Fistful of Talent

Recruiter Goat's Gruff: Recessions Bring Out Our True Recruiting-Self...

Recessions tell us a good deal about ourselves as Recruiting Animals, don't they?  If you want me to be honest, I really wish we didn't have any, but the fact is that we do . . . and the cycle is fairly predictable.  One thing I've come to learn is that down economic periods shape our view of what is truly important in life.  For example, my grandparents often told me stories I will never forget about living through the Great Depression as young children. And as the number of unemployed grow, I find myself having more and more conversations in which the downsized candidate needs, above all things, a flicker of positivity; many simply pick up on the hope in your voice and it can change their outlook, giving them some momentum to continue pushing forward.  "These are tough times, but we will come out of this."

Yet, as I say this, I am dismayed at the number of candidate-bludgeoning articles (and today, blog posts) that come out during recessionary times such as those we find ourselves in today.  It's as if many Recruiters (internal and external) are now sporting "a gun and a badge."  At a time when we can do the most good (see David Pritchard's efforts to assist the candidate market), there are entire series coming out that do nothing but perpetuate this majority-versus-minority mentality.  The latest installment in the Egregiously Bad Candidate series, "7 Great Ways to Ensure No Recruiter Ever Reads Your Resume" was the breaking point for me.  Seriously, with 50% of the entire Recruiting population gone over the last 12 months, those of us still standing are better than this.  Let me ask: At what point did we transition from a highly skilled and passionate group of people continuously seeking to find and secure the best talent, to behaving as if we're trolls guarding the bridge?  "Thou Shall Not Pass!"

Watching more and more of these negativity-focused articles come out, I can't help but believe they're exactly what we don't need . . . and as far as the unemployed population goes, it's no wonder many are scared of (and turned off by) Recruiters.  And in that sense, I've come to some conclusions I'd like to share today.  As always, I welcome your thoughts and ask you to add to the list:

1. We, as a Recruiting Industry, have taught the candidate market many of their bad habits.  That's a fact, Jack.  For example, is it ok for us to blind mass email out job descriptions . . . but then flex on the candidate population when they blind mass email their resume?  Until we elevate our own behavior, we're nothing more than sitting in glass houses.

2. For all you External Recruiters out there, let me shoot straight with you: If you can afford to screen out on the basis of petty issues (i.e. "I didn't like their signature line"), you're in the wrong niche.  For Internal Recruiters, I'll say this: Just because the average tenure in your position is 8 - 12 months, you still hold responsibility for your organization's employment brand.

3. Just because we temporarily hold a position of power (i.e. Recruiters can screen in or screen out on the basis of personal discretion), doesn't mean that we should abuse our power.  Acton was right when he stated that, "Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Look, if you want to be a gun-and-badge toting monster, I understand there isn't a whole lot I can do to change your mind.  But, If I can leave you with one thing today, it's this: Don't forget what happened to the Troll in Billy Goat's Gruff.  He's no longer recruiting.  Nope, he now works at a used-car dealership and moonlights as an real estate consultant.

Editor's Note - Josh Letourneau is the owner of LG and Associates, a Strategic Sourcing, Executive Search, and Human Capital Intelligence firm based in Atlanta.  Prior to founding LG & Associates, Josh worked as a Sales & Marketing professional in the software biz and was a hard-charging Sergeant in the Marines.  In his spare time, Josh enjoys shooting at other sourcing and search professionals as available in random paintball games.

Recruiters Should Stay in the Jungle a Bit Longer...

I'm not much of a reality TV guy - but I did catch part of the NBC series "I'm a Celebrity- Get me Out of Here" a few weeks ago and as a search consultant - it resonated with me in many ways. Celebrities were dropped off in the jungles of Costa Rica to deal with major obstacles like snakes, huge mosquitoes, tropical heat, thunderstorms and a whole host of other challenges they were not used to dealing with, to see who would survive and be crowned "King or Queen of the Jungle". 

The analogy here is that in the search business we are dealing with an environment that is also full of challenges. A crazy job market and with no certainty on the turn-a-round for starters. To my point, one day the RCI (Recruiter Confidence Index) is up. Thirty days later, it's down. I truly believe the market is turning... and it's a message I have articulated to my clients and candidates - and to the market as a whole in previous posts I've written . After all - having a positive outlook and remaining upbeat is both exciting and therapeutic for me. It's the way I roll, and it's how I'm wired. I always try to find the good in every situation. I would rather remain upbeat and positive rather than the alternative. The caveat is that I don't know when things will turn for sure and find it hard to fathom that anyone can forecast exactly when we will see meaningful signs of improvement. 

Many recruiters are riding out the storm, keeping their head down working - while others have been hammered by the industries they serve. It's not their fault. I sense that the number of recruiters that are actively working on search assignments is shrinking each month. It's all about survival for many as we ride out the storm anticipating a positive tilt in supply and demand.  Bailing out too early could prove to be a bad strategy. Let's face it, for some, in recent weeks the search business has improved somewhat. And...I think it will continue to improve in the weeks and months ahead. Hopefully things should be moving in the right direction by Q4 and as we roll into 2010. Our business is up over the two previous quarters and I'm bullish on a recovery. I'm just not sure when that will happen.

So why are some recruiters running to the helicopter pad now? For some, it's simple economics. Others have made the decision to listen to the media (daily) for inspiration (NOT). Some just choose not to deal with adversity. Some call it FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt). Here's the problem, once FUD sets in, the downward spiral starts. It becomes very difficult to turn things around and before you know it - it's out of control. 

Hey - it's painful to not be busy or worse - take an economic hit below the belt. Many experts say when the market turns, many of us will not even know it until the recovery is in full swing. The heat in the jungles of Costa Rica  is fraught with pitfalls (bad weather, snakes, bugs and other elements). So is the search business (cancelled searches, lower retainers, hiring freezes etc). No doubt, this economy has been challenging - even for the most seasoned recruiters. But I believe if one has been in this search storm for this long, it's better to ride out the storm instead of leaving the jungle prematurely. The recruiters that remain will reap the rewards when demand replaces the current slump in talent acquisition. It will happen. In the meantime, recruiters should be providing significant value to their existing clients by offering services that may not yield a fee. Improving service levels and adding value is really a key differentiator - and clients will remember you over your competitors that only think in transactional terms. Trust me!   

So...there is a chopper waiting to take you back to safety if you decide to leave. You might consider stoking the fire, slapping on some more suntan lotion, unfold the mosquito net, spray on a bit more OFF (Tropical Fresh preferred) and keep a watchful eye out for things moving below your feet. Do your very best to protect yourself from all of the elements that are lurking in the jungle. But stay. That's right - you should hang in there just a bit longer. Soon, the clouds will open and the market will recover. I can see it now and I can't wait!

I'm staying...

Editor's Note - Tim Tolan is a partner at Sanford Rose Associates and specializes in Executive Search in Healthcare IT.  He's a closer, and you really don't want to call him unless you're ready to bring out the bazooka to bag some big game...   

How Far Would You Go For a 3 Million Dollar Annual Retainer as a Recruiter?

Probably pretty far, right sparky?

I know - and it's OK because you're human.  As it turns out, I've had a 3 million dollar annual retainer at play right here in Birmingham.  More on the 3 Million Dollar retainer in play at the Birmingham-based Regions bank from the Wall Street Journal:

"An executive-recruitment firm that works for Regions Financial Corp. said it paid the tab for Regions officials at a number of getaways to luxury golf resorts, a practice that has come under the scrutiny of federal bank regulators.

The search firm, Fiderion Group, entertained Regions executives on golf vacations annually from 2002 to 2008, Fiderion Chief Executive James B. Norton III said in an interview. Three former Fiderion employees familiar with the matter said the firm spent an aggregate of more than $100,000 on Regions officials at the outings.

Federal law prohibits bank employees from accepting anything of value intended to influence business decisions. The law makes exceptions for things like "reasonable" business lunches and gifts "based on obvious family or personal relationships."

In an email to a Fiderion employee in August 2006, Mr. Norton said his firm had done all retained job searches for the bank and its predecessor bank, AmSouth, for at least 10 years. Retained search means the recruiting firm is paid a retainer fee for its work rather than on a per-hire basis.

Mr. Norton's email said that since Fiderion had opened in 2002, it had done more than $2 million a year in business with Regions and AmSouth. Former Fiderion employees said the amount billed to Regions in recent years exceeded $3 million annually. They said Regions was Fiderion's biggest customer, and turned to the firm for its high-level executive searches."

That, my friends, is what's known as a whale client delivered by being on the inside.  Cold-calling isn't likely to get you that one - you'll need a former colleague or placement you delivered to bring you in and provide you the Fortune 500 exclusive that delivers 3 million large.

Good work if you can get it.  Funny thing is, Birmingham has long been a banking center (before waves of consolidation started rolling up the industry), meaning that many of the executives they could have been recruiting on the retainer would have already been located in Birmingham.  Now that I think about it, I'm sure they had an office in downtown Birmingham and by eating lunch with someone every day (remember - never eat alone), they would have likely filled up a meaningful target list.

The 3 million dollar retainer.  Your new measure of success.  Good luck out there!

Editor's Note: By day, Kris Dunn is the VP of People at DAXKO, a cool software firm dedicated to providing solutions to the best membership-driven organizations in America. At night, he morphs into a blogger at The HR Capitalist and the Founder and Executive Editor of Fistful of Talent. That makes him a career VP of HR, a blogger, a dad and a hoops junkie, the order of which changes based on his mood. Tweet him @kris_dunn...

Are You Ready For Some Good News?

This week I had the good fortune to stumble across a recent YouTube video from Mark Anderson, president and chief economist of Execunet. And...his news and predictions were more than encouraging for job seekers and recruiters that have been bottom fishing in one of the worst job markets any of us have ever seen. The Recruiter Confidence Index soared in June and it appears that the job market may have reached a bottom. We can only hope so - right! In the chart below the lines on the graph are finally heading in the right direction!

Good news!

  Confidence in the Executive Employment Market
Next Six Months

I don't wake up each day waiting on someone to give me the news I need to modify my firm's strategy. You have to look at your own market niche and activity and make decisions that you can live with. I get that. But we are all so hungry for good news - this news could not be better. While we may not be out of the woods yet - better days are clearly ahead. We have seen a surge in my firm in the last few weeks that lead me to believe that Execunet has their finger on the pulse. Activity is up considerably and that drives everything.   

The company's that "get it" are already working on their hiring plans and have started searching for talent while others are still cautious and waiting on the sidelines until the market has officially made the turn. The smart employers are in the first group and will be in a position to pick and choose from a very healthy stable of candidates while those with a more conservative approach will ...well you know how this will play out...

Let's keep our fingers crossed that the job market is finally turning. But, let's not forget where we've been. I certainly won't!

Let's get ready to rumble - let the games begin!         

Editor's Note - Tim Tolan is a partner at Sanford Rose Associates and specializes in Executive Search in Healthcare IT.  He's a closer, and you really don't want to call him unless you're ready to bring out the bazooka to bag some big game...       

What's Wrong With "Kelly Girls" as a Brand Position?

In a recent Workforce Recruiting article, the author speaks to Kelly Services Execs regarding the company's desire to separate its brand away from the traditional Kelly Girl image that has stuck to them like Gorilla Glue.   I always find it interesting when companies try so desperately to shed an old image or slogan - spending so many resources in the process - but in the end not much has changed in the customer's perception.  Why is it we get so scared of that which we've created? 

Personally, I think it really has a lot to do with marketing departments and egos - and not egos of the marketing department, more to do with egos of the new senior leadership teams that are currently in power, and the marketing department not putting a stop to it.  I can just hear it in the meeting at Kelly HQ - CEO, "We can't be seen as Kelly Girls anymore.  People won't see our breadth of services we offer and we'll lose market share to Manpower, Addecco, Allegis, Spherion, Randstad, Robert Half, et al." 

You might recall the 1990 movie "Crazy People" starring Dudley Moore as a burnt out advertising executive whose mental breakdown lands him in a psychiatric hospital.  With time on his hands, the Dudley Moore character quickly recovers his mental health and is inspired to make truthful advertisements.  These slogan's are probably the lasting legacy of the movie:

• "Buy Volvos. They're boxy but they're good."
• "Forget Paris. Come to Greece. We're nicer," for a Greek travel agency
• "Come... in the Bahamas" for the island nation's national tourism board
•  For the movie The Freak, "It won't just scare you, it will f@#k you up for life!"

The movie is a perfect example of what can go wrong with a corporation's own self examination of its brand and image.  There is nothing wrong with the Kelly Girl image. Heck, I would argue that it might be the one true differentiator that they have.  If Kelly's executives think that corporate HR Pros don't know who they are, or at worst still believe HR Pros think they are the 1950's image of the Kelly Girl's in these ads: here and here - they are sorely mistaken and not giving credit to HR departments around the world!  I know the staffing industry in general likes to think corporate HR types are idiots, but this is one huge example of a staffing company basically spending millions of dollars to educate people like they are idiots.

Why wouldn't Kelly just want to give us an updated image and view of what the 2009 "Kelly Girl" looks like?  In my mind it could be a win-win for Kelly and the lasting image.  I don't know about you, but I work with and have worked for some extremely talented females who have proven over time to be great business leaders and some of the sharpest minds in the world. Couldn't that be the 2009 version of the Kelly (Girl) Woman? 

Editor's Note - Tim Sackett is the Executive Vice President for HRU Technical Resources, which really means they just ran out of titles between Director and CEO.  Tim's job is to make sure everyone is happy and productive – for those who have worked in staffing firms, you know exactly what that means. HRU is primarily an engineering and technical contingency firm that specializes in the manufacturing sector in defense, consumer products, automotive, higher ed, etc.  HRU is based in Lansing, MI – but has close to 500 employees all over the country. 

What Led To The Recruiting Industry's Current Grapefruit Diet . . . And Why The Detox Is Good For All of Us

I had a rather interesting conversation with Industry Icon, Doug Beabout, the other day.  He let me know that approximately 1/2 of our industry has vaporized over the last 12 months, with many more recruiters to leave by the end of the year.  As he comically put it, "A large majority of our industry will now go back to whatever in the world they were doing before the recession started."  However, he was also sure to let me know that while the current recession has been particularly painful, the massive influx of recruiters (during a boom) and coinciding mass exodus (during a bust) is actually a quite predictable phenomenon.

So I reflected on this for a while and have concluded that the 'normalization' or 'purging of the excess' is good for the Recruitosphere.  Don't get me wrong - I hate to see anyone lose their job or have a contract come to an end.  However, if you've recruited beyond a few years, you probably know what I mean when I say there were truly some characters that parachuted onto to our scene before flopping out shortly thereafter.  "Jokers to the left of me, Clowns to the right . . . Here I am, Stuck in the middle with you."  [Compliments to the band, Stealers Wheel strumming in the background way back in 1972.]

See, during boom-times, companies hire and hire and hire.  They get fat, just like the average American's credit card bill before the bottom fell out of the market and we realized that operating in the red doesn't make good financial sense.  And as the company gets fatter, so does the Recruiting Department.  "Thought Leaders" start suggesting that you don't need to lean out -- nope, you need more division of responsibilities.  You don't need better recruiters -- nope, you need people good at doing individual functions, just like Henry Ford popularized with the Assembly line in 1908.  "Hey, you don't need better full-cycle recruiters -- nope, you need dedicated sourcers and researchers and candidate contractors and candidate developers and professional appointment setters."  That's right, somewhere we were told we needed people good at doing only one thing all day long - "If they hate speaking to candidates, no problem - just place them at station 7."  Then, when we last expect it, we're offered all types of services, tools, technologies, training and additional contractors to increase the efficiency of each resource and/or station of the assembly line.  "Yeah, we understand your total staffing expense just ballooned up 300% Mr. Talent Acquisition Leader, but if you want to get the most out of your newfound investments, you're going to have to spend another 50% on this Recruit-O-Meter Flux Capacitor."

Well, sorry.  That ship has sailed.  We never needed the assembly line, and we didn't need the coinciding bloat, either.  It's as if we just ate that triple cheeseburger super-sized with a large fries and 100 oz. Coke, at which point we sloth down into the couch because we're too stuffed to move . . . wondering why we just did that to ourselves.

So this is what I'm getting at:  We needed then what we still need today - Peter Drucker's notion of "knowledge workers" who specialize in tacit interactions; intelligent people who can handle multiple moving balls in the air, yet have an instinctive ability to understand human psychology . . . and sell all at the same time.  Isn't it funny that every once in a while, the very industry that focuses on people (who have the 'talent') needs the old, "It's the people, Stupid!" wake-up call?

So that's why our current Recruitosphere detox has been a good thing.  It might be like eating a lemon, or going on a grapefruit diet . . . but the weight-loss is necessary and needed for us to maintain our health, not to mention our sanity.

Editor's Note - Josh Letourneau is the owner of LG and Associates, a Strategic Sourcing, Executive Search, and Human Capital Intelligence firm based in Atlanta.  Prior to founding LG & Associates, Josh worked as a Sales & Marketing professional in the software biz and was a hard-charging Sergeant in the Marines.  In his spare time, Josh enjoys shooting at other sourcing and search professionals as available in random paintball games.

So You Want My Number, Candidates? Have At It... Call me..

I saw something in the Twitterverse last week that took me aback. My friend, Chris Hoyt, also known as the Recruiter Guy in the blogosphere, did something very simple, but seemingly very ballsy. He put his phone number out there. A job seeker had said to him if a recruiter were serious about using social media to recruit, they would put their phone number out there. So he did. My response to Chris? If a recruiter were really serious about using social media to recruit, they'd put their phone number in their Twitter profile. And then he did it. Now here's someone who walks the talk.

Yet I can't bring myself to do it... yes, my little tail is cowering between my legs. Admittedly, I'm actually scared. You probably are too, because the reality is that for recruiters, we're all overwhelmed right now. I'm receiving resumes upon resumes from every which direction. I'm receiving calls from candidates by the hour. And I'm even receiving calls and emails from the boyfriends of candidates. Then there are the third party recruiters and agencies calling daily. Everyone has a candidate or is a candidate and is trying to sell themselves to me. It's a lot to deal with and my patience is tried almost daily... so to put my phone number out there to be even more accessible? I don't know...

Yet, I also don't know how I feel about building walls up around me completely. (Are we talking about recruiting or relationships? LOL!) I've been thinking about this idea of how much to put ourselves out there quite a bit of late, particularly as a job seeker asked a question of me recently... when coming across a job posting that says, "no calls please," does the employer really mean it? And if so, what's the penalty for a candidate calling? Of course, as I often do, I farmed the question out to my friends on Twitter to see what they thought and Susan Burns of the Future of Talent raised an excellent point. The bigger question is what does a statement like that say about the culture of the organization? It's kind of negative language, isn't it? And I couldn't agree more. The notion of job posting language such as "no calls please" reinforces the whole notion of companies being "big black holes" when it comes to applicants sending their resumes in... yet given the volume of candidates out there, I get why someone would do say no phone calls. I don't agree, but I get it.

So, what's a recruiter to do? If you're serious about using social media to recruit, if you're serious about recruiting in general, you have to be accessible. On my LinkedIn profile, my email address is spelled out for you. On my company's website, my actual name is listed. You can find my phone number pretty easily or call our receptionist. You can find my email address, if you click around a bit on the interwebs. The number of candidates who find and contact me, it's greater as a result. And there are days, I'd like to yank my contact information. There are days, I'd like to not pick up the phone, or just ignore candidates. But what then is going to happen when the market turns and I'm the one calling passive candidates? You know what I mean?

The tables will turn back around at some point. So let's just see what happens if we put ourselves out there. This is about accessibility. Don't be another black hole to your talent community. So if I'm going to walk the talk? Here you have it. Candidates can email me at jlee@apcoworldwide.com, or ring me. My direct dial is 202.478.3723. My apologies in advance if I can't get back to you immediately. You'll understand because the market is so plentiful and there are lots of candidates calling me - but I'll get back to you. I look forward to hearing from you.

Editor's Note - Jessica Lee is an Employment Manager for APCO Worldwide, a global PR firm in D.C. Like most upscale HR pros, she spends half of her time on recruiting, the other half on ER, Training and OD.  When she's not hammering a candidate to determine Motivational Fit, she's thinking about the future of HR, and wondering how many HR Managers nationally could pull off appearing in a Justin Timberlake video...Just like other upscale HR Pros I know and respect...

This Candidate Wanted to Play the Game "Aggravation". Let's Roll 'em!

You all know the game. It's Aggravation. All players start out with 4 color coded marbles and the first player to get all four marbles to the finish line wins. If another player jumps over your marble - or if you make a stupid move - guess what? You have to start all over again - even if you are merely a couple of hops to the finish line. Seems fair right? You bet it is! 

In search, we have an opportunity to source candidates, and in most cases we present three qualified candidates to a client company. If, for whatever reason, the client elects to pass on all three candidates - guess what? We get to start over - just like the game Aggravation. It's OK if you understand the rules of the game - and if you have done your job, you should have other candidates in play to eliminate the need to completely start over. Seems logical - right ?

While Aggravation may not be the perfect analogy, let's use it as a backdrop for this doozie story ...please bear with me (thanks).

Recently, I interviewed a very qualified (passive) C-level executive that seemed to be quite interested in making a career move. My staff screened the candidate and he seemed to have all of the requisite experience for this role. Solid on paper, good tenure and overall a very impressive individual. Then it was my turn to speak to him. On the first call, I did a short phone screen and decided to move to the next round the following week with this candidate. All good - so far. The next interview started out fine, we had a nice exchange and then I let him know I had a few questions about his background, education and experience. DEAD silence. Once I started my interview, he totally clammed up. Then he asked a brilliant question: "Is this an interview"? WHAT? He was taking the fifth on nearly every question. OK - I started (silently) asking myself - does this guy need a lawyer to speak to me?  Short sound bites were really all I got from him. Nothing more.

OK ....I thought, let me take a few deep breaths and re-group.  

I once again explained our process to him (3rd time's a charm - right?). It's an in-depth interview followed by a video interview, candidate questionnaire, personality profile, phone interview with my client and if all goes well......an in-person interview. The BIG Dance. He abruptly informed me that he was no longer interested in the full process and was opting out as a candidate. OK - weird, strange, unusual - but OK. I (quickly) got over it and was (perfectly) fine with his decision. I thanked him for his time and we parted ways. I wish that had been the end of the story. But (like Billy Mays says) wait - there's more. 

Mr Passive (totally unprofessionally) decided this was a great opportunity and clearly a job he wanted to pursue. You know where this one is heading. Yep - he wanted to go straight to the BIG Dance alone. He contacted the hiring manager behind my back and sent a warm (loving) e-mail with his resume stating 'I hear you may be looking for a new (fill in the blank) and I just wanted to reach out and introduce myself and send you a copy of my resume". Bad move. The hiring manager (immediately) forwarded the e-mail to me (LOVE IT) and asked me to check out the candidate to see if he would be a fit for this position. All of a sudden, this became a very interesting situation.  

Back to Aggravation for a moment? I had the honor and privilege of reconnecting with this genius to let him know there had been a rules violation and it was time for him to go back to the starting line. Aggravation! I don't make the rules - I do try to make the process consistent and fair for all candidates. So - when you pull something like that, it's time to pick up all the marbles and go back to square one (the starting line). START OVER. That's Aggravation.

No actually it's Game Over.   

Editor's Note - Tim Tolan is a partner at Sanford Rose Associates and specializes in Executive Search in Healthcare IT.  He's a closer, and you really don't want to call him unless you're ready to bring out the bazooka to bag some big game...          

What Do You Mean Our Employer Value Proposition (EVP) Doesn't Compare?!?!?"

Every once in a while, each of us (as External Recruiters, Internal Recruiters, or Sourcers) have interesting conversations worth sharing.  Some are informative, many are myth-busting, and a few are mind-boggling.  Here is an example of one with an organization that has doubled their staffing spend over the last 12 months by believing the hype and searching for a magic bullet.  Today, they have little to nothing to show for their 'investments' and are very close to exhausting their entire FY09 budget:

 

Them: "Josh, we've basically done everything we can.  We've had 3 contractors who came from 'Recruiting Excellence' award-winning companies join our staff and they struck out.  Their response in regards to lack of production was along the lines that at their other companies, they were used to 'handling volume' instead of having to directly source from the competition.  Although these contractors were from these award-winning companies, I realized that we weren't living in the same recruiting reality as them.  They spent the bulk of their day waiting on incoming resumes and filtering old ones so they could do a quick phone screen and submit the candidate to the hiring manager.  From there, we brought in a few well-known internet sourcing trainers, but to be honest, their stuff didn't do much beyond show us search results in Google.  In many cases, the resulting data was old . . . in others, it didn't mean we could do anything with it.  Then we brought in one of the larger recruiting training firms to help our recruiters, and while we learned a few things, we're still not hiring better candidates in the needed timeframes. As of late, we've invested in an advanced sourcing platform to lay on top of our existing job board investments . . . but a big part of me sees this as throwing good money after bad.  So here's the bottom-line: This year alone, our staffing spend has basically doubled . . . and we have nothing to show for it."

 

Me: "Wow, I can feel your pain.  This is a tough market.  It sounds like you were betting on speculative results that didn't pan out - somewhat like buying real estate in hopes the property value would appreciate . . . that is, before the bottom fell out.  From where I'm standing, you were looking to invest in training, channels, and technology with the hopes of big returns that simply didn't result.  Look, the truth is that most of the consistent award-winning recruiting organizations have massive budgets, strong employment brands, and their challenge is resume volume, not direct sourcing.  In terms of Internet Research, the reality is that there is a big difference between what the military calls 'information' versus 'intelligence'.  You can act on intel, but information alone holds little value.  For example, knowing who someone is doesn't mean you can recruit them.  As far as Sourcing Platforms that lay over job boards are concerned, the elephant in the room is that the results can only be as good as the resumes being put into the job board.  If they're poor, relative to your desired profiles, then don't expect big-time results.  Anyway, how can I help you?"

 

Them: "Well, as much as we hate the idea of paying executive search fees, we feel as if we have no other choice.  Sure, we tried BountyJobs, TalentHire, and RecruitAlliance, but all we received were the same candidates that our sourcing platform pulled off of Monster for us.  I mean, I don't blame the recruiting firms because we refuse to speak to them in the first place.  Put it like this: I liked the idea of offering way lower fees, but ultimately, about 1 in 15 resumes we received were actually worth taking a look at.  So, we've doubled our staffing spend from last year and have nothing to show for it outside of a social networking presence that has helped us with our entry-level roles, but not much else.  And since we've spent so much of our budget, we can't pay more than 20% on a direct-hire fee."

 

Me: "I wish I could help, but I can't.  Your recruiters are going to continue to struggle and until you fix the root cause of your real problem, you can spend and spend and spend and you won't see much more than an incremental improvement, if that.  In all honesty, your current strategy isn't much different than opening your window and throwing dollar bills out of it."

 

Them: "What do you mean?"

 

Me: "You're trying to sell a meatball sundae.  Strong candidates aren't going to leave their current position to join your firm for 15% less total compensation, a non-existent relocation package, and a $3k tuition reimbursement plan.  It's just not going to happen.  As much as I hate to turn down business, you're asking me to essentially recruit the bottom 10% of the market that is currently employed at your competition.  Put simply, your value proposition is the weakest in the market and as a result, the word on the street is that your company is looking to tread water instead of make some serious waves."

 

Them: "How do you know what our competitors are paying?  What do you mean our value prop doesn't compare?  Out of all the consultants and fancy solutions we've purchased over the last 12 months, nobody ever told us what you're saying.  It was as if I'd tell them our issues and they'd lay out a chinese menu of options on a pricing chart."

 

Me: "Yeah, that's Sales 101, right?  Find the Client's problem, magnify it, explain how your solutions will fix the pain, and then get the invoice signed.  My recommendation is to kill your meatball sundaes.  Reinvent your value prop to become more attractive to strong performers.  Stop paying for consultants and technology you don't need and actually fix what's wrong.  If you can do that, I'll help you turn your performance around by getting you some real movers, shakers, and difference makers.  Oh, and when you begin taking steps to fix the real issues and actually focus on getting great candidates hired, think about how a few points on the direct-hire fee matters very little at the end of the day.  The couple grand more you'll spend with my firm to get a great candidate hired instead of a good one is half a week's pay for a contractor at $100 per hour.  Except in my case, you actually make a guaranteed hire."

The Client called back 3 hours later to agree to the fee structure, but more importantly, requested assistance with a full vendor review.

Wax On/Wax Off - The Corporate Recruiter Rant Against Bad Cold Callers...

Letters, we get letters...

It stands to reason that with the economy struggling, cold calling among third party recruiters has picked up a bit.  And within that universe of cold calls, it also stands to reason that bad, "we can handle any recruiting need you have", spam-like cold calls are up as well.  It's really the aspect of the third party business that tends to push HR pros and Corporate Recruiters to dislike fielding any inquiry, which is too bad. The good third-party recruiters (TPRs) tend to get lumped in with the spammers, just like the good HR pros get lumped in with the "I'm good at administration and don't want to do anything else" HR lumps.

Still, that doesn't mean that corporate recruiters aren't getting sick of the bad, cold calls, which definitely go up in a bad economy.  I received the following email from a FOT reader who serves as a corporate recruiter, and he's' mad as hell and doesn't want to take it anymore.  Take a read:

"From a Corporate Recruiter to ALL Agency Recruiters

I received a call today. It was from Janet at Staffing Sensations. She went to my company’s web site and found our employment listings and noticed we had several openings that she thought her firm would be able to help out with. I was so excited that she called. I don’t think she realized that we have a master list of over 220 firms and actual signed agreements with over 75 of those firms. Mind you that we have only been tracking these calls for less then 8 months. But this call was different. Staffing Sensations was different. They are the kind of company that can handle all of our needs. It doesn’t matter where the position is located or what the title is. They can fill it! I knew that this call was different. I knew that this was the call I had been waiting for. My prayers had been answered. Finally, ONE company that can fill all of our openings, no matter what or where it may be. The problem is that Janet was the third call today and it’s only 10:00 AM. I had had enough. I know that Janet did no wrong. She was just doing her job and cold calling like a madwoman.

I guess there are several issues that I want to point out. First of all, we have a great disclaimer on our employment page about how to click HERE if you are interested in becoming a vendor. Way too many companies ignore our very tasteful and well crafted disclaimer and contact our hiring managers directly or send unsolicited resumes instead of an inquiry email. That is what I call getting off on the wrong foot. Secondly we are a company that has offices in 23 different states. Why would we want one company to try and fill all our positions on a national basis? I see a lot more value in localized, niche recruiters finding us local niche candidates. I don’t think anyone in Knoxville, TN has any business recruiting for accountants in Seattle, WA. Have they ever been to Seattle? Do they know if it really rains there 330 days a year? I’m sure the local recruiters in Seattle know their market rates, candidates, business cycles, etc, better than anyone from Tennessee.

If we need outside recruiting assistance, we will go out and find the best firm to fit our needs. We look at niche. We look at geography. We look at fee.

Back to Janet. I graciously listened to how awesome your recruiters are and how your process is ISO 10,002. I let you know that I will add you to the mammoth list of potential vendors. I even agree to your follow up emails and occasional, "How ya doin?" telephone calls. The reality is that I will add your name to the list, but that is probably as far as we will get. I just spent 4 minutes talking to you and another 2 minutes updating my list.

From this corporate recruiter, I am asking that you back off and let us breathe a little. I know that without your calls and emails we would never know that you exist, but there is a fine line between cold calling and full on stalking. Why can’t corporate America try to fill the positions by just posting on our web site and see what happens (I know "post and pray"). Look, in this economy, the last thing we need is help filling the handful of positions we have. We need to justify our existence not someone else’s!

Your Corporate Recruiter

Sigh.  He's right, and if TPRs pitch in and defend themselves, it's not THEM he's talking about.  It's the ones who get paid a 24K base and have to cold call to try to build a book and a reputation.  Seriously, any TPR who reads talent blogs is likely not part of the stereotype.  Like the sales process of every other business, you have to accept the spam, and recognize the value the good TPRs bring to the table.

Of course, that doesn't stop the calls...