Greg Doersching is Managing Partner and Founder of The Griffin Search Group, a national search firm working in the direct hire placement industry. He is an active recruiter who still runs a highly productive desk. He also developer and Chief Architect of the highly successful Bullseye Recruiting Process. For the past 15 years, Greg has been recognized as one of the most cutting-edge voices in the recruiting industry. Greg has spoken at several NPA conferences and is well-regarded for his candid approach and recruiter training.
I get asked by recruiters all the time, “Greg, how can I take better control over my clients?” I wish there was some kind of formula that would give you “actual” control; unfortunately that’s not reality, and I’m a strong believer in working inside the real world. So here’s the truth of the matter – the only part of the entire recruiting process that you do have control over is – yourself! This isn’t a cop-out, either. I bring this up because if you want to start having more INFLUENCE over your clients — which is something we can attain — then it starts with how you master yourself. Here are three areas where you need to be as consistency flawless as possible if you want to earn enough respect from your clients to actually start being able to influence their decisions.
Quality Submittals – The single most important service you provide to your clients is the candidates you actually choose to present and how you choose to deliver that presentation to them. Yet so often I see recruiters sending over marginal candidates and justifying it in their own minds. Our two biggest excuses? “Well, I’ve got to send them someone so they know I’m actually working the search.” And, “I’ll send them this person and then the feedback I get will help me fine tune what I’m looking for.” Both of these justifications are the kinds of things that kill your relationships with clients because clients only see one thing: “You didn’t send me what I was looking for!!” You want true influence? It starts with only sending candidates who are true fits for the position regardless of how long it takes you to find them!
Professional Communication – The second area where you can gain a great deal of additional influence over your client lies in how you handle communication with that client. I am a firm believer that the more professional you make you communication the more obligated your client feels to respond in a similar professional manner. To this end, I send very formal weekly update reports notifying the client on the status of the search. I send very formal interview debrief reports that detail the candidate’s thoughts on the interview. I go further in sending very detailed pre-search qualification matrix grids to my clients to force them to “sign-off” on my search parameters before I start a search.
There are lots of other tactics I employ to ensure that all my clients’ dealings leave them with the impression that they are dealing with a true professional and as such, a certain level of professional courtesy is expected on their part. I would leave you with this parting thought – do your job with a sense of P.R.I.D.E. (Personal Responsibility In Daily Excellence). If you take the focus onto yourself and work at a high level of professionalism, integrity and diligence your clients will notice. This will result in you gaining the RESPECT that you deserve and this will manifest itself in the influence you have over those clients.
Image courtesy of worradmu / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
