http://www.bgadvisory.com/index.htmlRecruitment Industry News!enBob BassmanCopyright 2008 Bassman Growth Advisory Partners2008-05-17T03:14:25-05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:44:32 -0500Bob BassmanViewpoints (blog)2008-05-17T03:14:25-05:00http://www.bgadvisory.com/viewpoints/files/77a552f216e3b9ca33de24f1414e60a9-5.html#unique-entry-id-5http://www.bgadvisory.com/viewpoints/files/77a552f216e3b9ca33de24f1414e60a9-5.html#unique-entry-id-5
Through twenty-five years of the search business I have seen my fair share of strategy trends and new tools, which were supposed to generate a greater volume of business with half the effort. In reality, as one wise man once said, there is no shortcut to success. While e-mail has replaced faxing, job boards have replaced the Sunday want ads, and a national niche approach has replaced the local generalist model, the one thing that remains constant through it all is the metrics. Yet, even though everyone knows this fact, so many people continue to try and pretend like the metrics are not important. Every day I hear stores about falling sales and struggling search consultants. In each of those cases, you can draw a direct correlation to a lack of focus on six critical metrics. I call it CIN, or Critical Indicator Numerics.

The CIN measures "Market Connect Time - Actual amount of time in real conversations," "New Conversations with prospective clients and candidates," "Job orders," "Candidate Data Sheets," "EPOJOE or Mapping," and "First Face to Face Interviews." Like the character in the movie, you can easily draw direct correlation from these metrics to placements. By establishing expectations around these Critical Indicator Numerics you can easily evaluate the effort of your staff. The capturing of these Critical Indicators for every search consultant will provide the catalyst for weekly discussions between you and any associate on board. These comparisons should be incredibly meaningful and revealing where a course of action will need to be developed and implemented for succeeding weeks. Your role in the discussion is to get the search consultant to self-evaluate what they committed to do. I feel that the greatest reason for failure is skill deficiencies, which is very difficult to self-diagnosis without evidence, therefore this is the reason for tracking these six indicators. After consecutive weeks, tracking of these critical indicators will help surface those questions that need to be asked to identify and correct deficiencies. Another benefit to this process is that you can see the entire office at a glance and predict your future with some fair accuracy, as well as evaluate search consultants objectively (based on results) versus subjectively (based on personality mesh).

Our profession of search can be daunting, complex, and frustrating. It can also be a joy and very profitable. You can ensure the joy of search, by doing just a few things well. After you have forged an agreement as to what you associate is striving to achieve, then measure each week of the year with the answer to 3 questions:

* What can I do to help each associate do one thing a little better?
* What can I learn this week to help me improve my business?
* What can I do this week to interview 2 candidates who are deserving of a place on my team?

As the character in the movie said, "It's a numbers game." So stop ignoring the numbers. Focus your office on the Critical Indicators Numerics, and the most important metric to you, cash-in, will take care of itself.]]>Bob BassmanViewpoints (blog)2008-05-06T17:16:10-05:00http://www.bgadvisory.com/viewpoints/files/b6afaa860df89da2e43dc5ba6059499b-2.html#unique-entry-id-2http://www.bgadvisory.com/viewpoints/files/b6afaa860df89da2e43dc5ba6059499b-2.html#unique-entry-id-2
One the biggest blessings of a robust economy, beyond the obvious financial gains, is the intrinsic exposure to a greater client base. Now that the market is quieter doesn’t mean that the opportunities are not there, it just means they are hiding. When the market is robust, Clients spread their opportunities to new suppliers in their efforts to fill their vacancies as efficiently as possible. When the market goes cold, those same clients still have openings, they just migrate back to the suppliers they have always known. There, in the details, lies the rub. The hardest part of gaining a new client is gaining their attention and confidence. By the mere market environment of the past three years, they have been exposed to you. Now the big question, what are doing with them? More importantly, do you even know who they are? Recently, I had a client of Bassman Growth Advisory Partners pull all the clients they have made a placement with in the past two years. The total number was a staggering 200 clients among 14 recruiters. Even better, they were only regularly working with 78 of those clients. That meant there were 122 clients who knew about the firm and previously worked with the firm, but yet no real relationship was established. Instead of blindly pounding the pavement, I instructed the firm to focus on reengaging with those 122 clients. With 25 years of experience, I have learned that by focusing of those past clients and using some best practices to reengage, you can expect at least a 50% favorable result.

For the BGAP client I referenced, the result in two and half weeks of applying this strategy has been an immediate surge of job orders, lifting the total active opportunities by more that 18%. Now if half of them close, that is an immediate gain of 9% in sales. The 122 clients are low hanging fruit that just need to be picked. Beyond providing immediate sales growth, it also is saving them from expending 450 times the cost in effort and expense to net the same outcome.

Across the board, all firms are reporting tougher years. The key to developing growth during tough times is to start by gardening in your own backyard. Do your own audit, and then develop a strategy with your office leaders or with an executive coach to reengage with those “low-hanging fruit” clients. It could mean the difference between growth and reduction.]]>Bob BassmanViewpoints (blog)2008-04-24T17:31:06-05:00http://www.bgadvisory.com/viewpoints/files/7d220d80baf99fe1978250d8916d3e17-4.html#unique-entry-id-4http://www.bgadvisory.com/viewpoints/files/7d220d80baf99fe1978250d8916d3e17-4.html#unique-entry-id-4
Holding your search consultants accountable is the easy part. You demand they plan their next day the night before. You know how much daily phone time they should have? The number of job orders, interviews, sales calls, and send-outs they should have each week to meet their performance criteria. The evaluation is simple, they either accomplish those key metrics or they don't. However, in your case, whether you are a billing manager or not, your key metrics extended beyond the basic functions of the business to complex financial concerns and softer, less tangible, employee and client related issues.

The simple array of elements that an owner needs to be aware of and manage can easily lull one into mistaking activity with productivity. You know how it goes, as soon as you settle into your desk the first fire drill takes place. As the day unfolds, one client facing fire drill is replaced by an employee personal crisis, to an issue with your bank, and so on. How many times have you started a week with grand plans of all the things you were going to accomplish, only to find yourself Friday afternoon acknowledging that none of your intentions were completed? If you answered that such an event never happens to you, then you are not being honest with yourself and you might as well stop reading. If you are nodding in acknowledgement that this happens far too often, congratulations you are like everyone else. However, you have the opportunity to change the situation by asking yourself these three simple questions:

Question 1: You expect your staff to "plan and schedule" a balanced day, then execute flawlessly. However, how much "inspection of what you expect" do you really do?

Question 2: There are at least eight (8) different ways to communicate to your staff, how many of them do you currently use regularly and effectively?

Question 3: This is the tough one. As a manager, you know that the success of your search consultant is directly connected to their ability to plan and execute the schedule of their day. As an expert in management coaching, I would argue the same goes for you as an owner of a search firm. So here is the tough question, "How much of your day is scheduled with what you feel are vital activities that will translate into future gains over a sustained period of time?"

Lee Iacocca once said, "If you want to make good use of your time, you've got to know what's most important and then give it all you've got." In the past five years that I have been acting as an executive coach for dozens of successful search business owners, the one constant is the ongoing struggle to limit the amount of time spent on unimportant issues. An initial task that I advise my clients to do is to make a daily plan and schedule for themselves and stick to it. As Lee Iacocca implies in his quote, without focus to your day you can easily find yourself very busy, but that doesn't mean you are very productive. You manage your staff's key metrics, who is measuring yours? If you are not, then you need to be, or at least utilize a consultant or coach to help you do so. Success is achieved through focus, and focus is achieved through planning and discipline. ]]>Bob BassmanViewpoints (blog)2008-04-02T17:10:01-05:00http://www.bgadvisory.com/viewpoints/files/c7354d6ac6055f6fd1553f8bc8ac55e3-1.html#unique-entry-id-1http://www.bgadvisory.com/viewpoints/files/c7354d6ac6055f6fd1553f8bc8ac55e3-1.html#unique-entry-id-1
1) Financial advantage for both parties – A long-standing complaint of clients has been the perceived notion of high fees for searches. This ridiculous complaint is only compounded during tough economic times when budgets are cut and scrutinized. Therefore making an engaged deal where your fees are reduced from 30% to 27% (or any other number you feel comfortable with) paid in three installments with the first installment being non-refundable fee for engagement of your time and services, provides the client with a savings and you with a guaranteed revenue of 1/3 the placement fee. Sure you are giving up some commission if you make the placement, but considering that history indicates most offices place one person for every five to seven orders it writes, the guaranteed income from the engagement fee more than makes up for it.

2) Greater level of commitment for both parties – How many times have you or your staff called into a company and walked away with what appears to be a great job order in hand. Then after 3 weeks of work to create a short list of candidates, you suddenly cannot get the hiring authority to pick up the phone or call you back? If they paid you a third up front, I bet you would never happen. On the same front, research has shown that one of the biggest complaints clients have is that they give an assignment to a search consultant, only to never hear from that search consultant again. Now we all know that is true, because on a contingency basis I am going to go where the money is. However, if I had an engaged assignment, where I was paid for my time, I am now motivated to have a robust conversation with the client about their search. Greater commitment by both parties to participate actively should be enough for everyone to prefer an engaged search.

3) Improve your cash-flow: One thing that has always irked me about the way the search business is conducted, is how we get paid. Isn’t it ludicrous that when working on a contingency basis we have to wait until we conduct the search, find someone, present them, secure the offer, ensure the transition, the person to start, then invoice, and finally, if we are lucky, get our money in 30 days. How insane is that? By constructing an engaged search on the parameters of the OPS fee arrangement, you ensure more timely payments and greater cash-flow for your operation. The OPS arrangement is based on spreading placement fees of equal amounts over three installments, the first on “Origination of the order”, the second at “Presentation of candidates”, and the third when the candidate “starts their position”. By doing this, you receive payment for time progressively in response to your efforts, as well as more timely. In addition, since the three installments are significantly lower than one lump-sum payment, most of your hiring authorities can get your payment processes a lot easier. It also eliminates your AR report from becoming to bloated with past due payments.

In uncertain economic times the most important metric for any firm is cash-flow. By increasing your efforts around obtaining engaged searches you will find that your client satisfaction will go up, your placement ratios will increase, and most importantly your bank account will stay out of the red.]]>Bob BassmanViewpoints (blog)2008-03-15T17:27:06-05:00http://www.bgadvisory.com/viewpoints/files/cba5a717ff6dbf62dd389c7c07b21537-3.html#unique-entry-id-3http://www.bgadvisory.com/viewpoints/files/cba5a717ff6dbf62dd389c7c07b21537-3.html#unique-entry-id-3
1. Connectivity. You like the person instantly and he/she connects well with you, too. All offices reflect the personality of the owner or partners. Therefore, your immediate impression of the person will provide a significant barometer on whether or not the prospective search consultant is likely to fit in easily and be comfortable in your culture.
2. Conation. Individuals with this trait have a burning desire to succeed and a passion for many things. This quality is transferred to your search business.
3. Communication skills. The ability to get across an idea quickly and simply is a vital trait.
4. Contribution. People with this trait have a strong desire to give back and are involved in social and professional organizations, such as charities, little league, or fraternal organizations. They are the future leaders of your organization.
5. Consciousness. People with this trait are aware of how their actions impact others; therefore, they will always be conscientious workers. They can be counted on to be where they say they will be, when they say they will be there. They will put in many additional work hours to achieve their committed goal. They rarely lose the "game," and if they do lose, it's only because they ran out of time.
6. Courage. People with this trait can make the tough decisions. They dare to try the impossible. They do the difficult tasks right away - the impossible ones just take a little longer.
7. Confidence. People with self-assurance set high goals, persist against obstacles, and have the ability to get up one more time. Show me a person who keeps getting up, and I'll show you a person who will eventually triumph.

Do the above seven traits take the place of background and track record? No, but they are good lead indicators. In everyone's 2008 business plan hiring should be a priority, even if its purely for top grading or compensating for attrition. Therefore, aim for finding the seven traits listed and we assure you that your success rate will increase significantly. ]]>Bob BassmanViewpoints (blog)2008-02-26T14:42:14-05:00http://www.bgadvisory.com/viewpoints/files/Outsourced%20Management.html#unique-entry-id-0http://www.bgadvisory.com/viewpoints/files/Outsourced%20Management.html#unique-entry-id-0
According to Jack Welch, the former Chairman and CEO of GE, the purpose of management is to “develop talent.” Ronald Regan once said the key to effective management is to hire the best talent, give them the tools to succeed, and then try not to interfere. The key component in both of these statements is the role of management. The invention of the Internet has brought with it the magic of information at our fingertips. Today’s workers are more productive and informed then ever before. To feed this hunger a whole new batch of “experts” have emerged in our industry providing their teachings through audio and videotapes, teleconferences, webcast, books, and website Q and A applications. Even my own firm is in on the act, offering desk level training via live virtual based instruction and leveraging instant messenger technology. As a whole this new brand of training has its merits. However, over the past few years I have begun witnessing a disturbing trend in management behavior regarding these tools. Each week I speak with nearly a hundred different owners and managers about their businesses, and at an alarming rate these owners are relying solely on training purveyors to educate and develop the skills of their staff. They pay for teleconferences, sit them in front of videos, encourage them to view streaming video on their computers, and ship them off to “performance retreats.” Just as sitting a child in front of the television to watch the Wiggles isn’t parenting, having your staff watch a video on recruitment tips is not management. I call this approach, “outsourced management.” Just in case you are wondering, it doesn’t work.

What is even more concerning is the fact that most managers do not have any predetermined plans for ongoing reinforcement of the information gained, thus making the entire exercise and expense futile. According to the non-profit, bi-partisan, educators organization ASCD, “More than 90% of the new thoughts, information, concepts, and abilities that each student generates and processes during a class period will no longer be stored in the brain 23 hours after the period ends. Hence, students – in fact all people, regardless of age, gender, or level of expertise or whether they are in class, watching TV, reading a book, having an interesting conversation, or taking part in a workshop discussion group – will learn very little because so little of what they take in will remain in theirs brain’s ‘long-term store’ without an on-going curriculum that makes them rethink and reuse the things they’ve been exposed to or constructed.” Try this exercise. Recall the last four or five speeches or seminars you have attended. Now can you name one significant point that was learned during those events that you have effectively put into use? The odds are against it. As a manager, you should not look at training as a moment in time, but rather an on-going daily event that is designed to build on itself with every new day. Before you waste another dollar on the next video, or sign up for that next teleconference, make sure you have an action plan to reinforce the information being taught. To effectively uphold your manager responsibility to ‘development talent’, follow these 3 simple rules:

1. Approach training like conditioning an athlete – to develop a marathon runner, you don’t just give them sneakers and tell them to run 26 miles. Instead you develop an on-going daily build up of terrain and distance, intermixed with timed exercises. Development of our search consultants needs to be similar. Construct a training program in the mindset of quarter-length focused education within a yearlong curriculum, versus a mixture of unrelated individual events, haphazardly placed throughout the year.
2. Don’t buy any training that you have not previously experienced yourself, or at the very least are capable of attending yourself. In 25 plus years of experience, I have witnessed some really bad training, as well as some training that may be valid, but was in contradiction to my own beliefs. Therefore, before you spend money and potential waste your staffs time, make sure you know what they are going to learn and that it is in alignment with your beliefs, operational behaviors, and goals.
3. Intermix personal development with professional education. The recruitment and staffing industry is a people business, therefore development of individuals has got to be a priority. Through the years I have witnessed many top billers, some who average over two million annually, and to a person every top performer is a well-rounded individual with enhanced social skills. As you teach the art of selling, you cannot forget to develop the softer skills of personal interaction.

As we enter this new period of uncertainty in our industry, there will be winners and losers. It won’t be hard to notice who is who, as the losers will shut their doors and the winners will continue to grow. As Peter Drucker said, “What managers decide to stop doing is often more important than what they decide to do.”]]>