I’m amazed by the number of people I know who still say, “LinkedIn is for business and Facebook is personal.” This includes quite a few people in the recruiting sphere, who seem reluctant at best to toe-dip into using Facebook for recruiting. Considering the engagement level of Facebook’s enormous user base, it seems to me like there should be a whole lot more recruiting activity taking place there.
Consider the following: Read the rest of this entry »
Today’s guest post is courtesy of Wilson Cole, founder and president of Adams, Evens & Ross, a collection agency specializing exclusively in the recruitment and staffing industry. AER is an Endorsed Program sponsor of NPAworldwide.
I must get 10 calls a month from prospective clients who ask me for collection help on a past due account, and when I ask if they have sent a final demand letter, 75 percent of them will tell me they have not. Now, I do appreciate that everyone thinks of me when they have a collection problem, and I do not like to turn down business, but I will tell you what I tell them.
I first ask: “Has your debtor told you he is not going to pay?” It does not matter why – it could be he does not have the money, he disputes he ever agreed to your services, or someone has stolen your candidate or temp. If that is the case, then I do not recommend sending out a final demand because it would be a waste of time. But these cases are the exception. My best guesstimate is that only about 10 percent of your collection issues will fall in that category.
The vast majority of your past due clients would benefit from a final demand letter from your company before you turn over the account to me for collection. The fact is that 50 percent of your debtors probably will pay after your final demand letter. Think about that. You could save many thousands of dollars every year in collection fees by simply sending one more letter. But like most things in life, you have to do it the right way. So, let me share with you a few things you can do to help insure the success of your final demand letter.
All successful final demand letters have five key ingredients that work together and make the letter more effective.
Keep in mind what I said at the beginning of this article, and that is you will collect 50 percent of the accounts to whom you send a final demand letter. For those who do not pay, the best that you can do is set up either your attorney or me for success. The fact is that you asked your debtor to pay and said clearly what you would do if payment wasn’t made. Then, when I call, I can leverage your credibility and walk the debtor down the path of events of what will happen if payment isn’t made.
The fact is if you do your job as I outlined, you will need me a lot less in the future. But in the event that your debtor does not pay after your final demand letter, the worst case is that you have set it up so I can be much more successful for you in the collection process.
Good recruiters know it’s insufficient to just post a job and blast candidates on social media. They know there’s much more to recruitment, including finding passive candidates – those that are currently employed and not necessarily looking to change jobs.
How do you approach passive candidates? It’s important to really cater your initial contact with a passive candidate to sound both professional and genuine. You want to capture the candidate’s attention, but not in a spammy way. Read the rest of this entry »
We have all seen an award winner accept a prestigious honor from their peers, whether in our work industry, a committee or organization we are a part of, or just on television. Whenever I see that moment of honor, I aspire to one day become someone who is looked up to and respected enough to receive such recognition. In a split placement network of close to 500 firms and over 1,300 recruiters, it is easy to feel as though your efforts are going unnoticed; however helping others when there is no financial gain for yourself is one of the true signs of a leader. The following split story highlights not only a great international split, but also a member going out their way to see others achieve success.
At a Global Conference meeting held in Denver, CO, a member, Jim, from Georgia, connected with several strong members in the network, one being the regional director for the Canadian membership, James. Jim’s firm planned to work several international roles and he has been hoping to find some solid candidate providers they could reach out to at this meeting.
As a follow-up to the meeting, Jim emailed James with a General Manager position in Canada that he was going to be discussing with his client that very afternoon, asking James for advice on how difficult the role looked to source, who could help source for this role, and any other help James could provide.
Many times, when something like this crosses your desk, you immediately get selfish and consider whether the job is in your industry, if you could take on the recruitment for it, and what is in it for you and your business. If it is not a match, which in this case it was not as James does nothing with regards to pumps/fluids, it would be really simple to not respond to the email and carry on with your day. However, that lack of response is doing nothing to build up respect for your name or brand, and also not helping the organization you belong to.
Instead, James racked his brain for fellow members he knew of that worked that particular space and took the time to introduce Jim to fellow Canadian member, Henry. He worded it exactly like this, “I don’t know anything about pumps/fluids but if I had that order the first guy I would call would be Henry.” How reassuring to hear such confidence in someone able to assist you, likely hours or minutes before you take a client call.
Well, James was completely correct in his introduction, and not only was Jim able to secure the role from his client, a 100,000+ job at nearly a 30% fee, but Henry successfully sourced it, and the two ended up splitting a $33,000 fee, with the added benefit of a happy client now knowing that the firm can handle those international positions well.
While James did not get a portion of that fee, he now has two very happy members that appreciate and respect him for connecting them, and I am sure that the next time he needs a favor or job filled, they will return the favor of responding to him with any help they are able to. I encourage you to stop the next time your mouse hovers over the “delete” button on your email to first consider what other options or reply you could provide the partner on the other end.
Today’s guest blogger is Bill Benson with WilliamCharles Search Group located in Grand Rapids, MI. WilliamCharles is an executive search and professional recruiting firm specialized in finding managerial and executive talent in finance, HR, operations, sales/marketing as well as president/CEO roles. They have a concentration of clients in Michigan but they also work across the US. Bill is the secretary/treasurer of the NPAworldwide Board of Directors.
Over the years my business partner and I have tried many things. Many of those ventures, ideas or new approaches have either not worked well or completely failed. Fortunately… some of those strategies have taken seed and helped us build our recruitment firm. Here are five GOOD decisions that we have made along the way.
Usually the road to success winds through good decisions and bad. The key is to timely dump the bad decisions and be patient and allow the good things to come.
NPAworldwide turns 60 this year. Our members have made a LOT of split placements during that time. We think we’ve learned a few things about how to succeed at splits. While it’s true there are a lot of different ways to be successful, there is some split placement etiquette to follow that can make it a smoother process. Below are a few tips whether you are supplying the job or the candidate:
If you have the job…
If you have the candidate:
It goes without saying that clear communication, in advance (preferably in writing), is required from both partners in order to manage the process. I would venture to say that more than 90% of the difficulties that can arise on a given split placement can be attributed to unclear communication or mismanaged expectations. Remembering the importance of good communication plus following good split placement etiquette is sure to increase your chances for success.
Lou Adler, CEO and bestselling author, has come up with a method and checklist for finding exceptional talent. The 10 steps are based on Performance-Based Hiring techniques and marketing that he finds the most effective. Read the rest of this entry »
Talent acquisition is red hot in some markets right now. That means that even the best-intentioned and hardest-working internal HR manager/recruiter will find it difficult to keep up with the demands from hiring managers. As internal company recruiters require assistance from the outside, independent recruiters are a common way to supplement internal efforts. Every employer is different, but sometimes this relationship between internal staff and third-party recruiters can become uncomfortable, contentious, and even adversarial.
Here are some issues that cause friction and suggestions on how internal HR can create “the fix.”
Competition
It will often depend on the employer and the individual recruiters involved, but a search can turn into a competition. Each party is working to outperform the other and along the way creating opportunities for sabotaging the process.
The fix: Independents or third-party recruiters are often paid on a contingency basis. Make sure to give the independent recruiter credit for any action that leads to a hire. Yes, you had the candidate in your database, but you really had zero interest in the candidate until your third-party recruiter updated the candidate’s background and found they were willing to take a pay cut, move halfway across the world or some other condition internal HR had no insight to. Independent recruiters should be viewed as an extension of the internal HR department. They are selling your company to candidates and representing your brand in the marketplace. They want to be successful; let them help. Coach them to better performance; do not sabotage or create more difficult conditions for these folks that are attempting to help you reach a goal.
Urgency
It is not unusual for internal HR to maintain the easier openings to fill and offer the more difficult assignments to the independent recruiter. As this happens, there are limited resources that must be shared including time and access to the hiring manager. This causes an issue because the best candidates are highly sought after by many and reaction time is often critical.
The fix: Create benchmarks for performance. If a candidate is delivered, what is the agreed maximum response time allowed by internal HR? Pick a time and live with it. Hiring managers need to be held accountable for being accessible to recruiters whether the recruiter is internal or external. Hiring managers likewise need to respond in a maximum number of hours to requests for interviews, interview feedback, or details that will allow a candidate to make a yes decision. If these jobs are not urgent, then please tell your independent recruiter to “stand down” until a priority has once again been established. Nobody likes to hurry up and wait. Callbacks the same day or within a 24-hour window is a basis of most businesses. It is a basic requirement of being a good partner…make it happen.
Communication
It is at the root of most issues in business. Independent recruiters expect and deserve the basics of direct, accurate, and timely communication. Sometimes due to the detached relationship and compensation structure of independent resources called in to support internal HR and recruitment, the independent gets slow or less-than-accurate communication.
The fix: When things change, think about who is representing your company in the marketplace. Often that is an independent recruiter. If the job is canceled, the project delayed, the funding canceled, your partner on the outside needs that info immediately. Return calls and emails as you would if it was a great candidate calling or emailing directly, because it very well may be a great candidate being represented by the independent recruiter you have partnered with.
Ego
Sometimes partners that should be supporting each other like to show that they are superior. It is more than just competition when this happens; there is a need to be dominant and have someone subservient to the power that one side can wield.
The fix: We are on the same team. One party may have a better degree or a regular paycheck from an “important” employer, but we are both just trying to do a good job and to help that important employer get the best talent available. Sometimes independents have great instincts honed from the experience of headhunting thousands of successful placements in a lifetime. Sometimes our advice on offers is meant to help you get what you want and need. You are not always right and we are not always wrong. We have different experiences, perspectives and points of view. The more you listen, the better informed you will be. We win when you win.
Obviously this is a very heavily weighted point of view on this subject, from the independent recruiter’s side of the transaction. I’m sure there are other ways to view these situations. Please feel free to correct the errors of my thinking.
One of the biggest challenges a recruiter faces is trying to manage a schedule and predict the events of the day in an industry of constant change. What happens when you face an unexpected fall-off, a position goes on hold, or your client changes their requirements? You won’t get far in this business if you just give up – you have to adjust your strategy and plan your time to accommodate everything that’s on your plate.
Here are 5 time management tips for recruiters:
1) Be selective with your search assignments – It’s easy to try and take on as many assignments as you can, but you don’t want to overload yourself and not be able to deliver for a client. Working on the wrong assignment will cost you time and money, as well as potential future assignments with clients.
2) Be selective with your candidates – When you post a job, you’ll be inundated with a plethora of resumes and phone calls from candidates. Only a small percentage will actually be relevant to the role and your client, so screen much more selectively or you’ll be wasting more time and money with unplaceable candidates.
3) Create a plan and stick to it as best you can – Before you leave for the day, make a list of the names of candidates or clients you will call the next day. It’s easy to get distracted by a phone call or check your emails more often than needed, so it’s important to have a plan of attack for each day, rather than winging it and realizing at the end of your day all you’ve done is ‘busy work’ which doesn’t generate revenue.
4) Limit work hours to work – If you work from home or are a solo recruiter, the line of work life and home life might start to blend. It’s best to have set hours and during those set hours, close your door, screen out personal calls, and limit internet use to your sourcing activities and work emails only. You may think you’re only spending 5 minutes checking your personal email, but it can interrupt your train-of-thought and flow relating to your search assignments.
5) Prioritize goals – It’s easy to feel busy and have a lot on your ‘to do’ list, but if you’re not producing placements, it’s just wasted time and energy. You may be hitting your goal on how many calls to make, but if you’re not qualifying the right candidates and making placements, the number of phone calls is irrelevant. Replying to every email and application will keep you busy, but won’t necessarily generate revenue. Not everything is urgent — prioritize your tasks and condense your to-do list to the most essential and important goals.
Today’s guest blogger is Narissa Johnson, the global brand and content manager of SafeGuard World International. For nearly a decade, organizations around the world have relied on SafeGuard World for their global HR needs, specifically around payroll and employee compliance. SafeGuard World is an Alliance Partner of NPAworldwide.
To succeed, companies will come to recruiters like you to find and hire the best talent, no matter where they live. Successful recruitment of global talent means finding the right talent and ensuring your client is able to get them working quickly. You are in a unique position to inform your clients of the risks involved with international hiring. Read the rest of this entry »