Sendouts Blog

What Makes You So Different?

During the Sales process we are frequently asked "What makes you different than your competitors?"  I know the answer to that question but when I turn it around on the client they occasionaly stumble through their words.  Think about how you place yourself and your firm within the industry and what are your strengths?  What are your weaknesses?  Maybe you focus on quality or industry knowledge.  I would love to see more companies (in any industry) focus on Customer Service. 

Can Your Clients Admit Weakness?

Simply put, a recruiters' goal is to find top talent to fill positions for their clients and make a fee.  But what happens when a client can't admit they have a need or worse yet, don't know they have a need. After reading an article on Business Week about a company called Bonobos, I realized how the mentality of some CEOs needs to change in order to propel their businesses forward.  In the Business Week article, Andy Dunn details his company's rapid growth and success followed by declining profit margins and workforce shortages.  Dunn came to the realization that in order to grow his business he needed to step back and let the "plumbers do the plumbing".  He did this by hiring a recruiter to find the missing pieces to his business and ultimately grow.  

By helping a client or prospect identify what they don't know, you can create an opportunity to not only make a placement but to also transform your client's business by finding the right talent to fill the void.  Asking your prospects or clients "what are you not good at" may ruffle some feathers, but keep in mind you're doing this to help them and ultimately help the business.

Who needs resolutions?

With the new year upon us resolutions are all the talk with friends, family, and at the office water   cooler:

"This year I am going to eat healthy, work harder, have a better attitude, spend more time with my family.” Let me fast forward to Feb 1 2010. What’s that I hear???? “Can I supersize that fry and coke, is it 3 o’clock yet, that’s impossible, not today son I am too busy .” 

Why is it we start out the year fired up to run a new race and achieve new levels of success in our lives only to fizzle out?  It’s simple, it’s a stinking resolution not a goal with an action plan.  It’s trying vs training. You don’t just show up to run a marathon because you want to, but because you set out a goal to do so and day by day met goals to get to that point.

Here are 6 quick tips to cross the finish line out in front in 2010:

1. Prioritize- The New Year is a great time to get a new perspective on your life and prioritize what is really important. Create a priority list and then rank them from greatest to least. Everyone I know including myself is spread way to thin because we lose sight of our main priorities. Focus in on just a handful of key priorities in 2010.
2. Create a plan- I have yet to meet anyone who has blown out their goals without a plan to do so. Write down your yearly goals and then break them down into to micro goals by month, week, and day. Remember goals are achieved in daily doses. If you don’t believe me, just go into the gym on Jan 1 and try to get on a treadmill or use the equipment. IMPOSIBLE. There are people everywhere. If you wait a month later the gym is a ghost town. Why?  Everyone wants to lose 30 pounds, but no one has a plan on how to do it.
3. Identify speed bumps.- Before you jump into the race of achieving your goals, identify any possible speed bumps that will keep you from having success in meeting your goals. If you don’t eliminate speed bumps from your life they soon become roadblocks. This may be negative people around you, YOUR attitude, or that fast food that seems so convenient.
4. Partner up. Get an accountability partner. Life is tough and we all have had those days where you just don’t feel like running the race. Connect with a goal buddy to keep you on track, someone that can elevate you to greatness.
5. Visualize it-At the start of every year my team and I create our GOAL BOARDS that we keep at our desk. Every day it is a reminder of the key drivers in our lives. Personally, Professionally, Financially, and Spiritually. “You become what you think about all day”  Earl Nightingale
6. Run everyday- When you have clear goals in front of you it makes getting out of bed and starting your day that much easier. Get up every day ready and run the race with perseverance.

This New Years say adios to the resolutions and hello to the new goal driven you. Run on…..

Tuesday's Child is...Full of Productivity

Robert Half International produced a study that found Tuesday is our most productive day at work. The thought process is that we spend Mondays getting our "to-do lists" in order, so that Tuesday is spent accomplishing the tasks. My question is, what happens Wednesday through Friday?

I recently read an article that reported companies lose an average of two hours per day of employee productivity because of multitasking and related interruptions. The study also found that this loss added up to $588 billion in lost productivity. 

If you are a recruiter, you know what I'm talking about. You've spent countless hours on non-income producing tasks. Here are some things to look out for as well as a few suggestions:

• E-mail A-D-D: We tend to open our e-mails every time it dings. While we might feel obligated to see who's vying for our attention, it completely disrupts our workflow. Here are some suggestions: If your e-mail is more than a few sentences, pick up the phone instead. Also, only check your e-mail three times a day.
• Not working from a "to-do list:" Don't follow in the footsteps of the Robert Half International's study participants. You should have a prioritized "to-do list" every workday. With a prioritized list, you aren't so susceptible to the day's ad hoc events. It also creates a specific, proactive purpose.
• Not finishing what you began: Stop jumping from task to task. Everytime you start and stop, minutes and eventually hours are tacked on. Stay focused on the task at hand. For starters, put your phone on silent and let your voicemail answer calls. Stay glued to your seat until you've worked from point A to point Z. Put a Post-It note on your monitor that states what you're working on. It sounds silly, but believe me, it helps.

The industry's top-producing recruiters have found ways to stay focused and increase productivity. The bottom line for recruiters is focusing on tasks that generate income. 

Hat Tip, Brazen Careerist by Penelope Trunk

Recruiters: The Ambassadors of Brand

When one thinks of "branding", images of major brand icons and multi-million-dollar marketing campaigns come to mind - Apple, Coke, Google, just to name a few. But the essence of branding is more integral than that, and recruiters have a big role to play as "brand ambassadors". A recent article by Leslie Stevens points out that "the application process is really an extension of your employment brand. You should never underestimate the impact of negative chatter in the marketplace.” She mentions that large companies, like Pepsi, are looking to enhance the candidate experience as a way to extend the brand into the hiring process. How can recruiters become their client's brand ambassadors?

1) Understand the brand goals of your client and how they want to project themselves to the world
2) Make sure the touch points you have with candidates extend your clients brand message (emails, phone calls, website job postings)
3) In candidate interviews be enthusiastic about your client's brand, mission and vision and make sure you can communicate that quickly and simply
4) Don't be shy about critiquing your client's brand promise in their candidate relationships. Identify gaps, where they exist and recommend improvements.

The core value a recruiter offers to its clients is finding top talent. In order to do that, recruiters must often first become brand ambassadors before they can become candidate generators.

Failing to Prepare is Preparing to Fail

Eighteen years ago, Dr. Robert Kaplan of the Harvard Business School developed a methodology for strategic business planning. It's something every "do-it-yourself" entrepreneur can't afford to miss out on. It's called the Balanced Scorecard (BSC). Some may have heard about it. But not enough are putting it to use.

President and CEO of Sendouts, Donald E. Breckenridge, Jr., explained how recruiters and firm owners can apply the methodlogy in a March 2008 Fordyce Letter online. He explained the basics -- which are centralized around the idea that business activities should be aligned around the vision and strategy of the organization and that there should be metrics to measure success. Breckenridge also explained the four-fold perspective:

• The Financial Perspective 
• The Customer Perspective
• The Internal Process Perspective
• The Learning & Growth Perspective 

The BSC truly helps define the right perpespectives. It is an undervalued asset to those in the recruiting and staffing industry. Check out the article in Fordyce Letter online. When implemented, the BSC provides the line of attack to define, communicate, measure and manage a business strategy and to achieve ultimate decisive and critical financial goals.

Sourcing New Ways to Source

In order to become a magnet for top talent, staffing and recruiting expert Barb Bruno says it is important to find at least one new way to source per quarter.

Barb reminds recruiters that the lack of top talent is actually a good thing. After all, if it was simple for clients to find top talent, they wouldn't need recruiters.

Recruiters should take Barb's advice. The good news is, it shouldn't be too challenging of a task. The industry has more available sourcing tools than ever. The biggest challenge with sourcing is knowing when and how to use the available tools. Use name generating software like Broadlook or TalentHook to quickly generate current titles, companies, e-mail addresses and phone numbers. For more network-based sourcing, most recruiters are using online social and business networking sites.

As recruiters embark on sourcing expeditions, they should keep in mind that more sourcing means more candidate information. They'll need systems in place to manage the information overload. An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) with advanced sourcing tools will import resumes in real-time from Internet job boards and social networking sites into a recruiter's database.

Take Barb's advice, and remember to stay organized along the way. Using Barb's words, "Become a magnet for talent."

Got WOW Customer Experience?

I was on my way to a conference in Las Vegas sitting on the airplane, (I know what you are thinking really rough job, right?) and in a snap I remembered why I fly Southwest Airlines. The free peanuts? Nope. The unassigned seats? Nope.  The fact that they fly only one type of airplane to keep their costs down? Nope. All these things are great reasons why Southwest airlines is the airline of choice for people nationwide. But for me it’s all about the people and their commitment to the customer experience. Let me give you an example;  Just a week earlier I flew out to South Carolina on an airline I won’t mention.  They were running late and as soon as I stepped on the plane a flight attendant TOLD me : ”Sir, can you please move you are in my way!” and asked if I could please sit down, that I was holding things up. I sat down, shut up, and behaved myself the rest of the flight.

Fast forward just one week where David Holmes our flight attendant welcomed us in a nontraditional way asking us to participate in a rap. That’s right a rap! The entire plane stomped and clapped as he rapped the normal boring announcements,  you know the ones that normally put you in a coma and make you feel as if the person on the other end of the mic is getting tortured. Here he is brining it home:

An ATS IS A Recruiter's Personal Assistant

As a recruiter, your daily tickler looks insurmountable. From sourcing and interviewing candidates, to coordinating assessments, to determining and negotiating offers, you wear many hats. Unfortunately, those tasks are just the tip of the iceberg. Not only do you have a zillion tasks to accomplish, but you have to do it better than your competition.

A recent article for the Fordyce Letter Online explained how the right Applicant Tracking System (ATS) can help you manage your day. The article highlights the top 10 features recruiters should look for in an ATS.

When it comes to choosing an ATS, the primary point is to help recruiters focus on what they do best -- filling jobs with the right candidates.The right ATS will be your best friend and biggest asset. The wrong ATS could be a major liability. With the right system in place, recruiters will have a streamlined workflow and increased productivity and revenue.

After checking out Don's "Top 10"  list, see how recruitment expert Lou Adler evaluates ATS performance. Adler includes an actual "test," albeit brief, so recruiters can see exactly how their ATS measures up. In addition, Adler points out:

A good ATS, properly implemented and used correctly, will significantly enhance a company's ability to hire more top employees. The cost of missing a great hire because of inefficiences in the recruitment process is just as costly as making a bad hire.

The Negotiation Rules

As a recruiter you understand the importance of negotiation.  Your prospective client companies generally don't want to pay more than they 'have' to and you don't want to make less than you're worth. 

In a recent article on BNET, author Geoffrey James highlights 9 Rules for Negotiating a Complex Deal.  Below are the first 3 on his list which I think are extremely relevant to the recruiting world, given the importance of the deal.

1. Rule #1: Prepare thoroughly. Collect and evaluate information on leverage, values, sale prices, competition and other factors that will have an effect upon the negotiation.
2. Rule #2: Develop realistic expectations. Temper your aspirations with “feasibility” based upon what your counterpart has in mind, and reassess your expectations as the negotiating progresses.
3. Rule #3: Know your pricing parameters. When it comes to price, before bidding, know the deal you want and are able justify as being realistic.

Click here to read the entire article.