Dear Barb:
I’m tired of constantly having to resolve issues between my team. If it’s not someone upset over who owns a particular client, it’s my recruiters arguing over candidates. I feel like a third grade teacher instead of a Staffing Firm Owner. How do you get your sales team to be cohesive and want to resolve issues rather than always stirring things up to cause issues.
Harriet W., LA, CA
Dear Harriet:
As a business owner, it’s important that you create a Company Handbook that spells out ownership of clients and candidates, as well as other issues that could become problem areas. You will, however, face storms as long as you employ strong-willed sales people.
When I had two of my recruiters arguing, I would bring them in my office and ask each one to provide me with “their side” of the story for five minutes. During that time the other person was not able to talk. They could then comment on what the other person had said for one minute. Once we completed our discussions, I told them I was going to leave the room and allow 15 minutes to resolve the issue, or it would be resolved by me.
My resolution was always to give the client or candidate to someone else in our office that was not involved in this particular issue. My recruiters soon learned to resolve things before they brought them to my attention. Happy Resolutions!
Barbara J. Bruno, CPC, CTS
Would you like to Ask Barb a question? Email her at support@staffingandrecruiting.com. Each month in The Fordyce Letter print edition, Barbara Bruno answers questions from individuals in the Recruiting Profession. We will bring you some of these Q&A responses from Barb each week on FordyceLetter.com.