Adapt Evolve Succeed

Jennifer McClure wrote a post for Fistful of Talent about recruiters that is equally applicable to many careers and industries. In good times I would often consider a business that is not growing a dying business. Lately, I prefer to suggest that businesses and executives that are not adapting to the changes in the economy, technology and the changing demands of the markets, will go the way of the dodo bird.... read on at Fistful of Talent

When to fire your clients

In many services businesses and certainly in the Recruitment and Staffing business, the customers you choose determine the level of success you achieve. In the search business we are always looking to add clients who are responsive to our efforts (we only get paid if we are successful) and in the temporary staffing business we are always looking to add clients who pay their bills on time and treat our temporary employees well.

A post on the HBS blog titled "The New Math of Customer Relationships" by Harvard Business School professor emeritus Jim Heskett articulates this better than I can:

When we observed a number of organizations ... we found a common behavior among the most successful ones. In various ways, they "fired" customers who either were abusive in their relationships with employees or were just difficult to serve, perhaps because they fell outside the core constituency (target market) identified in the organizations' strategies. In some organizations, this is a way of expressing support for employees. In others, it is a way of preserving the organization's strategic focus. This is typically not something that an organization advertises. But it is standard practice in a number of organizations today.

For example, at ING DIRECT, the fastest-growing financial services organization in the United States over the past seven years, the company, in as personal and amiable a way as possible, asks 10,000 customers to close their accounts every month. It's important to point out that this is out of a current base of about 6.5 million customers who give ING DIRECT the highest marks for satisfaction out of all U.S. banking organizations. The company fires customers who are especially "high maintenance" because they are unusually high users of the time of its support center personnel. This both preserves a low-cost base for its targeted customer base and, by the way, reduces a source of frustration for employees.

Do you agree with this concept? I do... The assumption being that your business does not depend on a small number of clients. If it does, you probably don't agree and/or regardless if you do, you can't consider this strategy until you land some more clients. So sell more so you can fire your clients too.

If selling is so simple why can’t everyone do it?

Fantastic article by Gavin Ingham . certainly makes me think about the people I have hired who have not succeeded in Recruiting. I'll ask everyone at Bond Street Group to read it. Success in our business is linked to a combination of skills and experience but exceptional performers all have the attitude Gavin articulates. What he describes as the required attitude is something that no amount of training can substitute for it.

solve my problem and land the job

Ovation Travel CEO Paul Metselaar says:

"You can't believe how many resumes are sent to me by people who want to meet with me but who don't make any effort to understand our business. About three years ago a woman looking for a marketing position spoke to some of our executives and then came to me unsolicited with a proposal to lead an effort at our company to market travel services to hedge funds, she has been with us ever since."

Hiring managers are used to reviewing a resume and maybe a cover letter. 99% of candidates play along, hope for the best and then often complain about the poor response they get to submissions. Smart questions and good ideas impress people. If you have the experience and come to a hiring manager with good ideas about how you can improve their business you will certainly stand out and are likely to get the job. We recently started requesting this info from candidates for some jobs prior to submitting them to our clients. I have been impressed with the response. The process gets the candidate and the recruiter thinking about our clients business, improving efficiency all around and adding value to the process.

Bond's 08' business- why i am optimistic:

You can't miss the gloomy economic news. But that does not mean you can't have a great 08'. As each week goes by, I'm gaining confidence that this will be Bond's most successful year. Of the decisions you make s a manager, the most impactful are your hiring decisions. Certainly, a prudent strategy that recognizes your market's strengths and weaknesses is required but most significant to me is building a strong foundation around great people. We have great people at many levels of our organization. If your team enrolls in the plan and shares a level of commitment, professionalism, passion and dedication to the organization then your company will outperform the baseline in any economy and you should feel good about your chances for success.

In 2 1/2 years we have become a team of 30+ and I can't imagine feeling better about it. We have been able to do this while growing a great group of established and fast growing clients and developing our business processes on the go - something that can easily doom a fast growing start up company. We have also overcome some cancerous bad hires and emerged stronger and closer.

I find myself roaming our office feeling a contagious buzz of positive energy in our practice groups. If you are working in a venture funded early stage start up you may say "big deal" - but we are home grown company in a mature industry that is rarely associated with the traits I mentioned above. Big props go out to our leadership team that is setting a great tone, pace and example for their respective teams. People at all levels of our organization are stepping up outside of their individual responsibilities.

Props this week to Justin Kim who rocked the development of our new live job post tool and our company Facebook page. He took the initiative to make change happen for the entire company. This is one of many examples I experienced this week of people going the distance for the team. The team's mutual commitment to each other is vital to the success of your organization. Our team is constantly reaffirming that level of commitment and that is why I am optimistic.

I could keep going but I think I made my point. Service or Product - the individuals commitment to the organization can overcome a few bad hires, growing pains and a turbulent economy so.... don't settle.