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A Legacy of Leadership Excellence

Career Insight, Inspiration, Leadership, Recruitment /

Leadership is a dear subject to my heart. Having sat under my fair share of leaders, good & bad, I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t. This morning before Christmas breakfast, I stumbled onto an article about The San Antonio Spurs head coach, Gregg Popovich. Coach Pop, as he’s referred to by his players, has been coaching the Spurs for 28 years, a tenure that is not common in sports these days. In this revolving door society, it’s rare for anyone to stay with one organization for that length of time, especially over the last few years while the organization has been struggling to rebuild after their championship run. So, why has the organization bought into Coach Pop’s style of leadership, and how has he remained influential amongst his players 28 years in? The answer is simple and the excerpt from the article below sums up what I believe to be at the heart of responsible leadership: “A cornerstone of his philosophy is balancing the human and sporting aspects of coaching; a method he has employed repeatedly to extract the best performance from his players.” Chris Paul, the franchises newest point guard and seasoned NBA professional, highlighted Coach Pop’s “human-centered coaching philosophy.” “This balance of performance and personal connection is what has made his method a benchmark for coaching excellence.” This is frankly where a lot of leaders fall by the wayside amongst their followers. Being tactical is great. Technical expertise builds credibility, but it doesn’t foster trust and an unwavering commitment from your team. Understanding how grueling and lonely the NBA season can be for his players has made Coach Pop take a balanced approach to leadership that emphasizes stepping away to unwind and refuel with your loved ones. The 5 championships and cruise control to retirement makes perfect sense now. Be as demanding as you need to be, but keep the well-being of your team at the center of your leadership. If you do, then you’ll never have to ask them to go the extra mile. You won’t have to wonder if that request for an afternoon off is really a need to slip away for an interview with your competitor. This brand of leadership does not mean that you won’t experience turnover. In fact, talent will always leave for what they believe to be greener pastures. What Coach Pop can hang his hat on is not his retention of talent, but the caliber of men he is cultivating. This translates to better Fathers, Husbands, & other life accomplishments beyond basketball. When I was courting my now Wife some years ago and going through some personal struggles, my then Manager told me to take an afternoon off to take her to lunch. That was a crucial moment in our relationship and that afternoon set the foundation for what is now a wonderful marriage & life together. My tenure under his leadership had it’s fair share of challenges, but that moment was solidified in my heart as human-centered leadership at its finest. X’s and O’s are necessary and part of the scheme towards success, but put your people first and you’ll never have to worry about being fired or losing the faith of your team.

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The Private Jet Experience

Career Insight, Recruitment /

Understanding the intrinsic value of a product or service is vital to getting the most out of it. A private jet is valuable to those who can afford it because of the comfort it provides and the speed at which it can travel, enabling a faster and a less congested experience to your destination. You as the consumer get your time in return by making this investment. It’s a service and a luxury that we are willing to pay for no matter the cost. My last boss told me on the first day we met that he prides his business on being able to allow its customers to sleep well at night. The greatest value you can provide to the end user is a return of their time. This allows you to remain timeless and insulated from the ebbs and flows of the marketplace & world. You become a sought-after service provider, and your product becomes a staple in many environments. Recruiters fall into the trap of thinking that they only provide resumes and fill positions. Start positioning yourself as a service that gives executives their time back and allows them to sleep better at night.

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The Secret To A More Productive Workforce

Career Insight, Employee Retention, Employer Insight, Inspiration, Recruitment /

It’s amazing when you think about the correlation between encouragement and labour… I don’t quite understand how this behavioural phenomenon works, but the results are always the same… A person who feels appreciated, will always do more – this is true 100% of the time. My Mother would often say to me as a child that a little encouragement sweetens labour. Wise words from a woman who understood that the real intrinsic motivator lies in appreciating the effort of others… This often came in the form of cooking lunch for a general contractor who was doing work around the house for us in addition to their regular monetary payment. She always went above and beyond, and some how that encouraged the people around her to do the same… Business Leader – try recognizing the contributions of that employee with a lunch or a gift card for Amazon. If a gift card is not your thing, then a verbal acknowledgement has an equally positive impact on behaviour – “I saw the work you did for this project, and you did an excellent job – thank you!” (followed up with an Amazon gift card 😉)… We’ve done a great job of normalizing excellence – let’s get back to openly recognizing the contributions of our employees and loved ones… Leadership does not need to be treated like a mathematical equation…..this will challenge a lot of engineers!

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We Want You In The Office 5 Days A Week, Or Else!

Career Insight, Career Preparation, Employee Retention, Employer Insight, Recruitment /

Talent retention remains a trending topic as we approach a new year. With over 14 years in recruitment, I’ve facilitated career moves at all levels. The common denominator in all of those encounters is a motivator. Motivators in this context are underlying reasons behind a prospects willingness to listen to what I have to offer and ultimately engage in the hiring process. The motivators expressed normally stem from a form of dissatisfaction with their current employer – dissatisfaction can take many forms and varies from person to person. As a Recruiter, understanding a candidate’s motivator is vital to a successful Candidate / Recruiter / Company courtship (yes, in many respects, it is a courtship or voyage to a long-term relationship). Any company can post a job advertisement, screen candidates, and onboard new talent. This process is pretty straightforward. Check out an earlier article I wrote titled, Thanks For Another Great Hire, Troy! So, How Do I Retain This Talent? In it, I tackle the inability of business leaders to cultivate a culture that grooms talent and promotes career path options for their top performers. Most say they have such a career path program in place, but it is seldom monitored and fine-tuned to keep up with market trends and the ever-changing needs of their people. While the motivator is important to my business, it is also a pain point for me as a professional who understands that people are an organizations greatest assets. I’ve seen my fair share of top performers and quality human beings leave companies for reasons that could have been remediated or altogether avoided if leaders cared enough about their people. If a better job was being done in this area, admittedly, I would need to find another day job. Thankfully for me, there will always be a disgruntled employee who wants nothing more than to change companies. Talent retention is just as important to me as talent extraction. My success as a Recruiter is measured against 2 metrics – fill rate and employment past a year. I had a conversation this afternoon with an exceptional candidate who I placed a few years ago who he told me that his employment with the company ended recently because of an internal struggle over them wanting him to be in the office 5 days a week, a condition that was not a requirement when he was originally hired. At the heart of this story and what is most disheartening is an organization’s callous parting with a good technical and character employee for something that could have remained a point of ongoing communication & negotiation. When it comes to working from home requests, I believe in a balance when it makes sense for the parties involved, especially when the performance of that employee warrants it. The point to leaders is for them to remain communicative with their people encouraging open dialogue about their career goals, and making sure that they are aligned with the resources, tools, and training to get to where they need and deserve to be. It is also important not to make all of your policies one-size fits all as it relates to retention. If you decide not to put your employees first, then I can assure you that your competitors will. Related Article – The Great Departure – A Recruiter’s Guide To Retaining Your Best Talent

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The Key To Selling Anything

Career Insight, Inspiration, Recruitment /

The mark of a good product or service is its ability to give you your time back. Time is our greatest asset in this life, yet it’s the most wasted and taken for granted. Retail sales representatives fail miserably when they follow a new customer around the store telling them repeatedly about items that are on sale. Rather than presuming what a customer is willing to spend, why not ask what type of experience they are looking for? If you sell the experience, then it doesn’t matter what a product or service cost. Sell the peace of mind and the benefit to their lives that a product or service can offer, and they’ll pay any amount for it. Focusing on the experience will buy your time back (and save you money in the long-run). I rule a candidate out immediately when their first question to me is, “how much does the position pay?” Your focus should be on the experience. Tell me about the opportunity and how it can benefit my career and my family. Everything else is low hanging fruit.

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4 Sales Tips From My Wife

Career Insight, Inspiration, Recruitment /

My Wife is the greatest salesperson I’ve ever met! …formally, she has never worked a day in sales, but she has all of the traits of an effective salesperson. We met at Church… She approached me after one of our services. Her opening line – “I heard you work in HR……………I could use help with my resume.” I agreed to help, but I sat on it for 3 weeks… I finally made the time to call her. Turns out she was actually happy with her resume and didn’t need help… She wanted to get to know me and the cry for resume help was her way of breaking the ice… …7 years of blissful marriage and 2 kids later…her method to gain my attention worked (deal closed). Lessons for all sales professionals (…and everyone else): 1️⃣ My Wife was fearless. She didn’t let the potential of a “no” hinder her. She knew what she wanted and pursued it 2️⃣ She sold without selling – “I’ll share my resume with you, and we can talk about it” (it contained her email and direct number)… 3️⃣ She did her research beforehand (“I heard you work in HR”) and she used something that was familiar to me (i.e., resume talk), which lowered my guard and made me receptive to more conversations with her…(I was also new to the Church) 4️⃣ She waited patiently for 3 weeks. Sometimes you have to let the deal unfold without being too pushy… The fact that I was oblivious to her true motive is secondary (most men are). It was her approach that taught me a great life and professional lesson Kudos to a good Wife, and the greatest salesperson this world has ever seen.

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It’s Against Our Policy To Agree To Exclusivity

Employer Insight, Recruitment /

Show me another profession where its professionals are competing against each other for a fee… What’s worse is that recruiters are accepting of this behaviour. Imagine me hiring 3 different window contractors for my home and having all 3 companies in my home at the same time during installation… Efficiency and logic would dictate that I would enlist the service of ONE company to install the windows throughout my house…(shout out to Pioneer Windows & Doors – highly recommended!) I find it difficult to understand how any competent executive within a company would think that it is good for business to have 3-4 different recruiters working on any given role at the same time. Somehow we believe that the more eyes we have on a search, the greater the odds of filling that position… Hiring Authorities: “We don’t do retainers!” or “It’s against our policy to agree to exclusivity.” What you’re actually communicating is you have commitment issues, and you’d prefer to prolong your searches & increase redundancy, all resulting in a bad hire in the end with that person quitting or being let go for reasons that were missed during the hiring process. Think about it. You spent more time babysitting all of those recruiters then properly evaluating those candidates. This isn’t about money… I’m more concerned about those recruiters who submit themselves to this type of treatment, not realizing the value they bring to companies and people’s lives… Call me radical, but I prefer to work exclusively with a company and pour everything that I am into that relationship. Like any other healthy relationship however, this must be reciprocated.

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The Recruitment Industry Is BROKEN!

Employer Insight, Recruitment /

Car Mechanic: It will cost you $1,000 for a new Suspension and Steering System… Customer: Done, when can you start? Lawyer: It will cost you $300/hour to retain my services for this case… Customer: Done, when can you start? Plumber: It will be cost you $200/hour for my assessment of your leak… Customer: Done, when can you start? Recruiter: My fee is $35% for executive level searches… Customer: That is too high for us. We typically pay our recruitment partners 20%. Take it or leave it. Recruiter: Done, when can we start? Recruitment is vital to every organization’s success, yet we play this game far too often of under-valuing our service and taking what a hiring manager tosses at us out of desperation. What ends up happening is the recruiter takes on the search assignment at a lowered fee that they know is below market & their own personal standards. They quickly grow frustrated with a search that they shouldn’t have taken to begin with and this frustration bleeds into the interaction with candidates. Let’s uphold the integrity of the profession and get back to being a legitimate value-add service!

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The Elephant In The Room

Recruitment /

I recently had a meeting with a company that I was trying to convert to a customer. It’s a family-owned business with a ton of growth potential. What was most intriguing about this process was being on the other side of the interview table and having a decision maker probe into why they should work with me. It was a refreshing conversation with what I believed to be strong chemistry and the potential to partner on an exciting position. It didn’t work out in the end, but it was a positive experience for me. It was good to be reminded of what candidates go through and the waiting game that many take part in as hiring managers deliberate. I wasn’t losing sleep by any means, but I tasted some of the excitement/anticipation that many prospects feel as they wait for a final decision. Recruitment has for years been referred to as the profession that never follows up with you after an interview. Despite my efforts to change this narrative, it still remains an elephant in the room when you deal with candidates and some hiring managers. These transactional experiences that many have become accustomed to is not acceptable. Thank you to this company for following up with me, even if it wasn’t the desired outcome.

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“I Respectfully Declined The Search Assignment” – Part 2

Recruitment /

There are times when you’ll need to walk away from something (or someone) to guard the integrity of what you do as a profession… I was reminded of this recently during a client interaction (identity concealed to protect them and our relationship……….still in good standing!)… This interaction came with a leader within their organization who I had never worked with before… I was referred to this individual because of my relationship within the organization and everything was off to a great start… We had a great kickoff call that laid the foundation for a positive search experience. From my side, my only request was timely feedback after each submission to keep my candidates engaged in the process. Within a week, I was able to identify 2 candidates with different backgrounds, but equally qualified for the role in my opinion… Things took a negative turn from there… For 2 weeks, I had not heard from that hiring manager. Despite many attempts to get an update, I was left in the dark… Rather than call me back, I received an email unapologetically with no explanation for the absence. Instead, I was met with a request to see more candidates… I realized that this hiring manager viewed me as “hired help”, and not a valued partner. He thought that I was just another recruiter who was desperate to close a deal. Frustrated from what I perceived to be a blatant disregard for my time, I decided to withdraw myself from further activities related to that search… …I slept well that night. There are times when you’ll need to walk away from something (or someone) to guard the integrity of what you do as a profession.

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