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Lifestyle Or Legacy? Pt. 1: Where Is Your Business Heading?

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 14:12:25 GMT

This is Part 1 of three parts:

Part 2: How to lead Multi-million pound business…

People often ask me how to succeed in recruitment; how they can reach the golden horizon at the end of a £10m exit strategy. That’s everyone’s goal, though. The question I’m often asking in my head is: “Are they serious?”

Most of the time a recruiter has parachuted into their business without the vaguest idea of how it should be managed. By the time they realise they’ve landed far from their target, they’re stuck in a lifestyle earner.

And you know what? Most people are happy to have a lifestyle business. At least that’s what they tell themselves. I see a lot of bravery and potential that may be squandered for comfort.

Personally, I’d rather leave a legacy. I’d rather build a huge company where my passion shines through. Deep down – whether you’re starting out on your own or have been active for a number of years – the same feelings will reside in you too.

So join me for a new, three-part series on taking a lifestyle business much further than a cosy pay cheque. In part one, I’ll explain what I mean by this, and how you can prepare to leap over anything holding you back.

Falling into the ‘settling down’ trap

Ah, the rags-to-riches story… It holds sway over so many young recruiters. They’ve worked somewhere as top biller, and done well out of it. They’ve seen their boss trot happily to the bank, having secured tens of thousands in take-home pay each month. The problem? They have gumption, but are lacking the skills to be an entrepreneur straight out of the gate. I like their style, but fear for their leadership credentials.

Let me hit you with a few stats – such as the fact that only 1% of owners leave their recruitment business with any meaningful financial gain. 50% of recruitment startups fall on their arse during their first year; 53% of those are in London. And finally, 67% of owners earn less than they did as top biller in their old firm.

A knowledge gap tends to open up when a recruiter becomes enamoured with the idea of working for themselves. Unfortunately, they fall into it– the full cost of a desk, for example, is one of the things that gets buried in the momentum of their self-belief. Staff costs are more than basic pay. We’re talking hardware, rent, utilities, sick pay, holiday allowance… all the extra expenditure that typically ranges from £5,000-£8,000 a month.

Rigour is another trait that goes missing. The majority of businesses I speak to don’t fully appreciate the value of a cash forecast. 11 out of 12 may not know when their VATs are due. They rely on an accountant or clued-up mate to handle their finances.

Which isn’t good enough, right?

BOOM – suddenly, plans for world domination have been held back. You’re trying to claw back money all of the time. Before you know it, you’re settling for a lifestyle business, not a legacy.

How to break out and do more

However, even if you have succumbed to the lifestyle trap, you are able to change. Like an alcoholic clearing his throat at an AA meeting, the first step to recovery is admitting you were wrong.

My recent series on psychopathy in businessmay give you some tips for a fresh mindset. These articles speak about the importance of an unwavering focus on the culture you lead. Qualities such as strength, tenacity and perseverance will set you up to succeed – which may cut into more of your personal time than you’re used to.

But that’s alright. If you reconcile yourself to doing more than ‘getting by’, your kids and partner will end up with an easier life in the long run.

So my initial advice is to pluck up the courage to say, “I may need some help here.”

Try to answer the following:

What niche are you filling? The last thing the world needs is another all-comer recruitment firm that targets too many sectors at once?

When’s the last time you upgraded your technology, to make processes or lead generation easier?

How are you making your voice heard? And is it being taken seriously? Perhaps it’s time to rethink your marketing if not.

What allows you to measure and forecast growth? Track invoice collection timelines, the number of interviews you lock down, or where staff are being held up internally; chances are you’ll be lacking a key metric.

Defining your story so far is critical to changing its outcome. Imagine you’re a stranger – someone who’s never heard of your company. Convince yourself why the brand exists. Play devil’s advocate, and challenge old assumptions. Speak to other recruiters (the successful ones) and ask them to pitch their business to you. Listen to their story. Then distil your value in a similar, relatable package of qualities and specialisms.

Like Mike Tyson said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” When you know what’s coming, by having a support network and a full picture of your business, you’ll take fewer punches. That’s what we do within my community of recruitment leaders – we share ideas and help one another achieve our goals.

I can show you a way into the legacy you deserve. Look out for my second blog, which will tell you how a better form of leadership can be achieved! After all, there’s never been a sounder time than right now to earn big from the recruitment industry…

What’s your business famous for?

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 14:05:25 GMT

Everyone knows what an elevator pitch is. But does your recruitment business have one that’s meaningful? One that you’re proud of? One that anyone knows or uses?

A lot of businesses talk about developing their ‘stories’. All try to define themselves through a commitment to the three core things:

Clients
Candidates
Staff

But these aren’t what makes you famous. Fame comes from the unique ‘what’, ‘why’ and/or ‘how’ of your business. You can’t expect any of the above without making a positive impact on your clients, candidates or employees.

So, let’s break down what actually gives your elevator pitch enough impact to warrant attention, inside and out.

Get industry recognition

Want more clients? You need to start building your brand narrative. Ask yourself “what do we want businesses to choose us for?”

Whether that’s:

A unique product suite that is genuinely different
A service to candidates that others haven’t considered, in order to deliver a unique talent pool
A pricing model that shares the risk of talent acquisition

These are the factors that draw in high-value clients, and they can be promoted through the messaging and marketing work you do in parallel. Once you’ve identified what you want to be famous for, the steps you need to get there will follow.

Focus is the key to fame. It’s important to be bloody-minded as a business owner and vow not to step outside of your core market. Being niche is a killer part of the strategy towards getting known, so ignore the temptation to deviate.

Every time you move away from your specialism, you’re breaking an invisible chain of the process – usually setting you back 2, 4 weeks or more. And the result? You’ll only be seen as a jack of all trades and master of none by clients. This will waterfall down to candidates and employees. #Dangerous!

Establish internal values

Once you’ve chosen what you want to be famous for (and ultimately specialise in), you need to decide why candidates or employees want to work with you.

Whether that’s:

Largest reach in terms of job opportunities
Sexiest career path for the ambitious
Best network in your industry, making scaling easy

Once you’ve firmed up the ‘selling points’ of your rec business, develop a strategy to start applying it across the board.

Just having a member of staff ping some posts out isn’t enough to get you known for anything. Publishing ‘jobs of the day’ or pictures of you and your team ‘bonding’ (getting drunk) isn’t a campaign.

Establish a grown-up marketing strategy – one that incorporates the best methods to push your knowledge, ability, products and reach, but also your values and employee appeal.

See how it’s done

To be famous, you need to learn how to take your narrative and truly influence sentiment in your space. This is what will help you define and refine the 11-second pitch that willget you noticed.

Be consistent in this. Your processes, message, tone of voice and positioning must all remain the same to build trust and rapport. If what you’re saying and doing don’t match up, why should anyone care?

A great example is RDLC . We’re famous for giving great people great ideas and inspiration, and helping them innovate. It’s also synonymous with making running a business fun and rewarding.

There’s no ‘I’ in team. But there are three in millionaire

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 13:59:02 GMT

One of the biggest issues facing recruitment bosses today is staff being kept for too long while they continue to fail. You’re never going to be a success unless you make the decision to put your business first and develop a strong leadership style.

Trying to run an aspiring business that works for everyone? Here’s some advice to make sure all employees are contributing and rowing the boat in the same direction.

Reward, reprimand, repeat

Everything in recruitment is reward-driven. Lunch clubs, holiday incentives, early finishes, commission schemes… employees should recognise the considerable amount of carrot on offer. But make sure they also know the consequences of poor work.

There needs to be an impact for a lack of contribution, one where it’s cool to be a good employee, and where people are fearful of looking shit. For each and every action, there’s a reaction – and you need to consider the ramifications of both positive reinforcement and palpable penalties.

If you’re offering a holiday incentive for your best performers, what are you doing to motivate the worst? When you’ve got everyone singing from the same hymn sheet, you move closer to that six-zero figure.

Be firm but fair

Too many businesses carry long-serving members of staff in recognition of their ‘loyalty’. But it’s important you have strict guidelines in place if an employee isn’t up to scratch. Otherwise you create a safety net – a barometer that encourages other workers to argue “I’m not doing great, but I’m not as bad as them”.

When you embrace next-generation technology, automate processes or even generally improve systems, you’ll find it’s difficult to justify the employment of all your dearly beloved staff members. But remember, you can’t afford to employ individuals who don’t contribute anything to the growth of the business.

Sometimes you have to put down ‘Old Ned’ and make objective decisions about those not pulling their weight. You need to make room for the next generation of superstars, and stop managers from crippling budding careers by keeping the gifted under their wings. It’s down to you to identify raw talent in order to prevent this.

Share investment responsibility

Innovation is key to growth, but the boss can’t be expected to pay for everything. If there’s a new piece of rectech that makes your employees more productive, make amendments to commission plans, reward schemes or even thresholds so that the cost burden is shared, creating engagement within the team.

Otherwise, you’re essentially buying something to simplify the role of your employees without any immediate commercial benefit to the business. All of your staff should be invested in innovation, or anything that accelerates their earning potential.

It shouldn’t be down to you to pick up the bill. Doing this repeatedly will cultivate a poor attitude to personal development at a personal cost to you. After all, there’s no ‘I’ in team, but there are three in millionaire…

Level Up! how to build succession by delegating early

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 13:56:04 GMT

Here are five tips for doing exactly that:

1. Champion your weakest link

People should play to their strengths in business. But that doesn’t mean abandoning your duty to ensure that everyone in the team becomes a well-rounded recruiter. After all, you’re only as good as the weakest person in the group.

If someone is bad at an aspect of their job, make them champion it. For instance, put the poorest reporter in charge of keeping the board, CRM and reporting 100% accurate. If they do, the team gets a reward. If they fail, it’s on them!

This changes behaviour and brings the average level of competence up to excellent.

2. Train people to train others

It always amazes me how much better people listen when they know they need to pass information on to a peer. So if you’re trying to train somebody, tell them they’re going to train the next person coming through the ranks.

They’ll concentrate, take good notes and make sure they fully understand – no going through the motions. What’s more, it makes your team comfortable with training and coaching from the get go. You only need to be one page ahead to be the fountain of all knowledge.

3. Have as many managers as possible

It’s tempting to pick one leader and back them when looking at succession. However, you’ll get a lot further as a business if you break down your team into agile scrums, with five or six leaders managing a couple of people each. This builds competition and makes it easy to work on multiple tasks and projects at once.

4. Engage every member of the team

While every business needs a management structure, don’t delegate only within the leadership team. If you’re looking to engage staff, make sure the entirety of the group has a role in your success.

Following meetings, for example, break down key tasks. If there are six actions, distribute them amongst six people rather than assigning to one. Let everyone know what you want, when, and the quality level you expect from them – no ambiguity. People will always try to please you, so help them do so by giving very clear direction.

5. Empower people to run with ideas

Some individuals in the business will be more proactive than others when it comes to impressing you. Encourage this, and give the people that come to you with ideas the opportunity to run with them. I wrote recently about the importance of having finishers as well as starters in the business. If you can’t be both as a leader, it’s invaluable to identify people who fill the gaps.

Delegating takes patience, and it may often seem easier to do it yourself. However, if you want to free yourself from day-to-day operations and build a succession plan, you must invest and believe in your team. Need help with your succession planning? Email gg@reccelerated.com for proven strategies.

Go Niche or Go Home. Fame Is the Aim in Recruitment

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 13:49:41 GMT

Everyone tells you to be niche. Not everyone takes the time to explain what this means or how far you should go in practice. Having strict discipline about your markets is imperative if you want to grow fast, especially as the recruitment sector becomes even more saturated and squeezed.

But while it’s too broad to call yourself a ‘tech recruiter’, you won’t get very far pushing left-handed .net developers in Southport. So where do you strike the balance? It’s not niche – it’s super niche.

Become famous for something and start in a region with plenty of opportunities. Refine your value proposition and internal processes, and you’ll have a scalable model to roll out over and over again.

An element of trust

Generally speaking, people distrust recruiters. To the outside world recruitment agencies are all the same – they bring nothing to the table but a middleman. All recruiters claimto understand the roles they’re talking about, yet credibility is soon lost unless they know their onions.

To understand what ‘good’ looks like for both candidates and clients, specialist knowledge is critical. Only when you’ve invested the time in getting to know your market inside out will you be able to demonstrate what makes you different from every other recruiter.

Niche is at the heart of this. It also involves getting to know people in your space. Trust is built on relationships – you won’t get very far cold-calling candidates saying “I’ve got the perfect job for you!” How could you possiblyknow?

You simply cannot build trust if you’re talking about 15 things to 15 different people. Instead, channel your time into becoming a subject matter expert. That way, you’ll get to know the market and the best players in it – what ‘good’ looks like and where things are heading.

Do this, and you’ll gain an ability to get hold of talent where an algorithm can’t.

The niche multiplier

A recruitment agency with a niche is more than the sum of its parts. When you really hone in on a specialism in a different location, everyone gets to know who you are. You become a trusted agent in a space; as a result, the noise about roles, companies and projects goes bonkers.

What’s more, you have the power to predict the future. If one company is doing something, you can use this intel to ‘insight sell’ to similar organisations. helping them get ahead in their market.

People pay for knowledge. You’ll easily get onto PSLs (if that’s your bag) when you demonstrate the value you bring to a specific area. Equally, PSLs quickly become irrelevant if a recruiter comes to a company with an absolute niche that their current suppliers are unable to match. To be blunt, specialising quashes competition, drives better deals and justifies higher fees.

You only need to look at the Frank Group to see the outstanding multiples being super niche can bring. Despite only really working perm roles, they became the unquestionable leader in the Dynamics arena globally. They chose one area of tech and went at it, region by region.

Frank Group would reach 30-40 people in a region before they even considered the next one, which would be led by the best people in the team. Of course, now they’ve branched out beyond Dynamics and into contract, but they didn’t do this until their first sale event.

In short, you can get to 200-300 people just by doing one thing brilliantly.

Finding your super niche

Niche can make a recruitment agency, but it can just as easily break one if you don’t get that niche right. Too broad – again, like ‘tech recruiter’ – and you risk becoming part of the noise. Too leftfield, and you’ll make life too difficult.

I don’t believe there’s value in being a first-mover in recruitment. Just make sure when the availability of candidates and clients is there, you become the best at it before the market is saturated.

Germany, for example, has no need for more .net recruiters, but an agency specialising in AR devs in Boston would do very well for itself… Investing the time in research is therefore critical before you start piling resources into a niche. If it won’t sustain 50 people, don’t start it.

When going about your research, challenge limiting beliefs. It’s a myth that you need to speak the same language as the country you’re hiring in. And why should you be based in the same location? He (or she!) who dares wins. Just ensure you’re making informed decisions, not bets.

LIFESTYLE OR LEGACY? PT. 2: HOW TO LEAD A MULTI-MILLION-POUND BUSINESS

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 12:33:55 GMT

There are 50,000 recruitment agencies in the UK. The last thing the world needs is another one. To rise to the top, you need to bring something clever and genuinely different to the market, and have the balls and brains to make people believe it.

Hopefully Part 1of this series will have given you exactly what you need to ask yourself honestly whether you’ve fallen into the lifestyle trap. But, if you’re wondering how you’re ever going to lead a multi-million-pound business, don’t worry – I’m not going to leave you high and dry.

In Part 2, we’re going to look at how you can get match-fit in order to not only survive, but thrive in the competitive world of recruitment.

Be honest with yourself

As I hinted in my last piece, moving from lifestyle to legacy requires an honest appraisal of two things: your business, and you as its leader.

Question yourself in terms of your fitness to take the business forward:

Are you inspirational? Can you tell a good story? Are you truly believable? Are you consistent? You might have been a top fee-earner in your old job, but that only makes you a good recruiter. A good leaderis always on and they do unselfish work for others to reach a common goal. After all, without a loyal team to lead, you will be lost.

Meanwhile, it’s crucial to make sure you’re not flogging a dead horse with the business idea itself.

What does your business stand for? What are your USPs? Are you doing anything genuinely clever or innovative? Spend some time noting this down so that you have clear answers to these questions. And when reading them back, if you can say ‘so what?’ to any of them, make a change or give up altogether.

Take strength from others

But don’t give up. The journey ahead may look like a mountain, but you won’t be climbing it alone. Take a look around you to understand how you can get help. Nobody is perfect, and no business model is without its flaws. The trick is understanding those flaws and surrounding yourself with people who can help you address them.

Part of this involves getting match-ready as a leader. Business coaches, mentors, networking… all of these can help you evolve from recruiter roots to become a well-rounded entrepreneur. But that doesn’t mean doing it all yourself… Leaders drive businesses by working onthem, not inthem. So learn to delegate, and fast.

Identify your genius – what is it that you are brilliant at? Identify this, and free up your time so you can focus solely on it. By empowering your team and outsourcing to experts – finance, marketing, and the like – every element of your business will benefit from nothing but the best expertise and closest attention.

Recognise and prove a winning formula

When you recognise a winning formula, pile in with energy and resources to get the most from it. Understand where the gap is and make sure everything you think about or deliver is aligned with your value proposition. And, most importantly, make sure you can demonstrate exactly that: value.

If you’re all about customer service, are you measuring it with reviews? If you claim to deliver candidates in the top percentile, how do you prove it? Or perhaps yourpeople are the experts. In which case, how much training are you giving them, and how much exposure are you getting?

Put weight behind your concept and people will begin to believe and buy into the winning formula just as much as you do.

Don’t go stale

The thing about innovation is that it doesn’t stay innovative for long. You may have filled a gap in the market now, but how will you stay different as your competitors cotton on and catch up? To build and sustain a legacy, you need a dashboard to make decisions quickly – and the bravery to not just execute them, but to make a change if it goes wrong.

In theory, lots of things look like they will work, but look quite different in the cold light of day. So don’t persevere for the sake of it – it’s critical to make sure that the business can stand in its own right. If you keep having to prop it up, it will never survive and thrive.

As you grow, you might also reach your own limit to take the business forward. Don’t be frightened to employ someone higher than you. Some of the people in our network have employed CEOs over them in time, and their business has thanked them for it.

In recruitment, you never get to a million-pound business. It’s multi-million or nothing. If you hit a vein of gold, that’s you set for life. That’s why it’s worth putting in the graft to go from lifestyle to legacy, but also why so few leaders and businesses actually reach their potential. It’s survival of the fittest at its finest.

Lifestyle Or Legacy? Pt. 3: Keeping Up The Momentum

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 12:27:59 GMT

A lot of people I work with can’t wait to have a business where they don’t have to go in on a Friday. “At what point can I start to ease off?” they ask. My heart sinks: recruiters with this mentality are never going to move beyond a lifestyle business.

Building a legacy gets harder, not easier. But it should also get more rewarding at every milestone. After all, if you don’t enjoy your business more than everyone else put together, why on earth would people come and work for you?

So, let me dedicate the final part of my Lifestyle or Legacy trilogy to the importance of keeping up momentum, and why you’ll reap the rewards if you remain passionate and committed to the vision you started out with…

Leading by example

n recruitment, if you’re not moving forwards, you’re going backwards. You simply can’t afford to cruise when things are heading in the right direction. As a leader, you have to set the tone: be thoroughly immersed in the business, enjoy it, and work just as hard as everyone else.

Bosses that put in half the hours and earn five times more than their team quickly begin to see cracks in the infrastructure – loss of loyalty, higher churn rates, and a culture that moves away from the brand values the company started out with.

The best bosses are the first amongst equals. They sit amongst everyone, not locked away in a glass room. When the going gets tough, they are prepared to muck in. Most of all, they remain accountable, not pinning the success and failure of the business on others within it.

If you start coming into work at 10am and leaving at 4pm, others will quickly follow suit. Or worse – you’ll be exited from your own business. You have to be a role model, always leading by example. And the further up the food chain you get, the harder this is.

Working on (not in) the business

I don’t know any CEOs of FTSE 100 companies who don’t work 7 days a week, thrive on 4-5 hours sleep, and travel around the planet to be everywhere they need to be. That’s the gig. You can’t just expect it to happen.

But what about Richard Branson, you say? Sure, he may be sat in a hammock, but don’t tell me the guy isn’t still working ridiculously hard. The difference is that your role changes as your business grows. Instead of being the main breadwinner, you become the spiritual leader of the brand – working on the business instead of in it.

In time your responsibility should shift to learning (and eventually outsourcing) other areas of your business that require just as must focus as the day to day. Finance, marketing, HR… in order to keep the business going, you have to have your fingers in a thousand pies.

Building something you’re proud of

This might sound like a lot of hard work, but the truth is that if you’re doing something you love, and building something you’re proud of, it doesn’t feel that way. It’s far easier to keep momentum going in a business than building one from scratch.

Watching a company with your name on it make you more money, year on year, is incredibly rewarding. Especially when you’ve created an environment where other people share your passion and work equally hard.

The day we floated I made 27 millionnaires. It’s hard to put that feeling into words. But even before that point, the satisfaction of hearing people use your lines, share your mantra and talk in your tone of voice is insurmountable.

Culture eats strategy for breakfast, and it’s a glorious thing if you get it right. It also leaves you in a difficult position – if you build a business that you love and are proud of, you probably won’t want to say goodbye. That’s when you know you’ve created a buyable business.

So, in answer to the question “when can I start to ease off?”, you’re asking the wrong thing. Financial freedom and a perfect lifestyle start with understanding what gets you out of bed in a morning. Then use your business as a tool to create a legacy you’ll never want to let go of.

ARE YOU A BUSINESS PSYCHOPATH? I DO HOPE SO

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 12:24:24 GMT

But one subject got me thinking more than I usually do.

She mentioned The Psychopath Test, Jon Ronson’s wildly popular piece of cod-psychology, and said that much of his argument can’t be proven. A brain isn’t 100% psycho. The weirder, less empathic parts of our minds don’t rule how we think. They can be tamed and, sometimes, let loose.

This is especially true when leading a business. Psychopathy has negative connotations, but also positive ones – success, focus, a willingness to do more than most of society can deal with.

Don’t believe me? Keep reading. This is the first part of a series on why being a bit of a psychopath isn’t bad for business, but often beneficial. Let’s start with the research…

The condition is everywhere

So how many of us are psychopathic? The general consensus is: 1% of the population . Amongst violent offenders, men are three times more likely than women to be considered a psychopath. Pretty much all of us are on the spectrum though.

How much these symptoms manifest depends on both our genetics and the environment we grew up in. It’s even possible to tell whether we have more psychopathic traits than someone else from a brain scan . Neurology, family and culture all play a role in where we fall on the scale.

You may be wondering what ‘being a psychopath’ means. The most common aspects are:

A tendency to manipulate, instead of playing by the rules
The ability to be charming, whatever the situation
A lack of empathy towards other people
Plenty of quick wit and good problem-solving skills
A disregard for safety; they’re much more inclined to take risks

Take a look at that list again… To me, it sums up a whole lot of business aptitude. Taking risks where others fear to tread. Being strong-willed and savvy. Knowing what people want, in regards to you or what you provide.

Embracing the psychopath inside of us can be a killer (forgive the pun) professional tactic. We don’t have to be Christian Bale wielding an axe. Or even Katie Hopkins. But we can be forthright about harnessing the sides of our mentality that, in so many cases, help us succeed in the world.

Where business and psychopathy unite

Look, we live in a capitalist system. For good or ill, that’s the way of things. If you aren’t the best, you will fail.

A psychopath would probably tell you that they never fail. It’s not in their DNA. So shouldn’t we focus on how their predilections – self-certainty, commitment to a task, being able to leave emotions at the door – can reward us sometimes? It’s so much truer to life than the ‘everyone wins, everyone gets a Participation Award’ nonsense that many business cultures go for.

The recruitment sector is full of pointless backslapping and nervous leadership. I’ve seen this far too much. And it’s damaging, because it doesn’t prepare a team for the hard knocks they’ll have to take. Remember – you are the individual who sets the moral compass. ‘Taking part’ doesn’t count for anything. We shouldn’t tell those we work with to be flaky, lazy, charmless or neurotic. Steer the psychopath inside, and you’ll learn to push an organisation to its peak. All it takes is a little behavioural step sideways…

There’s so much more to say about this. In my next article, I’ll be exploring how we can tame the beast within. Because I don’t want you to be a raging maniac – far from it. I only want you to see what psychopaths can teach us about making powerful decisions. As my daughter says, “Calm your psycho, Dad.” Cheeky thing!

HAPPY PEOPLE MAKE MONEY: WHY PSYCHOLOGY AT WORK MATTERS

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 12:21:12 GMT

How do we inspire people to be superhuman at work? Short of buying them a cape, spandex and a steroid injection, the answer may be unclear at first. That’s why held a themed super lunch event earlier this year, putting Psychology at Work in the spotlight. We’ve pulled together a five-strong speaker list from all walks of corporate life, to help you understand how to get the best from your team.

Here’s a snapshot of the key reasons why psychology at work matters.

Happiness = hard work

Happy people make money, but happiness comes in many guises. Everyone wants to be inspired, but not everyone is motivated in the same way. Successful leaders understand this. They create an environment that lends itself to all kinds of personalities in a team.

There’s a lot of talk about work-life balance, although in our experience people who are motivated at work won’t look for early finishes and more holidays – they actually put more hours and energy into your business.

That’s why it pays to get savvy on psychology at work. You need to boil that word – ‘happiness’ – down to its true meaning to both your organisation as a whole and the people within it.

People engage differently

One style of leadership won’t work for all. Nail down your approach to distinct personality types, and you can motivate and empower any team. Equally, you’ll be able to recognise when employees are struggling and under strain so you can make a change.

People respond to pressure in different ways. Some people have a competitive streak, others prefer to be a team player. Some are driven by incentives, while others take a longer view of their career goals.

Leaders with a grasp of psychology can engage with employees in a way that gets buy-in and loyalty from day one. They can profile people they bring on board, help them get the right start in the business, and then give them room and enough challenges to excel.

Everyone needs a common goal

Individuality is great, but let’s not get carried away. Ultimately, everyone has to be working to a common goal. People need to understand exactly what is expected of them and why you’ve hired them in the first place.

A competent team should come to work buzzing, not stressed. A common goal gives people purpose in what can be a high-pressure environment. Communicate targets in the right way and they’ll be seen as challenges, not problems.

Surround these targets with structure, consistency and support, and your people will thrive. If not, they might not be right for your business, and then the focus should shift to the way you go about your own recruitment…

DON’T BE AFRAID TO HAVE A PERSONALITY IN BUSINESS

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 12:18:39 GMT

If you have seen Split, you will know all about the power of personality – multiple ones too. But in recruitment, all you need is one good one.

If you Google the personality traits that recruiters need, you will be met with dozens of articles saying you need things like resilience, grit, honesty, resourcefulness, and empathy. This is all very unfortunate considering how long the waiting list is for people in need of personality transplants.

Your company’s personality as recruiters is critical to your business success. But, your personality is what you have been dealt. Yes, it can be enhanced, and you can improve on the traits that you supposedly ‘need’ to be a better recruiter. But, someone who is a logical, reason-based thinker doesn’t suddenly become an empathy-based and emotional decision maker overnight. Your inability to suddenly change aspects of your personality doesn’t mean you can’t be a great recruiter. The most important thing to remember when it comes to personality and recruitment is to HAVE ONE.

Differentiate your company by being yourself

We have already spoken about the importance of the human face of your business to help you obtain the best candidates. Almost two-thirds (61%) of job candidates would rather in-person interviews than digital recruitment methods. If you want to bring them on board, they need to get you. What can your company offer them that other recruiters can’t? What makes you the best choice? What are your business values?

There is no better way to portray this than through your company’s personality, which should trickle down throughout the rest of your company. It should be your unique selling point – the thing that makes you different. Most people have others that like them, and some that don’t. Maybe they find them too bold, too timid, or too dull. It’s the same with your recruitment company, but by showing your personality, you can guarantee at least some will like you, and a lot will reallylike your company.

This makes you the go-to recruiter for those candidates that share your values and ways of working. Recruitment isn’t Pokémon. You can’t catch them all, which means the candidates you do connect with, need to be worth your company’s time, and you, theirs. Making your personality your unique selling point means that the best candidates for your business come to you. Once they do, you will be able to relate to them, get the most out of them, and understand what they want much easier.

Be sure of who you are

In a changing industry, that is becoming more focused on technology, recruiters are too eager to increase productivity, efficiency, and everything else that can get them better profits. But they are beginning to neglect the fundamental human face of recruitment. Big mistake.

When you need your company to be relatable online, or on social media, and be approachable to new candidates, how will you distinguish yourself in a saturated market with a dead business persona? The answer is simple; you won’t. Personality is essential when meeting people face-to-face, as well as online, and your brand needs to be consistent, not like a scene from Split. A charming business leader in real life needs to be just as lovely online otherwise one of those situations is going to look fake and forced. There go your likability and candidates.

These are just small factors that agencies need to consider if they want to give themselves a winning edge. Personality is critical, but it’s not about what personality you have, it’s whether you have one at all and whether your clients can see it and relate to it. If they can, you are creating a business that is sure of itself and will prosper in this industry. If you don’t have the best business personality, it’s time to do what you do best, and hire someone that does to work for you.

Tagged business leaders recruitment

BRAND SPANKING NEW

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 12:15:38 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

Successful business leaders don’t need complete oversight of the operation. But your vision, value and voice do need to be seen in all decisions across the company.

Combined, these things form your personal brand: the perception others have of you. It’s all about how you act, how you stand out from the crowd, and how you make clients see why they should choose you over a competitor – both online and offline.

While most daily choices can be decided by gut instinct, the general direction of your organisation needs to embrace your personal brand. The trick is achieving a balance atevery stageof your journey as a recruitment business leader.

Starting out

In the beginning, you trade based on your own values, experiences and motives. You’ll describe them to others and that’ll be the basis of your personal brand. But even before you get staff on board, you needto understand your position.

You’re pissing in the wind if you think people will listen to a podcast or webinar of you saying the same thing as everyone else – it has to resonate and be unique.

Don’t speak in public unless you’ve got an audience who wants to hear it (your mum doesn’t count). Once you’ve got an idea worth taking note of, see it through. Don’t start waxing lyrical about an idea you’re not committed to. Try to get a sense of you across, and be authentic.

Building the business

When you start working onthe business rather than init, you’ll need to act as the glue holding the operation together. Who else will attract talent and take the lead?

As staff start handling the day-to-day aspects of your role, personal brand works to sustain the business instead of growing it. It reminds people whythey work for you, and for clients with you.

Keep being disruptive. Everyone’s personal brand is unique, and your business needs to follow suit. People aren’t going to buy from you if you’re an industry echo chamber. Play around with alternate ideas and have fun.

Exit strategy

As you consider an exit, make sure the succession layers are equipped to fill that void. The company can’t rely on you. Yeah, you’ve got to be a leader and drive progress, but if you’re the celebrity of the business, it devalues the organisation when you leave.

There comes a point when you need to be magnanimous and take a step back – without throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Want to avoid getting trapped in an earnout? Plan for each stage and keep your personal brand as rooted in the operation as possible. Make sure your sentiment can be found in your service offerings, marketing, and even in the personal brands of those you lead. The more ingrained those principles are within the organisation, the more self-sufficient it is.

READY TO INNOVATE? LOOK BEYOND RECRUITMENT

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 12:13:43 GMT

Recruitment is facing its biggest challenge: shifting from bums on seats to consultancy. This is not evolution, but revolution, and as a business leader, you need to embrace where the market’s going and adapt to Business 3.0.

We’re not the only ones going through this transition. Everyone’s having to compete online and adjust to modern customer needs. The point is figuring out what this looks like for recruitment.

In order to innovate, don’t listen to old hacks (we don’t). They offer nothing to recruiters and only end up giving themselves a pat on the back. Instead, think outside the box, learn from allforward-thinking companies and build genuine solutions to customer issues…

Don’t focus on the past

There’s very little we can learn from other people’s stories in recruitment. In fact, as far as the Pirates are concerned, hearing how someone got a Porsche after six months of trading (10 years ago!) doesn’t excite our members – that’s just LinkedIn fodder.

That’s why Dean and I have always championed the aggressively disruptive, regardless of industry. We get it. Business leaders who lean upon academic theory and blend that into their practice are useful – not dinosaurs unfamiliar with today’s challenges.

Look to the business anthropologists, web psychologists, automation experts and futurologists. These guys are saying the things that reallychange the way you work. And I guarantee that your competition won’t be identifying these trends till much later.

Challenge the theory

Success in recruitment doesn’t equate to the number of business books you’ve read. At RDLC, we expose the often contradictory theories and debunk the myths that overcomplicate them. It’s also important for leaders to recognise useful ideas outside of their sphere, gaining a clear understanding of actionable insights in the wider world of business.

We want to see individuals transform ideas they’ve come across and use them as a springboard for success. In fact, this approach to learning is exactly the style we encourage and highlight at our Global Recruitment Summit in Ibiza . The themes we cover there match movements in our members’ businesses. It’s designed to help the network embrace change and self-regulate.

None of the above means that our members aren’t innovative on their own accord. In fact, many recruiters don’t give themselves enough credit for their forward-thinking approach. We’re already successful cash cows with a meritocratic structure. We now need to keep seeking business betterment.

And that comes from networking. Organisations want recruiters in the room because we’re agile and do things right. Recruitment business leaders can add value to other networks and gain insights from them to impact their company.

MEETINGS GOING NOWHERE? INSPECT, DON’T EXPECT

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 12:08:11 GMT

Why is it that, as soon as your staff leave the meeting room, it’s as if a device has zapped their brain and erased everything you’ve discussed? You’ve had a useful conversation, identified the goals and objectives, and still, two weeks later… nothing.

Recruitment entrepreneur Wayne Brophy calls it “The Zappers” – the only possible reason why culpability and commitment miraculously vanish the moment people return back to their desks. For meetings to be effective, you need to ramp up accountability. In other words: inspect, don’t expect.

Want to stop best-laid plans turning into back-slapping exercises? Put measures in place to stop your rousing call to action fading into oblivion. Here’s how…

Keep meetings to a sensible length

Tiring out attendees with painstaking meetings is counter-intuitive. Treading the well-worn path of hour-long sessions only leads to exhausting everyone in the room – and that’s when mistakes happen.

Instead, create an agenda and stick to it. This will allow you to keep meetings brief. Ensure your points are succinct and trim any unnecessary conversation that should be had elsewhere.

Only include who’s necessary

I see this all the time: meetings where every man and his dog are invited to discuss aspects of the business that are irrelevant to half the attendees. It’s a bad habit (and, frankly, lazy management) not to effectively delegate and be aware of your staff’s responsibilities.

Only ask those who have a direct connection to the task – whether they need to complete work for you or oversee it.

Give follow-up instructions

Want immediate action or results? Give instruction! Don’t just let a meeting trail off once you’re tired of your own voice – actually instruct your staff to email ideas and actions back to you.

Clearly define what a good example of the task you’re setting looks like. Specify when it’s due and where the responsibility for each task lies. Then ensure you have the full understanding from the team.

Be thorough and embed the message periodically

People do what you inspect, not expect. That is to say, when you act accountably and don’t blame inaction on employees, you get better results. So, make a note in your diary to chase the relevant team members. Don’t let people fail you: it sets a dangerous precedent. Once completed, make another note to check again in three months.

This is management done right. You’re embedding the correct process into their heads through due diligence checks.

Following this process works for meetings of any subject – whether you’re building out pitches, tackling objections or even covering compliance and marketing.

Eventually, your team will cease to invest energy in finding shortcuts and recognise you’re going to hold them to their word. The people who bring value to the table will flourish and you’ll shed passengers – leaving the rest to enjoy the fruits of their labours.

ARE YOU BUILDING A TEAM OF CHEFS OR RESTAURANTEURS?

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 12:03:24 GMT

As the old saying goes: ‘give a recruiter an account and they’ll eat for a year, but teach them business development and they’ll eat for life’! Or something like that…

I remember thinking in 1995 that you should make yourself redundant ASAP so you can do the jobs you need or want to do next. It’s still relevant now. Your success should set the tone, but if you’re still the major breadwinner two years in, then something is drastically wrong.

Training your staff to recruit will only get you so far. To really leave a legacy, you need to create restauranteurs, not chefs. When your team start to go out and win their own business, that’s a true reflection of success.

Here’s how to go about it:

Divide and conquer accounts

Split your accounts across the floor, putting two or more people on each. Then set targets that you can measure monthly.

Trusted clients provide an easy stomping ground for untested recruiters and, provided all goes well, you can still booze with the head honcho – depending on spend that is.

Implement a winning methodology

Your success is not scalable or achievable for rookies. The standard you work to is based on your provenance and experience in the industry.

Instead of trying to replicate your approach, build products with clear deliverables and features that answer today’s customer challenges and navigates all gatekeepers. Nail your pitches, then start rolling it out!

Shout loud and proud

Distil your methodology into a marketing plan that gets your name out there.

You’re looking to stand out. So, remember that an idea that’s already being communicated to within an inch of its life isn’t going to be unique. Wear your ingenuity proudly as it gives rookies a fighting chance when making your pitch theirs.

Have realistic and measurable goals

You need one eye on the market at all times, monitoring supply and demand while predicting impact on your target audience.

It sounds overwhelming but building up industry knowledge and identifying client needs long before they can is why companies choose recruiters. Once you’ve nailed this and hit six heads, start working on the business and extract yourself from winning clients.

Ultimately, your job as a recruitment leader is to grow 6 members of staff to 20, and you can’t do this while chasing deals.

Say it once, say it twice, then say it again

Recruitment is hard. It involves repetition, persistence, hard work and repetition – your staff need to understand this.

Sure, it might take twenty calls and five meetings to win ‘the right to trade’. But that’s how you build lasting relationships. Coming to grips with the fact that a ‘no’ is just a ‘not today’ is essential, and it’s your job to teach that.

Productising Is An Art Form

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 11:53:56 GMT

Early in my career, I recognised the value of solution selling and developing “products” in recruitment was, back then, truly stand out!

Midway through my career, I struck “productisation” gold, by leveraging a deal Bill Bottriell (god), did with paper advertising, and I started sourcing and delivering first-time contractors.

Persuading businesses to employ “box fresh” but exceptionally qualified talent as 1st freelancers! was a skill. However, the way we wrapped it up into a product (service, solution, price), acted as a catalyst for substantial global growth.

“Game changer”

… this is what a product suite can deliver. But even if you simply just listen to your clients and candidates, you can raise your game and take your business to the next level without a major shakeup.

One of my pet hates is that, too often, people list what they can – supposedly – do, but deliver nothing with creativity or innovation #YAWN.

Social media is full of empty promises about … developing services that are just boring iterations of what’s always been done; with just a cosmetic paint job!

My opinion? Recruiters should offer services that actually make them unique and embrace fresh ideas that position them as an answer to clients woes – especially if you’re a step ahead of them realising their real issue!

An insight into how:

Find a problem

Productising is a chance for you to be creative, different and new. Don’t list basic buying options; be compelling! Describe what you do best in a way that warrants your clients’ investment, trust and belief.

Think of your client’s challenge in a specific arena: the need to hire killer perm talent; to light up their dull employer brand or to deliver sophisticated and complex programs – not just hire warm bodies.

The list goes on, and talent acquisition partners (recruitment agencies as we were once labelled!) can deliver innovative fixes – way ahead or dry internal recruitment teams!

There are loads of other benefits to presenting a “smart” product suite – internally, by pre-empting your client’s sales objections you’re on the front foot, where your staff can predict the challenges and perfect their pitches. This approach means you can train newbies to be brilliant faster, and it’s way more interesting than filling jobs, blah blah blah!

Market your solution

Whatever your approach, if you can’t explain it, no one will buy it. You need to document your process. Again, if you can’t draw it, no one will be able to understand it – so be infographic-led in your comms.

Build and test your solutions, and then start shouting about them. Testimonials are okay but are only persuasive from leaders who are respected in your client’s niche.

It’s the way you go about selling a product that matters, and aligning you, your brand and values. It’s a grown-up sales process but it’s marketing-driven.

Once you’ve got your offering firmed up and everyone’s singing from the same hymn sheet, engage with the broader market.

Make sure the finished product suite POS is 100% right, in your tone of voice and pulls all the right buying triggers. Do not compromise!

This suite of products will give you amazing marketing content, event topics and a chance to really stand out. Create advocates (not the same as testimonials) and watch how this makes you fly.

HAVE YOU GOT THE NED MINERALS?

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 11:50:33 GMT

Congratulations on exiting your business (recruitment or other). A reason to celebrate indeed given how few manage this neat trick.

So, a heartfelt “nice one”!

You’ve now entered the upper echelons of the Business Hall of Fame. Your ‘moment of success’ has placed you within a ratified group of leaders. In fact, your Liam Neeson skill set has seen such acclaim that people dream of leveraging from your experience.

Your next role should be as an advisor, or even a NED! Or not…

The majority of advisors offer nothing but a profit vacuum – and trust me, I should know. Business success does not equal preaching prowess. Advising is a skill that needs to be developed and nurtured, it isn’t inherited, and one wrong move dismantles all the hard work before it.

Lately, I’ve seen a rise in these false prophets, so today I wanted to breakdown what it takes to be a valuable NED.

Leadership doesn’t equal teaching talent

Receiving board questions doesn’t translate to asking them. You can’t parrot queries you were once asked; you need to understand the context behind each question. It’s about having the foresight to see long-term implications of wider business decisions.

Helping a company you don’t know, define andrefine a plan requires a different methodology. I’m not diminishing overnight business success – you’re still a cut above the rest – but that doesn’t make you a guru.

Sure, a meaningful provenance can be your brand, and you’d be right in thinking that no one in their right mind would follow someone without believing they’re a catalyst for change. That said, think about how you can practicallyhelp someone progress.

Aspire to inspire

I’ve seen some ‘advisors’ make £35k for regurgitating the equivalent of fortune cookie wisdom. Others I’ve heard request three days a week (no seriously) to sit with your sales team to develop their ability.

Supporting the development of a team, is not the same as nurturing a boss. There are different dynamics at play, you’re not leading, you’re helping owners to express and develop strategy.

If you’re a quality NED, your aim is to make recruitment business owners ‘shift right’. Forget past victories, offer useful support wherever possible instead.

Know your service

Refine the exact offering you’re presenting to businesses. For instance, my bag is driving sustainable growth and gaining market share. Narrow your angle and confirm where in the journey they are. Whether that’s:

1. Start-up
2. Lifestyle
3. Growth
4. Exit

Once the business has legs, it’s easy to hook them up on exit or M & A trails. Just be confident in your area of expertise and help drive the industry forward.

Ultimately, if you’re all about the money, advising is the wrong move. NED’s are often short-term so don’t expect shares – you’ve done nothing to deserve them anyway.

Me, on the other hand, my services are half the market rate, but I live and breathe recruitment. And currently, I have countless roles and opportunities for enthusiastic individuals.

Competence-Based Hires: A ‘C’-Change For Staffing Or Micro Fad?

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 11:44:29 GMT

What will the next revolution of staffing be? I’d be interested to hear your thoughts but, as far as I’m concerned, it’s hiring on competency.

More and more companies are choosing candidates based solely on their ability to learn. But is the rise of competency-based hiring a micro fad, or is it the direction of recruitment as a whole?

Here’s why I think it’s got legs….

No more role requirements

Employers are increasingly prioritising a candidate’s “gift” or “knack” over skills, experience and qualifications. And it’s going to build faster and stronger teams.

Don’t get me wrong, business owners will always want the option of best-in-class quick fixes, especially when going out for contractors.The freedom of hiring people who take full accountability can never be underappreciated.

But replacing role requirements with character preferences is the best way to secure top talent. I mean, ‘Must have worked with .NET for two years’ sounds closer to a theme park ride restriction than a measure of ability to cut code. Bin it.

Changing client expectations

Clients want candidates who demonstrate aptitude. The skills gap is placing pressure on businesses to grow talent in-house, and with such strict restrictions on hiring, it’s easy to see how tech wages have skyrocketed.

Should competence-based hiring turn out to be more than a fad, start-ups will get wise to the shift. Needing to be resourceful, they’ll consult recruiters that are conscious of emerging talent – talent just shy of the credentials to succeed currently.

I’m even seeing signs of a C-change in my home for God’s sake… My daughter will soon be off to university, and I’ve stressed that by the time she’s seeking employment, most organisations will look at her range, scope, agility and overall value – not experience.

The linear career path is dead. Long live multiple roles and varied promotional trajectories! That’s if permanent jobs even exist as they do today, considering the impending world of agile workforces and contract-first employee models.

Shift towards humanist industries

Lastly (the biggest argument for the competence-based hire), we’re prioritising human-focused practices more and more. Let’s be honest, a number of roles associated with post-graduates today will be replaced by automated processes. That’s ignoring the retail and factory positions which will soon become obsolete.

So, it should surprise no one that, in a world where automation threatens manual workers, the value of human-focused vocations will increase. It’s starting already at university level. Psychology is currently ranked as the 57thmost useful degree, but in 2024 it’s predicted to be 5th (hence why my daughter will be reading it)!

The schools are preparing for this; we’re seeing more and more classes across Europe based around self-developmentin order to help develop competencies. The latest generation of workers are being made aware of the skills gap, and a shift to competency willundoubtedlybenefit them.

Personally, I don’t think you can deny that this is more than some micro-fad… Soon, word searches won’t work. Tech checks will be subjective. So, my questions are:

Are you seeing it?

Do you know anyone implementing competency-based hiring and found it to work?

And are any of your recruiters (internal or external) considering this approach?

I really want to hear people’s opinions on this. RDLC is always looking for recruitment business leaders innovating in the sector. Give your standpoint in the comments, email gg@reccelerated.com or visit the RDLC website.

IN-HOUSE RECRUITMENT IS DEAD. LONG LIVE OUTSOURCED IN-HOUSE

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 11:41:37 GMT

Recruitment’s No1 Rated Advisor, Award winning NED, Founder RDLC & RecCeleRated, Accurately opinionated champion of the Recruitment Sector. Passionate advocate of innovation & change. Tennis, Golf & Laughing

I’m a recruiter at heart. So, I fully endorse any and all methods that result in clients attracting, hiring and retaining talent as and when they need.

But the days are numbered for internal recruiters. Companies’ needs are changing, and agency recruitment is having to evolve to match. Leaders are denouncing relics of the past and embracing a method of recruitment that scales with business objectives.

That method is outsourced in-house. And it’s leaving in-house recruitment in the dust.

The trouble with in-house

In-house recruiters are typically burned-out employees who, frankly, didn’t cut it in the agency world. Barely pitching for one role at a time, these recruiters struggle to compare against the companies that scale the whole market. Their inability to recognise the movers and shakers, or emerging technologies that affect roles, prevents them from being totally effective.

The process of attracting people for a single organisation, where the role is standard (most are) and the organisation is run-of-the-mill, is hardly revolutionary work. That’s why in-house methods are (in the main) mediocre. I mean, sending InMails to people they don’t know on LinkedIn professing to have the best possible new opportunity for them… c’mon.

This is common though! Over the last decade, a wave of companies attempted to build in-house teams. Despite thinking they could cut costs, the market tightened, drying up available talent for key hires and restoring the need for talent acquisition partners.

Why agencies are evolving

Since agencies redefined what recruitment meant, businesses wanted more. Most of the companies I work with now used to be recruitment agencies but have since transformed into talent solutions providers. In-house recruiters simply can’t match their impressive portfolio of products and services.

The traditional agency model is evolving and diversifying – to cater to businesses with high-volume recruitment plans, for example, and address an ever-widening skills gap. Consequently, key hires know their cost. Exhausted internal recruiters are clueless when it comes to what lures these guys in, leaving businesses with subpar solutions.

So in came outsourced in-house. This new kid on the block acts as a welcome middle ground, offering businesses an agency recruiter to work on-site (or remotely if preferred) for a few days a week.

Establishing the middle ground

With this method, recruiters tap into the resources, functionality, drivers and management of a recruitment business while being coached daily on how to attract more clients.

Forget holiday pay, or the nightmare of employees taking annual leave in the middle of a project. With hiring costs soaring (and rightly so) too, the need for enterprises to embrace agency innovation in the shape of new solutions and products just makes economic sense. Hiring a journeyman professing to be a superhero recruiter does not (why else would they give up the dream and take a salary, however inflated it might be?). Now it can cost anything from £10k to £20k for one person to be the resourcing agent and place 2-6 people every month!

But it isn’t just money. Businesses that rely on outsourced in-house are “buying the time” of a specialist – including the use of their latest tools, methods and reach. It delivers the desired outcome, whether through a nurtured relationship with a significant talent pool or wealth of services including Statement of Work projects or even employer branding.

This efficient and proven approach is what solidifies the benefits of aligning with a professional and accountable partner. The choice to outsource in-house has never been more compelling.

Vanilla Is For Ice Cream: How To Make An Impact Online

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 11:39:00 GMT

Recruitment’s No1 rated & award-winning NED & advisor, accurately opinionated champion of the staffing sector. Co-Founder of Europe’s No1 Recruitment Leaders Network. Chelsea, Tennis, Golf & Fun…

It’s better to do nothing than be vanilla on social media. Simply regurgitating industry news and age-old wisdom will make you invisible – not interesting. On the flip side, daring to voice an honest opinion will make people stop scrolling and start noticing.

I recently did a piece on internal recruiters. By looking at some of the comments, you’d think I went around their house on Christmas Day and pissed on the tree. But it wasn’t clickbait. I believed in it.

I didn’t shy away from the comments either. Vocalising your opinion and then deleting it after a fallout is even worse. There’s a benefit in being outspoken – so long as you keep your values intact.

Here’s why you should speak out on social media:

Stand for something

You can’t run a business if you’re scared of your own shadow. It’s the kind of thing clients will pick up on. And if they can’t value your opinion, you can’t build meaningful relationships.

Similarly, if you’re starting a business purely to make yourself famous, talking shit about the market rather than making a difference to it, chances are it’ll fall flat. You’ll get people like me calling you out.

Your business needs a purpose – besides trying to survive till next week. The CEOs who tend to get the most respect are recognised for their vision. They know how they’re going to achieve their goals and every word that leaves their mouth is ‘on brand’.

I want this industry to do well, which is why I celebrate those that can influence it. But don’t forget whatever it is that you stand for, don’t take yourself too seriously.

Don’t be a contrarian for sport

Personally, I’ve always felt that being contrary for its own sake makes any point of yours redundant. But trying to please everyone won’t work either. Being vanilla makes you just another one of the recruiters – so to stand out from the crowd, you have to strike a middle ground and know your audience.

Everybody’s petrified of alienating a single lead from their CRM – God forbid they unsubscribe. But the thing is, people have thousands of hiring managers on their system and you’ll only ever deal with a hundred a year.

So, put content out for the hundred who are engaged with you. Maximise your business with them and consider any more as a bonus.

There’s no shame in honesty if it resonates. I’m not advising you to be antagonistic – but saying things that are a little left field draws eyes on social, so play about with your message.

Remember, having fun gets your marketing done. As long as you’re voicing genuine values, you’ll get traction on your posts.

I use social to communicate with business leaders that are interested in innovating in recruitment. As far as I’m concerned, anyone who’s upset about my thoughts on the industry is unlikely to sit within that audience.

But for those that do want to make a difference, I want to hear from you.

Invest In Me, Myself And I

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 11:36:48 GMT

People say it flippantly, but every day should be a school day. Thinking otherwise means you’re stagnating and destined to peddle the same old shit over and over again.

That doesn’t have to be the case.

With the support of experienced mentors and the people around you, recruitment leaders have the tools they need to capitalise on new trends and increase their market share.

Don’t believe me? Let me break down the benefits of investing in yourself.

Be open to training

I’m not just talking about qualifications here. I’m talking about anything that improves your capability as a leader. Training from a mentor. A few hours a month with a business coach. You should never see yourself at the peak of your operating power – you know what they say about those at the top. Instead, look for opportunities to develop every chance you get.

Let’s say you’re not confident with social media. Research mentors within the industry and make a note of what they’re doing. Consider courses that offer workshops or identify a coach who has a big following. If it takes an employee to recognise your weakness, it’s already too late – so be proactive.

Know your networks

Only heed counsel from your own voice, and you’ll turn into an echo chamber. But joining a group of like-minded individuals doesn’t have to be a backslapping exercise. It should provide an insight into what works for others as well as present an opportunity for referrals. A recruitment network keeps you plugged into industry news and legislation changes.

Even your personal network can become a treasure trove of resources. Friends in other sectors can advise you in areas of leadership or put you in touch with businesses looking for a recruiter with your niche skill set. Don’t limit yourself to your own expertise. Always be open to listening and improving.

Don’t forget the basics

Being a business owner leaves little room for self-gratification. Usually, in the early days, your self-esteem and business success tend to go hand in hand. That’s why it’s so important to focus on your wellbeing. Make sure you’re managing staff without your mood getting in the way and take the time to indulge your personal health.

The same is true of finances. Financial anxiety often leads to poor wellbeing. It’s a topic that needs to be talked through frankly and realistically, otherwise your business will start to nose-dive. Personal networks can help here, but pride often holds you back – making an investment in a third-party advisor all the more beneficial.

Start being selfish

I genuinely believe in the benefit of a mentor. I lovetennis, which is why I pay for a coach three times a week – ditto with golf. I know it makes me better.

Professionally, I’m still building my expertise and development practices from being part of the RDLC. Fact is, I’ve easily learnt as much as I have shared in order to remain on point.

So, what’s the right self-investment amount? It’s subjective, but probably £20k/30k a year. £2k a month on making yourself better is nothing. Half a watch!

And one of easiest – and free – things you can do to support your learning is watch the new RDLC video Education Series running through August, intro below:

https://vimeo.com/rdlcpirates

The Real Cost of Friday Afternoons Off

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 11:33:41 GMT

real cost of friday afternoons off

At one stage, Friday was known as deals day. Now it’s a morning of half-hearted sales activity followed by an early finish.

As far as I’m concerned, adding efficiencies and building automation into the front of pipelines hasn’t driven productivity – it’s caused it to stagnate. People are doing the same amount of work in less time, as opposed to using the time they’ve gained to gained to accelerate performance.

If you keep automating duties with rec tech and reward the individual, it’ll only serve to reduce the amount of effort employees are putting in. There’s almost no impact on the age-old £10k-12k average per person per month.

Madness – but it’s easy to see how business leaders fall into these traps. The ‘work-life balance’ excuse has distorted our understanding of business sense vs lazy leadership.

Want to truly get staff onside? Become a better leader…

Don’t cruise

If you’re doing so well that you can afford an afternoon of no business, then you’re at threat of capitulating to laziness. The world can change at any minute, and if you don’t have a tight grip on your work ethic, all that hard work can be easily undone.

I’m not adverse to an afternoon off based purely on exceptional effort over the week – but it shouldn’t be the norm. Technology is no alternative to hard work.

The pursuit of this so-called work-life balance burns through money. I understand why those without the ability to grow a meaningful business will rely on such a narrative, but the cost of an early finish at the expense of culture remains the same.

Vary your approach

I have to admit, I do kinda love these moves to condense the working week – where businesses have nailed their processes so well that they can cover five days’ work in four.

But I’m not convinced all these companies are genuinely capable of doing that. I personally believe there’s just an epidemic of recruitment leaders who secretly want an easy life.

If you know your organisation is filled with hard-working employees, change your approach so that they enjoy what they do (even on a Friday afternoon). Successful people lovebeing at work. That’s the real work-life balance.

Incorporate tech the right way

Embracing new software motivates employees in recruitment just like it would in any other industry. Provided it truly helps them in their careers, you may find yourself changing their lives – and getting rid of their longing for an afternoon off once and for all.

Technology that automates certain procedures or dramatically reduces the amount of admin they perform can help your staff bill £20k monthly on average. It should not rid them of opportunities to earn.

Embed each tool you employ with an internal process. Teach staff how to use it (don’t make it ‘an option’) and leave no room for a lacklustre alternative. Ensure they know the benefit of every rec tech investment you make – that way, you’re not paying for every brand-spanking-new piece of kit on the market.

Ultimately, provided you stay energised and sustain a clear vision, people will want to be a part of your story. Using ‘employee benefits’ in place of creating a great working environment is cheap and your staff will soon sniff you out.

Get Inspired, Be Inspiring

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 11:30:52 GMT

Last week, one of the CEOs I work with became frustrated about perceptions vs. expectations. He’d reached the end of his tether with his 60-strong team’s inability to deliver. So he rolled up his sleeves and did the job himself – for three days straight.

Now if you’re laughing, you shouldn’t be. Fact is he was shitting himself, but he still dived into the bear pit and got his hands dirty. He saw what was working, what wasn’t, and the processes and blockers that needed fixing. And I admire that.

Here’s why you should take a leaf out of his book every once in a while…

Prove a point

Despite eight years off, no warm-up, no secret stash of sexy leads, and obviously anxious about putting himself out there, he went kimono open and gave it a good ol’ college try in front of everyone.

It worked – in three days, he delivered 400% better than the team had for months.

It’s easy for people to make excuses when they’re in different shoes, and incredibly hard to tell them otherwise when you haven’t walked a mile in them. Sometimes, the best way to show them it can be done is to prove it.

Lead from the front

It’s worth mentioning that this wasn’t a failing business. The opposite in fact – they were trading successfully around the globe. But he couldn’t settle for good, and frankly neither should you.

You’re telling rookies to be brave in their pitches, but do you have the William Wallace spirit to know what works and stay true to that? Leading from the front means standing at the vanguard of your brand.

Combat the issues

Returning to the coal face every once in while doesn’t just set an example. It also helps you see some of the issues in the team and, more importantly, get to the bottom of them. When you’re down in the trenches you can get hands-on ironing out process glitches – suddenly, all those perceived limiters are crushed.

My CEO’s efforts ignited passion in the managers and his team got their spirit back as a result. What’s more, he realised some intel he had doeswork and gave his business the shot in the arm it needed!

Honestly, good on you mate.

Why am I sharing this?

Many armchair philosophers would claim you should resist the urge to muck in when the going gets tough. I think that’s nonsense. While you need to be able to delegate, you also need to prove what’s possible every now and again. After all, your capabilities got the business to where it is today.

Are you cruising towards mediocrity? It’s not quite time for slippers and pipe yet. So get inspired now, and take the initiative to be inspiring next time your team come up against a wall.

SourceBreaker Presents: Dean Kelly, Serial RecTech and Recruitment Entrepreneur

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 11:28:33 GMT

10 pointers from the RDLC for selling your business!

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 11:26:23 GMT

Each business is different, but most of you want to see a future event that secures you financially. So, here’s a simple guidance document from the RDLC to help save you some pain and maximise your gain!

1. Plan

Who is going to buy your business?
Why would they buy your company?
Do you want to sell?
Will you stay or go?

There are plenty of ways to sell or finance the purchase of some, or all of your business. However, if you want it to be as simple affair as possible; be bought not sold and minimise the chipping at the end, then start as you mean to go on:

Set structure and rules
Be on top of and record, all things legal, financial and operational
Involve professionals as soon as you can – FD, Advisor/NED, Lawyer and HR.

2. Start with knowing your number

Knowing exactly what your business will be worth in 3, 5, 10 or 50 years from now is impossible. So is knowing how you’ll feel about it over these time frames.

So, let’s deal with today, what would you want and what would you take, to de-risk, walk away or be part of a bigger play?

This can be a number; it can also be a ‘springboard’ opportunity that augments your position many times over and so giving up a little bit of jam today for a huge dollop of cream tomorrow can also be a good thing.

Remember, history is written by winners and good news travels fast. So true numbers of multiples achieved, cash received, legal documents binding the deals, are hard to decipher and the spoils may not be what they appear to be.

You actually have to be within the lucky 1% of recruitment agencies to do a material walk away deal!

3.Bodie, Doyle or Judge Judy, you need to call in a professional.

Great businesses are bought and the rest are sold!

If you haven’t got one already, invest in a proper FD/Accountant, not the cheap person down the road or your mates mum who once did purchase ledger. Knowing your numbers are correct, recorded as required and bankable, will save you time, effort and huge costs at deal time.

Have a strong relationship with a good lawyer and law firm, talk to corporate finance teams to measure the landscape and ensure your bank and ID facility are on the ball.

Tough questions along with heavy financial, legal and market due diligence, is all part of the deal journey, so make sure you iron out as many of the bumps as possible.

With good professionals and advisors on board they can make sure that not only are you maximised for sale, but that they have also been whispering in the right ears to get you noticed and increase the number of interested parties.

4. Be in the room and on the ball

If a deal is not going how you envisaged or you aren’t going to get what you need, let alone what you want!

Be prepared to pull the plug and walk.

You have to remember that lawyers, corporate finance even the bankers looking for a larger account, are all incentivised to see this deal happen. So, they may not always be the best placed for impartial advice if the deal is near to closing.

5. What deal suits you?

Are you selling all or some of the business? Is it a buy-out, buy-in, trade sale, PE acquisition or a merger? Or do you just want to de-risk and take something off the table?

It has to be right for you or you are storing up trouble for the future.

After you have agreed an indicative number you will go into an exclusivity agreement with the acquirer/s and a timescale in which to do the deal.

It is especially important when acquiring a recruiter, as a recruitment business, your only real asset is your people. If the acquirer isn’t comfortable, they won’t engage in expensive due-diligence.

Most recruitment deals require management to be part of the deal in order to keep consistency and continuity, post deal and into a growth future.

Before the deal hits the hardcore actions of the lawyers, banks and corporate finance, you are very likely to be involved in signing Heads of Terms (HoT). Some HOTs can be very long and full of micro detail. The HoT is there for a purpose, read it, understand it and if it’s not right, don’t sign it.

What will it show they’re buying?

Full Share Sale

You sell the entire company (your owning %) and all liabilities sold as a going concern. As a shareholder you may pay capital gains tax (CGT), but this could be reduced to 10% through entrepreneur’s relief on the first £10m.

The payments can be made up in many ways, but they are normally a form of cash, loan notes and/or shares.

Asset Sale

You agree with the buyer which assets and liabilities are to be transferred. You still own the limited company and will need to close it down. Employee discretion is far more difficult. Business premises need to be transferred, which can be costly and time-consuming. If you have employees, the TUPE regulations are likely to apply, and legal advice should be obtained. You pay corporation tax on any profits made from the asset sale, and CGT on cash withdrawn as a dividend.

Goodwill (Intangible Assets)

Unlike a share or asset sale, goodwill is an intangible asset and, as a result, difficult to value with precision, but can be a great way of arguing for an improvement on price.

6. Pricing and Value

The value and worth you place on your business may have nothing to do with market reality at that point in time. Buyers today may not be the buyers of the future and multiples change with the economic landscape.

In reality your business is worth exactly what the highest bidder will pay for it!

So, know your number, what you will and won’t take and be absolutely sure you’ve allowed for tax and fees.

The better your story, cleaner your business, the more stable your position and the greater the future opportunity, the better you should do on a deal versus the market.

Point to be aware of: a lot of businesses experience a poor ‘deal year’ as they focus on the deal rather than the business and take their eye off the ball. Be careful as it can give an acquirer space to chip the price.

Once all agreed on price, terms and dates, a ‘locked-box’ calculation of Enterprise Value(total price) to buy your business (normally) at a debt free, cash free basis, with balance sheet adjustments for debt and working capital, will be confirmed. This gives the equity value you will receive.

7. What’s the mullah look like?

There is a saying that turnover is vanity, profit is sanity, but cash is reality.

BUT, cash on its own isn’t accretive, in fact it generally loses value in today’s economy…

So, weigh up the options. Loan notes can be the accretive, a gift that keeps on giving if the business does well. Shares can see a big upside and give you rights. Just make sure the structure is considered.

Cash (& deferred cash)

Simple, understandable, clean, low risk, immediate and likely to qualify for 10% entrepreneur’s relief. You can get on with your new life. If the cash is spread over several years, you will probably pay the full tax bill up-front and the business needs to succeed.

Earn-Out

You don’t get all of your money straight away. A proportion is dependent on future profits, sales targets or other criteria. This adds time and risk. However, your buyer may do great things which make it easier to hit the targets, and you may end up with more money eventually.

Earn-outs can be complex and there is no clean break. The worry continues and you certainly haven’t let go. You may face conflict in the future with your buyer. But in recruitment with people as assets, its fairly normal, unless a huge buyout.

Loan Notes

Basically, an IOU from the buyer. You get paid in future instalments. You should get paid interest on the loan note. To reduce the CGT, you could cash-in your loan notes over several tax years. Loan notes come in two forms and can be highly complex with tax consequences. Tread carefully.

Ordinarily, loan notes don’t qualify for Entrepreneur’s Relief but careful tax planning can take care of this.

Shares in the buying company

If you are happy to sell to a business, you may well be happy to invest in them for future profit potential.

Whatever offer is dangled in front of you, be sure to know how the offer is made up. Never assume it’s going to be 100% cash.

8. Don’t lie

Buyers generally know the market they are buying into and weren’t born yesterday.

Know your numbers, your market, your clients, structure and what the future holds.

You will go a long way into the decision to acquire your business, if you are spot on, they will be quicker to seal the deal.

9.Do DD on your buyer

There are many buyers running around shaking a cheque book wanting to acquire recruiters.

However, as you’d expect there are some disingenuous, Machiavellian people out there who may shaft you pre or post deal.

Ask for references, meet their teams, check their background and don’t waste time on tyre kickers or the wrong acquirer. It will cost you time, effort, money and maybe your business.

10. Remember…

You may miss your business and no amount of cash will solve that, but more importantly you will have warranted many things and signed covenants around your post deal practices.

Breach these and they will come after you legally.

Some do it just to scare, even when there’s no breach.

They are just protecting their asset, its business and rarely emotive, so don’t expect to appeal to their understanding side.

If you started as you meant to go on, got your house in order day one, engaged with the right advisors and hired the right team at sale… you will be fine!

DK & GG

Running a Recruitment Business can often feel a little precarious…

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 11:19:01 GMT

When it’s all going well, it’s great, but all too quickly, one wrong move or lack of concentration can be extremely hazardous.

I’ve been reminded recently just how easy it is for an #RBL to take their focus off of the job at hand and how fast things change.

Complacency, distractions, sickness, tiredness and boredom (yes I said it), can all have an impact causing an almost immediate impact on the business and sales performance.

As a very blunt rule of thumb, most businesses run with 10 months GP/NFI paying the bills and 2 months making up the bosses income! (It’s crude but hang in there)

This rule means if the business has a shocker that’s a 50% impact on the Boss’s income! (See now it makes sense!)

So if a Boss relaxes and empowers other without the right supervision, direction and control and looks at a dashboard retrospectively rather than in real-time, the business will start to squeak and before you know it a quarter is lost!

So here are a few tips:

Make sure EVERYONE in the business knows what YOU measure and don’t allow independent states of .Net for example (it’s your methods and if it needs a change you agree on it)
Make sure the creative ideas are coming through all the time, and measure their success correctly so the best can be scaled out across the business (don’t go stale and keep all interested including you)
Have meaningful and stretch goals that you are all bought into – relate these goals to everyone at a personal level! It’s not about hitting £1m as a biz it’s about them earning £100k
Take on personal projects to keep the business going forward. It’s the innovation that wins market share and the hearts and minds of the team!
Don’t do anything you are not proud of! You need to love your business and your people. Never say anything negative and be consistently consistent and positive. (Fake it if required !)
Make time to laugh and enjoy what you do. It’s a privilege to run a business, and you have a duty of care for all the folk who have trusted their career, income and future to you. Make sure you do hit your mark every day!
Build a strong team of advisors around you who hold you to account – finance, operations, NED’s can help, but it’s your passion for this that will make the difference!

Staying focused can double your income without any dramas! It’s hard but nothing easy ever paid as well.

Avoiding Distractions in the Workplace

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 11:17:16 GMT

I recently wrote about the importance of creating your personal Zone where you can be super productive and mega efficient; however, I’ve been prompted to follow up after reading about a new initiative from an alternative Network!

The truth is there are too many distractions in most businesses, from the office chatterbox to the managers asking for data they can find themselves, from your mates texting to the latest news story popping up, which means it’s tough to stay super focused.

I believe in driving 4 to 5, 2-hour sprints a day, where a manager will agree with individual recruiters:

The plan
The activity level
The expectations

Based on what needs to be done next. (driving agile 2-hour sprints over static day-plans always)

Simple stuff done really well, dropping bombs (great messaging), and pitching – not just selling jobs – means you will get a far better response, the outcomes that you want and performance increases by day, by day.

But to sustain max-effort needs the Bosses to change things!

The problem is having an environment where:

Being good isn’t the priority.
Core time isn’t respected and cherished.
People think doing just enough is acceptable.
Time off trumps promotions and reward (they are mutually exclusive to mere mortals)

This environment creates a troupe of meerkats (it’s called a mob or clan btw), looking for mischief and reasons to appear busy, but not getting things done, unlike an office full of shxt hot sales-people at it and on it (which we call a tribe these days!), actually getting things done.

As Recruitment Business Leaders, we are always looking for new tech, methods and processes to give our people an unfair advantage, but sometimes it’s too much, and recruiters get distracted.

Here are the things to consider, to really get the best from your people and avoid them being busy fools and help avoid all of the occupational distractions that kill operational efficiencies.

Some of you will like, love and adopt and obv’s others of you will hate, but here goes anyway!

DON’T sign up to daily online Sales Apps, it’s ‘white noise’ and one size does not fit all
Coach your Billing Managers to become facilitators and give back time to their teams and not rob it – if they can find the data, either they or admin does it, not the sales team!
Reduce meetings to 10 mins wherever possible, ‘we’ve got 10 mins. so what would you like to get from this time?’ No need to give people an hour a month, and only those who need to be in meetings need be there. Suggest people walk out of meetings if they can’t help!!
Make ‘sprinting’ standard and precious so people love it. This is your people’s money-making time and they need to see it exactly like that, so say it once, say it twice and say it 1000 times until it sinks in.
Define a set Lunch-time, so everyone is on the same time zone (lunch-cover rotas or if you’re late you cover!) you work to achieve a morning’s goals together- review and go again as a tribe!
Special rewards for the good ones and make it harder to achieve, it seems people are giving away lunch clubs these days just because people are turning up on time. Be smart with your awards, more flexibility, impromptu treats and involvement in decision-making = everyone, wants to be mates and feel special because just getting them pissed these days isn’t enough. Make sure it’s cool to be good in your environment, and align all of your focus so that you recognise the ones that are extra special.
Yellow cards and walks around the block for people distracting others – then warnings – then red cards, and let them go to another company to cause distractions! Zero tolerance, have no time for time-waster, and even less time for time vampires.
Take mobiles aways during sprints! With fines to enforce – Nigel Frank did this and achieved amazing results. FOCUS, FOCUS FOCUS!
Start every day with a call to arms, don’t let people drift into their morning’s work. Claw back 2.5 hours of graft per person by making sure everyone goes at it on the B of Bang.
Avoid, avoid, avoid occupational hobbies. The tool-kit (rec-tech, advertising, training, infrastructure…) is there to help people do more in a shorter time-frame, not do the same in less, while costing you/the business more! Either turn off licences or make people pay for tools they just play with (including Linkedin).
Turn off personal email during prime time – no exceptions – work is work!
Limit smoking breaks, tea breaks, pool time and stop people walking around on every call! (You are having a chat if walking around not using your E-brochureware & POS)
Limit the live dashboards to only present the things that really matter to your recruiters. It’s massively important you don’t confuse the wood for the trees and people are distracted by things that matter to you at a board level and not to staff in their day-to-day job.
If people have personal issues going on, send them home (on your time), to fix things for a couple of days! Work is for people to make money not sitting about mopping and bringing everyone down.
No YouTube or playtime on the web at lunchtime – let them have their time to chill, stretch their legs, get lunch, but when in the office, it’s all about business and making money!!!

The current climate is so fluffy, and I genuinely believe bosses are letting their staff fail when they really wanted to be exceptional the day they started!

It’s you, not them!

They will love you for helping them make bundles of cash – that’s way cooler than watching 5 hours of TV in the office a week!!!

Your call.

Check out our vast library of videos on the RDLC channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/RDLCPirates

Are You Bounce Back ready?

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 11:14:04 GMT

Without trivialising what has happened; the effects, the pain, loss and impact on so many families, what happens from now business-wise is really exciting.

So please forgive me… I want to focus on the economic opportunities, the business #BounceBack and how you can maximise upon the hand you are dealt here today!

Remember there will be recruitment businesses that just won’t make it through this… the “circle of business life” is ever turning. These will be the companies that aren’t aligned to smart innovation: Productising – Outcome-Based Solutions – Outsourced in House – Market Places etc. But more than this it’s the gaps…

#MindTheGap
There are gaps in the skill set of many recruitment business leaders as so many started up without having leadership coaching, business finance experience or planning knowledge. This doesn’t have such an impact when the market is doing the heavy lifting and flattering performance but when things go south and “speccing a CV” generates nothing more than swear words, but that’s all you know, what do you do?

Please note… This is not the real opportunity the bounce affords you; this is the scraps on the floor!

Here are a few nudges in the right direction:
Look at your people as closely as you looked at your P&L as lockdown started – you CAN do more business with fewer people, then raise the bar and build upon that new model. There are many brilliant businesses that cull the bottom 10% of staff annually and potentially it’s time recruitment did the same. Recruitment is a fantastic career choice and folks should fight to be one of the Top Guns in our sector!
Adapt to a new normal! Working from home is a privilege not a right; it’s something which should be earned, so enable it but don’t give it away because most savvy people think it’s riddled with short-termist failure. Staff can work from home, but Billing Managers can’t, even I couldn’t sell that pup!
There is a movement that argues the improved business “conversions” are due to people being able to focus more at home without the distractions of grafting in an open office environment. Hmmm, fewer distractions at home, really? Regardless, it’s a great learn so a quiet space in the office is a smart idea potentially – this is an idea I would incorporate. Stand up desks to sell, sit down space to resource.
Some people are suggesting we look backwards to be better at going forward, what drivel! This is a unique moment in time (MIT) so don’t use the playbook for an entirely different game because it’s the wrong one. We need to write a new playbook for the now! The playing field has been levelled, you can re-invent your business and you should. In fact, you should have done it already! “Recruitment” is dead, as a word. Drive as fast and as hard as you can to become a true consultancy and become comfortable with change because it’s not going to stop! Get paid for your efforts, not just results!
Nothing is ever as bad as you expect it to be! Plan for the end of days but then leave it alone and go make some money! We talk a lot about working on your business, not in it, however, working in your business right now is super smart! Work with the RDLC to help short cut the finance, forecasting and people pieces so that you can get back under the skin of your business to look at how you can evolve to be the brand you need or want to be (we will help to get you there too!)
Once you have stabled the ship, look at efficiencies. This can be made really easy, for example on pain of death (commissions) people need to comply with all of your compliance and systems including but not limited to updating the CRM perfectly. You need to know where you make your money – especially now. Here’s a benchmark for free – 90% vacancy to deal ratio if retained or exclusive, 45% if you get a minimal Unfair Advantage and only 7% if they are passive contingent opportunities (so don’t do that stuff ever again) you are welcome…

So, drive solution selling and walk away from jobs other Networks members would say yes to! I read recently that James Osborne thinks profit is not the goal = BS, of course it is otherwise what’s the point?!

Build solutions that answer meaningful problems
Price these appropriately
Get paid for your effort
Be economically agile
Profit is the only measure that truly matters. Growth is brilliant, market share is important, turnover we know is vanity and a pointless measure but if it’s not about profits what is the point? Maybe TRN is a charity? Someone ask.

7. Get at it… Change your stars, take your messages to the market and don’t wait until Rishi says UK PLC is doing better to give it a “good old college try”. The planets are constantly shifting and almost never aligned so gird your loins and be braver. Get the gang back and work this out together! To those people in your team who have demonstrated lockdown that aren’t right for this fresh fight, say “bye-bye” and move on (do them a favour and exit them ASAP so they can get a head start before there are lots of also-rans on the market!) take the KPI’s and or preferably drivers up to a max and make things happen! Make your future, don’t be a victim of someone else’s bolder ambition.

8. Be a gain, not a drain… Bring fresh ideas, energy, creativity and help everyone around you build their skills and confidence during this pre-bounce time. Expect this to be reciprocal across the team and from everyone, from you the CEO, to the newest hire! Anyone. ANYONE who doesn’t muck in and do what’s required – sack at will! Zero tolerance in your #Tribe

9. During these times there will be winners and losers… It’s a choice! If you want to win you can… You seldom get such a golden opportunity to gain market share. So, take it on at full speed or be a victim. I hope that is clear enough! Seek out support and ideas and don’t lose market share just because you were too proud to ask for input! Build your network out, find peers who share your values and share with them. The RDLC is designed to do this for you – we would love to help put your business on steroids – here if you need us.

Wizard of Oz world…

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 11:11:17 GMT

The world has changed, your business has changed, and you too, have changed. It’s time to face facts though, your staff who have been furloughed (a stressful talent seeping holiday, filled with worry & uncertainty) probably haven’t changed. In fact, they may have got rusty, or worse!

The changes have been super positive for everything except your staff. Businesses have been restructured and refinanced, brand position, marketing and messaging have been redressed, and we’ve all had a chance to become leaner, more focused and most importantly more consultancy biased. However, think about the people who have been at home watching Lorraine and sitting on their hands in their gardens… they are going to be headless chickens for a bit.

Forgive my indulgence, but the Wizard of Oz analogy is likely to describe your teams returning from furlough…

There are the Lions without COURAGE… these guys are the nervous ones; scared to pick up the phone with confidence and bold belief – this is a problem in the times ahead. There are the Scarecrows without a BRAIN… these guys are the ones who continue to believe that what they have always done, will work regardless and this is obviously nuts in the new world! After all, ‘We’re not in Kansas anymore”!

There are the Tin Men without a HEART… these guys are beaten up because they were furloughed, bitter and twisted because they had to be “rested” and that’s affected their love for the sector, brand and boss – these people instantly become negative influences (drains) and should be identified and exited within days of return. If this analogy doesn’t float your boat think about Liverpool FC, Klopp won’t play the same team he finished with before lock down for sure because too many of those players won’t be in the right zone coming back and some super stars might never play for them again because they can’t shake off the rust!

My advice to Recruitment Business Leader’s is to not carry a soul for a day let alone weeks or months! The opportunity for Recruiters to get new jobs any and everywhere has diminished and anyone who can’t see that and be willing to fight for a desk needs to be doing another job!

I would also advise brands to bring back talent ASAP! This is your chance sort things out internally; de-rust, re-train, practice and graft so that you can maximise bounce back and nail this amazing moment in time!

The killer app is to build confidence; address each person’s issues and don’t just expect to click your heels and return to normal, Dorothy!

Whatever happened to the cheeky top billing recruiter…?!

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 11:09:22 GMT

In some unguarded and honest chatter about office space, contracts and costs, I was reminded of a renewables business I had in one of the locations being mentioned that I shared with the members (it wasn’t a glorious success that’s for sure). Without missing a heartbeat one of the Recruitment CEO’s cheekily pitches me “got any tech roles”!

It warmed my cockles, and as I said to the team it prompted this article!!

“WHERE HAVE ALL THE PROUD DEAL MAKERS GONE…?”
… the individuals never afraid to ask direct questions, the engaging and stand out sales-people who leverage their personality to make friends internally and externally. The fun people to be around who could skip through gatekeepers and objections with a quip and/or compelling reason mirroring like a street-wise chameleon.

“My People”
There was a breed of mentally agile, commercially super sharp (so sharp in fact they slept in the knife draw) winners who, as you might realise, I loved being around, hiring and building world-class businesses with, people like this (aka “My People”) that RBL’s are not attracting anymore it seems.

“PHD’s”
At entry level we gave them a name, we determined we didn’t have to hire Grads, we wanted “PHD’s” = those who were/are Poor, Hungry & Driven – the candidates with the X-Factor we really wanted to mentor!!!

Spot the Difference
Here are some of the competencies to look out for and I urge you with every fibre in my body, to hire a team riddled with people who are and behave like this, because it’s the catalyst that will send your business into orbit.

Storytellers
You want people who can paint pictures with words and make a pitch come alive, they make negotiating fun, and people will want to talk to them. They are also really creative and can keep you interested for longer – a great test is if they can tell great jokes btw.

Those whom YOU want to be more like
If you see traits in people, you admire and enjoy you are half-way there because everyone else will as well including staff, clients and candidates. Brilliantly dressed, great orators, really smart, funny, charming etc – If you catch people saying “I see myself in……” that is a great living example of this in action

Resilient as f¥€£
You want to know that as you go into battle, everyone around you is strong and you won’t need to carry them. You want fighters who will take punches, get knocked down but will always get back up. Having a competitive, resilient and motivated team will support itself, and they will spur each other on. Strong people accept their failures without excusing themselves or blaming others. This is very easy to spot, and it starts top-down (as the CEO WE failed and never THEY failed) A strong person says when they don’t know something and doesn’t pretend!!

Commercially Smart
Intelligence is what you get from an education; being smart is what life and experience teaches you. I say take smart people who won’t ever let an opportunity pass them by. Smart people can take any subject and make it sound simple and won’t try to confuse you to make them seem more clever. Clients love smart people but hate being proven wrong. The chancers who do well can get a deal or a free gift in every shop; they will walk away from deals if they don’t get a win and have zero fear asking a variation of the same question multiple times knowing that one of them will hit the required yes button.

Confidence is key
There is no such thing as a shy cheeky chap/chapess; you really do want people with uber inner belief and a sense of arrogance like an F1 driver. The confident ones will push back and challenge you to be the best you can be. They will take on bigger risks, opportunities and targets and help raise standards and the de facto bar. – don’t you ever shy away from taking a confident one on; your limiting beliefs belong in a box in your attic, not at work.

Get out of the way of those in a hurry
Too many businesses have career speed cameras embedded into the structure. Sometimes you need to just rip up the rules and in effect just get out of the way. By having this mindset you can take on more impatient and money-hungry people. How can this do anything but help everything? As long as the business is a true meritocracy and you are “consistently consistent” those more mature, more focused and single-minded people, many might instantly discount, could find a spiritual home! They need to be good people with good beliefs but if you catch a shooting star like this all bets and budgets are off.

The well balanced “those people with chips on both shoulders”
I love, love, love people who have a point to prove to someone! This attitude gives them a fire in their belly that no manager can ever match. Having the drive to really graft not just hit a number, the fear of failure which is my main driver, the passion, bravery and chutzpah to make the hard calls when others are too scared – this comes from a place deep inside that no book, podcast or blog like this will match. People will respect you even more, and you can get huge buy-in and loyalty if you get on board with individuals motivation and personal journeys – don’t miss this amazing opportunity to positively trigger your people – the cheeky ones.

The fastest never avoid a race
Anyone who has played sport at a high level but failed to turn it into a career is a home run!!!! Staffing in every guise is a set of daily competitions and rather than avoid people who didn’t make it to the big leagues think about these people differently. They tick so many boxes around resilience, banter, a drive to win and train as such etc etc. There are 10’s of similarities between sport and selling, so look for (forgive me), “failed” sports people because they make the very best of the best! You need to go faster with these guys because they will compare your ambition with theirs – to ask them to ride YOUR shirt-tails the destination needs to be properly impressive.

Emotionally intelligent not a shoulder to cry on
Being emotionally intelligent is generally considered a dark art to most of us psychopaths (the most common tendencies for successful Business Leaders) however when we stop to breathe the best see how their business does behave according to Newtonian Laws! (Like this…?!) If you p*ss people off (the action), they react in a predictable way (the reaction). But cast your mind back. No one learned how to build a big team or grow a fast-growth company without understanding how to nurture people and win hearts and minds. So look for people who can respond appropriately to you at all times! Can they change your mood and defuse situations saying the right things without capitulating. This is a golden skill – seldom a self-centred aggressive sales winner can be arsed to do this, and they don’t need to all the time, but that will limit their overall opportunity so be mindful.

“What’s the time Olly?” “I’ll tell you later”
This is a true story from SThree PLC, 2 team members grafting so hard, one asked the other what the time was without looking up, the other replied with the time without looking up!!’ This is what focused, intense and single-minded effort manifests itself as. Working the hours that YOU need to do to make the most of your opportunity, earn what you need or want to is a linear thing. You want people so driven on bettering themselves not earning the same in half the time – if you are investing in new tech to make people go faster, achieve more and not putting up targets you are part of the problem – dear Steve if you could earn £200k how hard would you work and document that conversation.

This is what makes my dream team, “My People” and a business on steroids!!!

Cheeky is to be cherished.

And if you don’t agree, it’s your loss ?