Gain don’t fund the organisation directly – the money will be paid upon receipt of an invoice from the training provider for the training/developmental opportunity undertaken. Will Train to Gain also talk to us about other staff training and development? Yes. Once the development activity has taken place, the specialist adviser will carry out a review to support the implementation of the new skills within your recruitment company. In addition, a skills broker will undertake a follow-up to discuss further workforce development issues. How to find out more? Contact Train to Gain – 0800 015 55 45 or www.traintogain.gov.uk Please note: These programmes and services apply to recruitment companies based in England. Information for the other three home nations is available from: Scotland – Learn Direct Scotland for Business 08456 000 111 Northern Ireland – The Employment Service 0800 328 91 35 Wales – Skills People Success 0845 60 661 60 In summary, everyone knows that training is vital. When asked the question ‘how can I afford to train my recruitment consultants?’ my stock answer is ‘can you afford to fix it if you don’t train your recruitment consultants?’ Pick up the phone to your local contact, get them to come and see you and push to get as much help for you and your business that is available. Invest some time in your application (ask your chosen training provider for help if you need it) and then push for a decision. Do it today before David Cameron stops paying for your recruitment training! Like this article? Then take a look at these: My campaign to send recruiters home at 5pm How not to fire recruitment consultants Is Headhunting sexy or wrong? Don’t miss out – subscribe to the Ripper on Recruitment blog today!

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David Cameron will pay for your recruitment training

“Please note – this post was scraped from the original site as indicated above in the “read more about this article URL” and is in no way reflects the views, opinions or values of the team at Review Recruiter. More specifically, Review Recruiter is in no way connected with, associated with or involved with the original author or the original authors content.

If you are interested in reading more about this article, please visit the original authors site as mentioned above.”

Tags: Cameron, david, david-cameron, funding, Industry Chat, managing recruiters, recruitment training, result, Train To Gain, training grant