I recently spent the day with Twenty Recruitment at a vision and values day they were holding for their most recent hires.  I have to say it was really refreshing to see a recruitment firm not just talking the talk and paying lip service to the notion of values – but really living them. The firm has three values Life’s Short; Be Eclectic and Crystal Clear. Through the facilitator Rafe Offer, a marketing and branding expert, the new consultants [...]]]>  

I recently spent the day with Twenty Recruitment at a vision and values day they were holding for their most recent hires.  I have to say it was really refreshing to see a recruitment firm not just talking the talk and paying lip service to the notion of values – but really living them. The firm has three values Life’s Short; Be Eclectic and Crystal Clear. Through the facilitator Rafe Offer, a marketing and branding expert, the new consultants talked about how those values related to themselves, their clients and their candidates.  

 Looking at  ’Life’s Short’ drove a discussion around daring to be different, embracing change, and being brave enough to take calculated risks. ‘Crystal Clear threw up phrases such as transparency, honesty, no spin and clear objectives; while ‘Be Eclectic’ explored ideas such as ‘there is no box’, solutions driven, differentiation and ‘there’s no such thing as a problem – only an opportunity for a solution’.

Then the real fun began with role plays where consultants had to pitch to clients and potential employees – and integrate some of the ideas around the values. I had great fun playing a client!

OK, I hear you say.  So what stops the consultants enjoying their day away from the office and then forgetting all about values when they walk out of the door?  Well, because how they live the values in the business is part of their performance appraisal – and it’s also linked to their bonus.  There was a great discussion around how the consultants felt that they could be judged around those values with some real measurable metrics.  And what’s more – to ensure that there isn’t a disconnect between how the values are perceived internally – and how they are perceived externally – there is going to be ongoing research with clients and candidates around whether the values are being demonstrated.

Recruitment is an industry where sometimes the egos of the founders can suffocate any attempt at creativity or originality.  It was great to see a company where the employees are really driving the vision and the values.

So what do you think?  Comments welcome!

Now here’s a debate.  Should recruiters be rewarded solely on their billings? Should big billers be promoted into senior roles bcause they are big billers? Are big billers always the best managers? 

Of course recruitment is a performance driven culture – that’s a given – but disengaged employees, managed by poor leaders, are far more likely to underperform.

If the recruitment industry wants to be taken seriously in terms of offering career paths and career development then shouldn’t the sector be looking [...]]]>

Now here’s a debate.  Should recruiters be rewarded solely on their billings? Should big billers be promoted into senior roles bcause they are big billers? Are big billers always the best managers? 

Of course recruitment is a performance driven culture – that’s a given – but disengaged employees, managed by poor leaders, are far more likely to underperform.

If the recruitment industry wants to be taken seriously in terms of offering career paths and career development then shouldn’t the sector be looking at being a bit more innovative in terms of their reward strategies and bigging up their employer brand? And won’t that ensure that your staff become rounded business professionals, proud of who they work for, and not merely motivated by the size of their pay packet?

Now before you all start shouting I know that some of you already do this.  In fact, technical and engineering recruiter CBSbutler is a shining example of just what can be achieved if you are brave enough to really raise the bar.

Managing Director David Leyshon introduced a new performance management system that links 40% of a quarterly bonus to behaviours such as self development, drive for results, teamwork, problem solving, customer focus, and organizing & planning. The result? A 25% increase in sales since the scheme was introduced together with significantly better delivery across all key business indicators. 

David believes that the building of talented workforces and lasting customer relationships is absolutely key in driving competitive advantage.  And that sustainable business success can only be achieved through competent managers who haven’t been promoted just because they are the biggest billers.  Consequently, he feels that if you ‘performance manage’ and reward everyone solely by ‘hard’ figures, then that can foster harmful practices and mindsets.  It will undoubtedly also compromise values – creating management headaches together with the promotion of acute personal greed at the expense of teamwork and professionalism.  If you link financial rewards to behaviours, you end up with a much more engaged and co-operative workforce who will deliver performance across all areas and not just next month’s targets.

The lack of sophistication in managing performance within the recruitment sector has been to the detriment of building sustainable and quality operations because of the overwhelming emphasis on short term results. Behaviour linked reward schemes ensure a holistic approach is taken to developing and harnessing talent- isn’t that the key to future success?