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The Fordyce Letter

Straight Talk for the Recruiting Profession


Relationships

Relationships, The Business of Recruiting

Why Clients and Candidates Need Independent Recruiters

by 3 weeks ago


Carol Schultz

There is nothing like a good controversy to stir up one’s feelings and subsequently a fierce debate. One of my favorite things about reading articles on ERE is how some of its contributors have a wonderful ability to write articles that generate comments a mile long because of controversial subjects covered. We were barely into 2013 when Adrian Kinnersley wrote an article entitled, “Why LinkedIn will never kill the professional recruitment industry,” which was very on point.

People are so polarized around this issue, but the comments section was what really made it an interesting read for me. If I didn’t know better I would have expected a fistfight to break out. One commenter even suggested that commission-only salespeople are unable to provide independent advice to candidates, and candidates know this. This inspired me to pick up my pen (figuratively, that is) and write, which I haven’t done lately.

The Demise of the Agency Recruiter

First off, great agency recruiters won’t go away until they want to, even though there has been so much talk about their longevity. It started back in the olden days (the mid 1990s) when the Internet was still in its infancy. Companies like Monster, CareerBuilder, and Yahoo HotJobs came on the market and tried to convince everyone they were a panacea to recruiting. In my opinion they were –  and are — nothing more than prettied up classified ads. Many people said companies would no longer need to use agency recruiters.

Didn’t happen

Next, companies began ramping up their internal recruiting staffs. It was predicted that companies would no longer need to use agency recruiters.

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Relationships

The Top 10 Mistakes Hiring Managers Make

by on Apr. 3, 2013


Nicole Cox
Nicole Cox

Nicole Cox

It takes two to tango, but only one to tangle things up. Here’s my list of the top 10 mistakes hiring managers make during the candidate courtship:

1. Damaged goods? — Plenty of good talent was downsized during the recession, through no fault of their own. More important is what the candidate has been doing with that time off — it might be an eye opener. For example, a hiring manager looking for business development talent may discover that a candidate has been launching an online side business, demonstrating exactly the kind of entrepreneurial spirit the job requires.

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Ask Barb, Relationships

Everyone’s A Vendor; Become An Adviser

by on Mar. 13, 2013


Ask Barb

Dear Barb:

We work so hard to surface qualified candidates but it seems our clients are screening out over 50% of who we present. When we send resumes over, often, they just send us an email to let us know who they want to interview, so we don’t have a chance to ask why the others were screened out. I think all the candidates we send over are high quality. How do we get them to realize they are passing up some candidates they would possibly hire?

Susan M., Tulsa, OK

Dear Susan:

You are currently being treated like a vendor, probably one of several firms being used by this client to find talent. You need to really work on building a relationship with this client, which will never be accomplished by email alone.

When you are presenting candidates to your clients your goal is to book 100% of the candidates you present. A resume can’t possibly sell your candidate as effectively as you could verbally. You are not giving yourself a chance to overcome any objections or sell your candidate’s accomplishments.

Your client will only change the way you are currently doing business together when they see how it can benefit them. It’s all about them, not you. Inform them that it is your goal to elevate the working relationship from vendor to trusted advisor. One way you can do that is by attaining interviewing times up front, and only booking your best candidates. Show them the benefit in back-filling any candidates who are screened out so you can attempt to have two or three candidates going into the final interview process.

If they do not agree at first, send a fact sheet filled with the accomplishments of each candidate and the impact of those accomplishments on past employers, in addition to the resume. It often takes several steps to earn trusted adviser status.

Barbara J. Bruno, CPC, CTS

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Relationships

The 5 Cs of Client Monogamy

by on Feb. 26, 2013


5 cs honn article

I was recently reading Winner Takes All: Steve Wynn, Kirk Kerkorian, Gary Loveman and the Race to Own Las Vegas by Christina Binkley. A quote in the book sparked this article: Gary Loveman, the president and CEO of Caesars Entertainment Corporation (formerly Harrah’s Entertainment), said, “I’m in the business of fostering customer monogamy.”

Loveman, a former Harvard Business School professor before joining Harrah’s Entertainment, noted that Harrah’s biggest weakness was “lack of customer loyalty.” Loveman and his team were instrumental in creating the company’s Total Rewards® Program that was modeled on credit card loyalty programs, which became a major impetus in developing “customer monogamy” for the company’s properties across the United States.

It occurred to me that this idea applies to client retention. I thought hard about the manner in which I’ve been successful at keeping my best clients happy and earning repeat business – and fees. That lead to my Five C’s of Client Monogamy.

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Relationships

Trust Is the Foundation For Every Good Relationship

by on Jan. 31, 2013


fordyce-default

handshakeThere is often a lot of confusion as to who exactly the headhunter represents. Are they watching out for the best interest of the candidate? Are they watching out for the best interest of the company? Will they negotiate the highest salary for the candidate? Will they do everything they can to save the company as much money as possible?

The short answer is, both. A good headhunter is not looking for a quick buck. They understand that this industry revolves around relationships. These relationships, both with the company and the candidate, must be built on trust. As almost anyone will tell you, trust is earned, not given.

Building Trust With The Candidate

In order to truly build trust with a candidate, you need to be honest with the candidate. That honesty needs to go both ways. The candidate, in turn, will need to reciprocate the honesty. What is he/she looking for in their job search? What compensation package are they targeting? What are the key criteria they search for in a new job?

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Business Development, Cold Calling, How-To, Relationships

Four Strategies for Developing Healthy Client Relationships

by on Dec. 11, 2012


Four strategies

Note: The following article is derived in part from the thinking of Randall Murphy and the Acclivus Corporation and their curriculum entitled R3 Negotiations customized specifically for the search and staffing industry. This program is offered in a partnership with Next Level Exchange.

This diagram is from a presentation at the Fordyce Forum by Karen Schmidt and Jeff Kaye. Their workshop, “Client Focused Search,” included a discussion of these four strategies. In the diagram, SINALOA means ‘strength in numbers and law of averages,’ which is a reference to the way pure contingent placement operates. For more detail, see the entire presentation at http://bit.ly/KGn8Zt

As an industry, we have done a great job of teaching our clients how to treat us poorly. We have come to accept client demands and tactics as “business as usual” and the end result is that our industry becomes commoditized.

How prospects or clients see your relationship with them will determine how they treat you in the search process. How they see you will determine how they will negotiate around your fees and your search process.

Use the right strategies and you’ll negotiate from strength and maintain your value proposition. Here are four key strategies that will better influence your prospects and your clients, ensure that you differentiate with your approach and not your price, and make you more successful in your negotiations.

1. Share Insight with Clients (information beyond the obvious)

What’s my favorite subject? My favorite subject is me! And that is true for our prospects and clients as well. Too many tenured recruiters open a conversation on the phone, by voicemail, or in person with a deep recitation of their professional experience and their organization’s capabilities. Very rarely will they ever mention anything of interest about the client, the client’s role or position, or even the organization or industry.

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Motivation, Relationships

The Buddy System Can Keep You Going When “Life Happens”

by on Nov. 13, 2012


Tom Pagan

We all know that “life happens.” When you work as part of a larger organization, there is always someone around who can help pick up the slack. But when you are a “one-man-band,” it’s all you or nothing at all.

There can be several different reasons why you are not at your best.

One that comes to mind is when one is truly sick. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has on occasion come down with a stomach virus or the flu and been knocked out of commission for a couple of days or even a week.  And I’m sure I’m not the only one who has had to force myself out of a sick bed to attempt to close a deal or return calls from some of the bigger clients.  Thank goodness that technolo

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Relationships

Less Combat, More Cooperation With HR

by on Feb. 27, 2012


imgGary-small

Editor’s note: Gary Stauble’s “2 Minute Coaching” gives you quick, easy-to-implement ideas on various subjects.

Question: I find that more and more companies want me to deal with human resources exclusively and that these relationships are often combative or strained. How can I create a more cooperative relationship with HR?

My Answer: 

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Relationships, Technology

The Best of The Fordyce Letter 2011, #2 — Get Out From Behind the Desk and Network

by on Dec. 29, 2011


man_atdesk

Editor’s note: Paul DeBettignies’ article was the 2nd most popular article on The Fordyce Letter in 2011. It originally ran in March.

I know, I know… smile and dial.

More phone calls equal more job orders, candidates and send outs. More send outs equal more placements.

I get it – I really do. But after thirteen years as a sole practitioner, I have learned that I need to get out from behind the desk every now and then, or I fear that the headset will become permanently fixed to my head.

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Relationships

Honesty: The Best Policy No Matter Who Is Involved

by on Dec. 22, 2011


be-honest

Have you ever been in a situation where the perfect candidate pulled out at the last minute? Or even worse, have you ever been used by a candidate to leverage a raise or a promotion with his/her current company? For me, the worst thing that could happen is a when a person accepts a job, goes through the background check, does everything you expect…and then doesn’t show up.

And that really happened – the guy just never showed up and never returned any attempt at contact by me or anyone else from the client company. Now, I would have understood if the person’s spouse didn’t answer the phone to take a message. I would have really understood if he ended up in the hospital or the worse case scenario dropped dead, but no — he just decided not to show up.

Let’s be absolutely up front about things here – IT SUCKS!

Yes, it’s for best in the grand scheme of things. After all, no one wants an unstable hire. But is definitely doesn’t make a recruiter’s life any easier.

For those of us who not internal recruiters, there’s the old, “The position went on hold,” or “We didn’t have an internal candidate before but one just surfaced,” after we’ve put heart and soul into a search.

We ask ourselves, “Why couldn’t that person just be honest?”

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