New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana
The 2010 National Meeting was held March 18-20 at the Westin Canal Place, in New Orleans, LA. The location worked well as it was
close to everything in New Orleans. The meeting size was smaller
than past years yet bigger than last year. Those that attended were
very active throughout and, from the comments received, members
indicated this was one of our best meetings in terms of content and
participation of affiliates.
On Thursday morning the Advisory Board met and discussed several
policy issues as well as how the Network needs to adapt to the
changing recruiting landscape. The recap of the meeting has already been released to the membership under separate cover. There
were a lot of great suggestions discussed and it is our feeling that we
have a good strong direction to tackle the challenges of the next several years.
Thank you to the outgoing 2009-2010 Advisory Board Members
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(L-R) Leslie Gaber, Ray Spadaro, Jerry Hilleren, Glenn Davis
(Peter Zukow not pictured)
Thursday evening we kicked things off with the welcome reception
where everyone got to renew existing relationships and meet the
new affiliates in attendance. We then held the annual Awards Ceremony and recognized a good number of recruiters and affiliates for
their success in 2009.
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Friday we once again went with a full schedule that included 2 guest
speakers, Craig Silverman and Geoff Peterson. Craig was very uptempo and many took away a lot of good ideas from his presentation. Geoff's program dealt with the social networks and with the
varied experience within the audience it was a tough topic to tackle
in only several hours. The highlight of the afternoon for many was
David Coad's presentation on prepping candidates. David had the
full attention of the group and really provided a great way to ap-
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Again this year, Saturday was set aside for longer specialty meetings.
There were a number of topics covered in each meeting and many
commented that these were great sessions as they gave the group
the opportunity to discuss current topics and issues. Attendees
walked away with new ideas, as well as the challenge of evaluating
their business plan in this changing world of recruiting.
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Saturday Evening we all were the guests of Steve Paster and Jerry
Fabre at their home for a true Cajun dinner that was spectacular. The
evening was a great social event with their 9 flat screen TV’s ( all with
NCAA basketball tournament games on them). Steve and Jerry have
a magnificent home perfect for the event. Their hospitality and
graciousness will be talked about for years to come.
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2011 Meeting
The 2011 National Meeting will be held March 17-20 at the Green
Valley Ranch, Henderson, NV (Las Vegas). We visited the Green
Valley in 2005 and it was a great location for the meeting. Many affiliates have asked that we return to Las Vegas as both the meeting
and location were a huge success.
The agenda for the 2011 Meeting will include a full day Friday dedicated to speakers and special presentations relevant to the current
marketplace and the world of recruiting. Saturday will once again be
for the Specialty meetings where we can discuss issues and ideas
specific to each group. We also plan to include time for the social aspects of the meeting which allow everyone to renew existing partnerships as well as make new ones.
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(L-R) Tom Steets, Natalie Skyberg, Wendy McPherson, Matt Tenley,
Steve Payor, Jerry Hilleren, Dan Harp, Bob Schneider
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Clay Ward
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(L-R) MedSeach USA (Kris Byer), MedSURG Sales Staffing (Dan Harp),
DEC Consulting (David Coad), Watring & Associates (Bernie Watring), Tom
Steets & Associates (Tom Steets), The Tuttle Agency (Bob Schneider), Fallstaff Search (Hillary Stewart), Leslie Gaber & Associates (Leslie Gaber), Apex
Executive Recruiting Inc (Mark Cannistraro), Paragon Resources (Steve
Payor)
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(L-R) The Bales Company (Beau Bales), Hunkler Search (Phil Hunkler), Medical Recruiters Inc (Denise Wottowa), Hilleren & Associates
(Jerry Hilleren), Steffin Kutzman & Associates (Eric Backen), Personnel
Solutions (Rick Spargo)
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(L-R) Sales Source (Clay Ward), JDL Consulting (John Liberstein)
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(L- R) Apex Executive Recruiting Inc (Mark Cannistraro),
JDL Consulting (John Liberstein)
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(L-R) Executive Sales Search (Linda Mende)
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(L-R) Personnel Solutions (Rick Spargo),
Nationwide Search Group (Matt Tenley)
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(L-R) Medical Recruiters Inc (Denise Wottowa, Natalie Skyberg)
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(L-R) Hilleren & Associates (Kasey Shoquist, Jerry Hilleren)
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Paster & Associates (Steve Paster)
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The Bales Company (Beau Bales)
Please Note: First Time this Milestone Awarded
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Lisa Militello McKenna- $133,750
Ann Grogan & Associates
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Tim Johns- $280,800
Philadelphia Search
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John Liberstein- $303,600
JDL Consulting
Nationwide Search Inc- $326,000
(L-R) Matt Tenley, Scott Hayden, Dave Kuhn)
Philadelphia Search- $328,800
Tim Johns
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Steve Paster, Paster & Associates-$395,750
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A very special Thanks to Steve Paster and Jerry Fabre for opening their
home to us on Saturday evening for Dinner. They knocked themselves out
and this will be an evening we remember and talk about for years to come.
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This year we continued with the format of Specialty meetings for most of the
day on Saturday. Overall this plan was a great success as it enabled each
group to focus on their unique needs and key issues in the market. Below
please find recaps for both the Med/Pharm and IT Specialty Meetings.
The Medical/Pharma Specialty meeting was held Saturday morning with
50+ affiliate/ recruiters in attendance. The meeting was chaired by Bob
Werrbach.
The Meeting opened with each attendee introducing themselves to the
group. This process is always a big help as it enables all in attendance to
put faces with names and for the new attendees to get presented to the
group.
The first topics discussed were a detailed review of the Advisory Board
Meeting. There was a considerable amount of discussion about some of the
changes and the possible impact on existing affiliates.
Most of the upcoming changes were greeted with enthusiasm including the
electronic billing of Admin Fees and the individual training on the new FI
System that we will launch soon. Many in attendance understood First Interviews need to add new affiliates in some areas to replace those that have
been lost over the past several years due to retirement or resignations. Bob
W stressed that First Interview was going to take a more aggressive approach to attracting new members, but was not going to change any of the
screening or approval process in accepting new members.
It was also noted that the upcoming membership drive was in all Markets
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and Specialties. As far as protecting existing members it was stressed
that it is not managements intent to add new affiliates that will significantly impact existing affiliates. At the same time, however, the network
has to look at existing affiliates and evaluate the amount of split business
they are currently doing. Also, do the existing affiliates provide openings
for splits as well as provide candidates for other affiliates needs? In short
it is important to evaluate existing affiliates to determine their ability to be
full service members or do they limit themselves to only the parts of the
Network they choose to participate in.
The next topic of discussion was ‘Who controls the split process?”
In the world of split business, you control the process and you have no
one to blame if you are not happy with the way the process works or the
outcome.
Key points that have to be established and communicated up front
How resumes and candidates are accepted
How and when Communication will work
Define and understand the process
When these steps and topics are not understood upfront, neither party in
the split has anyone to blame but themselves.
The group then moved on to the topic of candidates.
The question was asked, “ are 100% of the candidates on job boards
and/or social networks?” Many in attendance had to admit that they had
fallen into the same ocean of candidates (job boards and social networks) that other recruiters and their clients are using. After considerable
discussion, it was agreed that most of the really great candidates are employed and not looking, and to no one’s surprise, it is these candidates
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that enable recruiters to keep their clients happy. In fact it was stated a
number of times that job boards are not the candidate source they where 12 years ago. To meet our client’s needs, our candidates often have to be resourced out of the top performers who are employed and not posted on the
job boards.
Bob W than asked the question ‘What is a Quality Client?”
Do top Clients have any or all of the following?
In House Talent Acquisition Managers?
Advertise on Job Boards?
Maintain In House databases?
Offer sizable in-house referral or finder’s fee?
The question was then asked, “ when does a client shift from being a client
to a candidate source.” There was considerable dialogue on this point and
in fact this lead to a long and involved discussion when these additional
questions were asked:
Have you graded your clients recently?
How loyal are you to your clients vs. how loyal are they to you?
If the marriage with a client had soured when is a divorce the best solution?
Do you compete with your clients for equal to less money than 2 years
ago?
There was much discussion and in general many of the recruiters in the
room felt that due to the recent tough times they had stuck with what were
once great clients, who would no longer be candidates as new clients. This
topic was a real eye opener and consumed much of the second half of the
meeting. It was felt by many that, with conditions improving in the world of
Medical/Pharma recruiting, it is time to take inventory of one’s clients, remove those that have no loyalty to you and find new ones to replace
them.
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The IT Meeting was held in New Orleans on Saturday AM and again was
chaired by Glenn Davis and assisted by Scott Robinson.
In attendance were: Glenn Davis, Scott Robinson, Rick Hoskinson, Stu
Laub, Sandra Grenier, Patty Walsh, Richard Lock, Peter Zukow, Greg Bollaro, Greg Getty, Kim Jones, Cindy Fletcher, Marty Fletcher, Ken Leiner,
Dan Daley, Wayne Cozad, Al Levi, Lou Maki, Brett Werrbach and Bob Mikesell.
The meeting began with introductions from each of the 19 people in the
room who gave a brief description of their practice areas. As it turned out
this group was one of the most experienced in recent memory, so Glenn
shaped the meeting to be very interactive.
Glenn asked if this recession was seen by most as similar to 1999, worse or
not as bad. Most in the room felt that this was the toughest downturn they
had experienced. There was no doom and gloom, however, and most
agreed that business is coming back and jobs are more plentiful, however,
getting clients to pull the trigger remains a big problem.
Companies are still unrealistic about the $ it takes to get great people. We
need to manage their expectations. Also clients need to sell realistic $ expectations or the new hire will leave.
Wayne Cozad tells his clients that if you think great sales people are on the
street, you are wrong! And to get them hired, the clients’ comp plan must be
good enough.
Some clients are telling recruiters not to send candidates from job boards,
or LinkedIn or The Ladders. Clients are under the misconception that they
can find good people on these sites and don’t need us.
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Recruiters were urged to ask the hard questions of their clients, i.e. head
count, company growth rate, what will you do to attract that great candidate when I get him/her in front of you, etc..
Don’t be afraid to push. Ask and re-ask throughout the process and remind
the hiring manager that they still need to “sell” the candidate.
Great candidates are not on the boards and not looking. The resignation
rate is the lowest it has been in memory and good people are staying
put……unless we recruit them out.
There is an urgency to move quickly with great candidates and the clients
need to know that going in. A slow process means losing good people. It
was also felt that the client has 3-5 minutes on the initial interview to interest good recruited candidates on their openings. In short, clients need our
coaching.
Scott Robinson commented that 90% of his placements are with employed
candidates. You can spin your wheels with the unemployed and that is a
problem with the job boards.
Peter Zukow suggested there was value in discussing our internal candidate reports with the client so they know the person’s expectations, etc..
This gives the client the power to close the deal.
Cindy Fletcher asked that articles of interest to all (hiring trends, surveys,
car allowance policies, presentations, etc) be circulated among the group.
Brett Werrbach allowed he would set up the system to accept and archive
them as submitted to us.
Wayne said that the salary survey on his site is the most downloaded item.
Glenn said that today recruiters need to show that they are industry ex(Continued on page 31)
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perts. Our value is being diminished in the client’s eyes and we need to
show them that we can add value.
Peter said that he uses Survey Monkey on the web for surveys to add
value.
Ken Leiner said he was reminded of the need to have candidates ask specific questions about the job and the company during the interview. Just
showing enthusiasm for the opportunity is not enough.
Glenn reminded the group that in these times we need to be recruiters
again and to “debrief” like we used to do. He likes to do one phone interview with all candidates just to see how they come across….and always
on a land line. Glenn asks himself “am I able to get this candidate excited?” and has even put a happy face near the phone as a reminder to
himself to stay “up”.
Kim Jones and Greg Getty stated that much of their business is with small
to mid-size clients. There is no HR to get in the way and these clients need
your help and appreciate your input.
Kim said the 90% of her work is with new companies. One source is international companies coming into the US.
Some recruiters will not work a search if they must work with HR. (or internal recruiters). Glenn pushed back with one of his clients and they were
shocked but they knew him and his work and relented. Sometimes you just
need to play a little poker…. but know that it won’t always work.
Kim talked about marketing her best candidates to her niche market clients. The best list of clients to call comes from candidates you are currently working with. Ask them who are their competitors? Ask the last 3
places they interviewed? Remember that “A” players don’t want to repre(Continued on page 32)
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sent themselves, they like having an “agent”. “A” players from major companies will be more attracted to niche companies than a move to another
big company.
Remember to ask candidates what else they are really wanting? i.e. more
vacation, a manager or director title, working out of a home office, etc..
These are things that will help close the deal.
Rick Hoskinson reminded the group that, in today’s world, we all have
many of the same candidates. The group agreed that candidates who
might be known to the originating office but have been talked to about the
job by the referring affiliate are splits “for that job only”.
In working with other FI members, some candidate referrals come with a
line in the email that says
“and (name of candidate) has not spoken to (name of affiliate) about
this job”.
The above sentence is a good way to note that the job has been discussed with the candidate and to remind the recruiter that they are doing
their half of the work.
Scott Robinson said that in fee negotiations for multiple hires, he includes
a line that says all hires must take place within a certain time frame. i.e. 30
or 45 days.
Marty Fletcher gave an excellent presentation on hot areas with an emphasis on cloud computing and web based services. Marty offered a great
overview on what was happening in those areas. The short term benefits
for our industry are certainly there but not necessarily in the long run. If
software is ultimately sold as a “utility” there is less need for salespeople.
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For those that want even more details he recommended the book “ Dot
Cloud”.
Global outsourcing was discussed and companies that will do research for
$10/hour were revealed. To make it cost effective, recruiters must learn to
be VERY specific as to the specs and names of source companies. Lists
can be developed overnite as most of the work is done overseas.
Stu Laub said that some of these companies will even make the initial calls
for you (if you want to trust them to do that).
Wayne Cozad reminded the group that their firm does the same thing and
when they get split searches with specific details they can do in depth
sourcing for just about any position.
Wayne discussed his work on the internet and the creative way he uses
adwords to find new clients. Over the years he has gotten better and better
at finding the right combinations and today gets 10-15 good inquiries each
month and 5-6 new clients. This is all on an ad budget of $8-1200 per
month.
Someone asked if anyone still codes jobs and most agreed that with resume parsing technologies, it is not needed anymore.
Other miscellaneous points were:
Don’t tell your referred candidates that they will be getting a call from a
specific recruiter. Wait till the recruiter decides if/ when they will follow-up.
It is fine to tell your candidate that they MAY be getting a call from someone IF they are seen as qualified candidates.
Let the Acct Manager (the one with the client relationship) close the deal.
Don’t get in the way with your candidate by overly “de-briefing” them. Trust
your partners.
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To justify your 50% of a referred candidate, the candidate must be currently looking at opportunities, you should have discussed the job with
them, a current resume and W2 history should also be included. This will
vary a little with affiliates but these are general rules to follow.
Hiring Managers today are becoming more sensitive about job hoppers.
Signed fee agreements should be in place on referred openings.
Let the other member know if you are sending a referred candidate out on
another job. (That is also FI Policy)
If you have a really good candidate, you want them talking to everyone in
their space. If you only have one client, find 2 others in the same vertical
and you get synergy and much better odds of making the placement.
Inside sales jobs are becoming more popular.
Glenn sends 80-90 emails to hiring managers who know him and does 60
minute “seminars” on topics of interest to them. His seminars usually attract 10-15 people at a time. He is the moderator and topics include:
How to respond to the Board in a bad quarter
Hiring People
Dealing with reps who can sell but are trouble makers
Overall, the group felt the meeting was very productive. Our thanks to
Glenn for another great job moderating the discussions.
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