I usually shy away from the top 10 lists or the cliché of “Things you need to do” but I couldn’t resist putting together a list of what I feel are critical actions you should be taking, processes that you should be following or tools that you should be using if you want to be competitive in the DFW IT Staffing Market.

Number One – Educate your clients

Yes, it is hard to believe that there are clients in the Dallas / Fort Worth area that are still clueless regarding the shortage of good talent in this area. Some clients also seem to be looking for candidates that don’t exist or losing great candidates waiting for that “Perfect” person. Unfortunately, some of these clients think that unemployment figures relate to the DFW IT Staffing market. All I can say is that they need to wake their asses up – You cannot afford to be choosy. Those perfect candidates are already working and are few and far between.

 Number Two – Attend Networking Events

In December 2011, Bullhorn performed its annual global survey* of recruiting professionals seeking data and insights into overall firm performance, best practices for success, perceived risk factors and compensation. The report revealed that the most effective way to obtain candidates as well as clients was attending networking events.  According to the article, candidates found at Networking Events are 60% more likely to be a technical fit as well as passive. One interesting bit of info – The same study listed Job Boards as being the least effective and Social Media cracked the top 3 for the first time.

Which brings me to……

Number Three – Participate in online Social Networking

Social media use continues to grow, and most recruiters that I know think that Social Networking is particularly effective for identifying high-quality, passive candidates. In terms of results, LinkedIn is not only the most utilized Social Networking tool for recruiters but it also appears to be the most effective. If you are a Recruiter, you MUST have at the very least a Linkedin Business Account which will allow you to utilize the advanced search functions and provide you with a greater number of results as well as more “InMails” per month. Every recruiter should ask their employer to invest in a Business Account. If you cannot get your employer to reimburse the expense, take care of the expense yourself…it’s worth it. If you are an employer and cannot make the investment…well……f##k you!!

Number Four – Implement an Aggressive Referral Program

I have never understood competitors or clients that get cheap when it comes to paying referrals. Here is a good rule of thumb – If you are placing someone in a Direct Hire position, the referral should be 4 figures (minimum of $1,000 up to a quarter of the fee). If it is a Contract position, you should pay a percentage of the margin dollars for the duration that the referred person is on contract. In addition, Pay client referrals by providing a percentage of ALL business generated at the client for a year. Once you get a good referral program established, roll it out to EVERYONE in your database (Contractors, Placements, Candidates, Alumni).

Number Five – Increase your Mark-ups

Yeah……you heard me. I’m not talking about gouging your clients. I’m talking about getting away from 35 to 40% markups on non-volume accounts. I would also add that you need to stay away from fees under 20%. Bottom line – you don’t need to lower your prices if you add quality and value. I understand standard mark-ups for high volume accounts, but there are too many clients that will pay fair market value and there is simply a shortage of good IT Talent.

There are many more things that I could add and increase my list beyond 5 like – Getting great benefits and training for your contractors, search for candidates out of state or in other markets, implement contests weekly/monthly, etc. I chose 5 because I needed to keep my focus and because writing this blog is a hobby of mine……not my career. Best of luck to you in your searches!

*Additional Info from Bullhorn’s Staffing Survey that I think you might find interesting

• 70 percent of the staffing companies surveyed report that their firms either met or exceeded their 2011 revenue goal.
• 96 percent believe their firm’s revenue will increase in 2012.
• Average placement ratios decreased from 2010 (35.6 percent) to 2011 (34.1 percent).
• Average compensation for recruiting professionals was $136,385, up slightly from $131,851 in 2010.
• 61 percent reported that their compensation increased from 2010 to 2011.
• Nearly four out of five respondents (79 percent) plan to add staff to their business in 2012.
• 94 percent now use social media for business.

TIMBERHORN’S GUIDING PRINIPLES

Entrepreneurial Attitude

Client Focused

Dream Big

Performance Based

Open Door

Speak your mind

Have Fun

Innovate……Create

Teamwork

Be Unique

It’s never too late to develop a Mission Statement and/or Guiding Principles for your team or company

Provide clear goals and objectives

Once your hire is made, provide short term and annual goals as well as a long term vision for the team. This is applicable to ANY industry or team. One thing I like about clients that use AGILE Methodology is that team members know what needs to be accomplish during a Sprint. Whether it’s a short term Maintenance Sprint for 2 weeks or a typical Development Sprint between 4 and 6 weeks, you know the goal and have a specific target to hit.

It might be helpful to utilize the NFL Approach – Weekly wins, Division Wins, Playoff Wins and the Championship. You can take the NFL example and change it to fit your company objectives timeline – Weekly/Monthly Goals, Quarterly Wins or Targets achieved……wrap it up with an annual target and give awards for accomplishing the goal. These awards can be individual or team driven.

Benchmarks:  If you are in the business of IT Staffing or Solutions Sales, you gotta have activity benchmarks such as client visits, phone calls, networking event attendance, etc.  If you have a team of recruiters you gotta have weekly minimums such as candidate submittals, screens, phone calls, send-outs/client interviews, etc.

Provide recognition to your Team and/or Team members that attain goals and objectives

Whether it’s a plaque, certificate, trophy or just getting up in front of everyone at a meeting, individuals like to be recognized by their peers. I typically have Quarterly Recognition for my top performers as well as annual company trips for everyone that can attain our revenue performance goals but it is important to acknowledge your team members accomplishments on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Even a verbal “Shout Out” can go a long way to reinforcing team member’s effort.

Keep it fun

The pressure of hitting goals, staying on top, being the best, etc. can be stressful and cause Burn Out. I know that the IT Staffing Business is stressful and can lead many people to over indulge at Happy Hour. The same can hold true for IT Talent that has to complete projects with unrealistic timelines. Regardless of your role or type of industry, it is important to maintain a fun work environment. At Timberhorn, we have music flowing over our surround sound system (ALL TYPES OF MUSIC), We have Flat Screens everywhere and enjoy playing sporting events over our TV’s (ESPECIALLY THE TEXAS RANGERS), Timberhorn has a game room with a Video Game and a Kegerator ( WHICH CAN BE USED AFTER HOURS).  When our team accomplishes a revenue goal – Project, Staff Aug, Training, Placement…regardless of the departmet, we sound a Viking Horn over our surround sound system that can be heard across the organization. You never know when a dodge ball fight will break out or what time the Timberhorn Co-ed Softball team might be playing. Our business is stressful so we make it a point to have a good time.

I’m not suggesting that everyone do what TIMBERHORN does. I’m merely suggesting that you find something fun that fits YOUR culture and foster an environment where EVERY team member is looking forward to coming into the office.

 Let Your Competitors Trash Talk…………………..While Your Team “Walks the Walk”

As a defending champion, my daughter’s soccer team (The Wolverines) have to fight to stay on top. In a recent article in our community paper, the coach stated that the girls have a target on their back because they are the champions. The coach keeps them focused on the goal of getting back to the championship and shields them from the distractions.

Since its inception, Timberhorn has had its fair share of competitors talk trash about our unique environment or question how we’ve accomplished our aggressive growth. Hell, I’ve even had competitors attempt to keep prospective clients from working with Timberhorn. Even worse, I’ve actually had a competitor ask an existing client to cease working with us. I’ve seen and heard it all, professional and personal attacks. Let Haters Hate………………..as Jay-Z says: “You gotta get that dirt off your shoulder”.

Keep your focus

Our company’s Recruiting and Sales Teams have grown Timberhorn at a STAGGERING rate. They have built this company even BIGGER than the first company I owned AND we are almost as big as the last company I was associated with before it was eventually sold……….keep in mind that it’s been less than 2 years (Unheard of in our industry). The reason for the success is that we have an excellent team of people. A Team comprised of winners…………a team that works hard for themselves, their families and team mates. The Timberhorn team wants to be part of something special and share in the ownership of a company that is going places. We continually focus on Client Satisfaction and a level of activity that surpasses our goals and objectives (Benchmark Activity).

We are just like that Championship team with a target on its back but we know that if we keep our focus, we will win.

At the end of the day, share your success with everyone you can

Share your success with your employees, clients and the community. Just this weekend we held a client appreciation Golf Tournament and thanked our clients for being the biggest part in helping build our company. In addition, give back to your community. Pick multiple charities and support your community events.

It is very important to let your team and your clients know that they are responsible for making the company successful. I wrote this article as a way of providing recognition to the Timberhorn team and our clients for all of the accomplishments so far…….but we know that we haven’t arrived yet.

We are winning and we will keep winning.

Hey Team…..I’m proud of you!!

Part Three: This is the part 3 of the 3 part series The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Social Media: Stories and Lessons from the Recruiting Desk

In the previous 2 parts of this Blog series, I’ve covered everything from the communication of shady competitors to the upside and downside of Social Networking tools. I would like to end the 3 part series focusing on the positive by providing my individual professional highlights of the last year as well as my company and colleagues accomplishments using Social Networks.

2011 ended the debate once and for all about the validity of Linkedin as an invaluable IT Recruiting Resource – My Company had an increase of over 400% growth in 2011. While not all of the growth was attributed to just “one thing”, Social Networking for candidates helped us increase our candidate headcount. We saw an astonishing 15% plus increase in candidates that were placed as a direct result of Linkedin and an astonishing 20% plus increase in candidate responses utilizing Social Media posting platforms.

Social Media Postings / Social Recruiting Tools

More tools became readily available last year to help expedite the posting process and making more jobs accessible to candidates that utilize Social Media for Job Searches. Most ATS Systems were using Automated Posting features but new “Social Recruiting” tools such as Bullhorn Reach and Job Magic made it easier to manage postings either directly or indirectly from your company’s ATS System. I personally benefited from posting more jobs to my Linkedin Network using Social Recruiting Tools. The ability to automate the postings directly from my ATS system  and scheduling the postings to refresh twice a day, gave me more time to actively source, direct recruit and work the “Underground Job Market” that is more networking and referral based.  

Increased Social Media Smartphone Functionality

The best thing about having an iPhone or ANY phone running iOS / Android / Windows is the ability to respond quickly to candidates that are interested in your jobs posted on Social Networking sites. New Smartphone Social Media functionality allows you to post and work with candidates on the go. Our company recruiters are synced to our ATS through our Smartphones and that has allowed us to get candidate information quickly and has enabled us to add Social Networking App functions that may not be readily available to competitors or our clients. If you do not have a Sync function, I encourage you to download Linkedin for your phone OS.

Building Successful Networks

Social Recruiting is only as successful as the networks that you build. The recruiters that have been successful are those that build networks of the candidates that they market. In part 2 of this series, I mentioned that you need to be careful when including other recruiters in your network. I should have elaborated to further state that it is an ABSOLUTE that you grow your network of talent to include .NET / Java / UI / Mobile developers, ERP (Oracle, SAP, etc.), Business Intelligence / Data, Infrastructure, PM’s/BA’s, QA’s.

Today might be a good day to disconnect with a large number of recruiters and send invitations to anyone that you’ve screened, interviewed (Internal and client) and placed on contract/contract to hire /direct hire.

Building a network of technical talent was HUGE for me over the last year to year and a half. This “Push” to secure more talent in my network was one of the highlights of my year in that I saw a bigger return of interest in my Job Shares and Posts.

Going forward in 2012

I encourage you to increase your talent networks, utilize Job Posting and Social Recruiting Tools including the proper software / hardware. I guarantee that you will see similar success in the coming year and, hopefully, less of the Bad and Ugly!

After about 20 years in the business of IT Staffing and Professional IT Consulting Services, I have had many experiences that have molded me into the ornery SOB I am today.  I have previously worked and continue to work with exceptional people and am fortunate to have a great business partner. I have had the pleasure of seeing many people that I have worked with attain tremendous success and have also witnessed people at their worst. The reason that I’m writing this article is to share some advice, personal rules, insights and opinions.

For this particular article, I would like to share 10 thoughts with you in the hope that you can learn from my successes and failures.

1. Always do more than what’s expected of you. Without fail, the most successful recruiters in our business work extra hours. If you are an 8 hour a day person and quality of life is important to you….good for you BUT I will kick your ass in the end because I will work harder. I will reach candidates after hours and on weekends if I have to. I will enjoy my quality of life when I retire. Until then, this is a competition and I will do what I can to win. The easiest thing that you can do is to put in the extra time. If you don’t agree, I don’t give a s### because it’s true.
2. If a competitor is talking trash about you or your company, you’re doing something right. Listen… I have had many competitors talk trash about my company, co-workers, consultants, software, clients, etc….we call these people “Haters” and for good reason. I’ve found that the more successful you become, there is a tendency for competitors to try and take you down a few notches. Whoever heard of a competitor talking trash about a company that WASN’T successful….doesn’t happen. Don’t get mad…….get successful. The best vengeance is a successful company.
3. Spend your time on your performers. I have found that a number of leaders, managers, mentors, etc. spend an exorbitant amount of time on team members that aren’t performing. Unfortunately, this is not where your time should be focused. I understand that, as a leader, you want to build a team and that you feel obligated to fix the “weak link” but your time is better spent with the performers. At the end of the day, these are the individuals that will contribute the most to your company.
4. Clients are the last to know if the candidate market is hot or not. It is your job to educate them. If you are a Business Development/Account Manager/Recruiter your clients will respect your guidance. I’m sure most of you in the DFW IT Staffing market are aware that C#/.NET and Java Development resources have the shelf life of Oysters on a hot day. It is your duty to “drive” the process and educate your clients by shortening the interview and offer life-cycle. I understand that some of your clients and prospective clients still don’t get it and, if they are unwilling to change with the time, maybe it’s time to get new clients….I’m just saying.
5. Invest in tools that will generate clients and candidates. I know that most of you reading this blog understand the importance of a good ATS, Job Boards, Advanced Linkedin memberships, Sales Tools (Discoverorg.net, Hoovers, Lead Generation, Sourcers, etc.) but are you making a significant investment?  Remember, sales and recruiting tools are the type of investment that provides your company a direct and measurable ROI.
6. You should always be interviewing top talent. It doesn’t matter if you have maxed out your head count on your Business Development/Account Management and Recruiting teams. You must have a pipeline of candidates to insure that you will hit your numbers. You never know when that top producer may get restless or your best recruiter may experience burn out. Be prepared.
7. Relationships, relationships, relationships. Whether you are a Business Development/Account Manager or a Recruiter, you must have a pipeline of established relationships….a “go to” if you will. The relationships that you build can help you when the market is up or down. Example: If you are a recruiter, a pipeline of IT Professionals with marketable skills will provide you with referrals of passive candidates that are not readily available to your competitors or clients. Think about it, would you rather have a candidate that you found on a job board that has countless IT Staffing Service companies contacting them about multiple jobs OR a referral from someone that you trust? The referred candidate is likely to be more selective and you will have more credibility since you were referred by a friend.
8. Prep your candidate for the interview and get feedback from the candidate as soon as the interview is complete. I cannot stress the importance of these simple processes. If you are in a candidate market, it is even more important. You need to prepare a candidate for the interview by providing information about the company, culture, project, team, technology, management/leadership, hot buttons, processes and compensation. After the interview, you need to get immediate feedback while it is fresh in the candidates mind. Ask the candidate some of the following questions: Who did they interview with, What is the role, What technology will they be working with, What questions were asked during the interview, How does the opportunity compare to their current position or other opportunities that they are interviewing for, Is the client interviewing other candidates, Did the client ask when you could start. Most important, ask the candidate if they would like an offer from the client and, if so, will they accept an offer at (insert salary or hourly rate here). Even if the candidate did not do well or the candidate is not interested in moving forward, you have information to prep the next candidate.
9. It’s a small world after all………the IT market is smaller than you think. After being in this business for close to 20 years, I have ran across the same people for a number of years – clients, hiring managers, HR, Procurement, Competitors, IT Professionals…you name it. Remember that something you do today can, and most likely, will come back to you. Be careful how you treat people and be consistent. Always try to do the right thing no matter how difficult. You can’t make everyone happy and, if you read number 2, sometimes it doesn’t matter what you do. STAY TRUE TO YOURSELF. Once you find great people to work with hold on to them and surround yourself with the best people you can find.
10. Finally……be yourself and embrace your uniqueness (if that is a word). There are a lot of people in the IT Staffing business and a great number of them operate the same way and adhere to the same doctrine. Do what you can to set yourself apart. There will be a number of competitors, co-workers, talent, clients, etc. that will try to place you in the same box as everyone else. It is our differences that can set us apart from our competition. Whether you are a Staffing professional or an IT professional, let your freak flag fly.

It is my hope that you have at least one take away from my list above. I have spent many years in the IT Staffing Services business and I absolutely love it. I have been lucky enough to ride a few waves of success and meet challenges head on. After 20 years, I still get excited to drive into the office. If you are part of this business, I am truly happy for you.