Talent Search Partners, Inc.

TALENT SEARCH PARTNERS, INC.

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Progress Is A Collection Of Small Steps

Employer Insight, Inspiration, Leadership, Recruitment /

✅ We want to be a market leader by 2040… ✅ We want to increase our revenue by 50% in 3 years… ✅ We want to surpass our competitor in the development of… Goals are great, but they are only achieved by focusing on the details. These are the seemingly insignificant tasks that we take for granted. We all like to put “excellent attention to detail” in our resumes, but how many of us actually pay attention to the details that matter the most? We’ve become so fixated on distant goals, that we’ve forgotten about the process. Tucked away within the process is how you treat your most valuable asset, your people. We’ve forgotten that people achieve goals, not numbers in an excel sheet, not investing in automation, or buying your competitors. If motivated and treated correctly, your people can become the engine behind attaining market leadership by 2040 or increased cash flow by 2028. It’s interesting when I hear business leaders talk about their goals. Take me inside your company and let me see how you treat your people. I’ll tell you whether you’ll attain your goals or not. Even if you do, it won’t be sustainable. You’ll spend all of your profits filling holes along the way. So, what are “the details” that are often overlooked by business leaders… 1️⃣ “Good morning, Team!” 2️⃣ “Take the afternoon off to spend with your kids” 3️⃣ “Let’s talk about equity in this company that you’ve served faithfully for years” 4️⃣ “Thank you for a job well done on this project. Without your contributions, it wouldn’t have been possible” 5️⃣ “Thank you for cleaning the restroom, Steve” (Comment to Janitor) 6️⃣ “Tell me how I can serve you better” 7️⃣ “What are your financial goals and what do you need to make to achieve that?” We’ve spent years focusing on the wrong things. Let’s start bridging the disconnect by doing the little things well & consistently.

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The Engine Of The Enterprise

Human Resources, Leadership, Recruitment /

HR is one of the most undervalued business units within a company. I’m not sure when the shift took place, but it’s apparent from my experience that Human Resources is operating at a diminished value within most companies. Transactional at best and often abused. Think about it – they are looking after the greatest assets within a company, and they architect the policies, procedures, and programs that have the greatest impact on those assets. They hold everyone to a standard and call things out that don’t make sense. It’s no wonder why we have witnessed an increase in disgruntled and dejected employees. The governing body that is supposed to be looking out for them has become an afterthought by many business leaders, leveraged only when it’s convenient. I was recruiting an executive leadership role for a customer of mine late last year and there was a candidate who had entered into serious contention for the role and had received good reviews internally amongst key people. Being the astute leader that he is, he noticed that HR was not amongst the decision-making cabinet and that worried him. Perhaps a sign of other issues within the organization… Why does Human Resources fall under the leadership of the finance department or CFO of a company when the interests & function of these 2 business units are completely different? Both are working towards the success of the company, but the goals are distinct. Those lines shouldn’t be blurred. HR should have a dotted line into the CEO, and the fact that a layer has been added to this hierarchy is interesting to say the least and likely indicative of a deeper issue. Investing in Human Resources should be intentional & consistent.

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Business Lessons From The Basketball Court

Career Insight, Employer Insight, Inspiration, Leadership, Recruitment /

I love basketball banter! As I’ve aged, I have come to appreciate the pre & post game analysis more than game action. The news that still has the basketball world buzzing and the Dallas community in fury, is the trade that happened behind closed doors, finalized in the wee hours of the night to avoid public scrutiny & backlash. Coined the most shocking trade in NBA history, the move of one of basketball’s rising legends is still mind-boggling to many. How could a franchise with playoff aspirations at the beginning of the season now be facing a missed opportunity to make the postseason? I’ll leave the conspiracy theories to the experts, but there are important lessons to takeaway for the business world: Whatever you are trying to accomplish as a business leader should be clearly communicated. It’s unrealistic and counterproductive to reach a consensus on every decision, but leaving your team in the dark is certainly not the way to build a winning organization. Hidden agendas provide a smooth runway for your best people to take their talents elsewhere.

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What Do You Need To Earn?

Employer Insight, Leadership /

What are your salary expectations? What are you presently making?? I’d like to see business leaders take a different approach to the topic of compensation. Disclaimer: The following only applies to top performers in their industry – opening this question & train of thought to any and everyone does not work. I am directing this to those top-tier candidates who operate from a place of professionalism, integrity, and who can deliver on what they’ve communicated. My recommendation… Rather than asking for a prospects salary expectations which is really only used one dimensionally to rule someone in or out, I’d like to hear business leaders ask the question this way – “what do you need to earn?” This question has a degree of empathy that I think has been lacking from a lot of conversations surrounding money. For years, we’ve heard executives talk about what their budget is, what they’d prefer to pay, and what they think a person is worth. This is not considering what someone is presently making and what they need in order to maintain (& improve) their standard of life. I’m challenging business leaders to shift their focus, their language, and their mindset surrounding money and to start making real investments that will pay dividends in the long-run. Salary negotiations don’t need to be contentious if we can get back to what intrinsically motivates people to change careers. Only those who are bold enough to change will reap the benefits that come with it.

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You Can Be Traded!

Career Insight, Career Preparation, Inspiration, Leadership /

The basketball world was left in a state of confusion by the Luka Doncic trade early Sunday morning. How could a franchise that just went to the NBA finals a year ago with a roster designed to make another championship run so callously part with their best player in the prime of his career? What took place by the leadership of the Dallas Mavericks happens on a daily basis in the business world and doesn’t come as a surprise to me. As I consider the situation, here are my takeaways and lessons learned: I’ve facilitated many great connections over my career in recruitment. I’ve also seen relationships fall by the way side despite efforts to turn things around. If you’re a top performer within your organization, understand that you can be replaced if business needs change. We see this where there is new ownership or a change in the structure of an organization. I’ve witnessed enough of this throughout my career and the best way to handle it is to look after yourself. Your work is what you do to make a living and to provide for your loved ones – your identity should never be defined solely by your profession. Employees are expected to serve notice to ensure a smooth transition out and transfer of knowledge, but organizations can end that relationship in a moment regardless of your past successes & commitment. Work hard, be professional, but remember that you are a chess piece to that company, and they will continue to make moves that benefit the bottom-line.

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Here’s The Truth About The Job Search Process

Career Insight, Career Preparation /

They told you that the job search was a numbers games and you believed it! At one point in my life, I did as well. Have Chat GPT write you a winning resume and send out hundreds of applications a week. The next week, repeat the process until you get burnt out and start complaining about the job market, the economy, and recruiters that never follow up with you. I’m challenging that approach by suggesting that it’s not a numbers game, but perhaps your approach is focused solely on send-outs and not on results with small wins along the way. The job search quickly gets stale when you’ve sent out resumes with no response from the right people. Emphasis on the “right people”, i.e., decision makers. Your process needs to be finetuned with a goal towards achieving 2-3 responses from a decision maker a week. It’s about building momentum on a traditionally tedious journey that will keep you motivated through the rejections. My Recommendations: 1️⃣ Chose 5 companies for a given week that you’d like to work for. The quality of your outreach is more important than the number. Target those companies & do your research into each one. Stop blindly applying to companies and roles that don’t fit your values. To employers & recruiters, you are part of the 1% if you have an organized & well-thought-out job search strategy. You can tell a lot about a prospect by the approach they’ve taken to their job search. The best example of this was a candidate who I was counselling some time back. He showed me a detailed excel sheet during one of our calls that he was using to track every position he had applied to since starting his job search. It wasn’t long afterwards that he was hired and started a new position. 2️⃣ From those 5 companies that you’ve selected, go on LinkedIn and find a hiring authority or an HR representative at each company. Hit the “APPLY NOW” button on the job posting, but don’t stop there. Log it in your excel sheet and leverage LinkedIn to find the hiring manager for that position. Some postings mention who that person is, but there are times when you’ll have to make an educated guess. A personalized message to that individual with your resume attached will increase the chances of a response from someone within the company. Even if it’s a no, you’ve now connected with someone, and you can follow up in the future or keep the conversation going. When I was looking for a new position some years ago, I engaged in a 3-week blitz that included sending out resumes with a personalized message to a decision maker. From there, I got in my car and drove to a some of those companies where I was able to personally speak to decision makers. It seems intimidating, but after the first impromptu meeting, my confidence went through the roof. It was as simple as walking into the company and asking reception for that individual. In one instance, I was interviewed on the spot by the person overseeing that vacancy. Be encouraged and keep pressing forward!

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I’m Taking My Talents To…

Career Insight, Employee Retention, Inspiration, Leadership /

In my line of work, I am privileged to speak to a variety of professionals who are passively open to hearing about new opportunities or active in the market. This is of course good for business, but it’s boggling to the mind why business leaders are not doing a better job of providing a career growth trajectory for their best people. You shouldn’t be surprised when a top performer walks into your office with a letter of resignation. Oftentimes, counteroffers are seen as insincere and a tactic used by leaders to prevent a disruption to their business. A true professional will see right through it, thank you for the opportunity, and proceed to their notice period. But why are business leaders allowing it to get to that point and why aren’t they proactive in grooming their talent and finding meaningful ways to keep them motivated? Few companies have figured this out, and the rest are learning the hard way. People stay where they are wanted, appreciated, paid well, and most importantly, where they can see an evolution of their career in the short term. If you’re a business owner or leader of a division, realize that you have the ability to create a roadmap for your best people by engaging in conversations periodically and crafting a legitimate and tangible career path based on certain accomplishments being met along the way. Why should your talent have to look outside of your company to find that next level up when you have the autonomy to create a new role for that individual and pay them accordingly? You are foolishly allowing your superstars to take their talents to South Beach (🏀), and you’ve become a spectator like everyone else. Taking people for granted is expensive. If you think hiring comes at a cost, replacing your best people is even more taxing on your time, resources, and money. If you have the ability to move a top performer into that coveted Vice President role, why not do that? If you are not taking care of your best talent, someone else sure will.

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Try Something Different

Career Insight, Inspiration, Leadership, Recruitment /

I received a call from an executive leader of a company a few months ago. He wanted to enlist my help on a couple of searches that his organization was having trouble filling. These were not highly complex roles to fill by any means, but given the tightness of the marketplace, finding the right people and keeping them beyond a year is proving to be a challenge. My kickoff call went well, but ultimately, discussions stopped there. I was told during the call that they had a few recruitment partners that were working with on the searches, but for reasons unclear to me, they were not able to successfully fill their positions. Essentially, they wanted to add me as another recruiter since I was known to one of their executives in the company, under the pretense that more eyes on a search means greater odds of a successful outcome. I challenged the train of thought by suggesting that perhaps your approach to date is not working and maybe you should try something different. I realized today that most business leaders are afraid of change, and they are wired to engage in the same behaviour hoping that somehow circumstances will work out differently in the future. I think by definition you can call that insanity, yet most people are okay to remain in this state and this has somehow translated to be what’s best for business. It’s like repeatedly hitting your head against the wall and complaining about your headache. We are okay to have multiple recruiters working on a given search at the same time, yet we employ the services of one mechanic if our car needs an oil change or one law firm if we are being sued. I’ve never heard anyone say that they were going to use multiple surgeons to remove their gallbladder to increase the chances of a successful operation. Yet, this has become the dominate thought related to recruitment and then we wonder why positions are taking longer to fill and hires don’t make it past the first year of employment. Let’s try something different.

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Regular Maintenance

Career Insight, Inspiration, Leadership, Recruitment /

The courtship precedes any successful relationship for good reason and regular maintenance of that relationship is a must. Just ask anyone who has been married for more than 90 days or been in business for more than 10 years. Finding that great candidate or trying to build your team of professionals without healthy steps towards courtship is counterproductive. As a Recruiter approaching 15 years in the industry, I’ve facilitated many great relationships. Fortunately, I’ve witnessed hiring processes that were collaborative & just a joy for everyone to be part of, and others that would make you cringe. The onus rests on business leaders to create a good runway for those they are looking to hire. One of the worst things to do during the courtship is to make the other party feel like you are doing them a favour or leading them on a journey to nowhere. The best amongst us will be able to sniff this out early. If it’s not a fit or the timing is off, all parties should be able to understand so long as honesty and transparency were woven into the process from the beginning. If you’re a business leader overseeing a project team or product group, you will have to perform regular maintenance on those relationships. The camaraderie within the team falls entirely on your shoulders. Don’t make it easy for people like me to lure your best people away. Hire right, and treat your people well enough so that even the best offer they could receive won’t move them. This is the challenge because we are so narrow-minded, egotistical, and oblivious to what motivates our best people. One of the criticisms I received as an early driver was that I just drove my car. I did not do anything to take care of it. That explained a lot of the issues I had with that vehicle. I was reactive in the maintenance of my car when I should’ve been proactively checking the oil, tire pressure, coolant, and so forth. The cost associated with reacting far surpasses the cost of acting in the first place. Part of the maintenance on your team includes regular discussions about their goals and the career path they’d like to be on. Conscious at all times that this could be constantly evolving for some individuals. This is where not taking your people for granted comes into play. This could happen over lunch, bowling, or simply meeting as a team in your boardroom over coffee. This morning, I surprised my Wife with a bouquet of flowers, not because I’m a good husband, but because I’ve made a conscious decision to build a peaceful home and that requires maintenance in the areas that she finds meaningful. I am challenging business leaders to take regular steps towards building chemistry and trust within their team. The cost of not doing it is always bad for business (…but great for mine 😉)

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Excellence Goes The Extra Mile

Career Insight, Leadership /

I had a fascinating call with an engineer today… She’s pursuing an MBA which she’s looking to leverage into a career in management… It’s not everyday that I speak to an engineer who has MBA ambitions, so I probed… The “why” behind the pursuit of an MBA was admirable… There are good, great, and excellent engineers… Excellence goes the extra mile! She wasn’t content with just designing good products. She wanted to understand the bigger picture behind the product. It was a conversation with her then Manager that fueled the desire to go the extra mile… I’m paraphrasing and perhaps oversimplifying the story, but after inquiring into the delay in releasing one of their products, she was essentially told to focus on designing and to leave management activities to those who understood it. Fueled by curiosity and a desire to be more than just an “engineer”, she decided to enroll in an MBA course so that she could look behind the curtain… This reminded me of a conversation I had with another young engineer who learned sign language while working at his previous company because one of his co-workers was deaf… These are the types who refuse to be limited by a job description and will go the extra mile without being asked to. Excellence always has a compelling story behind it… …there is something attractive about scarcity!

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