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ISSUE 3 October 2018
Magazine
The Smart Recruiter's Favorite Niche 4 reasons to become a contract recruiter
THE 'HUMAN CAPITAL' PROBLEM Why one innovative talent supplier is ditching the concept
Are You at Risk of Misclassification? Avoid massive fines with this handy guide
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Editor’s Note Dear Readers, With all due respect to the wonderful contributors to our previous issues, I think our current issue of Recruiter.com Magazine is the best yet. To kick things off, former Red Sox infielder and current managing director of enterprise solutions for Bullhorn Jimmy Fabiano tells us why he had an easy time switching from pro ball to the world of sales. For "Recruitment Rock Stars," we highlight two recruiters who are kicking butt and taking names on the Recruiter.com Job Market Platform. Later on, Vendorpass presents a guide to avoiding misclassification — a costly mistake all staffing and recruiting agencies must beware. We also check in with Rick Roberts, CEO and founder of Genesys Talent, to learn why it's time to excise "human capital" from our vocabularies. And there's so much more — from advice on preparing your career for the next recession to a surprisingly solid case for making the office more like elementary school. Can you tell we had a blast putting this one together? We hope you have a blast reading it, too! Matthew Kosinski Managing Editor
Recruiter.com Magazine is published quarterly by Recruiter.com. For media and editorial inquiries, contact Matthew Kosinski (matthew@recruiter.com). For advertising inquiries, visit our website. Recruiter.com Magazine
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Table of Contents Executive Spotlight: Jimmy Fabiano ... Pg. 5 Recruiter.com 5 Phrases That Undermine Your Leadership ... Pg. 7 Drew Dudley Is Your Career Ready for the Next Recession? ... Pg. 10 LiveCareer Recruitment Rock Stars ... Pg. 13 Recruiter.com Mitigating Misclassification ... Pg. 16 Vendorpass Contract Recruiting: A Financially Stable Alternative to Traditional Recruiting ... Pg. 20 Recruiter.com Certification Program
Trading 'Human Capital' for 'Human Beings' ... Pg. 23 Matthew Kosinski Does the Future of Work Mean No Office at All? Recruiting in a Fully Remote World ... Pg. 29 Daisy Hernandez Making the Most of Your Recruiting Partnership ... Pg. 31 BountyJobs Make the Office More Like Elementary School ... Pg. 35 Scott Engler
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Executive Spotlight: Jimmy Fabiano, Bullhorn Every issue, Recruiter.com Magazine's "Executive Spotlight" features top executives, HR professionals, recruiters, and business leaders sharing their insights on hiring, management, and best recruiting practices. This Issue's Spotlight: Jimmy Fabiano, Managing Director, Enterprise Solutions, for Bullhorn There's more than one path to the corner office. Just ask Jimmy Fabiano, who worked his way to managing director from a rather unlikely beginning. No, Fabiano didn't start his career toiling away in the mailroom — he started by playing professional baseball for the Boston Red Sox. While he has since put his days as an infielder behind him, Fabiano doesn't think his new career in sales is all that different from his time spent on the field. "Sales is just like baseball," Fabiano once wrote in an article for Recruiter.com. "It takes an entire team to nurture prospects or strengthen client relationships, it mandates hard work to achieve the required results, and it creates a journey that’s thrilling to pursue."
What do you love most about your job? I love the opportunity to work with our customers, prospects, and my team to create great experiences for everyone involved in the process. In the end, if everyone gets what they need and has a positive experience in doing so, that's success. Bullhorn is the market leader in our space because of our customers. I love that we lead with innovation and are always investing in our product and our company in order to give our clients what they need today and in the future. What is your proudest professional moment? It's hard to pick just one, but I remember earlier in my career I was leading a clerical and light industrial division for a very large staffing firm that mostly served the IT and engineering segment of the industry. While leading that division, we were the first team in the company's history to reach $1 million in revenue per week. Quite an accomplishment for my team! You are a former pro baseball player. Are there any lessons you learned while playing for the Red Sox that you carried with you into your sales career? Probably the most important lesson I learned from my professional baseball experience was the need to have a personal brand and to constantly invest in that brand and people's understanding of it. At the professional level, it was a very different experience than anything I had done before. You have to stand out among so many other great players who all want to be successful. You have to learn to advocate for yourself and let others know who you are and what kind of player you are. You often have a certain window of time to establish that brand before others form one about you that may not be who you really are. This is true in sports, business, and life in a way. Give some thought to who you Recruiter.com Magazine
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are, what specifically you bring to the table, and all — good people who want to genuinely deliver how that will translate to success in your career value to their customers. and your life. What is your must-follow hiring rule? Can you tell us a little about your transition from baseball to sales? Was it a major shift, In whatever you are ultimately selling to a potential or did you find it to be a smooth transition? customer, all things being equal, I believe that people will more often buy from those with whom It was a relatively easy transition for me at the they enjoy spending time. So I often ask myself if time. I had felt like I had gone as far as I could I would enjoy spending time with a potential hire as a pro ball player, and it was time to set my in any situation. Do I believe in who they are and sights on a different career. I was ready to take who they will be for our customers and the rest of the lessons I had learned in sports and my life the team? and apply them to my career goals. I found the staffing and recruitment industry about a month If you had to sum up your entire career or so after leaving my last spring training with the to this point in one quote, what would it be? Red Sox and have been loving it ever since! Several quotes come to mind: Describe your ideal team. What kind of people are on it? "Anything is truly possible if you are dedicated to What work are you doing? accomplishing it." What is your role? "Listen with purpose and understanding. God I have had many opportunities to lead and gave us two ears and one mouth that we may also build teams from the ground up. I love the listen twice as much as we speak." challenge and the tremendous satisfaction that comes from building an organization, assembling "Managers get what they inspect, not what they the right team, and having success through expect." revenue growth, customer satisfaction, and loyalty. The people on my team are coachable, "Be authentic." self-starters, success-oriented — and most of
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5 Phrases That Undermine Your Leadership
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Drew Dudley
t's not uncommon for us to focus on the things we're not doing when we aim to develop as leaders and as people. However, it's also possible to grow tremendously if you focus on addition by subtraction: identifying and undoing the unconscious habits holding you back.
words in a leader's vocabulary, specifically when utilized in its most common form — as a minimizer: • "I just have to go finish up my emails." • "I just have to get through this meeting." • "I just have to run and pick up my kids."
Some of the bad habits easiest to overlook are We often use "just" to trick ourselves. We make related to the words we use to describe ourselves, tasks seem small to minimize how much time our work, and what we hope to they will take before we can get get from other people. Language to the "real work." When you're "Leadership matters. The things we say and juggling an incredibly busy career is not martyrdom, how we say them have an impact and life, you can end up applying and failing on the people around us — and on "just" to almost every task you ourselves. No one hears more of undertake. There is a psychological to get what you say than you do. cost to continuously minimizing adequate sleep the importance of the tasks to kills you." You need to be aware of how easy which the majority of your day is it can be to slowly diminish your dedicated. You can go through worth with your own words. I've found that your incredibly productive days and at the end feel like effectiveness and ability to empower others is you never got to the "important stuff." often negatively impacted by unconsciously overusing five specific words and phrases. In addition, we often unconsciously employ "just" as a softener to the requests we're making of 1. 'Just' others: "I just need you to take care of a couple of things for me." The rationale seems to make "Just" is one of the most dangerously overused sense: The goal is to make the request seem like Recruiter.com Magazine
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less of an imposition to show respect for the time 3. 'Maybe' of the other person. However, the message can be perceived as the exact opposite: "This isn't I have adopted a three-word mantra that has really important, so I'm using you to do it." helped me when dealing with decisions where I am not yet comfortable making a call: "Maybe is Whether you're tackling a task yourself or lazy." assigning it to someone else, avoid minimizing the importance of the task by removing "just" When people hear "maybe," they don't hear "There from your vocabulary. Instead, try a phrase like is a possibility this will go either way." They hear, "This isn't big, but it's essential." Essential things "I can't or won't make this decision now, and I aren't little — they're not "just" anything. may not ever." "Maybe" projects uncertainty and indecisiveness. It offers no specific course of 2. 'We Need To' action for those waiting on an answer. It does not clearly indicate what needs to be accomplished How often have you found yourself trying to to move from "maybe" to "yes" or "no." convey a sense of urgency and importance using this phrase? It's fine to acknowledge you are not yet certain about a course of action, • -"We need to get this done but it's important in those "We often use the word 'just' today." moments to clarify for to trick ourselves. • "We need to knock this yourself and others how you We make tasks seem small presentation out of the will make the decision and park." what you need to do so. to minimize how much time • "We need that funding to they will take before we can come through or we're Instead of "maybe," be get to the 'real work.'" screwed." specific about what needs to be known, completed, or Ultimately, each of these statements means delivered for a decision to be made: something like: "We are far more likely to realize our long-term goals if this happens." However, • "We'll do that if …" using "we need to" can create a feeling of • "We'll make that call when …" false desperation, leading to hasty and poorly • "I'm holding off on that decision until I see if considered decisions. we can get greater clarity on X, Y, and Z." Once again, consider using the word "essential" instead to reframe these tasks. This word can convey urgency and importance while keeping the focus on larger collective goals: "It's essential we get this done if we're going to be successful with our plan to achieve [X]."
This approach makes clear you are not waffling, but are truly committed to making the best decision and moving forward as soon as you have all the information you need to make the decision.
The phrase "we/I need to" puts the focus only on accomplishing X. "It's essential" is a reminder that while X is important, it is part of the larger goal Y. This keeps your decision-making focused on options that serve the larger goal, rather than those made for the sake of expediency or a small victory.
This phrase and its more well-established cousin, "Everything happens for a reason," strip individuals and organizations of their agency.
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4. 'It Is What It Is'
Leaders don't resign themselves to what they cannot change — they accept what they cannot change. Acceptance is an act. It requires strength Recruiter.com Magazine
and a conscious decision. You have agency in acceptance. Resignation is a surrender. It brings with it a feeling of powerlessness. There is nothing wrong with recognizing continued effort will not yield results, but the bar for using this phrase should be much higher. Overuse creates acceptance of the idea that if something proves extremely difficult to accomplish, the status quo can be accepted as an inevitability. You can just throw your hands up and say, "It is what it is."
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5. 'I'll Stay Up and Get That Done Tonight' Leadership is not martyrdom, and failing to get adequate sleep kills you. I'll put it simply: Sleep is the most commonly squandered resource among professionals. You may be completing more work by shunning sleep, but you are dramatically reducing the work's quality — not to mention harming your health and your overall capacity to be a productive, highperforming professional. Sadly, the health argument rarely sways driven, type-A personalities, so here's an economic one: The highest-earning years in your career will likely be the final 10. Failing to get consistent, adequate sleep makes it less likely you will be at your best in those years — if you have them at all. The "burning the candle at both ends" lifestyle is often accompanied by caffeine consumption, the most commonly consumed drug on the planet. Used in moderation, it can be a helpful addition to your workflow. But ask yourself: "Do I enjoy coffee, or do I need coffee to function?" If it's the latter, try the healthier, less expensive path to alertness: sleep. Drew Dudley is the CEO of Day One Leadership and the author of This Is Day One: A Practical Guide to Leadership That Matters.
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Is Your Career Ready for the Next Recession? 5 Tips on Weathering the Economic Storm Presented by LiveCareer
boot camp for surviving tough economic times. Now that you know better, you can do better. To that end, we've compiled five tips to help you prepare for the next recession. Follow them, and you may avoid devastation this time around: 1. Pay Down Your Debts Step one in preparing for the next recession is to pay off any debt you have now. Tighten the reins on spending and throw all the money you can at credit card balances and other debt. If you have money left over at the end of the month, sock it into a savings account. Credit card debt is the devil during a recession. Visa and Mastercard are going to want their money whether you have a job or not.
In addition to avoiding interest on credit card balances, paying down your debt now will mean that you have more money available to you down the any Americans still shudder when they road, which could come in handy if your hours think back to the last recession. All told, are cut or you lose your job altogether. Consid8.7 million people lost their jobs, and it er taking out a debt consolidation loan, which took years for many families to dig out from the could help you save hundreds of dollars a month in interest fees, depending on what you owe. financial destruction.
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If you don't have any debt, pat yourself on the back — but don't celebrate with expensive purchases. Instead, save your extra cash for a rainy day. The more padding you have in your checkYes, it could. In fact, historical data shows that ing account, the better prepared you'll be for the the US averages one recession every 6-7 years, next recession. which has led experts to predict that we are due 2. Know What You're Up Against for another downturn any day now. Since the recession officially ended in 2009, a question has lingered in the backs of American workers' minds: Could it happen again?
Don't panic. Consider the last recession your Some fields are more recession-proof than oth-
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ers. Healthcare, government, and some areas of tech have historically been "safe" during recessions, while retail, food and beverage, and hospitality roles have proven to be more vulnerable.
Consider what your next move might be now and create networking opportunities that support your goal. For example, if you hope to be promoted within your industry, study the LinkedIn profiles of people who hold the title you'd like. If you work in an at-risk industry, consider mak- Identify the skills and training you might need to ing a career change into a field that might be obtain in order to make an upward move. more resilient. Think about your transferable skills and If you are contemplating a "Regardless of your field, how they could be applied to career change, try to cona new career. For example, nect with people who hold your financial situation, a retail worker's skills would the types of jobs you might or your level of worry, likely translate well to a cusbe interested in. Ask if they'd taking steps now tomer service role. be willing to sit for an informational interview. These to safeguard yourself 3. Pursue a Side Gig types of interviews can be inand your family valuable for making connecwill make even the most With Lyft and Uber cars all tions who can guide you in over the roadways, and comthe best ways to parlay your serious downturns panies like Etsy and Tasktransferable skills into a new feel less tumultuous." Rabbit going strong, the career. tech industry has created a bevy of earning opportunities for workers who 5. Update Your Resume and Cover Letter are looking to supplement their incomes. While full-time workers would likely be giving up nights Like networking, a new resume should never be and weekends to pursue side jobs, diversifying an afterthought. Having an up-to-date resume your skills and not relying on one source of in- on hand means you are ready to leap when a come makes great sense during unstable finan- great opportunity arises. The type of job you are cial times. Other ideas for side businesses might looking for will determine whether your resume include babysitting, dog walking, or tutoring. needs a quick update or a major overhaul. LearnShould a recession hit, and should you lose your ing how to write a resume that is right for your full-time job, the side gig could be something to next career move is critical to your continued immediately fall back on while professional success. you work toward securing fulltime employment again. Don't forget the cover letter. Research shows that 45 percent 4. Focus on Networking of job seekers skip writing a cover letter when applying for The most powerful way to prework. While some job seekers pare for the next recession is to operate under the false asmake networking a habit rathsumption that recruiters don't er than an afterthought. When read cover letters, that isn't people lose their jobs unextrue. Cover letters are often an pectedly, they often scramble important way for a recruiter or to connect with their networks hiring manager to distinguish to find work again. Savvy peobetween two similarly qualified ple don't wait until it's an emercandidates. If you and another gency to network. candidate have similar educaRecruiter.com Magazine
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tional backgrounds and have held identical job titles during your careers, your well-written cover letter may be the tiebreaker. — The specifics steps you take to prepare for the next recession will depend on your circumstances. Regardless of your field, your financial situation, or your level of worry, taking steps now to safeguard yourself and your family will make even the most serious downturns feel less tumultuous. LiveCareer develops tools to help job seekers draft cover letters, prepare for interviews, and build targeted resumes via its resume builder and an extensive collection of resume templates.
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Recruitment Rock Stars Two recruiters reflect on the industry and their successes with the Recruiter.com Platform
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he Rev. Dr. Kanya Hubbard isn't your average recruiter. With her degrees in both business administration and theology, plus level 5 and 6 clearance with the United States Office of Personnel Management, Hubbard may seem downright intimidating, judging by her resume. But trust us: She's a real people person. "I first got into recruiting ... [because] I wanted to do something more to help others," Hubbard explains. In March of 2012, while looking for a new job that would let her prioritize service to others, Hubbard came across an ad for a recruiter role at The Plan Sponsor University. She was reluctant to apply at first due to her lack of experience, but her gut told her to go for it. "I am so glad I did, because years later, I am working for myself doing something I love to do, helping others and making money in the process," Hubbard says. Now, Hubbard owns Dee Jones Inc., an independent recruiting firm named in honor of her grandparents, Ruby and Woodrow Jones. As a recruiter, Hubbard draws on her extensive knowledge of the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy to help fill roles for clients like the Y‑12 National Security Complex, The Pantex Plant, and the National Nuclear Security Administration. Hubbard says she was drawn to the Recruiter.com Job Market Platform because of how helpful the team is. "There is never a question too big or too small," Hubbard says. "When I submit a candidate, I can see the flow of the candidate right away. I get responses in 24 hours. I love it."
What is your favorite thing about being a recruiter? My favorite thing about being a recruiter is when I hear the joy in the candidate's voice when I tell them they got the job. You just never know how you might touch someone's life. It is truly amazing.
so many others like it tell me I am in the right business. What do you wish more candidates knew about recruiting?
Do you have a particular recruiting story you love to tell?
I wish more candidates knew the process. Recruiting is not always Kanya Hubbard One story sticks out to me. I had a candidate cut and dry. There are a who was new to the area of Tulsa, OK, and did lot of moving parts they not have any prospects on finding a job. She cannot see and do not understand. We can call applied to one of the open positions I had. We them based on their resume, prescreen them, talked for a while, and I got all her information and put them in front of the manager, but we in front of the hiring manager. She had a phone may not get a response right away. This is often interview and then a face to face. To make a frustrating to them, but it is also frustrating long story short, she got the to the recruiter. I am always position. She was so thrilled. reaching out daily to get "You just never know She had been in the city for feedback. I know how it can how you might less than 24 hours when I be waiting to hear about a job. touch someone's life." contacted her regarding her It is not fun. resume! What do you wish more hiring managers Another story: A retiree wanted to go back knew about recruiting? to work. The position was in Senatobia, MS. She didn't think she qualified and was scared I wish more hiring managers knew how hard it because of her age. Well, I sent her resume is to keep a candidate interested when we are over anyway and assured her we would never waiting on them to give a response. It is not know unless we tried. They called her in for an fair to the candidate, and it is not fair to the interview, and she got the job. She called me recruiter. If you are a good recruiter, you are out crying and jumping for joy. That experience and daily searching for the right candidates for their positions. Once we've submitted a candidate, why not let the recruiter know what is going on? What piece of advice do you want every recruiter to know? Please be patient with your candidates. Listen to their needs, and do not think of them as a number. They are seeking a position because they need a job. Always put yourself in their shoes. Treat them like you want to be treated.
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I stumbled into the recruiting business by accident," says Kevin Meyers, who spent the first 30 years of his career as a mortgage broker.
part of what makes Meyers a successful recruiter on the Recruiter.com Job Market Platform. A no-nonsense kind of guy, Meyers would like it if more employers and candidates understood that for recruiters, sourcing and placing candidates is their livelihood.
"I wish candidates understood that we provide a valuable service to both the candidate and the Meyers decided to get hiring company," he says. "I wish hiring managout of the industry when ers would understand that the candidate and it became clear that the the recruiter need timely feedback." Kevin Meyers big online mortgage companies were taking over. The importance of feedback to Meyers' process Luckily, it was around this time that he came is part of what drove him to Recruiter.com in the across an article about recruiting while brows- first place. ing the web. He found the career interesting, so he decided to take the plunge. "Recruiter.com provides timely feedback," he says. "They are easy to work with and fair in their "The freedom to work from home and work the practices." hours I choose to [are my favorite things about recruiting]," Meyers says. Meyers enjoys hunting, fishing, and hiking in his spare time. With hobbies like those, it's no wonMeyers takes great pride in the work he does as der he's adept at finding and placing the perfect a recruiter. Asked if he has a particularly memo- candidate for a role. rable recruiting story he likes to tell, he demurs. If there's one way to get on Meyers' bad side, it's "I am proud of every placement I make," he says. to be lax about paying your recruiters. "They all seem to have their own unique challenges." "My least favorite part of the business is the companies that don't pay on time — or at all," he This even-keeled sense of dedication is a big says. "Remember, this is our livelihood."
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Mitigating Misclassification Avoiding Penalties by Ensuring Labor Law Compliance
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or business leaders across the country, worker misclassification has become a priority — and a headache.
That's because, as of January 1, 2014, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is in full effect. Under the law, companies with more than 50 full-time employees (or equivalent) must offer health coverage to workers who qualify according to new, stringent federal classification guidelines. At the same time, the IRS is devoting significant resources to curbing misclassification. Even states and local governments are starting to crack down on misclassification. For example, one state is imposing penalties of up to $300 per day per misclassification in addition to criminal sanctions, and others are expected to follow suit. What's the Risk? Misclassification can cost you: • • • •
Back wages Tax liabilities Retroactive exposure for employee benefits Unpaid unemployment insurance contributions • Fines and penalties Raising Awareness to Lower Misclassification Risks Your procurement team probably understands the nuances of proper classification. However, they're not the only ones making personnel decisions in your workforce. Every time a hiring manager or department head brings in a new employee, contracts with a third-party provider, or works directly with an independent contractor, your exposure to potential fines and penalties increases. If your business utilizes flexible labor, you need to make it your business to mitigate this exposure. Start by educating your internal teams and your contractors about the importance of classification.
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Why Misclassification Matters To You Internal Employees
To Your Contractors
The most important thing to convey to your inter- Proper classification should be just as important nal teams is that the risks of misclassification are to your contractors as it is to you. If they are imvery real — and potentially very costly. properly classified, they face the following challenges: Beginning in 2014, under the Affordable Care Act, your company may be subject to a monthly pen- • They must pay both income and inflated alty if: self-employment taxes (as a result of FICA and Medicare taxes that should have been • It is a large employer (50+ full-time employees paid by you) or equivalent) • If laid off, they are not entitled to unemploy• It fails to offer all of its full-time employees ment compensation (and dependents) the opportunity to enroll in minimal essential coverage under an eligible • If injured on the job, they are not entitled to employer-sponsored plan workers' compensation benefits and must pay their own medical expenses while bearing the • At least one full-time employee has enrolled in financial burden of lost income a qualified health plan under which an applicable premium tax credit or cost-sharing reduction is allowed or paid
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Making Your Classification Best in Class
If you don't make the right determination, or if you don't have the proper documentation, you could face expensive fines and penalties. By partnering with a payrolling expert, you can eliminate your risks while saving your internal teams valuable time, money, and stress. As a proven payrolling partner to companies across the country, we can help you gain confidence in your compliance efforts while allowing you to focus on what really matters: growing your business.
The burden of classification falls entirely on you. If a former worker files a claim or a federal agency begins an audit, it is up to you to prove compliance. That's easier said than done. The process of initially classifying a worker as an employee or independent contractor is extremely complex. Proper classification depends on a number of factors, including your operating environment, business location, employee interaction, local rules, use of equipment, and many others. To learn more, visit vendorpass.com.
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Contract Recruiting: A Financially Stable Alternative to Traditional Recruiting
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Presented by the Recruiter.com Certification Program
ecoming a niche recruiter who focuses on one particular kind of talent is a smart business strategy for independent recruiters. As a niche recruiter, you face less competition from other recruiters, simply because there are fewer active recruiters in your small slice of the field. You're essentially outside the fray. You can also earn higher fees for your specialized services. Finding niche talent is tough, so employers are willing to pay for results. One niche that can be incredibly lucrative is contract recruiting. Whereas most recruiters help employers fill permanent roles, contract recruiters specialize in filling contingent and contract positions. Today, in the age of the gig economy, these recruiters are in particularly high demand. As much as 40 percent of all US workers may already be involved in the contingent workforce. As more and more organizations look for ways to utilize contractors, that number will likely grow. The Top 4 Benefits of Contract Recruiting
ber of perks and benefits, from financial to intellectual and even emotional: 1. It Is More Dynamic When employers need contingent workers, they don't have time to wait. They need those workers now. While some may see this as stressful, others find it exciting. Those who thrive in high-energy environments where every second counts will find contract recruiting a fulfilling profession. Similarly, those who value person-to-person relationships will enjoy contract recruiting's relationship-focused business model. Contract recruiters must cultivate strong relationships with contractors and clients alike in order to secure repeat business. If connecting with candidates and employers is your favorite part of recruiting, you may want to give contract recruiting a shot. 2. It Offers a Steadier Stream of Income
Perhaps the biggest draw of contract recruiting While contract recruiting is not everyone's cup is its revenue model, which is much more stable of tea, it does offer those who succeed a num- than traditional recruiting. An online training program covering everything from sourcing candidates to landing new clients, the Recruiter.com Certification Program is ideal for anyone looking to start a new career, including: • • • •
Stay-at-home parents Recent college grads Military veterans Professionals interested in changing careers
Want to become a recruiter? Sign up for the RCP today: https://www.recruiter.com/recruiter-training. html. 20
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While there is potential to make big money as a traditional recruiter, that money isn't constant. Most recruiters are paid a percentage of a new hire's salary when they make a placement, which means their income can fluctuate wildly over time. One big placement could net tens of thousands of dollars, but the next placement may only bring in a couple thousand. Recruiters may also go through lean periods where their clients aren't making any hires, giving them fewer opportunities to earn income. Or, a recruiter may fail to fill a string of roles in a row, spending weeks or even months without a single paycheck. Contract recruiters are also paid a percentage of their placement's compensation, but the arrangement is different. Contractors are typically paid hourly rather than salary, and so is the recruiter. Rather than a lump sum up front, a contract recruiter receives a steady stream of income for as long as the contractor is working with the client.
many recruiters in this space work with companies across industries. Contract recruiters are also on the front lines of industry evolution, as clients typically call on them when new developments in the market require a fast response. All of this means contract recruiters have unparalleled insight into hiring and business trends throughout the global economic landscape. Contract recruiters also have experience with many different recruitment processes, strategies, and tactics. This gives them a breadth and depth of recruiting knowledge that a person cannot learn by working in only one industry or with only a few major clients. 4. It Weathers Economic Downturns
Recruiting is particularly susceptible to the ups and downs of the economic environment. When times are good, companies won't hesitate to spend money to find the best talent. When times are tough, belts tighten. Talent is often cut loose rather than hired, and when To illustrate this point, the staffing industry pub- organizations do need to recruit, they'd rather lication EMinfo offers the story of a contract re- handle it in house than pay a third party to do cruiter named Don: it. He placed a software engineer at his client for a 10-month assignment. During those 10 months, Don earned $20,275.16. That equals a steady income of $2,027.52 per month. … Many recruiters experience the same type of consistent cash flow that Don did when he made his first contract placement. Add a couple more contract placements into the mix, and the checks will continue to arrive on a steady basis. Want to take a day off work and not even look at your telephone? Go right ahead. Play golf. Go to the movies. Take a trip. The contractors you placed will continue to make money for you. 3. It Gives Recruiters Unparalleled Industry Knowledge
Contract recruiting is different. In fact, economic downturns can actually be good for a contract recruiter's business. When companies need talent in a tough economy, they often turn to contractors as an affordable, flexible source of labor. In a bleak economic climate, organizations will gladly pay a contract recruiter if it means they can fill seats fast and at a fraction of the cost of hiring full-timers. — Interested in learning more about contract recruiting? Keep an eye out for the Recruiter.com Certification Program's upcoming course on how to become — and thrive as — a contract recruiter!
Contract recruiting is flexible and dynamic, and Recruiter.com Magazine
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Trading 'Human Capital' for 'Human Beings'
How
Creates a More Positive Candidate Experience Through Talent Clouds and Smart Tech
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n the age of the candidate experience and employee engagement, there seems to be a fundamental disconnect between what we believe the recruiting process should look like and how we actually execute the process. For all the talk surrounding the importance of engagement, 87 percent of workers around the world are still not engaged, according to Gallup. Similarly, despite the constant conversation regarding the value of a positive candidate experience, 60 percent of candidates surveyed by CareerArc reported having had negative candidate experiences. The same CareerArc survey also found these candidates are 3.5 times less likely to reapply to the company that gave them a negative experience.
Human-capital thinking treats each individual candidate like an abstract unit of talent. This leads to oversimplified role descriptions and oversimplified matching processes — which, in turn, lead to a "less than comprehensive alignment between worker and role/organization," according to Roberts. Human-capital thinking also obscures the value of soft skills, which are more important to employee success than you might think. By some measures, as many as 89 percent of new hire failures result from a lack of soft skills. However, human-capital thinking puts all the focus on technical matches. It should come as no surprise that bad hires still abound.
"The term 'capital' itself is demeaning and grossly Part of the problem is the very notion of "human inadequate as applied to human beings," Roberts capital" itself, according to Rick Roberts, CEO and says. "Over time, [this] has been reflected in the founder of the innovative alternative to traditional manner in which candidates are treated." talent suppliers, Genesys Talent. At its core, recruiting is supposed to be about "huOn a certain level, human-capital thinking makes mans hiring humans," as Roberts puts it. But the sense. For years, recruiters and HR pros have ap- more we think of candidates as capital, the more proached employment as a matter of managing re- prone we become to treating candidates like capisources. When a company has an empty role to fill, tal instead of people. it has a business problem. As with any business problem, the solution requires diverting the neces- The problem is clear: As long as human capital sary resources to the pain point. remains a salient lens through which to view and execute recruiting strategies, negative candidate But human-capital thinking falls apart the minute experiences will be common occurrences. Compaone remembers the resources under consideration nies will continue to make bad hires, shelling out here are living, breathing human beings. tens of thousands of dollars for each one. Can"The term 'human capital' is closely tied to sup- didates will continply-chain thinking and practices," explains Adam ue to feel burned. Gould, vice president of brand experience at They'll share their Genesys. "Those practices are well-suited to the negative experimanagement of goods, materials, and some ser- ences with othvices for which they were originally intended. All of ers, creating a those things can be defined and compared accord- ripple effect in ing to very stringent specifications. They are then which more and organized into homogeneous categories, each more candidates with a reasonably objective value assigned. When are turned off by the these practices are applied to literally the most company. Rick Roberts varied and complex thing on earth – a human beCEO, Genesys ing – all sorts of issues arise." But it doesn't have to be that way. 24
Recruiter.com Magazine
Transforming Recruiting While Keeping What Matters Most
Moving to the Talent Cloud
While the traditional recruiting firm waits for a requisition before it starts sourcing candidates, the Genesys team takes a more proactive and robust approach. The team builds talent clouds, vetted groups of candidates who are on deck and ready to go when an organization needs to make a hire. This is why Genesys refers to its team as "talent curators" rather than Adam Gould "recruiters." "In the early days of the staffing and recruiting VP Brand Experience Genesys business, candidate experience and relation"The value provided by clouds ships were the most important aspects of the to candidates and employers business," Roberts says. "Over time, many of is essentially the same: shortthe forces at play — including those outlined above ening the path between the job seeker and the tal— began to get in the way of quality human interac- ent seeker while producing more ideal matches tion and relationship-building." and enhanced experiences in the process," Roberts explains. For the Genesys team, the goal was to find a way to enhance or automate the more "mechanical" Beyond their value to candidates and employers, aspects of the recruiting process so that recruit- the talent clouds help Genesys organize potential ers could "focus on delivering a more human ex- candidates, gather additional information about perience for the candidate while producing better candidates' attributes and preferences, prescreen matches and results for the hiring manager," Rob- for common requirements, and more easily engage erts says. candidates with relevant info and content. Genesys was founded four years ago specifically in response to the kind of human-capital thinking that had grown so prevalent among recruiters and HR pros. As Roberts and his fellow cofounders were taking stock of the recruiting industry, they were struck by what they saw as a drift away from the field's central purpose.
In this model, sourcing, screening, and matching would be carried out with the aid of AI, natural language processing, and other advanced technology, freeing up time for recruiters to act more like "talent curators" who build relationships and create "talent clouds" to aid organizations in filling their roles with the best possible matches.
To give an example of talent clouds in action, it's best to turn to a case study. Recently, a national cold storage logistics company came to Genesys with a problem. It was having trouble recruiting and retaining talented candidates who could comfortably work in the harsh, cold conditions of the business.
"Clouds are a key part of what sets us apart from other firms," Roberts says. "They are the structure that enables our ability to provide a richer candidate experience, as well as to front-load traditional process elements that were formerly performed within a reactive, linear flow that initiated only when a candidate was of immediate interest relative to a requisition."
Genesys began by working with the company to identify the key traits possessed by previously successful employees. Armed with the resulting success profile, Genesys set about looking for target audiences that would be most likely to excel in the company's open roles. As it turned out, veterans of the armed forces were potentially great matches, based on their adaptability and higher tolerance for work in harsher environments.
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magine never again having to struggle with the outdated features and frustrations of traditional job boards or sift through dozens upon dozens of resumes to find a candidate you feel good about submitting.
A zero search solution for candidates you can feel good about. • Matchlists of truly aligned candidates delivered to your inbox reduce your pre-submittal efforts by 80% or more • Advanced matching technology harnesses the power of AI and Natural Language Processing to go beyond the traditional Boolean method for more precise alignment with your requisitions • Human talent curation layer for “last mile” refinement on complex roles and a more human candidate experience • Reduce your reliance on job boards and associated license fees
To learn more, contact sales@genesystalent.com Genesys is a Recruiter.com partner. Combining Recruiter.com’s extensive recruiter and candidate communities and robust publishing engine with the formidable aggregated jobs demand and AI-enhanced processes of Genesys, the partnership will streamline the hiring process and drive next-level results for everyone involved. Join us as we seek to improve the recruiting experience for candidates, recruiters, and employers alike.
A Great Talent Cloud Needs a Solid Tech Backbone Genesys's talent clouds are meant to simplify the connection between employer and candidate while enhancing the candidate experience. This can only be achieved with a hightech engine under the hood powering all that Genesys does. Roberts was kind enough to give us a quick rundown of the various tech tools Genesys uses to keep its operation running: 1. Demand Analytics: Genesys uses data analytics methods and tools to analyze demand for talent along a number of axes, including within client organizations and within certain geographical areas. Demand analytics help Genesys identify areas of critical mass where proactive cloud-building will be most valuable. 2. Candidate Intake/Profiling: Genesys uses advanced parsing technology and natural language processing to read, analyze, store, and structure candidate resumes, self-reported attributes, and other data. This keeps talent clouds updated, organized, and accurate. Genesys developed a veteran-focused talent cloud strategy, using online marketing, text messaging campaigns, social media campaigns, and partnerships with veterans' organizations to attract talent that matched the success profile. In just two months, Genesys placed more than 30 veterans at the cold storage company. Keep the Candidate Happy and the Rest Falls into Place Genesys has put massive work into improving the candidate experience — so much so that you could argue it has overhauled the entire recruiting process. That may leave some recruiters wondering: Why go to such great lengths? Recruiter.com Magazine
3. Sourcing/Campaigning/Matching: A big part of what Genesys does is matching candidates from talent clouds to open roles at companies. To do this, Genesys deploys AI, machine learning, and natural language processing to parse job descriptions and identify probable matches within relevant talent clouds. Roberts also let us in on a couple of new tech tools Genesys will introduce in the future: 1. Job Suggestions: Genesys is developing a way to use candidate resumes and self-identified attributes to provide ongoing job suggestions. The job suggestion tool will even use machine learning to refine and tweak its recommendations based on a candidate's behavior and responses to previous suggestions. 2. Candidate Dashboard: The dashboard will offer candidates a centralized destination for managing the recruiting process, including functions like profile maintenance, job searches, job applications, and referrals. The answer, Roberts says, is simple: "We feel our most important customer is our candidate." When you get down to it, the sentiment makes a lot of sense. Sure, it is employers who hire the firm and pay the recruiting fees, but you can't have a successful recruiting process without happy candidates. In our talent driven-market, the best candidates have a low tolerance for mistreatment of any kind. When candidates are unhappy with their experiences, they'll blacklist a company from future job searches. They'll spread the word so others do the same. That leaves a company with a smaller talent pool to draw from, and more likely to make bad hires as a result. When candidates have a good experience, howev27
er, they can become lifelong fans — even if they don't get the role this time around. They'll stick by recruiters and employers that do right by them, and they'll refer their talented friends and colleagues. When you have a positive candidate experience, the best candidates will want to work for you and your clients. To keep track of how candidates are feeling, Genesys uses the Net Promoter System. It has seen a 60-day trailing Net Promoter Score (NPS) as high as 92, and its all-time NPS is currently 76. This places Genesys in the same league as some of the largest and most respected brands, including Apple (72), Southwest Airlines (62), and Zappos (57). "The experience was ideally what one would like when looking for a job," one candidate wrote when scoring Genesys.
Our platform is simple to use from your desktop or your phone.
"You got me the best job I ever had," wrote another. It's clear, then, that Genesys has built exactly what it set out to build when it was founded: a more human candidate experience that brings organizations and the talent they need closer together in less time. Genesys + Recruiter.com: Better Together Like Genesys, Recruiter.com feels the recruiting process could use some updating for the modern era. That is why Genesys and Recruiter.com have announced a new partnership. By leveraging their respective teams, technologies, and networks of recruiters and candidates, Genesys and Recruiter.com aim to make bad candidate experiences, long times to fill, and poor candidate-match quality things of the past. Combining Recruiter.com's extensive recruiter and candidate communities and robust publishing engine with the formidable aggregated jobs demand and AI-enhanced processes of Genesys, the partnership will streamline the hiring process and drive next-level results for everyone involved. Join us as we seek to improve the recruiting experience for candidates, recruiters, and employers alike.
Find a job that matches your personal and professional goals.
Does the Future of Work Mean No Office at All? Recruiting in a Fully Remote World Daisy Hernandez
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ccording to a recent report from FlexJobs, the number of employees who work from home regularly has grown by 115 percent in a little more than a decade — nearly 10 times faster than the overall workforce has grown.
more natural. It is important that the process of connecting via video is easy for the candidate. An inconvenient video interview system will only cast your company in a negative light.
While employees may enjoy the convenience of Thanks to today's technology, employers are able working remotely, they still desire human conto effectively communicate and collaborate with nection at work. With no office to showcase, it is their employees regardless of where they are lo- critical that HR professionals capture and share cated in the world. Couple that fact with rising the company culture during the interview stage. rent prices and the flexibility of remote work, and Establishing an online hub where prospective emit's no wonder that some organizations are doing ployees can learn about the company and experiaway with offices altogether. ence the culture for themselves is one effective way to do this. How does the lack of a central office affect talent acquisition and onboarding? Let's explore how ofOnboarding fice-less workplaces can handle some common talent acquisition and management issues: The onboarding process for a remote employee can be tricky. During this time, HR professionals The Interview need to familiarize the employee with company processes, new colleagues, and the work they will If your company doesn't have an office, the most be doing without overwhelming them. ideal option is to fly the prospective employee out to meet the hiring manager before making an of- In or out of the office, learning is only as effecfer. Even though the employee would be working tive as the materials that are available. Training remotely, meeting a candidate in person is the programs for remote employees should be intuibest way to gauge culture fit. tive and easy to follow, and important resources should be clearly and easily accessible. If travel is not an option, web conferences and video interviews are a must. The prospective em- If you're onboarding multiple employees at once, ployee should feel as if they're in the same room setting up virtual training rooms can be benefiwith you, as this will make the conversation feel cial. Doing so will empower employees to conRecruiter.com Magazine
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nect with each other and learn together, creating a more interactive onboarding process overall. In addition to connecting new employees with one another, make sure new hires also meet seasoned employees who know the company inside and out. Bonding with established employees is an important component of acclimating to the company culture, and the seasoned employee can also serve as a mentor and guide to the new employee. Ideally, HR professionals will work with department heads to ensure new employees are connected with relevant stakeholders across the company. Team Bonding and Collaboration A virtual work environment that fosters feelings of unity and peer-to-peer connection is key to both organizational and individual development. Providing employees with an online space where they can chat with their colleagues about specific projects, organizational processes, and their own careers creates stronger bonds between team members and departments. At the same time, employees have varying work styles and are at their most productive during different times of the day. These differences often become more evident when people are working remotely, and accommodating these differences can improve performance significantly. — Remote-only organizations are not bound by geographic barriers, but they still have a responsibility to build engaging digital workplaces that make employees feel connected to one another and the company itself. With effective collaboration technology, teammates can work seamlessly together while encouraging each other's learning and development — all in cyberspace. Daisy Hernandez is global VP of product management for SAP Jam, SAP's cloud collaboration platform. Recruiter.com Magazine
Making the Most of Your Recruiting Partnership
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5 Best Practices for Working With Third-Party Recruiters Presented by BountyJobs
t's a familiar scenario: A top performer just left your company, and you need to scramble to fill their role. Productivity is falling, clients are growing frustrated, and every day the role goes unfilled, your organization is losing money — as much as $14,000 if the role stays open for three months. Recruiting is tough, even in the best of circumstances. Not only do you need to find a candidate with the right skills, but that candidate also needs to be a culture fit and within your price range. No wonder more than a third of companies say they struggle to hire talent. Luckily, there is a way out of this Recruiter.com Magazine
bind. All it takes is finding the right third-party recruitment partner.
lines. When you partner with a third-party recruiter, you gain direct access to this pre-vetted The Perks of Partnering pool of interested candidates. With a Third-Party Recruiter That means less sourcing work for your team, plus a higher What makes third-party recruit- quality of candidate overall. ers the go-to solution for this tight talent market? Perhaps it's 2. Free Up Time best to answer that question by for Your Internal Team surveying the perks your organization can get by partnering With a third-party recruiter on with a recruiter: the job, your talent acquisition team doesn't have to dedicate 1. Access to Quality Candidates 13 hours a week to sourcing — the average amount of time Because a third-party recruit- a recruiter spends looking for er's entire livelihood depends candidates every week! This is on their access to top-tier tal- to say nothing of the time saved ent, they spend much of their on screening, vetting, and other time building and maintaining measures. Imagine what your high-quality candidate pipe- team could do with all this extra 31
time on their hands.
cent of the new hire's salary. Some recruiters may charge 3. Shorter Times to Hire Once you have finalized a shortas much as 50 percent for list, it's time to reach out to inhigh-level executive roles. Third-party recruiters can help terview the recruiters about • Payment Timing: When are shave days off the overall hiring how they operate. What does you expected to pay the reprocess. Because these recruit- their typical recruiting process cruiter? Some recruiters will ers already have established tal- look like, and does it align with expect payment as soon as ent pipelines they can tap, less how your company does things? the hire is placed, while other time is spent on sourcing and Also ask about the recruiter's recruiters will give you some screening. The hiring process can previous performance and try leeway as the hire gets setmove along at a faster clip, allow- to get statistics to back up their tled in their role. ing your organization to hire top claims. Reports covering aver- • Placement Guarantee: Many talent before competitors have a age days to submission, subrecruiters offer a guarantee chance to make an offer. missions per role, placement period of about 90 days. If rates, and other key metrics can a candidate satisfactorily 5 Best Practices for Engaging help you determine whether a completes their job for 90 With Recruiters recruiter is capable of delivering days, the placement is conthe results you need. sidered a success and the To ensure you enjoy the benefits recruiter will invoice you for of partnering with a third-party 2. Analyze Terms payment. If the candidate recruiter to their full extent, it's Before Agreeing to Them does not work out, the rea good idea to follow a few best cruiter may offer some kind practices: You've found a recruiter with of compensation to your orrelevant expertise, a verifiable ganization. For example, the 1. Do Your Due Diligence track record of success, and recruiter may charge no fee similar recruiting values. Before at all, and/or they may offer Before striking up a recruiting making the leap to full partnerto find a replacement candipartnership, you have to re- ship, you want to examine the redate for free. search your options. That way, cruiter's terms. A less-than-ideal you can find a recruiter who is contract can torpedo even the If a recruiter's terms don't seem suited to meet your company's most promising relationship. favorable to you, try negotiatunique needs. ing. Most recruiters are open Ask your potential partner about to tweaking their contracts to Begin by researching recruiters their contract terms, paying par- meet your needs. and agencies that specialize in ticular attention to the following your particular industry or field. items: 3. Maintain Open Communication Look for referrals whenever possible. Have any of your business • Fee Structure: Most recruit- You've signed on the dotted line. partners, vendors, employees, or ers charge fees in one of You officially have a partnership other contacts worked with a retwo ways: a flat fee per can- with a third-party recruiter. cruiter before? Ask them about didate, or a fee based on a their experiences. percentage of each hired In order for the partnership to candidate's starting sala- succeed, it must be built on a Throughout your research, you ry. Percentage-based fees foundation of clear, honest comshould be narrowing down your tend to be more common, munication. A recruiter can only list until you have a few choicwith the average recruiter's help you if they know what you es who seem like they might be fee clocking in at 15-25 per- need and want, so make sure 32
good fits for your company.
Recruiter.com Magazine
you are in constant contact with your recruiter about your goals, your deadlines, your expectations, and more. It is natural for a recruiting effort to evolve over time, and your recruiter should be kept up to date on any changes. If they are operating with outdated information, a recruiter simply won't be able to deliver the candidates you need.
candidates.
All too often, employers go silent after a recruiter sends through a batch of candidates. This is an incredibly frustrating situation for the recruiter, who is awaiting feedback on the candidates. Not only is this an inconvenience that stops the recruiter dead in their tracks, but it also puts the recruiter in a bad position with the candidates, who are eager to hear what is going on in the hiring process. When you leave your recruiter in the dark, they have no information to share with the candidates. The candidates then grow frustrated with the recruiter, damaging their relationship. This can lead to candidates dropping out of the process, and it can also hurt your partnership with your recruiter.
Similarly, remember that recruiters are talent acquisition professionals. They may have some helpful feedback for you, too! Solicit their suggestions for improvements to the recruiting process, and be sure to listen with an open mind. If you do, you'll emerge from the partnership with not only a new hire, but also a radically improved recruiting process — and perhaps even a lifelong recruiting partner.
Delays happen — but communicate that fact with your recruiter. That way, they'll know what is going on, and they'll have information to share with waiting
4. Share and Accept Feedback It is unlikely your recruiter will find a perfect fit right away, but by sharing clear, honest feedback on each candidate they submit, you can help your recruiter zero in on the best person for the job.
Data exchange between recruiters and employers can lead to a more transparent, effective, and agile recruiting process. For that reason, it's a good idea to share whatever reports you can with your recruiter. Do you have data on which of your employees perform best? This can help the recruiter focus in on candidates who match their profile. Do you have information on how quickly your hiring process tends to move? Your recruiter can use it to set realistic expectations with candidates. Where the Best Recruiters Hangout Now that you know how to make the most of a recruiting partnership, one question remains: Where do you find the right recruiter?
We're glad you asked! At Boun5. Share Your Data tyJobs, we understand the right third-party recruiter is a Any information you can share game-changer for filling critical about your talent pipeline, re- roles — which is why we've built cruiting trends, and other rele- a platform that helps you find vant metrics can help a recruiter the perfect match in minutes. better understand your hiring needs and your recruiting pro- Visit https://www.bountyjobs. cess. You may have the urge to com/ for more information, or keep "proprietary data" close to check out the full "Making the the vest, but this only prevents Most of Your Recruiting Partneryour recruiter from operating ship" report for more best pracwith maximum efficiency. tices not included here!
Sometimes sourcing talent for business-critical positions requires a little help. Our web-based platform features a marketplace of more than 10,000 highly qualified agencies and a performance-based matching algorithm that helps hiring teams of all sizes find and engage the recruiters for each of their roles. All this inside our simple yet effective platform designed to keep you in control of the entire reRecruiter.com MagazineHelp makes hiring happier. Learn more at http://www.bountyjobs.com. 33 cruitment process.
Hard to Hire:
Third-Party Recruiting and the State of Talent Acquisition If you're a recruiting professional or hiring managpating in the survey. er and your head is spinning, you're not the only • Experience with third-party recruiting: Some in one! There has been so much going on in talent talent acquisition have been utilizing this opacquisition this year that we felt compelled to tion for years, and others are just starting to focus our annual survey on topics affecting our consider it. Our survey covers the many differindustry today. ent situations in which people leverage this hiring tactic, as well as how they get the most Each year, BountyJobs crafts a survey with this ROI. goal in mind: to collect data on topics that matter • Hiring traits of the current organization: A bit of in talent acquisition, covering third-party recruitbackground that gives some color around the ing and other hot-button trends moving the neehappenings related to hiring within organizadle within the current hiring landscape. Between tions today. the historically low unemployment rate, millenni- • Challenges currently faced: For some, this is als and Gen. Z blasting into the workforce, and a tight hiring market that comes with added technology disrupting the industry as we know it, challenges. For others, it's business as usual. there is a lot to talk about! This info gives insight into what talent acquisition professionals are dealing with. From the responses to our survey, we produce a valuable report with actionable tactics to impleWhat's in It for Me? ment into your recruiting strategy. We believe that rising tides lift all boats. When more talent acqui- As mentioned, the responses from this survey sition pros are armed with the right data, the bet- will help inform our upcoming report covering the ter we can keep progressing. state of talent acquisition today. Check out what others in your industry (*ahem* — competitors) What Are We Talking About Here? are experiencing, and discover valuable data to incorporate into your recruiting strategy. SubmitThis year, our "Hard to Hire 2018: Third-Party Re- ting your answers also enters you into a pot for a cruiting & the State of Talent Acquisition Survey" chance to win one of five $100 gift cards. covers each respondent's: We want to hear from YOU! Take the "Hard to Hire • Personal hiring background: Simple info that 2018: Third-Party Recruiting & the State of Talent gives us a better idea of the audience partici- Acquisition Survey."
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Recruiter.com Magazine
Make the Office More Like Elementary School Want to Retain Your Employees? Try Giving Them Recess Scott Engler
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or organizations to return to the type of employee longevity and "happy family" workplace cultures that used to be common, we have to first use our imaginations to envision what that kind of change could look like in our present time. While thinking about this subject, I've personally come to a simple conclusion: An organization that plays well together stays together. By "playing together," I mean two things at once: First, I'm referring to all those factors required for an organization and its staff to thrive together: acquiring the right talent, alignment between employees and leaders, congruent values, and ensuring that your company has the right people in the right places. The other concept of play at work here is the literal sense of actually playing together! In my workshop training, "Boundaries in Business," one of the topics I address is the increasing rate of workaholism in the US. Many of us are working much more than ever before, and thus we have little time or energy to dedicate to play. The most play the average American experiences is watching professional athletes on the television. I'm sure many readers are familiar with the quote from the movie The Shining, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." Though the movie tells a fictional story, I would vehemently agree to the validity of this statement. The character responsible for this quote, Jack, is a grown man — which implies the need for play may be just as critical for adults as it is for children. Again, I would vehemently agree. The problem is, if we are constantly working and not getting any play time, we may turn our urge for play into something more destructive, such as substance abuse and addiction issues. Aside from harming our personal lives, these destructive behaviors inevitably follow us back into the workplace, leading to negative changes in attitude, focus, and productivity. Recruiter.com Magazine
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How in the world do you expect a company to flourish if all the people working there are dull, burnt out, and unhappy? And why in the world would these people — this includes leadership — stick around if they dread going to work or lack the most basic levels of joy and passion to carry them through the day?
similar perks. Even though some of these companies may have failed to produce the results they were hoping to — e.g., a happy work culture — I believe they were headed in a great direction.
That being said, here's an alternative approach So, how do you bring play into an organization to playing at work that I believe will yield better in a way that will yield the energy, joyfulness, results: and mojo needed to turn your staff into the team that Run Your Office "How in the world everyone else wants to play Like an Elementary School on? Many large companies do you expect are attempting to move in That's right: an elementary a company to flourish this direction, but they seem school. Remember how if all the people working there easy it was to get all the to be missing the mark. play, physical exercise, and are dull, burnt out, In the past decade, I worked lighthearted laughter we and unhappy?" for a big company that took needed when it was built into a similar approach to play our daily routines? When a as a company like Google might — massages, loud bell rang throughout the school at the same ping-pong tables, a large indoor gym facility, and time every day, letting everyone know it was time other cool perks. to close our books, eat a snack, and have some fun? However, we employees were so overworked and had such tight break schedules that most of If we brought recess — or something like it — to these perks were actually sources of depression. work, we could not only have more playtime at the We either didn't have the time to use them or were office, but we could also strengthen teamwork so exhausted at the end of the day we couldn't and communication in a more joyful low-pressure wait to leave the place! context. Sure, there may be that guy who gets overly competitive during kickball, but that Over the years, I've heard of similar issues from makes for a great opportunity for teammates (or people working at other companies offering the manager) to kindly remind everyone about 36
Recruiter.com Magazine
the importance of working together. I'm sure many of you are already thinking up reasons why this idea isn't practical at all — but before you completely disregard the idea, I want you to consider this example: Let's say 150 people work in your office. Let's say you find a local park or recreation center where you could rent space during the day. One or two days every week, you offer people an extended lunch for a staff game of kickball. With some exceptions, you make it a requirement that everyone show up to these games. Those who can't or don't want to play can sit in the bleachers and cheer for those who do play. That way, everyone gets involved in ways they enjoy and that match with their strengths. (Perhaps you can see how this is connected to building a stronger workplace culture?) You eventually find the outings are going so well that you decide to take monthly field trips with your staff as a reward for good performance. This might sound silly at first, but recall how much you looked forward to field trips as a kid. Plus, who doesn't like getting paid to take a trip somewhere? In truth, the specific logistics of your company recess are less important than the act of building designated playtime into your work culture. As with any new idea, it might take a little bit of adjustment for people to get used to, but if you remain consistent and tweak as needed, you might be pleasantly surprised by the results. If you set a tone at your organization that mixes discipline, hard work, and passion with camaraderie, fun, and playfulness, why would anyone want to leave? Scott Engler is the author of The Job Inner-View and Legends of the Recruiting and Career World. Read his latest, The Problem and the Solution, on his website. Recruiter.com Magazine
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