NEW WHITE PAPER: EVALUATING A RECRUITING DATABASE (CLICK HERE)
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Technology Tip Outsourcing technology has increasingly become more viable considering new Internet-based platforms for telephone systems, email hosting, web site hosting and databases. In these tougher economic times it makes more sense than ever. Internal IT personnel tend to be highlighted as an internal cost that, while important, is a target for operating cost reduction. However, moving to outsourced hosting and IT support should only be carefully considered. Losing internal IT support can be painful and even harmful if your systems are not easily manageable from outside your office. Make sure your systems are able to transfer to outside hosters and be sure you do not rely heavily on desktop software and locally-loaded applications. - Reader Contribution Request a topic ............Contact us ...............Contribute (author)
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We're offering an opportunity for contacts, candidates and clients of executive recruiters to express their thoughts about their experience with executive recruiters (complaints and compliments). Candidates and clients of executive recruiters can participate in our survey, and for the first time have an opportunity to give feedback to a neutral party. Click a link above to take this confidential survey (and feel free to pass the link along to your candidates and clients). |
An executive recruiter told me he lost in a competitive pitch for a $400K GM position and was later told by the client that Kthe big public firm won the project because they caved to pricing pressures and agree to do the project for $75K. If accurate, this represents a fee of less than 19%. Is price reduction something more and more of you are seeing? Are there other innovative models that are changing the dynamic of the industry? While most still agree a niche approach is more solid today, it does require commitment to one industry or function, which is certainly risky. Pipelining appears to be gaining traction too. How are you and your firm addressing the current crisis? What are you doing to rise out of this mess in a better position than before? Now is a good time to consider adjusting your model, especially since larger firms have historically rebuilt with little or no change.
Searching for relevant news can be frustrating and time-consuming for executive recruiters. Scanning numerous sites for business news that's relevant to the search business and its clients is often so frstrating that the responsibilities are given to researchers and adminstrative assistants who spend hours visiting multiple sites and consolidating information on behalf of recruiters. Seeing this inefficiency led one firm to create a news site dedicated to executive recruiters. The company created technology to scan multiple sites and gather only the latest, most relevant news and organize it in ccategories, including executive appointments, industry and even geographically. We recommend it as your home page, since the information is updated by the minute, accessing such sites as PR Newswire (press releases), WSJ and Crain's, among others. In another first, the company is also offering to embed this resource in its recruiting database product in order to capture and deliver up-to-the-minute news on clients, potential new clients and active candidates. Apple's iPad: Can it Apply to Business? Apple’s iPad appears to have met the expectations of many consumers. It's been presented as a new category between smart phones and computers. Will it stay there or will it evenutally cut into one of those markets? Certainly the iPad is too big to replace your phone, so does it have the features needed to replace your laptop? Not yet, according to this.
Most large search firm repeat a cycle throughout changing market conditions: hire when busy, fire when slow. So why don't they ever use the down-cylce opportunity to create a more efficient search model so they can better sustain employment when the next downturn occurs? We've received tips, lists and all kinds of contact from individuals terminated from search firms. Leading firms have released hundreds of individuals, with one prominent Chicago-based firm terminating over 100 employees in the US. Terminated employees are faced with few opportunities in the business and long lines wherever jobs are available. This is forcing some hunters to band together and build new search businesses. What is your story and what are you doing to survive? Visit our blog.
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Accounting Tip As we approach tax-time, ask your internal bookkeeper or accountant to produce detailed reports highlighting all operating costs for your firm. There are many creative ways to reduce or eliminate some of these costs, including sharing resources with other, non-competitive firms. Even IT-related costs can be reduced by outsourcing and sharing with other firms. Consider how you might reduce the monthly salary commitment of your employees in exchange for higher bonuses tied to revenue. Starting with the detailed financial reports will help you first identify and later assess change opportunities in your firm - so you can survive in this down market. - Reader Contribution Research Tip Unbundled research is becoming an increasingly popular service offered by midsize and smaller search firms as the market slows. In an effort to recover the high cost of employees, some firms are selling research services to other search firms – and even internal client recruitment functions. As a boutique owner I found it extremely helpful and cost effective to use the high-end research services offered by a friend some might consider a competitor. It was a win-win for both of us. - Reader Contribution
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