As the owner of your independent recruitment firm, in addition to being a recruiter, you may also find yourself as the boss, or manager of a small team of recruiters you have hired to work for your firm. It is common that some of these hires may have had little to no experience in recruitment, and perhaps just had the personality to be successful. Others may have decades of experience in the field and decided to come back and work, and still others may have a couple of years working either independently, or under an owner much different than you. In all of these cases, it is important to view yourself as a leader rather than their manager. Here are the differences.
- “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”– John Quincy Adams. As the owner of a recruitment firm, you are most likely the top recruiter of the firm. What does this look like? Are you practicing what you preach in the conversations and research you are conducting? Open your door to your recruiters so that they can hear what you are doing to accomplish this success. Share with them the fee amount and the victories, as well as how you overcome the struggles. It is not until they have an understanding of how you work that they can operate under you.
- “Don’t find fault, find a remedy.” – Henry Ford. You have chosen to hire these recruiters because you saw something in them that you believed in. People are not perfect, especially in a fluctuating career such as recruitment. If a recruiter seems to be struggling or a placement does not occur, do not focus on the fact that there is failure, but on what can be changed so that success occurs. Treat each person as a separate entity and find what makes them work individually.
- “Management is about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing.” – Tom Peters. It is not enough to build a recruitment firm and create a business model for it equipped with a staff who you can instruct on what is expected of them in your vision. A leader will constantly be looking to nurture and enhance his recruitment firm. This means attending conferences, keeping up on industry trends, utilizing new tools, and sharing this with your recruiters. Without education and change, everything will remain the same, which does not equal success in a growing environment. Be open to adjusting your business.
