Dear Barb:
My clients take too long to hire; just in the past month I’ve lost three offers because of delays. How do I force clients to move faster? Had these clients moved faster, my candidates would have accepted their offers. They are the ones at fault, but they get angry with me. When I push, they just think I want to get my fee.
Steven F., Alpharetta, GA
Dear Steven:
You can’t force your clients to do what you want them to do, if you are trying to establish a strong profitable relationship. It’s important to identify their problem and position yourself as the solution. It’s important for you to take your direction from them.
You should set up a conversation to discuss how they can attract the talent they want to hire. During this conversation, you discuss the three offers that were not accepted. You then discuss how to stop this scenario from repeating itself.
Clients are not aware that the market has flipped to candidate driven. Discuss the importance of obtaining a target date to hire, interview times up front and the competitive market. Clients will appreciate your advice if they sense you are attempting to help them hire the best talent.
Barbara J. Bruno, CPC, CTS
Dear Barb:
We are hiring three or four people in the next few weeks. We invested in your Top Producer Tutor which focuses on recruiting first. Why do you think it’s smarter to start a new person on recruiting vs. marketing?
Rich R. Dallas, TX
Dear Rich:
When you hire someone new, you want them to be productive as soon as possible. It’s important that they experience success as early as possible.
The quickest way to get someone productive is to have them work on your hottest job orders, contracts or temp assignments. The person on your team representing the client has established rapport and knows how to close a deal. They will help your new recruiter make their first placement. It’s also a great way to integrate experienced and new recruiters. Most experienced recruiters do not want to mentor or break in a new hire. When they see this person is providing talent to them, they now see the value in this new hire.
If a new hire works both sides and they write an order, it may not be hot but they will want to work it because they wrote it. Too often they work very hard on an order that does not end up as a placement. It is for these reasons that I think it is best to start someone new on the recruiting side of the placement process.
Barbara J. Bruno, CPC, CTS
