The Perfect Fit

Employment Opportunities Will Improve in 2012

The headline in the New York Times this morning:  "U.S. Economy Gains Steam As 200,000 Jobs Are Added "!  It seems that finally, we have some momentum starting to build on the employment front.The Times' article went on to say:

"The United States added 200,000 jobs in December, the Labor Department said Friday, in a sign that the economic recovery has built up a head of steam.

The nation’s unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent from 8.6 percent in November, the government said. The employment report built on a flurry of heartening economic news in December, when consumer confidence rose, manufacturing came in strong and small businesses showed signs of life. It was the sixth straight month that the economy has added more than 100,000 jobs." 

Obviously, that's great news and it comes on the heels of other interesting statistics (thanks Ted Konnerth):

• "The NEMA Business Confidence Index is solidly positive at 56 (greater than 50 is considered a growth condition)
• Anywhere from 40% to over 75% of current employees are ready to leave their current employer for a better or simply different job. (Multiple sources)
• Employment hiring stats have been positive for 13 consecutive months (BLS)
• And in the 'curious' category: 2/3's of HR employees are female, 92% of HR employees are white, their average age is 47 and 72% earn more than $90,000 (household). The very bastion of power for ensuring and developing diversity within our companies is in fact... very homogeneous, and relatively young.
• Education is highly correlated with employment. High school dropouts have over 15% unemployment, HS diploma is roughly 10%, some college is 8% and college degree (all) is under 4%. (BLS)
• And, baby boomers have officially begun their slog to retirement."

One of the things all these statistics indicate is that there's likely going to start to be a rush for employees looking for new opportunities.  For any number of reasons, they're unhappy with their current employer and will start looking for that new job.  At the same time, there continues to be a paucity of

Thank You!

This is my 10^th Thanksgiving as a recruiter.  Please indulge me as I think about, and give thanks for the people around me and the career I enjoy.  If not for the people, nothing else would really matter.  I live for my family and friends first, and then for my career.  I’m thankful to be surrounded by a healthy, happy and caring family.  I’m most thankful for Barbara, who’s stuck with me when times were very stressed.  Her strength, understanding and perspective have all (thankfully) contributed to our company’s success.

I’m also thankful for the health of this career as a recruiter.  I’m thankful for all the clients and candidates and colleagues who have trusted me over the years.  I’m proud and pleased to have been able to help clients grow, while helping professionals advance in their careers at the same time.  It’s very satisfying.  I’m thankful that many of my clients and candidates remain friends.

I’m thankful (and proud) that REBUS has grown into an organization that has earned a place of value in the St. Louis advertising community.  I’m thankful for the dedicated and tireless group of volunteers who are really the ones that make REBUS what it is and without whom REBUS would cease to exist.

I’m thankful (and proud) that another organization I was involved with founding is growing slowly, but surely.  Ready and Willing is in its second (public) year and has embarked on its journey to help those St. Louis regional non-profits receive marketing support.  Without r+w  that marketing support would otherwise not be available.  We’ve completed our first project with the St. Louis Special Olympics, the St. Louis Track Club and the Clayton Police.  We’re getting ready to facilitate more contributions from the advertising community to the St. Louis community of charities.

I’m incredibly happy and personally proud that I’ve been elected to the Board of the International Photography Hall of Fame . . . acceptance to that position is one significant achievement for my 25 years as a photographer.  It’s almost incomprehensible to me that I would be a part of such an historically significant organization in the medium I love most.  I’ll be challenged and enthusiastic about supporting the opportunity to bring the headquarters of the IPHF to St. Louis’ Grand Center.  You’ll be hearing more from me regarding that effort.

I’m a lucky guy.  I love my wife, and we’re both healthy.  My family is healthy . . . my business is healthy.  I’m very thankful.  Thank you for allowing me to share my thanks with you.

I wish you, your families, colleagues and those close to you all the very best for a happy and relaxing Thanksgiving Holiday!

The 50 Best Recruiting Blogs!

I received an email this morning from Alissa Alvarez, telling me that my blog had been selected as one of the 50 best recruiting blogs in the country!  I'm very pleased, and humbly flattered! I'm re-publishing Alissa's blog in the hopes that many of you will find some valuable tips in the blogs of other recruiters!

With many qualified people out of work and looking for jobs, you might think it’s one of the easiest times to be a recruiter. Yet finding potential employees with the right talent, skills, and drive is never easy, regardless of the size of the pool of applicants or the type of businesses with which you work. Knowing what to look for and how to match the right person to the right job is something that can take a long time to learn and a lifetime to perfect, something most recruiters know all too well.

Whether you’re new to recruiting or an old pro, there’s always something new to learn about the profession and ways to make yourself better at what you do. One of the best ways to do that in today’s world is through the help of recruiters and HR experts who share their skills on blogs, both independently and through their agencies. Here, we’ve compiled a list some of the best recruiting blogs out there, in no particular order. Take a look — you may just learn a few new tricks that can help make you a standout at your job, helping not only you, but also your company and the people you hire, get ahead.

I think Alissa Alvarez missed an excellent site.  My friend Jim Durbin at The Social Media Headhunter is an excellent blogger and recruiter.  I thank Jim for his advice and help in getting this blog started!

News

Make sure you stay in the loop when it comes to industry news by following these blogs.

Here's the rest of the article and the listing of 50 Best Recruiting Blogs.

The Creep of (Employment) Expectations

The economy has changed . . . forever.  Expectations have changed . . . forever!

As a result of that change, employers have changed their approach to hiring and their expectations of employees' performance.  Employees are caught in the middle and not everyone will suvive . . . many have already been cast aside.

When you don't survive at one place or your looking for that next career opportunity, the bar for hiring qualifications is being raised.  In this era of multi-tasking, "smart" phone ubiquity, client/customer expectations soaring, work-family life balance barely existing, hours increasing and professional "fun" decreasing . . . Employers (rightfully) want premier, stand out from the crowd employees. It's no longer sufficient to simply be "qualified" and/or experienced. 

I ran across an excellent article on this point at B-To-B Magaine,in the September 19, 2011 edition written by James Rogers, VP of Marketing at Hoover's:

"I still remember the first time it happened. I was interviewing a candidate for a marketing position, asking fairly routine questions. It was a pleasant, efficient exchange. Twenty minutes or so later, after I had mentally checked all the boxes, I was satisfied that the candidate was perfectly qualified. As I shook his hand and concluded the interview, I felt a pang of uneasiness in the pit of my stomach. In that moment, I knew I wouldn't hire him.

This wasn't a simple instance of “going with my gut.” No, it was more than that. Something was missing ... something equally, if not more, important than an impressive litany of credentials.

The candidate was competent. That's why I decided not to bring him on board.

These days, competence is good, but it's not good enough. The world of marketing is drastically different than it was five years ago. Economic pressures are shrinking discretionary marketing budgets and forcing accountability and traceability to all programs. In addition, analytics tools, digital marketing programs and the social media explosion are constantly changing the landscape. So, yes, marketing success requires core competency, but it also demands innovation and agility.

 

REBUS Is Growing and Getting Even Better

Last week Rodgers Townsend (Thanks to Jen Oertli!) was kind enough to once again let us use their big conference room and facilities as REBUS plans for 2011 and '12.  We were excited to have at least 30 attendees, many of whom were new faces . . . all of whom were enthusiastic about doing what they can to help REBUS grow and deliver even more value in the future.

We went into the meeting looking for volunteers for various positions, and got them.  This does not mean we're "covered"!  There is still room for more help in every category including writers (social media communicators) to help with the blog and the other REBUS online presence.   There is room for writers of every level to contribute to the blog and Twitter.     We're always looking for additional designers, especially those with html and online skills.  We're creating a "video team" to cover our events, and any other videos we (they) decide to produce.  We also need Special Event Managers.  If you're interested in any of these opportunities, please contact Danny (Danny.Elchert@yahoo.com) or Rachel (Rachel.Barbieri@gmail.com), they'll hook you up. 

The one other position that we are currently seeking candidates for is REBUS leadership in one of the co-Chair positions.  It's time to start to rotate a new motivated young professional into the existing mix.  If you're interested in applying for the position, just let Danny or Rachel know.  The position is fun, rewarding and certainly one of the best advertising networking opportunity in town!

In addition to the normal monthly events at agencies, we're planning to start adding client visits to the schedule.  St. Louis is home to a number of category leading companies who understand the value of marketing and advertising.  We think we can get their support, and getting their perspective will be invaluable.  There's no other association opportunity to have that unusual kind of dialog!

I'm personally very excited about several other events that were discussed.  These might be beyond the normal monthly meetings, and could be "stand alone" events . . . some maybe taking a half or even full day.  We're talking about "How Do Agencies Get Started?" (working title), which might also include, how do I get more freelance business . . . or how do I get my own (creative or marketing) business started (at any level)!?

We also discussed the possibility of a day long seminar on issues related to "Personal Branding for Career Success", which might include topics like how do I create an online brand for myself, and then market that brand.  How do I get started understanding the value of and taking advantage of social media?  It might include a portfolio track . . . We plan to make it what people want.

We also discussed REBUS supporting some sort of "Outreach to area High Schools".  The advertising industry as a whole nationally is not doing a good job of recruiting the best and the brighest, like it once did.  There was a time when (for example) graduates from Ivy League Universities enthusiastically sought, and would be proud to win an assistant AE position on Madison Avenue.  There was an excitement about advertising as a career and amazingly enough, it was harder to get that first job then, than it is now!  This outreach could also help address some of the diversity in recruitment issues that advertising is confronting on a national level.  Some in attendance thought that explaining to high school students the value, excitement and fun of advertising or marketing as a career was something REBUS could do very well . . . I agree.

What do you think about some of these events?  We'd love to hear suggestions from you about other events or speakers you'd like to see in St. Louis!  As I said to those in attendance . . . there's no excuse.  We can do whatever anyone wants.  All we need is the volunteer power to pull it off!

The St. Louis Marketing Recruiter . . . The 10th Anniversary!

It's hard to believe that July 1st was the 10th anniversay of Bishop Partners and this recruiting business.  I'm  very thankful that we're still here!  I've had recruiting colleagues who became friends over the years, who were not able to survive the past couple of years of hiring slow down.  I'm thankful for my wife Barbara, who's stuck with me through the good times and the difficult times.  I'm also very thankful for all the people I've met doing this work . . . many of whom I'm proud to say have become my friends . . . both candidates and clients alike. 

After years at Group360 (with its previous ownership) I missed the marketing communications,  comraderie and friendship that I'd developed in the St. Louis region over the previous 25 years as a commercial photographer.  I was interested in staying in marketing  and advertising, refreshing old relationships and developing new ones.  I wanted to contribute to St. Louis and its professional advertising and marketing community.  As they say, "Make a mark"! . . . Let them know you were here!   

Here we are 10 years later . . . allow me to indulge myself in looking back, and being proud of what I've participated in, and in some ways accomplished!

• 75+ placements totalling almost $4.7MM in salaries.

• Successfully completing 41 out of 44 retained searches, putting Bishop Partners in the top 2% for retained recruiting success nationwide!

• I have placed candidates on tracks to become partners, or the next generation of creative, account and executive leaders.

• Over 70% of placed candidates continue to successfully contribute to my client after three years (with the record for long term placement being eight years!)

• I have helped talented professionals take advantage of opportunities for their career growth, that they didn't know existed.

• There are likely hundreds of professionals who needed some serious help with their resume and/or portfolio, and I did my best to help . . . at least get them pointed in the right direction.

• I've served on the Ad Club Board as Membership Chair for over two years.

• I was one of two founders of REBUS, a vibrant and growing regional marketing organization.

• I'm proud to have been asked to help found ready + willing, St. Louis' newest marketing organization dedicated to giving back to local charities and the St. Louis community.

• I've served on the Board of the Mid-America Association of Personnel and Staffing Services (now called MKSSA.org) for nine years, as Marketing Chair.

• I was invited to join the International Retained Search Associates, an exclusive group of retained recruiters who are leaders in their specialties. 

• The whole social media extravaganza was born and started growing up in these 10 years . . . trying to find my "online legs" has been challenging, rewarding and fun!

• I've made friends . . . perhaps most importantly, I've made friends!

There's more to do.  My goals are to help REBUS develop a strong organizational structure, that will be self-sufficient while continuing to  provide value and benefit to the community, in ways the attendees decide.  I want to see ready + willing grow, and become an indispensible resource for those charities who have no where else to turn for their marketing communications support.  I want to continue to help clients learn how to retain their top performing employees, and how to attract the next generations of leadership.  I want to support marketing and advertising as a viable, professional career that goes beyond "selling" to expanding its contibution to our community and culture.

I want to continue having fun, meeting new people and growing . . . both professionally and personally.  I appreciate all the help, support and direction that many of you have provided for my doing just that . . . for the past 10 years!  Let's do it again . . . for another 10 (at least)!

Being An Insurance Guy in Joplin After The Tornadoes!

This post is not my normal subject matter, but I think worth sharing anyway.

I was lucky enough to be on vacation for the past week in Northern Michigan.  It was beautiful with people having fun, taking some time off, enjoying life.  Unfortunately, everyone can't indulge themselves like that. 

While out of town (and without my computer), I received an email from a highschool classmate of mine last Thursday. My friend has been an insurance broker in Joplin for decades.  I thought the email is worth sharing.  We all have to realize how lucky we are, and do whatever we can to support the victims of the tornadoes in Joplin and earlier in May, Bridgeton, Missouri. 

When I read this email outloud to Barbara, I teared up:

"We are tired . . .  lots and lots of claims, for people without a home, no autos, no pets, and sometimes no spouse, or no kids... I worked until 12:30 AM Sunday evening processing claims. I started on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday at 7:00 AM and we worked all day, answering the phones and setting up claims.
 
People are coming into my office in rags, dirty, with no home, no cars, and some of them are missing a spouse, a child, or their pets. All of the people are nice, some of them say, "there are a lot of people worse off them me", and when we ask, "how?" they say, "we still have each other, we didn't lose our kids, we saved our cats, etc".  The spirit of the folks is amazing. Everyone is helping everyone else, people from all over the country are here delivering water, food,  and labor.
 
750 people still missing, 2000 homes destroyed, and 8,000 more not liveable, about 18,000 people homeless, no power, no water, no gas, no cell phone service, but everyone's attitude is positive. Thousands of volunteers from all over the country are helping sort through the debris, trucks and more trucks are arriving with supplies, we don't have any place to store it all!

The real story is the people, and their spirt, not the tornado."

Let's all remember it's all about the people, and do what we can every day to help our fellow "people". We're all in this together and need each other.  If you can't volunteer time, money, supplies or labor to any of the tornado or flood victims, at least take a moment and say a prayer for them. 

You might also pray that it never happens to you!

 

The Workplace Is Changing . . . Fast

Last week, I attended a seminar presented by Amy Bingham of Bingham Consulting Professionals and sponsored by the local Missouri Association of Personnel and Staffing Services (MAPSS) Chapter.  Amy is an expert in the staffing an contract placement side of the recruiting business.  I thought her overview of the current employment situation, and the projection of employment in the next two years was pretty interesting . . . the environment is indeed changing.   While the outlook is improving for employees, employers are going to have a very bumpy road, on many fronts.

America’s Gross Domestic Product is growing and unemployment is declining  as a result of more jobs being added, now on a monthly basis.   Yet, there remains a talent shortage for skilled positions requiring college degrees, where the unemployment rate remains close to 3.5% (which some consider “full” employment).

Successful companies will be investing in re-training for current skill set needs.  Rather than trying to find “new” employees with a more appropriate skill set for doing business now, employers will have to invest in training current employees.  They’ll do that because they have to.  It’s less expensive to train an existing employee, than to try to find a new one.

Older workers postponing retirement will temporarily postpone the retirement exodus.  That hiring exodus will be  more pronounced when it starts.  This is going to dramatically reduce overall workforce experience as well as leadership and mentoring roles, as boomers retire.

Prior to the “boomer retirement exodus” younger workers will continue to find the job market challenging with the glut of older workers willing to be underemployed.  Generational trends in the workforce will create disruption, driving a greater need for organizational effectiveness (through consulting?).  The older hiring authority likely does not understand what the younger “new” employee truly values, and will not be able recruit that candidate effectively, or integrate them into an “older” culture, for those who are hired.

Labor costs are increasing.  Unemployment insurance (FUTA) will have to be re-funded by employers as a result of the recession and previous long term, sky-high unemployment.  Healthcare costs are rising as is the cost and complexity of compliance.  Federal regulations regarding immigration compliance are increasing and becoming more expensive as well.  There will soon be upward pressure on wages.  Most employees have had wages frozen for at least two years.  The cost of everything from gasoline to food is increasing to the point wages will have to increase soon.

REBUS By The Numbers . . . Birthdays: Five!

Five years ago today, REBUS didn't exist.  A couple of us were thinking about it, and trying to decide what it would or could be.  It's grown far beyond our original intent of getting young art directors and writers together to cooperatively improve their portfolios and get that first agency job.  REBUS now includes professionals from the advertising and marketing industry, from the unemployed to Executive Creative Directors and Agency Sr. Executives.  I'm very proud to be a founder and still enjoy (virtually) every moment of my involvement.

Now, with our fifth birthday next month (being celebrated at Switch on March 10th), it's rather remarkable to think about some of the REBUS impact.

REBUS has delivered:
424 Facebook Friends
232 LinkedIn Group Members
Over 40 agency visits with presentations by the hosts (average attendance now over 50)
Dozens of mentoring relationships established
Hundreds of portfolio reviews with agency principals and industry leaders.
Hundreds of opportunities to improve a portfolio and contribute to local non-profits by contributing to REBUS and fREBUS.
Over $65,000.00 in deliverables for local charities created by fREBUS
Hundreds of helpful career conversations
Thousands of introductions of colleagues and new friends
At least four direct hires (that we know of) of REBUS attendees by agencies.

The future is dazzlingly bright . . . all we need is you to get involved!  If you're interested in "gettin' on the BUS", visit our Facebook "Volunteer Central":

Separating Executive Role 'Engagement' From Job 'Satisfaction'

In a recent article in the ExecuNet Newsletter ("Market intelligence and insight for maximizing executive talent management") written by Joe McCool, I was struck by how important the difference between "engagement" and "satisfaction" is.  I was also struck by how significant that difference is to every kind of organization, and for every level of employee in the organization.

Here's what Joe wrote:

"The second annual Executive Retention Report by ExecuNet and Finnegan Mackenzie found that over 90 percent of U.S. CEOs and other management leaders believe an executive can be engaged in their work and with their employer but still open to considering new career opportunities. This was reflected in their attitudes about their own sense of engagement and job satisfaction.

Exactly 93 percent of CEOs, presidents and top business executives report they're engaged in their current role, but only 75 percent say they're actually satisfied with it. Also, roughly 7-in-10 other 'C-Suite' executives and others at the vice president, director and manager levels are likewise engaged in their day-to-day work, but only 5-in-10 say they feel a sense of overall job satisfaction.

"Companies should take the time now to consider how their potential failure to retain their best management executives will weigh on corporate productivity, financial results and succession plans in the coming year," says ExecuNet's Mark Anderson. "Even before this recovery takes full effect, it's clear that surprisingly high numbers of executives are restless and eager to explore what a more growth-oriented economy has in store for them."

Further, Anderson commented, "If companies can't retain their executive leaders and don't have the right teams in place, they simply won't reach their business objectives for the coming year. For that reason, retention risk should be on the corporate agenda now."

To stave off key executive defections, says Richard Finnegan, principal of Finnegan Mackenzie - The Retention Firm, and author of Rethinking Retention In Good Times And Bad, companies should consider conducting 'stay interviews' to rebuild trust with key business leaders, get them re-engaged and explore what the company could do to increase their job satisfaction, and get them focused on the potential upside of staying."

Having 50% of your organizations' leadership with their job obviously means that 50% are not satisfied.  That will affect productivity, morale and the company culture in a negative way.  It's easy to understand how improving  satisfaction on the job (at every level) will increase productivity, morale and culture.

I've previously written about the "restlessness" of employees at the moment (resulting from their feelings of overwork and undervalue)

The Most Difficult Market For Finding Candidates In Years . . .

I've spoken with two prospective clients in the last week who were amazed when I told them that right now is the most difficult market in which to identify, recruit and hire premier employees in years . . . and it's going to continue getting worse.  Their response was uniform is their disbelief . . . they always point to the unemployment rate, which nationally is currently 9.6% . . . sounds pretty high . . . and it is. 

Most of that unemployment rate is made of manufacturing and construction related labor.  The housing crisis and decline of American manufacturing is swellling the unemployment rates.  The vast majority of our clients require candidates to have a minimum of a college degree.  When you plug that fact into the unemployment rate, it all of a sudden drops to around 4.5%!  The unemployment rate for college graduates is 4.5% . . . not 9.6%.

To complicate the reality, as most of you know "full employment" is not 0%(State of economy in which all eligible people who want to work can find employment at prevailing wage rates. However, it does not imply 100 percent employment because allowances must be made for frictional unemployment and seasonal factors  If you want to read more, you can do so here.).  While economists have different opinions of "full employment" it is generally accepted to be between 2% and 7%.  An unemployment rate of around 4.5% for college graduates, given the full context of the number, really suggests that there aren't all that many unemployed college graduates out there!  There are even fewer "premier performers"!

The education level of candidates is not the only complicating factor in the market for candidates being weak.  The significant drop in housing prices has made the relocation of superior candidates very difficult, because they are unwilling to personally suffer the loss in the current valuation and selling price of their home.  If clients are not willing to support the move by helping with temporary housing and/or subsidizing the loss of revenue in the candidate's home sale, candidates simply won't move . . . and who can blame them?  Would you walk away from 20%-30% of your home's value from when you bought it?  I doubt it.

Premier candidates are additionally becoming increasingly difficult to move because of the size of the counter offers they receive from their existing employer.  Remember we're talking about top performers here, in many different executive level functional roles.

When a current employer hears a top performer is going to go somewhere else, they'll hand them a check for $20,000.00 to stay, along with increasing their compensation.  They make it very difficult for a top performing candidate to leave.

It's unfortunate that history show that once an employer finds out an employee was ready to leave, the counteroffer notwithstanding, that candidate has become "blemished" in the employers eyes.  They can be perceived by the employer to be "disloyal" or "not to be trusted".  Often times the career path of the candidate who accepts the counter offer will never be the same as it was before.

Candidates who receive a counteroffer almost always think to themselves, why did it take my deciding to leave to get this raise?  What were they waiting for?  Why didn't they give it to me sooner, and I might not have considered moving in the first place . . .

The point it, there are multiple factors that have converged to make it very difficult to find top employees.  The demographics of the country, with baby boomers retiring and fewer highly trained professionals entering the workforce will continue to increase the difficulty in identifying, recruiting and hiring top performing candidates.

Executive Recruiters and Unemployment

I'm going to share some thoughts from a retained recruiter and colleague of mine from the International Retained Search Associates, Ted Konnerth.  Along with his superb golf game, Ted is a thoughtful guy and the leading recruiter in the electrical manufacturing and distribution industries.  You can learn more about his company Egret Consulting here.  I've done a bit of editing to apply these thoughts to the marketing/advertising industry.

Most people assume that with high unemployment, the availability of quality talent is as easy as posting an opening and waiting for the flow of hundreds of well-qualified applicants. Let’s disabuse you of that notion and begin by using facts:

1. Unemployment is 9.5% of the working population

2. Unemployment for those with a college degree is 4.8%

3. Baby boomers have begun to retire, with estimates of that pace predicted to quicken as the stock market and therefore retirement accounts return to levels prior to the Great Recession.

4. Emerging markets in the marketing industry are attracting experienced talent away from traditional employers, thereby depleting the available pool.

5. Levels of employee engagement are at record low levels, which will drive employers demand for more replacement talent*.

The majority of the unemployed are laborers; skilled or unskilled. Their plight is unlikely to dramatically improve going forward as many of their jobs have been shipped offshore. Additionally, the talent skills that the emerging companies need today require far more education than traditional laborers. College or technical school diploma-level attributes in IT, computer sciences, electronics and semi-conductors are in high demand.

The US already has a shortage of technology professionals, and the same is true as technology relates to the changing marketing methodology and expanding channels.   We’ve seen the demand and wages increasing dramatically for online, mobile and social media marketing even in the past two years.  Those who are expert in those new media areas, those who are leaders and/or innovators are scarce and not easily hired away from existing employers: relocation, signing bonuses, vacations, etc. are being offered to the premier players to try to attract them.

The war for talent issue has been moving forward for the past ten years. We were all forewarned this day was coming, but in the teeth of a deep recession it’s difficult to rationally increase hiring to prepare for the imminent shortage. Leading companies are already doing exactly that. Others are making a renewed effort to retain their own top performers and offering them professional training as part of a succession plan.

If there is a call to action, I would suggest three specific actions:

1. Enact retention strategies for your top talent immediately. Losing a key contributor is extremely costly, not just in the replacement costs, but in the lost down time to ramp up the replacement.

2. Implement succession plans for the top talent. A recent study found that less than 50% of corporations have a defined succession plan for their CEO’s (or any of their management team).

3.  Create a recruitment plan that addresses three issues:a. Building a bench. Start a college recruitment program.

a. Building a bench. Start a college recruitment program.

b. Direct recruitment department. Focused on the college recruiting and the lower level positions that experience higher turnover rates, an internal recruitment organization can effectively meet these needs.

c. Sourcing partnership. For critical talent, that can only be identified through direct recruitment processes, identify a third party firm who can partner with your organization, acting as a pure recruitment organization and as a talent scout for opportunistic hires when ‘best athletes’ become available.

The next ten years will be exciting on so many levels: new technologies, new markets of growth and a melding of technology and devices into changing channels. There will be winners and losers in this battle as always, but for those who view the path to winning through attraction of qualified talent, the odds will be significantly higher.

* Global Employee Engagement Declining

Bishop Partners Celebrates Nine Year Anniversary!

I am very pleased to let you know that today is the 9th Anniversary of Bishop Partners!  I'm thankful to have survived some extremely trying times:

You'll remember:

• The summer of 2001, the beginning of the dot.com implosion and advertising expenditures (and employment) dropping off a cliff!

• 9.11 and the ensuing wholesale firing of Senior Marketing Executives (and entire marketing departments!)

• 9.11 additionally almost extinguishing the entire trade show industry, with it taking years to recover

• 2008-2009(!)  Without question the worst year for the economy we have ever experienced (or thought possible).

Since July 1, 2001 I've worked very hard to start an entirely new career, based on an amalgam of the strengths of my previous experience.  I'm thrilled and thankful to have worked with some of the best clients and candidates on the planet.  I'm proud of having helped both my clients' enterprises and my candidates' careers grow.  It's very satisfying . . . and it's fun.

I'm fortunate to have been able to become acquainted with an abundance of new candidates and colleagues, many of whom have become my friends.  It's hard not to become friends when you spend hours and hours on the phone with someone who ends up trusting you with their career path and growth.  The worst part of the business is calling a candidate who's become my friend, to tell them they didn't get the job.  Fortunately, those feelings are more than offset  by the excitement of telling someone that they did get the new job, and in so doing catapulted their career forward.

I'm thankful to have been trusted by my clients with proprietary information and the belief that my company could help them find a candidate with unique qualifications, to help their business.  When I started, I didn't realize that there are a lot of companies that feel they've been previously burned by recruiters, and were hesitant to engage in that sort of professional relationship again.  I'm proud that many of those initially hard to win clients, are now my best sources of referrals to new clients.

I'm thankful to all of you who have trusted me for advice, support and help in different ways.  I appreciate that more of you are reading this blog, than I ever dreamed of.  I'm lucky to feel trusted by so many of you.  I'm proud of the fact that so many of you are so willing to refer colleagues to us.

I'm happy that my business is starting to offer additional services, as a result of client needs and requests.  I've had clients talking with me about helping them with Mergers and Acquisitions.  I've started making a concerted effort to learn more about that area and get more involved.  I'm working with a client right now that could lead to a merger or acquisition.  I expect more in the future.

I'm also working to become much more involved in helping clients with succession planning, as evidenced by a couple of my most recent postings, "Succession Planning Is Serious Business", "Succession Planning Is Essential for Growth and Stability" and "Succession Planning, Or Getting Out Alive?".

Thanks to all of you clients, candidates, colleagues and friends!  You're our foundation.  Thanks especially to my wife Barbara who has been incredibly supportive from the very beginning, and through some tumultuous times.  Without her, this wouldn't have worked.

I hope you have a specatacular 4th of July Holiday weekend!

Succession Planning Is Essential For Growth And Stability

Over the years, many of my searches have revolved around "succession planning".  Generally, this meant helping privately held businesses define the requirements of a successor to lead the company to continued success and growth.  After the role was defined, I was engaged to identify and help hire the ideal candidate for that role.

Succession planning is absolutely essential for the growth and stability of every company, not just large, publicly held firms with a huge number of employees, but also small to medium sized privately held firms.  Succession planning is not only essential for the orderly transition of a retiring owner or CEO, but for every role in a firm that has direct reports.

Susann Heathfield defines succession planning like this:

"Succession planning is a process whereby an organization ensures that employees are recruited and developed to fill each key role within the company. Through your succession planning process, you recruit superior employees, develop their knowledge, skills, and abilities, and prepare them for advancement or promotion into ever more challenging roles.
Through your succession planning process, you also retain superior employees because they appreciate the time, attention, and development that you are investing in them. To effectively do succession planning in your organization, you must identify the organization’s long term goals. You must hire superior staff.
You need to identify and understand the developmental needs of your employees. You must ensure that all key employees understand their career paths and the roles they are being developed to fill. You need to focus resources on key employee retention. You need to be aware of employment trends in your area to know the roles you will have a difficult time filling externally."

I'm going to start with succession planning for principals or owners, then follow up with another blog regarding the other positions in every company.  To make a broad generalization, privately held companies don't start succession planning early enough.  Take a look at a previous post, "Succession Planning or Getting Out Alive?"

Branding And Marketing A Marketing Recruiter

Live Your Brand!

We hear it all the time.  Create a "Brand" . . . then Be that brand!  Live it, breath it . . . BE it!

My personal and company brand is all about trust and adding value . . . to candidates who contact me, and to the clients who pay me.  It's all about trust and value when I make a cold call into someone who I have identified as a top-performing candidate.  I have to establish a level of trust, and blatantly prove value, or I will not engage that candidate. 

Today, someone I've never met uploaded her resume to our website, completed our Candidate Profile and sent me a personal, targeted cover letter.  She did exactly what I asked her to do, but she did it with such style and thoughtfulness that she stood out.  I sent her an email thanking her for taking the time to do such a thorough job of introducing herself, and that I genuinely hoped I might be able to help her.

When friends or colleagues find themselves laid off, I am sometimes the first call for help.  It's one of the most difficult parts of my job.  I wish there was more that I could be doing in support of helping these people find their next opportunity.  I do take the time to try to help as best I can.  I always respond to inquiries.  I try to make someone happy they contacted me.  I like to go beyond expectations.

I get a dozen calls a week from people who ask me if I can help them "get a job".  I have to explain that a retained recruiter works for the client in helping identify premier candidates for a very specific position, and I'm sorry I can't be of more assistance.  I try to give them some quick piece of advice, and help them (at least) get pointed in the right direction.

I'm proud of the testimonials I have on LinkedIn and on my website.  I'm proud of the reputation that started when I was a photographer and has strengthened. . . for over 35 years now.  I'm proud of trying to continually impact the lives of those around me in a positive way.

Why am I writing what sounds like so much slapping myself on the back?  I'm doing my market research as a precursor to creating a marketing campaign that I've wanted to do for so long.  You know, what differentiates me from the competition?   I think trust and value are the heart of what separates me from other recruiters . . . and hard work.   Without mutual trust, candidates would not allow me to help them move from a job they were very happy with . . . to one that provides more professional and personal satisfaction.

That reputation and trust inevitably adds value to my clients.  I don't know how else to do this job!  The ticket is to try to say this to new and existing clients in a heartfelt, compelling way without sounding self-serving!

A Retained Recruiters' Value Is Committment

I just returned from a several day conference with fellow members of irsa, the International Retained Search Associates. It was an intensive four days of discussing best practices with other retained search colleagues.  We talked about trends in the recruiting industry and how we as a group and in our own practices, can continue to increase value to our clients.   I left the meeting energized and excited to start utilizing some of the ideas that were presented.

One of the best takeaways from the meeting was a renewed understanding of the value of retained search.  The retainer allows the recruiter to spend the appropriate amount of time talking with the client and learning the nuances of the position, the company culture and the near and longer term goals of the client.  All of that adds up to a more precise understanding of what candidate experience, skills and personality will best fit in and contribute to our client for the long term.

That knowledge is fundamental in helping me understand whether a candidate can really flourish with the new opportunity.  Successful placements that last for years, and where the new (placed) employee can grow both personally and professionally, while contributing their employer don't just "happen".

The irsa meetings that I attend twice a year are an outstanding opportunity for me to refine the recruiting process at every step of the way, from the initial call to a passive/employed candidate, to being the client representative delivering the final offer.  From sourcing candidates, to the in depth interviewing and relationship development with candidates, every step of the way can be discussed openly with other irsa members, with any questions being answered by veteran, successful recruiters. 

The value of the information gathered at irsa is immeasurable.  There is no other forum or association I've heard of that so openly shares best practices.  It's remarkable and exciting.  I'm proud to be a member!

What does that have to do with my headline?  It's this . . . many retained recruiters (including irsa members) are interested in delivering the absolute best quality and service to the client.  There are many steps in the recruiting process.  Ultimately, the thing that separates retained from contingency recruiters is the commitment to success through excellence and quality of hire.

The Same Company For An Entire Career?

I attended a seminar this morning presented by the St. Louis Business Journal, "The New Economy".  Michael Forster, Managing Partner of Sandberg, Phoenix & Von Gontard and Doug Mueller of Mueller Prost PC were the presenters.  The discussion centered around what businesses can/should be doing as we move (slowly) out of the recession.

While much of the discussion dealt with business operating methods and protocols, there were times when issues affecting employees were discussed.  Actually, it was more like how employees affect businesses.  I was struck that there was no mention of the need for programs to support (if not assure) employee retention. 

I've written previously in this blog about how employees have a responsibility to themselves to find appropriate training and grow professionally (The Workplace Has Changed . . . Have You?).  Hopefully, employers are supporting (and paying for) that effort.   I've also talked about the need for the retention of premier employees (Are you Being Taken Care Of . . . Or Taken Advantage Of?)  Employees need to grow in their careers, and employers should want to keep those employees who consistently do that.

There was what I considered to be an interesting observation made by Mr. Forster.  He suggested that in the "new economy", we had to behave more like in the "old economy".  He talked about the need for dedicated hard work for everyone, no matter what you do.  Hard work like in the "old days".  Hard work like our parents and grandparents talk about.  Interesting . . . that seems to fly in the face of theories of accommodating the newest generations X & Y. 

Further, it was suggested that the development of "real expertise" is being eroded by automated systems, and the reality that employees no longer stay with one company long enough to develop or enhance that company's specific expertise.  Another interesting point.  Think about how few people in the workforce now rise through the ranks from the bottom to the top of the same enterprise.  Can you think of any?

Obviously, innovation in any business creates advantage.  Innovation will be essential to fuel the "real" growth of the US economy.  I'm not talking about getting back to where we were, I'm talking about significant, job creating, lifestyle enhancing, growth.  Innovation is the result of happy, experienced employees. 

It seems like the way things are going, we are not on a track to have many of those!

Think about how your existing job and career might change if you decided you were going to become the CEO of your company.  You wouldn't let those little "issues of the day" bother you.  You'd find better ways of doing things.  You wouldn't take "no" for an answer.  You'd become Indispensable to your employer . . . and in so doing, become immeasurably more valuable ("Are You Indispensable Or Vulnerable?").  If all that happened in the longer term, you'd get promotion after promotion. You'd rise through the ranks, until you reached the top.  Interesting . . .

Do you really have a career strategy to reach career goals, or are you just looking for what you perceive to be a "better job" . . . ?  Are you expert enough to innovate?

Just curious . . .!

Companies Should Send Candidates Thank-You Notes, Too

That's the headline in a recent Ad Age article.  Sub-Head, "It's a Great PR Move for Prospective Employers".  I completely agree with Paul Gumbinner, the author of the Ad Age article. Paul writes,

"After an interview, it's surprising that only about 60% of candidates send a thank-you note (an even smaller percentage sends them after visiting with a recruiter). Aside from being an expression of good manners, a short note expressing interest can go a long way toward promoting a person's candidacy.

Of course, much has been written about thank-you notes in terms of job seekers. But I wanted to tackle something that, to my knowledge, has not been suggested before: Interviewers should send them to candidates, as well.

I would like to propose that this should be the policy at every advertising agency."

It should be a policy at every single employer, period . . . not just agencies.  I know most job seekers would say, "Hey, how about a simple acknowledgment of my interest in your company?"  It's extremely annoying to me that the vast majority of employers (75%+ ?), don't even bother to acknowledge receipt of a resume or inquiry.  Most employers are a black hole for resume submissions and as such, are committing PR suicide.  I've written about this previously with "Screw You, Candidate!"

In the near future, skilled employees are going to be at a premium.  Once you factor in their experience, career goals and fit with an employer's culture, they will be even more limited.  Yet, companies don't take the opportunity even acknowledge an interested candidates' resume.  They should thank every single applicant and treat each one with respect.  Respect is the foundation for retention and for hiring.  If respect exists in a corporate culture, so does employee retention.  You can't recruit someone with disrespect!

Respect (obviously) even goes beyond retention and recruiting.  It shouldn't exist for self-serving reasons.  It should exist because it's the right way to do things . . . everything.

Yesterday, I tweeted the article "Respect: A Key Ingredient for innovation".  The Innovation Tools blog goes on to state:

"Respect is a key ingredient for successfully bringing a new creation to market. In other words, innovation. At the highest level, senior managers should have respect for both the future of the organization and for the people they are responsible for guiding.

The senior management team needs to be seen by the troops as having their best interests in mind, and not just pumping up the stock price. If the senior managers are viewed within the company as being self-serving and unconcerned about the long-term success of the firm, the creativity and focus needed across the company will not flourish."

Why is a lack of common sense, civility and respect so much the norm?  Is it laziness, selfishness or (heaven forbid) expense?  Do employers consider themselves to be "too busy"?   How many of you will ever work for a company who never bothered acknowledging your interest or failed to treat you with respect?

Art Auction For Heart And Haiti In St. Louis

I just found out that a former employee of mine Julie Campbell,  who owns The Three Sinks art gallery in Webster is planning an art auction this coming Friday.  Here's all the info . . .

"Three Sinks Gallery is hosting a benefit event, St. Louis Artists Benefit for Haiti, with proceeds donated to the American Red Cross and the relief effort in Haiti.

Twenty-five artists have donated work to be exhibited at Three Sinks and previewed here on Facebook. 100% of the proceeds of the event will be donated to the American Red Cross. A silk-screen art t-shirt will be available for purchase online and in the gallery. This limited edition t-shirt will be significant to the heritage and plight of the Haitian people.

The exhibit will be held at Three Sinks Gallery, and will be available for viewing from January 25th through January 30th, 2010. A cocktail reception and silent auction will be held at the gallery from 6 to 9pm on Friday January 29th, 2010.

This event is in conjunction with Finale Fridays, a new happening occurring on the last Friday of each month and designed to give visitors a chance to sip, shop and stroll through unique Webster Groves establishments.

Location: Three Sinks Gallery - 8715 Big Bend Boulevard, Webster Groves MO 63119"

I hope you'll make every effort to attend.  Further, I hope you'll pass this message along to your friends/colleagues and your social network.  Let's get the word out on this auction and help Julie raise some serious money for the victims of the Haitian earthquake!

A partial selection of the art along with additional information can be found on Julie's Facebook page.

Marketing Headhunter Gets Smarter with Twitter

I'm starting to embrace Twitter more and more enthusiastically, as I use it more and become comfortable with it.  I'm an advocate of continuing education and staying abreast of industry news, trends and new ways/ideas for doing something.  I'm finding Twitter to be extremely helpful in that pursuit.

I still read about six or eight trade and professional publications a month.  That has always been my way to know what was going on, hear about new ideas and the like.  I'm starting to find that the lead times for publication make that media almost dated by the time it's published.  Even weeklies like AdWeek and Ad Age print content that I've already seen or actually read through with all the electronic updates I now receive.

I created my Twitter account maybe two or so years ago with the username @HeadhunterBob (I encourage you to follow me!).  I had no idea what to do with that account for the longest time, yet I kept having people follow me.  I couldn't figure it out, I'd never sent one tweet, yet I had followers!

Over the past few months, I've started tweeting more frequently and I'm feeling very good about that for two reasons.  One, I feel like I'm "giving something back" . . . I've been told that followers appreciate the content of my tweets and enjoy reading many of them.  Second, I read more . . . a lot more.  I now read articles from literally scores of sources, including blogs, and articles of others I follow on Twitter.  It's enlightening.  I feel like I have a much better idea of what's going on, much sooner.

I'm sure you know that Twitter now integrates with the LinkedIn update box in your profile.  You can send tweets right from LinkedIn!

I tweet about issues related to recruiting, employment, employee retention, employer culture, marketing and advertising trends, etc.. In short, content that should be of interest to most in our marketing/employer/employee communities.  There are several other applications that have grown up around the world of Twitter, that I've found very useful.  I'd like to share some of those.

The most important is probably Tweet Deck.  Tweet Deck pushes the tweets of those you follow.  On Twitter.com, you have to refresh the page to see new Tweets.  Tweet Deck also allows you to follow several of (your own) accounts at the same time, as well as notifying you of any "direct tweets", or mentions of your username.  It's flattering to be "re-tweeted" and Tweet Deck tells you when that happens.

TweetChat is an application that lets you use the #(hashtag) to find people to follow in particular categories of interest . . . in my case, marketing, advertising, media, etc..  Twitter itself has an advance search capability that isn't so easy to find (you could look for users in your city).  If you'd like to tweet a photograph, use Twitpic.  Twellow is a directory of public Twitter accounts, with hundreds of categories and search features to help you find people who matter to you.

The last tip I have goes beyond Twitter.  It's a preferred method for shortening urls.  The reason it's preferred is that bit.ly tracks the number of times a particular url that you've sent has been clicked.  It's very cool and far superior to tinyurl, for example.

Go to Twitter, create a username and profile and get out into the Twitterverse!  It's fun and you'll actually learn something!

For those of you already using Twitter, do you have any stories of it's benefits?