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52 reasons why someone should join your organization!

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

Regardless of the economic conditions, top talent is always in demand, difficult to find and even tougher to hire!

Critical to your success is developing – - and articulating – - a positive brand regarding your company, the culture, and the career opportunities that exist within your organization.

We recently did a pretty cool exercise with a company that resulted in some awesome marketing material and recruitment collateral.

At a recent HR/recruiter meeting, we posed the following questions to the entire staff:

  • What truly are your candidates’ motives?
    • Why would they leave their current organization and join yours?
    • Why would they select your organization versus your competitor’s?
    • What is important to the candidate in accepting a position with a new company?

Then we asked them to articulate 52 reasons why someone would want to join their organization versus the competition

Now when we started the exercise, we started getting the same canned marketing clichés that EVERYONE uses:

  • We have a dynamic culture.
  • We have excellent benefits.
  • Our employees are #1.
  • Blah, Blah, Blah….

So I encouraged the team to develop articulate, granular statements that would convey flashy adjectives like “great”, “excellent”, “flexible”, etc. without using the same words everyone else uses. Instead of saying, “We have excellent benefits”, explain or quantify why they are excellent.

Phrases started to come out like:

Great Benefits

  1. Cutting edge, innovative healthcare program
  2. 100% preventative healthcare coverage
  3. Health Savings Account; Triple Tax Savings!
  4. 50% match on 401k/retirement plan up to 6%
  5. Healthcare coverage as low as $1.00/week!

In the end, we were able to craft 52 reasons why to join this company under the following categories (note – this is a manufacturing company):

  • Company Stability
  • Career Path
  • Great Benefits
  • Ongoing Education
  • Work Schedules
  • Trivia
  • Innovation
  • Face behind the Face
  • Global Expansion
  • Safety 1st
  • XYZ family

 
So did you figure out why we challenged the team to come up with 52 reasons why a candidate would join their company? We ended up creating a customized playing card deck with these statements on each card.

Talk about a cool branding tool. This organization currently uses them at a job fairs, gives them to employees, etc.

The response has been amazing. Many fellow “job fair” recruiters have asked how to get their hands on such a customized branding tool that candidates will use (especially college grads).

Employees have commented, “I didn’t know all these things about our company!”

This organization has gone even farther with these statements to hang them in hallways, cafeterias, etc.

The statements have become great reminders about the company they work for and the great things it has to offer.

If you are interested in obtaining more information on performing this worthwhile exercise and/or examples of these playing cards – - please contact me!

Posted in Bradley Savoy, David, David Szary, Elite Recruiters, LEAN recruitment, Lean Human Capital, Recruiter, Recruiter Academy, Recruiter Boot Camp, Recruiter Sales, Talent Aquisition, Uncategorized | No Comments »

What motivates you to maintain intensity and passion day in and day out to achieve the perfect day, week, or year?

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

In continuing our theme of “game changing” tactics of elite recruiters…It’s something we all struggle with, the balance of consistently maintaining the passion for what we do each day as recruiters.  For folks like me that have been doing this for years, it’s a constant struggle.  I have been in the game long enough to know what to do and how to do it, but I’m human, and we’re prone to make mistakes.  It’s honestly probably every day that each of us struggles with keeping the passion alive.  We need to maintain our passion for the profession in dealing with candidates, hiring managers, internal business partners, etc.  Everyone has different needs and wants and personalities to manage.   
 
I’ll share here a few techniques that have helped me over the years.   
 
1. Planning and time management  - David has written some great articles on this, from managing your time for sourcing  to managing your CIE’s (calls, interruptions and emails).  We also spend a great deal of time in your educational programs talking about the Perfect week and Perfect Day.  If you’d like to learn more about what we teach here, just contact me.  

To me, the key to time management is not the systems I use (Outlook, CRM tools, ATS, etc.) or the processes, but the discipline that needs to be applied.   I have always prided myself on completing my task list each day before I end the workday.  I allow myself exceptions to this, but only once per week.  So if I have 5 to-do’s on Tuesday and I only get 3 of them done, then I have to make up the remaining 2 to-do’s in the next couple of days.

2. Become focused and single minded – When I plan my days, either the day before, or the morning of, I know I must maintain a single minded focus on the task.  For example, I learned long ago to close, literally close, my email box or real time communication systems when I am on a call with a candidate, hiring manager, or client.  We all know it’s way too easy to have an email come through that upsets you and completely throws your focus from the task at hand.  So for me, no emails stay open during important phone calls. 

3. Warm up and cool down each day! – I have found that a quick launch leads to a long-term psychological effect to a productive day. Sure I do the requisite cup of coffee and peruse the emails at the start of my day too, but I only give myself 20-30 minutes for this – I literally time myself.  Once that time has passed and the coffee’s gone, I jump in, and all the way in.  If I start with a high intensity of activity right away, I’ve found that it will continue throughout the day.  When you work out, you start with a quick warm up to get the blood flowing.  It’s the same approach here.  If I start with a good warm up, it will continue.  Whether it’s a day of cold calls, meetings, or data entry, the approach is the same.  Warm up, start strong, end strong.
 
I also like to end the day like I end a workout, with a nice stretch.  As the day winds down, I try to avoid emails and jumping online to read the news.  I prefer to get out of chair and do some simple stretches.  Neck, shoulders, whatever.  The key is to have some simple blood flow and breathing to wind down.  Try it for just two minutes today, and you’ll see what I mean. 
 
4. Have a positive support system – Finally, I believe in support mechanisms.  I like to talk with colleagues about their day, and share war stories.  I also like to discuss the day with people outside of our profession.  Whether it’s your friend, your partner, your plant or your pet, talk with someone that has a fresh perspective on the challenges you face.  They don’t bring the jaded view we can have sometimes of our work, and can offer fresh perspectives that we haven’t thought of.

Practicing some or all of these techniques will definitely enable you to maintain your intensity and passion in your work, and I know you’ll see and feel the impact in your productivity.

Posted in Bradley Savoy, Candidate Pipeline, Changing Role of the Recruiter, David, David Szary, Elite Recruiters, LEAN recruitment, Lean Human Capital, Recruiter, Recruiter Academy, Recruiter Boot Camp, Recruiter Training, Relationship Recruiter, Strategic Business Partner, Talent Aquisition, Time Management, Transactional Recruiter, Uncategorized | No Comments »

The most important Service Level Agreement?

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

In our recent post, the Backlash is Back, we promised to discuss “game changing”, low tech techniques/tactics (we call them web 0.0) that Elite Recruiters execute flawlessly 95% of the time!

To kick off that discussion, last week Bradley provided thoughts and ideas about being a Strategic Business Partner and the importance of defining the staffing process and setting service level agreements (or SLAs) with your hiring manager.

To me, the most important Service Level Agreement you can set with your hiring manager to manage initial expectations and improve and maintain excellent customer service is – - Requisition Received to “first submittal”.

Defined: This is the time that occurs between you as the recruiter receiving and qualifying the requisition from the hiring manager to the time you send over the first pre-screened, qualified candidates for consideration (or a pre-determined # or slate of qualified candidates).

9 times out of 10, when you ask a hiring manager the question during the intake session – - “when do you need this person” . . .

They respond – - “yesterday” or “ASAP”.

And probably 9 times out of 10, recruiters walk away from that discussion without setting an expectation of when the hiring manager should start to see quality applicant flow from them.

Will you have candidates to interview in 2 days? 10 days? never?

I wrote an article on this subject last August that I thought you might want to check out.

In addition – - if you are interested in an example of a Staffing Process Service Level Agreement and how we have this question defined in our Intake session, please email us.

Have a productive, Perfect Day

David Szary

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Posted in Bradley Savoy, David, David Szary, Elite Recruiters, Just-In-Time hiring, LEAN recruitment, Lean Human Capital, Recruiter, Recruiter Academy, Recruiter Boot Camp, Recruiter Training, Strategic Business Partner, Talent Aquisition, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Are you a strategic recruitment business partner?

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

Last week David spoke about the “backlash” and he promised some examples of 10 fundamental “game changers” that Elite recruiters execute flawlessly 95% of the time. This post will be the first of those.

From leading staffing and HR functions as well as consulting with clients, I have learned the balance amongst recruiting and Hiring Managers is an age old problem. To ensure internal corporate recruiters are seen as more than administrative job fillers they must effectively manage the perceptions of hiring managers. Recruiters must be seen as strategic business partners!

Tips to becoming a strategic business partner!

In order to effectively understand the job, you must first understand the business. How do you do this effectively? Spend time with your hiring manager!!  Spending time with your hiring manager and focusing on the nuances of their business will allow you to relate better to the talent you are searching for and the job you are recruiting for. This time spent with the hiring manager can really impact their perception of you as a true strategic recruitment business partner.

Questions recruiters can ask the manager: 

  • Who is your external and internal competition for talent?
  • What are your key business initiatives for the next quarter, the next year?
  • What are the critical skills and competencies you require in your workforce to meet and exceed your business objectives?
  • Who are your top performers?
  • What characteristics do they have?
  • What characteristics exist in those employees who are less successful?
  • What are the top 3 aspects that are critical for success in each job that I should be looking for?
  • What is your work style?
  • How do you define the culture of your department?

Just by asking these simple questions, recruiters begin to develop a collaborative partnership, earn the respect of their hiring managers as well as demonstrate the desire to not just fill orders, but to build the business.

Critical Steps to further strengthen the relationship between the recruiter and hiring manager:

  • Setting Service level agreements (SLAs): Setting SLAs will help the hiring manager develop an understanding of the recruiting process and their defined role within that process. This process will act as an opportunity to define how the process will work. A SLA is also critical to managing expectations especially with new hiring managers. This meeting can cover everything from timelines, who are key interviewers, and how the day-to-day interactions will occur. If you are interested in an example, please contact me.
  • Defining the position description: Recruiters need to drive the hiring manager to ensure they are not working on “weak job descriptions.” The job description is critical. It not only helps sell the position but also ensures that the recruiter delivers the right candidate. The recruiter is only as good at filling the position as the information they are provided during the intake session qualifying a new position. With that said, for each new job that is created, have a meeting to discuss it in depth. When we conduct our training programs, we teach our students to use a Hiring Manager Consultation/Intake form. If you would like an example of a well-structured Intake Session, please contact me.
  • In addition,we recommend that you have quarterly business review meetings with your hiring managers to discuss:
    • Key business objectives for the upcoming quarter/year
    • Future hiring needs based on business growth, turnover, and succession planning
    • Performance of the recruitment function using key performance indicators (KPI’s) for quality, delivery, and cost
    • Process Improvement initiatives/recommendations

Implementation of these simple practices will ensure that the recruiters have done their best to further understand the job and built a more solid foundation of partnership with their hiring managers. 

We have created a Strategic Partner Competency survey to help assess if you truly have a “seat at the table”. Feel free to take the survey.

If you would like your entire team to take it contact me and we will set up a personal link so you can evaluate the results.

Posted in Bradley Savoy, David Szary, LEAN recruitment, Recruiter, Recruiter Boot Camp, Recruiter Sales, Recruiter Training, Recruiting Buzz, Relationship Recruiter, Sourcing, Strategic Business Partner, Talent Aquisition | No Comments »

Recruiting in a down market

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009


OK –

I have to shamelessly plug Mr. Scott Clatur (Manager of Talent Selection at Henry Ford Health Systems) again.

I asked what advice he would give a recruiter whose requisition load was “light”. His insightful comment:

“Of course, this is an ideal time to pipeline candidates for future needs and/or look to top grade current staff members that are not performing to expectations. The question I always use to get my hiring managers into the proper frame of mind for this discussion is . . . “

“Would you enthusiastically rehire each and every one of your staff members?”

This thought provoking question usually starts a very fruitful discussion around:

  • Types of candidates we need to pipeline for future needs
  • Immediate issues with current personnel that will probably result in a hiring need shortly
  • The competencies/skills required to be successful working for that hiring manager within that organization.”

I LOVE this question! Of course it could be used in many other situations, including the intake session with a hiring manager when discussing succession planning needs, etc.

Scott – thanks for the great advice!

I hope everyone has a great week.

Posted in David Szary, LEAN recruitment, Recruiter Academy, Recruiter Boot Camp, Recruiter Training, Talent Aquisition | No Comments »

A lesson I learned from golf!

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009


After playing some of the worst golf of my life during a recent spring break trip, I finally had enough!

While I have never been a strong golfer, I could at least keep the ball in play and finish the round with a little pride. But over the last year, it seems I get worse each time I play.

For years, friends have been telling me . . . “You won’t get better until you get some instruction.”

Not willing to dedicate the time required for the lessons (and practice); I continued to flounder playing the game. Well after that last pitiful round, that was it… the other week I took my very first lesson!

WOW – have I been missing out!

In the first few minutes of the lesson, the instructor had me hit a few balls as I normally do. Once “warmed up” (like it really makes a difference when I golf?) . . . He proceeded to have me hit a few more balls while recording my swing.

As he replayed the video, he compared my stance/posture when addressing the ball to a professional. AMAZING! I would never have believed how awkward my stance/posture was – - especially compared to “best practices.”

Immediately, I could see what I was doing wrong and started taking the necessary steps to correct it. All this info – 30 minutes into my golf lesson. If only I would have done this 20 years ago!

What does this have to do with recruiting?

I continue to work with recruiters that, self-admittedly (or from discussions with their hiring managers), have hit plateaus with respect to their recruiting performance.

Some days, they are on their “A” game and flourish. Other days, they are not “dialed in” and make unnecessary mistakes.

I ask what they are doing to improve, and many will say, “Attend some training, read material online, etc.”

I ask when was the last time they taped themselves and sat down with a mentor/coach and reviewed the tape and most say . . . I have NEVER done that!

If you can invest 6 hours this quarter (April/May/June)to improving your recruitment game, I would encourage you to tape yourself:

  • Leaving voice mail messages for candidates
  • Catching candidates live on the phone
  • On a phone screen with a candidate
  • Making an offer

Then sit down with someone that you respect as a “pro” at each one of the processes outlined above to provide review/constructive feedback/mentoring/coaching!

Like I found out from my first golf lesson, the time spent is invaluable!

If you have never done this before, this activity will arguably be the best investment you will ever make in your recruitment career!

Those that have done this before will attest to that fact.
Good luck!

Posted in Candidate types, David Szary, Recruiter, Recruiter Academy, Recruiter Boot Camp, Recruiter Top Gun, Recruiter Training, Sourcing, Talent Aquisition, Time Management | No Comments »

Do you have 20 minutes, pen, paper and your calendar handy?

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

Three steps to a successful offer presentation

  1. Schedule 20 minutes to deliver the offer – Don’t just call up a candidate and deliver a verbal offer during the middle of their busy day. Remember, this is a formal offer of employment from your firm (or your client’s firm). Schedule a time to present the offer to them. Make sure they are at a location where they can listen and talk freely, as well as take notes. Ideally, if they are local, I would recommend scheduling a meeting in person to deliver the offer! But minimally, schedule a 20-minute block of time that is 100% dedicated to learning about a life changing offer from your firm.
  2. Make sure they have a pen and paper to take notes – Before you start discussing the offer, confirm they have a pen and paper handy to take notes. You want to make sure they completely understand the offer from your discussion. If you’re like most firms, once a verbal offer is presented, you will send the hard copy in the mail. Again, if you can meet in person – even better. Discuss the offer, have them take notes and then present the written offer in person.
  3. Discuss Non-Monetary Selling points of the offer FIRST. When presenting offers, most recruiters only discuss the monetary components of the offer. In a recent blog post, “Don’t forget the reason we are here in the first place,” we discuss the significance of reconfirming the non-monetary selling points of the position (chance to work with new technology, large scope of responsibility, promotion, less travel, etc.) BEFORE you discuss the monetary components (salary, bonus, vacation, benefits, etc.). The majority of people change jobs for non-monetary reasons. But instinctively, they will try and NEGOTIATE the monetary parts of the offer. If you get them excited about the non-monetary components of the offer, you can control the offer/negotiation.
  4. Make sure they have their calendar handy: Once you have presented the offer, you have the opportunity to pre-close by discussing the following dates:
  • Set a time to answer any questions once they receive the written offer
  • Date they will put in their notice
  • Start Date
  • Set up any appointments between resignation and start date (fill out benefits, background check, meet with hiring manager for lunch, etc.)

Make sure you put these dates in your calendar, as well to continue to follow up and support them during the process.

Changing jobs is one of the top 4 most stressful things a person can do! It is also a big commitment we are making on behalf of our company (or client). It is your job to manage this part of the recruitment process with the respect and attention it deserves.

Your candidates will appreciate the formal nature by which you conduct this step and most importantly – - you will be less susceptible to a counteroffer.

Posted in Candidate types, David Szary, Recruiter, Recruiter Academy, Recruiter Boot Camp, Recruiter Top Gun, Recruiter Training, Sourcing, Talent Aquisition | No Comments »

If you know your candidates Motives, no need to sell – - they will buy!

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

I’m at the ERE conference in San Diego! Honestly, given the economy, I am actually surprised at how many people have attended the event. I think it illustrates that organizations want to improve their Human Capital functions by investing in learning new methodologies, tools and techniques.

On Monday I facilitated a pre-conference workshop with the renowned Shally Steckerl (www.jobmachine.net) on Sourcing Candidates with LEAN budgets. We had a great session and a ton of fun with those in attendance.

As always, the group interaction provided insight and inspiration on how I can improve my recruiting skills!

Probably the biggest “ah-ha” moment, or “take away” for me was reconfirming the importance of controlling the initial conversation with a quality, passive candidate you “cold called,” and then identifying their true “Motives to Move.”

Without this information, how can you possibly understand if you have a position within your organization that will clearly be better the one they have currently?

As Jeffery Gitomer says, “No one wants to be sold but everyone likes to buy.”

Hence, before you SELL anyone on an opportunity, it is probably better to understand exactly what they are looking for in a new opportunity, and if you have that answer, they will most likely want to BUY it!

Oh, by the way, if you approach the call with this attitude . . . it becomes a much more enjoyable conversation!

In upcoming blog posts, I will discuss some tried and proven techniques to “cold calling” passively-looking top talent, overcoming the initial awkwardness of the call, and capturing their “Motives to Move!”

I am looking forward to Day II of the ERE expo!

Hope you have a great week!

Posted in Candidate types, David Szary, Recruiter, Recruiter Academy, Recruiter Boot Camp, Recruiter Top Gun, Sourcing, Talent Aquisition | No Comments »

Who is Responsible?

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009


In the last two weeks, I participated in discussions when this “age old” question popped up!

Please allow me to Rant a bit!
________________________________

Get a room of Hiring Managers, HR/Recruiting professionals, and sourcers together and you will get a lively debate going about “Whose Responsible?”

  • Who is responsible for Turnover of new hires?
  • Who is responsible for ’sourced’ candidates/leads that don’t get hired?

Regarding Turnover:

You ask Hiring Managers and many will “blame” it on poor candidate quality.

You ask Recruiters and they are likely to blame management for the ‘on boarding,’ (or lack of), process.

HR might blame shoddy assessment tactics by both parties!

Regarding ‘top’ candidates not getting hired:

Sourcers are likely to ‘blame’ recruiters that “can’t recruit and/or properly network with the leads provided.

Recruiters are likely to say, “…candidate was not a match and/or was not interested…”

At the end of the day; Who is responsible?

WE ALL ARE RESPONSIBLE!

WHO should be accountable?

WE ALL SHOULD BE ACCOUNTABLE!

Instead of “pointing fingers” and/or “passing the buck” – it is time for everyone involved to “take a check up from the neck up” and help identify solutions rather than excuses. As Les Brown says, “…you’re either on the way or in the way…” Are you part of the problem or part of the solution?

All too often we spend more time trying to define “who is responsible” or, who should “own” that metric rather than identifying solutions to the actual problem.

If the goal of the hiring/recruitment process is to “produce” top performers that are retained by your organization for a long period of time – then let’s work together towards that goal.

  • New Hires not performing? Let’s figure out why.
  • Quality new hires leaving within the first six months of employment? Let’s perform a Six Sigma project to isolate process errors and remove them.
  • Sourcing leads not getting hires – - Lets get the sourcing and recruitment teams together and fix the problem.
  • Who “owns” these metrics? — Who cares? All of us should take ownership.

I don’t want to get too philosophical on a Wednesday afternoon, but – - maybe this attitude among hiring managers, recruiters, HR & sourcers on this topic is the root of the problem with our economic situation.

Sure seems like there is more time spent trying to identify “Who is responsible,” and “Who is accountable,” rather than developing tangible, actionable solutions.

Moving forward, can we stop debating “Who is responsible” or should be held “Accountable”?

Rather, lets all take responsibility for identifying, engaging, hiring and retaining top performers.

End of story.

Posted in David Szary, Recruiter, Recruiter Academy, Recruiter Boot Camp, Recruiter Top Gun, Recruiter Training, Sourcing, Talent Aquisition | No Comments »

Do you have enough CIE time in your daily schedule?

Wednesday, March 11th, 2009


For those that know me, I am passionate about planning, time management, and continuous improvement. Of late, I have noticed that I haven’t been getting through my Perfect Day as crisply as I would like (or normally do).

The root cause is that I haven’t been planning in enough CIE time!

Rather than me managing my return calls, interruptions and emails (CIE’s), I have been letting them manage me!

Since I haven’t been allocating time into my daily schedule to get to them, I’m constantly in reactive, “firefighting” mode returning calls/emails and responding to interruptions “whenever I get time.”

Of course the end result is that these CIE’s are interrupting the time I have dedicated to getting work done!

If this sounds like you at times, some helpful advice that I have implemented into my daily routine:

  • Plan 1/2 hour (morning, lunchtime, late afternoon) 3x’s a day to deal with CIE’s.
  • When you have to get into a “work flow zone” (working on presentation, in an interview, etc.), drive your calls to voice mail and shut down email.
  • Publish your schedule with your teammates (post outside your cube/office – with a sign over it – - STOP – READ MY SCHEDULE BEFORE ENTERING) so people know when you are in a “work flow zone”.
  • Make sure your peers know that just because you’re not on the phone and/or in an interview, it doesn’t mean you are not working and CAN be interrupted. Posting your schedule + discussing this with your peers can help eliminate 80% of the interruptions that you actually can avoid (versus client calls, etc.).

Of course, all of these tactics take discipline – - the most important attribute to being productive and managing your day/week/year, etc.

I hope you have a Perfect Day and don’t let CIE’s get in your way!!

Posted in David Szary, Recruiter, Recruiter Academy, Recruiter Boot Camp, Recruiter Top Gun, Recruiter Training, Sourcing, Talent Aquisition, Time Management | No Comments »

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