Celebrating the Placement

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger Roman Duty. Roman owns executive search firm Recruiting Services International (founded in 1970) that specializes in technical search globally (R&D/engineering, manufacturing, science). Roman has been an active member of NPAworldwide for 4 years.

As far as making a living is concerned, executive recruiters live and make money, in an unbalanced world. Most of us are 100% commission and that money is reliant upon the most unpredictable living object on earth: People. We are tasked with finding the perfect match between the job, the person, the company, and the location. However, we also are dealing with the entire periphery: human emotion, children/schools, spouses, aging parents, pets, commutes, cost-of-living differences, money, weather, etc… We’re often even their realtors! It goes on and on. It’s a miracle we all aren’t crazy. It’s no wonder we dance like nobody is watching when an offer is finally accepted! But when do you start celebrating the placement?

To my knowledge, a salesperson has never had to go to his/her boss and tell them the purchase order they received two weeks ago just failed a drug test, didn’t show up to be purchased, decided against being purchased, took a counteroffer, had a stroke, or underperformed at 30, 60, 90, or 180 days. Recruiters deal with so much uncertainty.

When do you personally celebrate a placement or at what point does your company recognize placements? Do you have a special ritual for celebrating the placement? I’ve been to an office that rings a bell for everyone to hear when there is an acceptance. I’ve visited a firm that pours champagne at the end of the day when an employee has an acceptance. I thought to myself both times, isn’t this a little premature? I’m all for celebration, but shouldn’t that person resign first?

Personally, I think it is best to celebrate a little at each important milestone: acceptance, resignation, and start date. This helps in two ways. It prevents us from binge drinking, only to wake up to a hangover and the candidate took a counteroffer. And, who doesn’t like to prolong a celebration? Of course, the irony is the search isn’t closed until the guarantee period is over. But who wants to wait that long? The shine has potentially worn off at that point, and you’re thinking about where your next hire resides.

Here’s how I do it. When a candidate accepts, I give a short but pronounced fist pump into the air, and blast Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture for all those to hear. When the candidate resigns, it’s absolutely a bottle of champagne that evening (our recruiting risk is much lower now, don’t judge). And when that candidate starts his role, I celebrate with prayer. I pray the candidate makes his guarantee period.

Hope you all have had a great 2016 and that an even better 2017 is coming your way. And I hope that you celebrate every milestone along the way. Share your routine for celebrating the placement below!