Champions in what we do

Promised Date Of CV Introduction

We have promised a client to introduce within 3 days 5 qualifying CV’s and our recruiter only has 2 and she doesn’t see any possibility to introduce 3 more. As we made a promise of 5 we need to walk our talk and keep our promise. It means that we have to find solutions.

The Moment Of Truth

The 5^th day is the moment of truth (= the promise). We are supposed to have taken all the necessary actions to have introduced in time 5 qualifying CV’s.

Ask For Help

Our recruiter ensures urgent assistance from her colleagues, team leader, manager, General Manager, partners. She engages free-lancers. Engages another agency. Applies more search tools…. This should all lead to the introduction of 5 qualifying CV’s until day 5.

Learn & Improve

Did we manage? Well done, our recruiter has done a fabulous job and you as a client is becoming our fan. Did we not manage? We’ll have a look where things went wrong, what could and should have been done and we create a new and better approach.

Urgent Recruitment Need

A client has an urgent recruitment need of 100 operators within 10 days in a difficult labour market. They are prepared to pay a total sum of EUR 100.000 euro in advance to us. It means that all the recruiters in the office have to dedicate 12 hours per day and 10 days at a stretch (including the weekend) on the project. In return all the recruiters get a triple gross monthly salary (300%) bonus AND full compensation in terms of extra holidays for all the overtime and weekend work.

The Moment Of Truth

On the 10^th day the client has 100 operators.

100% Commitment & Relentless Action

The entire team is enthusiastic and thrilled of excitement to manage this project successfully. They make search & selection plans, they engage free-lancers, other agencies and all possible other search tools. All other office team members are engaged. The team works day & night and delivers all the operators. This is the biggest achievement of this branch in its history.

Ambition Is Key, Together With Grit

In reality the team didn’t do it and a golden opportunity was missed. The managers (both the General Manager and the Branch Manager – they don’t work with us anymore) didn’t like the project and they were not willing to take the necessary action. Big pity as the recruiters want so much higher salaries and bigger bonuses and with 10 days of hard work they could earn 3 extra salaries (so getting paid for a 10 days job for what they normally work 90 days for).

What we learn from this and have to improve:

> Attitude (we always say yes and we go the extra marathon)

> Confidence (that we believe in ourselves that we can do the extra-ordinary)

> Ambition (that we like to successfully close extremely demanding and challenging projects)

> Knowledge (that we know how to successfully deliver highly complicated projects)

Delivering A Non-Standard Service

Solectron asked during a meeting to Lugera and 2 of the biggest agencies in the world if we also could do the induction training for the 2,400 temps they needed for their production facility. The trainings should start the next week. Only the agencies doing the induction training could deliver temps.

       The moment of truth: YES we love to!

To say YES at the meeting: yes we will and to deliver the first induction training to the new temps in 7 days.

       YES comes first, the solution follows (when you have confidence)

One of the agencies said NO and had to leave the meeting. They were out of the project. The other agency said: “we would love to but we have to ask permission at HQ and it took them 3 months to get the permission and during this period they could not deliver temps.

We said YES with a BIG SMILE and within 7 days we had the first induction trainings. Of course we didn’t know, when we said yes, how to manage it but we had confidence that we would manage it. We quickly hired a training room, bought a beamer and engaged a free-lance trainer. On day 6 we gave the first induction trainings. Because the other agency had to wait for 3 months we already had 1,000 temps when they still had to begin.

       There Is Always A Solution

Regularly clients will ask you to deliver ‘unusual’ or new services, or ask you for a favor which is beyond our regular scope of services.  Our standard answer is YES. The YES means that we will do it ourselves or that we outsource it (find another supplier/free-lancers and under our management it will be delivered) or that we find the client another company who can do this for them.

If we do it ourselves it doesn’t mean we do it free of charge. An additional service may need an additional fee as we will invest man hours, materials and perhaps also money.

Take it or leave it

The purchase manager of Peugeot Citroen invited us in her Paris office to discuss the recruitment of all staff for their new factory in Slovakia. We had made a beautiful presentation with our price offer. The lady told us she did not want to see our offer. Instead, she made us a proposal. She had calculated the monthly cost we would have for this project (including office rent, stationary expenses, size and total salary cost of the team, etc.). She had thought of everything and she offered us a monthly fee of € 14,000. With a bonus/malus of 10% for the KPI’s. She also told us that we should NOW say YES or NO. If we would walk out of the room without a YES we would not get the project.

       The moment of truth: No is a dead-end street

Obviously the moment of truth is at that meeting. NO or hesitation would mean we would lose the project. So only our YES would help.

       We said YES with a BIG SMILE  

We didn’t hesitate for a moment. We said full-heartedly and with a BIG SMILE full of gratitude “YES” although we knew it would be a challenge to make this project profitable. But…we did not doubt for a moment that we would make it profitable. We thanked the lady for her trust and complimented her for her professionality. We were very impressed and we showed this.

       Preparation & our ambition was decisive

It took us 6 months before we had the project (total 24 months) profitable and it was our biggest and most profitable project so far. We could say yes as we were prepared and we knew how many recruiters we needed and we knew our monthly costs. Whenever you meet a client for small or big projects: know the cost of delivery of your services. The project was also totally cool…the biggest so far and our ambition was screaming for a YES!!!!

       What

The HR Manager of Vodafone was completely fed up with us. We were working on a big recruitment project and we did not deliver the required number of candidates. Not at all. The lady became more and more desperate and her communication with our team of recruiters became harsh and hostile. Our recruiters went to meet with her and when the HR Manager gave uncensored feedback how bad we were doing, the team became defensive and started to accuse Vodafone of all what went wrong from their side. The HR Manager got furious, so did our team and we were about to lose the project.

       The moment of truth: when you deliver a lousy service

You should be able to know when you deliver a lousy service, already before you enter the meeting or before the client is calling you. When a client gives you negative feedback you will have to listen and act in the only ONE perfect way.        

       Angry & Frustrated, let’s Stop with this Client

The team came back angry and frustrated and they didn’t want to work anymore on this project. They were in total denial about the fact that we didn’t keep our promises and that the client was in her full right to give us feedback.

After having overheard the team Cristina decided to call the HR Manager and meet with her. The lady said she didn’t have time but Cristina didn’t accept NO for an answer and drove to her office and waited in the lobby until she came down to talk to Cristina. Cristina let the lady speak about all her complaints, agreed with her, apologized and took full responsibility, asked her what she needed and offered her crystal clear solutions. The lady was now at ease and had her trust in us restored.

       Accept, Listen & Offer Solutions

When a person is angry or disappointed with you or our performance becoming defensive, starting an argument will only make the other person angrier. Although you would love to solve it…the solution is getting more and more out of reach. The more you push, the more the person pushes back. You never win the argument. Even if you think you win the argument as the client gives in for the moment, they will change to another agency the moment they can.

When your client is disappointed, angry, furious, sad with you for not keeping our promises you act as follows.

1. You show empathy and tell the client that you understand she is having a problem with it
2. You listen to everything, to all the points, the client communicates without interruption while you are clearly listening and understanding…you are making notes
3. When the client is finished you ask if this was all, maybe she forgot some points?
4. Now you repeat your understanding of all the points in your own words and ask the client for confirmation. Did I understood everything well?
5. You ask your client what it is they expect from us
6. You repeat their expectations to check if you have a clear understanding
7. Now you tell the client all what you will do to make the project a success and you ask if the client agrees with it

You must accept the feedback you receive from your client. When you deliver a lousy service you agree with the client and accept the fact that we did wrong. You take responsibility (even if it was not your wrong-doing).

How much does it cost us?

Lubos, Silvia and I were at a meeting with Iveta Griacova, GM of the Slovak American Investment Fund and her Board of Directors. They wanted us to do a very nice recruitment project and they wanted to know our fee structure, their total cost and the guarantees we could give them.

       The moment of truth = NOW!

The obvious moment is NOW and be very clear & confident about the financial proposal, the guarantees and all the delivery KPI’s.

       We were full of hesitation and gave evasive answers

We were not very sure how much we should ask, we were not well prepared and we had no clue how much work it would be. On all their questions we constantly gave evasive answers and we saw they got irritated. They wanted to have a straight forward answer to their question: ‘how much is it’ and ‘which are your guarantees’ and ‘how fast will you deliver’? At a certain point Iveta got so irritated that she gave us a painful ultimatum; or you guys give us now an answer or you leave and we will find another recruitment partner. We quickly gave prices, guarantees and delivery KPI’s and we saved the project.

       Always prepare and always answer the questions of your clients > straight forward

Obviously we made a very big mistake: we came unprepared. Further, we were afraid to tell our prices while being face-to-face with the client. We were used to send the prices after the meeting by e-mail.

What we learned from this meeting?

>     Be totally prepared for each and every meeting. Know prices, know the delivery capacity, and know the        guarantees and payment conditions

>     Be prepared to give prices and all other terms and conditions on spot, especially when the client asks for it

>     Be prepared to make promises, even if you are not completely sure you will be able to deliver. Be enough confident that you will always find solutions in order to meet your promises.

>     You can always meet your promises because you are not alone: you can ask your colleagues for help, you can              ask your managers for help, you can ask the CEO for help, you can ask the partners for help… we have so much expertise at your disposal within our company…you never walk alone.

       Can You Commit?

KPMG invited us to a meeting in their offices with a very big, still unknown company to us. KPMG was pitching for this company and they wanted us to act as their HR partner. During the meeting it became clear it was about a very big investment in a production plant. When the meeting was about to address the HR and recruitment issues the company representatives asked me many questions, into big detail. They also asked us if I could commit for the full 100% to their recruitment plan. I wasn’t prepared all too well as the entire project was unknown to me.

       Do I Say Yes Or No?

When they asked the question: “can you fully commit and give us all the guarantees we need from your side?” I was thinking while all the eyes of the German Board of Directors, all the KPMG partners were looking at me. What to say?

       The Proper Way

We had never done a project like this. We did not have the capacity at that moment, nor all the tools. We would be needing lots of additional recruiters. After giving it a little thought I smiled and I told them, without the slightest doubt, “Yes, we can. We will not only meet all your deadlines, we will outperform your expectations. We can meet all your necessary guarantees and we love to support you all the way. We are ready for this wonderful and challenging project”. Although it was a unique project I was convinced we will manage it.

       How Can You Feel Empowered While Being In Doubt?

How can you feel empowered and know for sure that you can manage? And why is there no reason to be afraid?

The realization of every project lays in the future. It means that if you don’t have the sources, if you don’t have the tools right now to do the project IT DOESN’T MATTER. Because the execution of the project is in the future you have all the possibilities to create and have all the tools ready when you have to execute the project. So if you don’t have enough recruiters, you have time to attract them. If you don’t have enough office space, you have time to rent more. If you don’t have enough know-how, you can built more know-how.

In the end, for every challenge there are plenty of solutions. We are working already for more than 21 years in recruitment. It means that in our company there is plenty of know-how, plenty of experience, plenty of ideas to solve each and every recruitment challenge you might encounter. So if you don’t know how: you always have colleagues who know. They are maybe in your office, maybe in another office in the country, maybe in another country, maybe the GM’s or Country Managers, or the partners….there is always ready-to-use know-how for your challenges. Whether they are big or small, the wisdom you need is available…just one e-mail or phone call away.

You Love To Work With People. Really?

Many of our recruiters, when applying for a recruitment job at our company, write down in their application letter that they love to work with people, meeting many people face 2 face, interacting, and communicating. They also like to learn new skills, to develop themselves personally and professionally and follow lots of training. Most of our colleagues have written down that they are passionate about HR, about recruitment and working with people. That they want to be highly successful. All motivation letters show passion and commitment.

       You Have To Do What It Takes

To be a successful recruiter you have to do at least 80 interviews per month, write at least 400 e-mails per month and have at least 400 phone calls per month. You have to introduce to your clients at least 5 qualifying candidates per week, 20 per month. You have to constantly build your personal network of candidates and this starts to work for you when you have 1,000 or more. You have to become a recruitment specialist in one or two sectors (like sales & marketing, finance, production, legal & HR, IT,……).

       Work Your Numbers

The proper way is to work your numbers and that you outperform these numbers. That you understand the importance of this. And while you are working your numbers you pro-actively are increasing the quality of your actions through constant learning new skills, to constantly increasing your skills.

       Join Us Only When You Like This

Think well before you join us. Do you really want to interact with candidates and clients? Do you like to call people you don’t know yet? Do you like to e-mail people you don’t know yet? Do you like to help candidates to find a better job? Do you like clients to help them getting the people they are looking for? Are you prepared to take their criticism and to improve yourself based on their feedback? Are you prepared to learn from your senior colleagues? Are you prepared to take their advice and execute it? Without a “BUT”?

You can only be successful with us if:

1. You are really passionate about helping other people
2. You are not afraid to call, meet and write with people you don’t know
3. You have an ambition to be your very best and to improve your skills
4. You are prepared to learn in the evenings and in the weekends in your free time
5. You are prepared to invest in yourself to improve your skills
6. You want to be the best recruiter in your department, in your city, in your country
7. You want to be better every day again
8. You want to earn as much bonuses as possible
9. You want to be totally successful
10. You are prepared to go the extra mile, the extra marathon

Can You Come Over?

Schlumberger asked us to join their management team meeting in London as they wanted to start a big recruitment project in Romania. We were thrilled. Excited. Cristina called me when I was in Beverwijk and she told me to fly to London the day after tomorrow. I cancelled all my meetings and booked immediately a ticket. On the day of departure British Airways and the Traffic Controllers in England were on strike. We couldn’t fly.

       Not Showing-up Is Not An Option

It was obvious that we had to call Schlumberger that we probably couldn’t make it. But…as we show-up no matter what, we just had to find a solution to get there. Not showing-up is not an option.

       If Necessary We Swim To London          

The solution we found is that Cristina would fly to Brussels, I would pick her up by car and we would drive to Calais and take the train to London and we figured out we could make it just in time. When we showed-up at the meeting the COO from Schlumberger was totally surprised. He didn’t expect us to come. We told him with a smile “if Schlumberger invites us for a meeting we come, no matter what. Even if we had to swim the see we would have done it”. It is obvious that we were given the project on an exclusive base. Just by showing up.

       Showing-up Helps You Win. Not Showing-up Always Loses

Showing-up in 90% of cases is nothing special. The BIG difference is made in the 10% of cases when it is really challenging. In the 10% of cases champions are being made. We expect you to be the champion. That is why you work with us in our company. If you have no appetite in doing the 10% in an awesome way you do not belong in our company. We know that you are capable of reaching the stars. And we know that your true nature is that of excellence. In our company you have all the opportunity to be STAR QUALITY. To be your most beautiful self.

>     Be resourceful and do not accept set-backs or “impossibilities”. You have the attitude that everything is possible                 and that if you search good enough you always find a great solution

>     Understand that by showing-up in the extra-ordinary 10% of all cases your client becomes your fan. As hardly             anybody else would do the same

>     It also means that you have to show-up ALLWAYS in the 90% of normal cases. But, many recruiters and sales    people are not able to do this in 100% of all cases, which means that other people take the business from you.

>     Be totally committed to always show-up. If you are totally committed you will always find a way.

>     Prioritize. These 10% of cases are always on an inconvenient moment for you. Nearly always they have a tough    impact on your private situation. You have to skip dinner, you have to leave a party, you have to interrupt your     holiday, or you have to leave the fitness center…. But you do it, because securing an amazing deal you will    remember your entire life. That you skipped dinner is quickly forgotten.

We Are Going To Run A Tender

UPC had a new CEO and he wanted to recruit 12 managers. At 18.00 in the evening I got a phone call from Martin, the marketing manager, whom we placed at UPC, telling me that they now had a meeting in their offices. They wanted to invite us and several other agencies for a price quotation for this project. That was painful because for several years we were their preferred agency and we were doing a great job for them. Nevertheless, the new CEO wanted to see more offers. And he was in his full right of course. But I didn’t like it.   

       Your Client Intends To Shop Around

The moment you feel that your client wants to shop around for a new provider or a provider next to us all your alarm bells start to ring and you go into the BIG PREVENTION mode. At this very moment you & your colleagues, so all of us, take relentless action.

       An Offer You Can’t Refuse

So I asked Martin how long they would still be there. He said the coming 4 hours. I said: in one and a half hour I will be there and I’ll give you an offer you can’t refuse. Because I wanted to prevent that they would speak to other agencies as this would jeopardize our business. So I drove 110 KM to Bratislava, and stormed into their meeting. 10 people looked at me and wondered what this guy was doing at their meeting. I introduced myself to the CEO and I expressed my gratitude for their previous business and told him that we will fight for their interests. I told him nobody is more committed than we are (and he believed me as I just drove 110 km’s to see him on a Thursday evening). I asked him what where his expectations and he gave me an exact briefing. I asked him to give me half an hour to calculate the project and I will come back to the meeting. I came back with an offer and they accepted it on spot.

       Secure Your Client

Every now and then you run into this situation. These situations represent for us great opportunity to secure the client to stay with us. When you become aware of such opportunity you:

> You jump into the car and you make sure you meet the client without delay to discuss in person all what matters

> In the meantime you inform your colleagues, team-leader, managers, CEO, partners for advice and ideas

> Being with the client you discover what it is they need and expect, what we possible did wrong and you make him an offer he can’t refuse (and this is not about lowering our price but increasing and improving the quality of our services > faster delivery, better candidates, better pay-slips, … all what the clients would like to be improved)

> You agree with the client and you conclude the continuation, the deal on spot. What you don’t do is to leave without having given a concrete proposal with everything included.

Dinner Or Business

Saturday evening 18.00. I am about to have dinner and a very big potential client calls me. They want to discuss with me a project to recruit 2,400 candidates from top management level to operators and they prefer us. I’m excited, but they want me to be at 20.00 in a town 2 hours away from where I am. I look at your lovely dinner my wife prepared for me and I wonder what I should do.

I’m On MY Way

We always show up so this means that I will be there at 20.00.

I Show-up

I jump into my car and I am at 20.00 at that meeting. In case I’m on vacation or in another country, so that it is physically not possible to be there in time, I make sure a colleague shows up. Not coming is not an option.

Be The First One Who Meets The Client

When I arrived the 2 Ecco managers welcomed me with a big smile. They congratulated me. I asked them why the congratulations? They said: “we have called 10 agencies and they all refused to come. You were the only one who immediately said that you would come. Therefor we give you the entire project on an exclusive base. You are our partner”.

When you always show-up you create value for your clients and yourself beyond imagination. This is why we always show-up. By showing-up we make fans from our clients, candidates, colleagues and suppliers.

Do You Like Fruitless Waiting?

Imagine you are in a shoe shop and you would like to have a pair of shoes. The shop assistant tells you that she has to go to the warehouse to get your size telling you she’ll be back in a minute. You stroll around the shop in happy expectation to get those beautiful shoes. After 10 minutes she is still not there, neither after an hour…and at closing time (you have been waiting for three hours) still no shop assistant. The shop closes and they tell you to come back tomorrow morning. How would that make you feel? Would you go back the next morning to that shoe shop?

       Do You Let Your Clients Waiting?

We accept vacancies from our clients but in many of our offices the majority is not delivered. Our success rates vary from 10% to 54%. Many of our clients we keep waiting in vain for candidates to be introduced. We don’t communicate with the client. We are just like the shop assistance. And you don’t want to be treated like that. So why do you treat your client in such manner? Will you be surprised when your client does not want to work anymore with you?

       Communicate What Is Going On

When you accept to work on a vacancy you are grateful and excited that you have been given this opportunity to help the client and to help candidates to get this job. When it takes you longer than planned you regularly communicate with the client and at least once a week. You tell the client what you did, you tell him what you will do next week, you tell the client about your challenges and you communicate your solutions. In addition you provide the client with interesting labor market information which you come across during your search.

       Dare To Give The Bad News & Offer Solutions

>     Nothing is more irritating for a client than a recruiter who does not communicate

>     Every client will show empathy if you regularly, clearly communicate while mentioning the challenges and their solutions

>     Instead of avoiding to tell the client bad news and trying to hide for the client it is essential that you inform the client about the challenges you’re facing before those become serious problems

>     You don’t like to wait for the shop assistant for 3 hours. I’m pretty sure that you won’t wait for more than 10 minutes, so why would you expect your client to wait for many weeks?

>     If you’re in a restaurant and you order your food you expect to have it within, let’s say, half an hour. After half an hour nothing arrived and you ask the waiter, telling you the food will arrive in 5 minutes. After another 20 minutes you ask again and you get the same answer. After one hour of waiting you decide to leave. Totally          irritated of course. Before you leave you have a look in the kitchen and you see that there is no kitchen staff at    all and you ask the waiter why he left you waiting for one hour while he knew there would be no food coming?

We don’t like it so we don’t treat our clients this way either: when we have a challenge we communicate it before it becomes a problem and before the client will walk away from us being angry

>     Communicate with your clients regularly and if necessary every day to keep them informed. Also when you     made mistakes. They don’t mind as long as you inform them. They understand that things sometimes go wrong   and as long as you inform them they are appreciating you

We Don’t Appreciate Your Vacancies

Antonina is working for a client in St. Petersburg. A South Korean production company of tiers. They gave us 2 very nice vacancies and our recruiters are happily working on them. Last week they gave us another vacancy but the salary (very low) did not match the profile at all. Just last month we fulfilled a similar vacancy for Heineken for a salary twice as high. So the team assessed the vacancy as mission impossible and refused to work on it.

Imagine you are in the same shoe shop again and you would like to buy 3 pairs of shoes. The shop assistant tells you that you can have only 2 pairs as the third pair she doesn’t like to sell you. She tells you that she is not interested in taking the effort to go to the warehouse to get you the third pair. Because she doesn’t earn a good margin on it. Imagine yourself being in that situation. How would you feel, how would you react? You might even walk out of the shop not buying any of the shoes.

       Difficult Vacancies

When a client gives you some difficult vacancies (or another difficult job) and your recruiters (or other colleagues) are not willing to work on it as they find it too difficult, too time consuming or they simply think it is impossible you have to make a decision.

       We Also Help Our Clients When Things Are Tough

If a client trusts you with their business you are in for the good and the bad times. You don’t only accept the quick and easy vacancies (or other deals) but you also help them out when things are tough. That the vacancy is challenging, or maybe even close to impossible (impossible is nothing) should not disturb us at all. Because recruitment is our profession, clients come to us because it is difficult. If it would be very easy, they would do it themselves. So the only appropriate answer is to accept the vacancy with gratitude and presenting the client a detailed search & selection plan with all possible solutions how to overcome the mismatch between salary and requirements.

       Be Loyal To Your Clients

>     Don’t expect clients to be loyal to you if you are not loyal to your clients

>     Be grateful for the opportunities your client gives to you

>     Support your clients especially when they face difficulties, they’ll be your fan forever

>     We are professionals in recruitment, difficult vacancies are our way to improve ourselves

>     When you go the extra mile, the extra marathon for your client, they’ll be your fan forever

>     make BFF’s, Best Fan Forever J

       Nearly Mission Impossible

In the first year of Lugera Heineken bought Zlaty Bazant and the CFO, Peter van Brecht, asked me to recruit a financial manager for him. I was delighted with the order as it would be our best vacancy so far. The salary was great, the company great…the only challenge was that they were situated in Hurbanovo, a tiny little village in the middle of nowhere, 2 hours’ drive from Bratislava. And very soon, the next day, I noticed that it would be a tough job as the candidates they needed were working in Bratislava and didn’t want to move to Hurbanovo.

       Immediate Feedback

I had to inform Peter that I was pretty sure that I would not reach the promised deadlines. And although I was afraid for his reaction, I called him immediately

       I Feel You Really Care And That Is Most Important

Peter was not happy but he very well understood the challenge and we discussed over the phone all our options. During the next weeks, I was working day & night on the vacancy, I called him nearly every day. Once a week I visited him, took him out for lunch and we got to know each other very well. It took me more than a month to introduce him 4 candidates. And those candidates were so good that he hired them all.

When he gave me feedback about the project (I asked for it) he told me: “I very much appreciated your honest and regular input. You made me feel if I was your only client and that you really cared about me and our company. You were so committed and you took great care of us and that you couldn’t deliver the candidates in time just didn’t matter at all, because of your great attitude”

       Be Pro-Active

>     If it happens that you cannot meet your promises it doesn’t have to matter as long as you pro-actively       communicate this with your client

>     Even more so…if you have the guts to tell them your challenges and offer several options and solutions you make fans from your clients, while you don’t deliver

>     Things going wrong offer great opportunity for those who chose to see it. Because if things go wrong you have a great opportunity to show your client how committed, help-driven, resourceful, solution-oriented and reliable you are (by taking relentless action). And when you have fixed it, when you have brought all to a good ending, your client is your fan forever

Candidates Call When They Can

For many candidates it is difficult to talk to us when they are at work. Usually candidates don’t want their colleagues to know that they are speaking with a recruiter.

       They Can Call Any Time

Candidates call us when it is convenient for them. They can call in the evening, during the weekend, while we are on holiday. They call us when we are on another call. They call us when our phone is switched off.

       We Always Answer

Whenever we receive a phone call we pick up the phone. When it is in the evening, during the weekend, when we are out, when we are on holiday; we pick up the phone. If we see a missed call we call back without delay. If we can’t call we make sure a colleague takes over the call.

       Our Candidates Are The Source Of Our Paycheck

Also over the phone: we always show-up. Can’t you be disturbed, are you in a different time zone or are you on holiday?

>     Change your voice-mail message: give a phone number and e-mail address the person can call to

>     Have callers re-directed to a colleague’s phone

>     Be prepared that when you work with us you commit yourself to always pick-up the phone

>     Understand that we are a service company. We deliver a service and we want to deliver the best service possible to our candidates, clients, colleagues and suppliers

>     Understand that our candidates make our job possible, be grateful to them that they use our services

>     Understand that our candidates are the very source of our pay-check

>     Put yourself in their place: if you want to speak with a service provider you want them to pick up the phone the moment you call them. You don’t want to wait a week, nor a day, before they call you back

Please Help Me

Just now I received an e-mail from Richard. A Dutch guy being the Managing Director for a car lease company for many successful years in Czech Republic, Slovakia and later Poland. He is looking for another job. He attached his CV.

       Of Course I Help You

The moment is NOW! I send him immediately a reply with all kinds of suggestions. I did not postpone my answer, I did it at once.

       I Offered Numerous Opportunities

I replied to him:

>     Thanking for contacting me and we will immediately have a look at all our clients to see if there is an      opportunity for him.

>     I copied Michal in CZ, Antonina in RU, Andreea in RO and Monika in SK. They shall also answer immediately to         Richard. At least with the following very nice message: “Hi Richard, thank you so much for contacting us. You   have a great track record, impressive! I/my colleague (name-family name and in CC) will contact you to discuss     all the options we are having for you.

 >    Further I suggested him Indeed as they publish many director’s vacancies and most likely he’ll find there great   opportunity

>     The country teams will not only look at our actual vacancies, they also will look at all our clients to see if he          would  be a great fit for one or more of our clients. If we discover a great fit we’ll ask him if we may introduce            him to the specific client. If yes we introduce him.

>     If we can’t help him we will give him advice to approach companies which are not our clients but which might be interested in him. If we can’t think of any company we might know other staffing agencies which are specialized in his profile and send him the contact details.

>     I also asked him if he would be interested to start his own company, or be partner in a company (I was                       thinking about him joining us – as he is very good). He is interested…so I will continue this path with him (and            you can also do this: the moment you see great candidates which might be a good fit for us)

       Every Candidate Is A Great Opportunity, Act On It

Why do we go the extra marathon?

>     Richard is not only a candidate. He is also a potential client

>     Giving Richard this service means that he will be a fan for the rest of his life

>     If we can’t place Richard ourselves and we do nothing else for him we act like any other agency and we do not              create no added value at all

>     Doing everything we possibly can means that we create a lot of added value from which we will benefit            enormously

>     We are receiving 1,000’s of CV’s every month. Imagine the impact if we will treat all these applicants like              Richard….you’ll be in Recruitment Heaven….you will be totally Star Quality. You’ll have a very big fan-base. You      will be placing candidates like crazy, you’ll be attracting new clients like crazy. Just because you care and you are             help-driven

>     Every candidate is a great opportunity:

                      To place the person at one of our clients

                      To place the person and he or she becomes our client as they were so delighted with our service

                      To help the person with tips and other sources for jobs

                      To give that person a wonderful experience while working with us

                      To make a fan of this person so he or she will advertise you and our company: future candidates and                                        clients

>     By the way, Richard thanked me for the immediate reaction…he was not used to agencies reacting without delay

>     The moment you read the e-mail you react. You are NOT going to save all your e-mails and answer them any           time later. You act immediately because faster in recruitment is better than slower. You don’t save time by            postponing, on the contrary, postponing will increase your workload and you will forget to answer and you will be too late with your answer. Postponing your actions is the contrary of adding value. Postponing is the            contrary of making fans from your candidates

From Where?

A couple of months ago I received through LinkedIn a message from Hassan, from Azerbaijan. He is a Health & Safety Manager with a specialization in the Oil & Gas Industry. He asked if I could help him with a job.        

       Sure, Send Me Your CV

The moment is NOW! I replied immediately a reply to send me his CV.

       I Love To Help

I replied to Hassan:

>     Thank you Hassan for contacting me. I love to help you as much as I can. Please e-mail me your CV on my e-mail     address and if you like to talk to me in person please do not hesitate to call me on +31622959248

>     He send me his e-mail address and I responded that we don’t have so many clients in Gas & Oil but we will do       our best and me CC’ed Antonina in RU, who replied that at the moment she doesn’t have anything

>     A couple of weeks later I was discussing a potential client with Ivan for an Oil & Gas project in Kazakhstan and I immediately introduced Hassan to that potential client (while not having any deal yet with that company)

>     It turned out that the company, although they claimed to have many vacancies, actually didn’t have so many             vacancies and Hassan was turned down by them

>     I discovered that Hassan’s CV was not complete. He didn’t mentioned several very important skills. I suggested              him to up-date his CV and I resend it to that potential client. No success

>     Last week I send him a link as a big Oil & Gas company is looking for people like him and I send him the link. He applied himself but the company did not reply to him. I suggested him to call the hiring manager. He will do that.

 >    For sure I will be in contact with Hassan as now we are in a tender for a big Russian Oil & Gas company where he    will make a good chance to get a very nice job

       Total Pro-active Service, It’s In Our Mission

Why am I doing this?

>     It’s our mission to help as many people as we can with a better job. And although I am not a recruiter in our                           company, I am in this company and this company’s mission is to help as many people as we can with a better   job. So I don’t have another choice. If you are a recruiter, of course you help. But if you are not a recruiter it is   also of course that you help (you can forward the person to our best recruiter, and all the stuff I did…)

>     Hassan needs urgently a job. He is now jobless and he has a family to support and he is without income. Put              yourself in Hassan’s place; would you like it if an agency will help you the way I did? For sure…you would be        very grateful. Treat people the way you would like to be treated

>     I don’t only do this for Hassan and for our company. I’m also doing it for myself. The BIG THANK you from             Hassan makes me feel fulfilled. It shows me that I am having a meaningful job. That I can make a very positive        difference for people.

>     How come I have the time to do this; I’m flying nearly every week a couple of times, visiting the various offices. Always having meetings, hundreds of e-mails to answer, many projects to take care of?

       It’s easy: I answer immediately. I don’t have to think what to answer. I work in a spontaneous manner. I deal              with it fully so that there is nothing left to do after I have taken action.

>     Many of us make the mistake not to take immediate action. When you don’t take immediate action you are    building a big pile of e-mails in your inbox. And it becomes so big that you will feel overwhelmed and it becomes a mission impossible to be effective in your work. We are having colleagues with more than 10,000 e-mails in         their inbox…how effective do you think they are? Indeed, totally ineffective.

>     At the end of the day my inbox is empty, or nearly empty. I hardly have more than 10 e-mails when I close the       day. That makes me totally effective.

They Take A Lot Of Effort To Meet You

A candidate comes to your office to have an interview with you. He or she has taken the time to travel to your office, to meet with you and go back again. They spend their precious time and most likely even money for the travelling. They might have taken a free day or a couple of hours off to meet with you. They make a considerable investment.

       The Circumstances Look Bad

Now it happens that the candidate comes too early, too late, you might be having a very bad mood, the candidate (on first sight) disappoints you, the vacancy was just closed by the client, you had a tough argument with your colleague or manager and/or any other possible other inconvenience….

       They Deserve Your Positive Attitude

No matter how negative you feel or irritated…you put yourself in the situation of the candidate and you greet the person with enthusiasm and gratitude that he or she took the effort to come to you for an interview. You understand that candidates are the source of your income, the core of our profession.

       Treat Your Candidates In The Best Possible Manner

To make a positive difference, to be a champion, to be star quality in recruitment it is essential that you treat your candidates in the best possible manner. Caring, loving, help-driven, positive, pro-active, going the extra marathon.

Coming too early: you immediately drop all your work and meet with the candidate. It means you DO NOT wait until it is the scheduled time.

Disappointing candidate: you immediately overcome your disappointment and you investigate the why and how and you actively look for all the positives and opportunities you can offer this candidate.

Your angry mood: your candidate has nothing to do with this so get over it and treat the candidate with gratitude and enthusiasm. Postpone your anger for when you are alone.

Coming too late: you don’t mention it, you assure the candidate it is all right, you ease the candidate with a happy smile and you continue with the interview.

The candidate does not qualify: you immediately communicate this with the candidate. It means you DO NOT postpone this and later sending a rejection e-mail. You explain empathically the reasons right here and now. Understand that not-qualifying is not a negative thing per-se. You just discovered there is no match between candidate and profile. You continue with exploring all the opportunity we can offer (other vacancies at other clients, clients which fit the candidate better, links to job sites and overviews of other agencies, tips & tricks, training & courses….)

You don’t like the candidate but has great skills: Whether you like or dislike the candidate is totally irrelevant and you should stand above your personal (dis)likes. Your personal preferences for personalities should be disregarded. The candidate deserves your professional and help-driven attitude. Be aware that your client can have a totally different opinion. Your personal (dis)likes are only yours and nobody else in the world shares the exact set of (dis)likes.

The vacancy is cancelled: The candidate came all the way to meet with you and you learned just now that the vacancy has been cancelled. You apologize of course but you don’t have to feel guilty. These things happen and are beyond our control. You continue with the candidate in the same manner as with the not-qualifying candidate. You’re help-driven, show a caring attitude, and you are pro-active

Seeing Opportunities

In Trencin, one year after our start, I interviewed Martin. A very special person, different from many others. No qualifications what so ever. But something in Martin was extra-ordinary. Actually I did not have any job opportunity for him for which he qualified. In fact, on paper he qualified for nothing.

       When There Are No Opportunities

You meet a candidate and you have no clue what you can do for this person. Better said: you don’t have any vacancy for this person and you assume you will never have a vacancy for this person.

       But There Always Is An Opportunity

I had a longer interview with Martin than usual and together we discovered that sales & marketing probably would be his best fit. I called Mike from UPC and I asked if he needed a junior marketing guy with a great attitude and zero experience nor any kind of education in that field. I just thought they would make a great match. Mike hired Martin. Martin worked like crazy and became Marketing Manager. He did a legal study and graduated as lawyer. He became the Country Manager in the end for two countries. And during all that time Martin always asked us for offers and if we were best amongst the competitors, or equal amongst competitors he worked with us.

       Friend Or Enemy: It’s Your Choice

Every candidate is a potential placement, is a potential client, is a potential supplier and/or is a potential colleague. Or, if you treat them badly: a potential enemy.

So how would you treat them? Cold, “professional” and arrogant? Or help-driven, enthusiastic, caring and pro-actively?

When you deal with candidates be your most beautiful self. Be your wonderful best.

Besides that this yields big successes for you, you make your job much more fulfilling and rewarding.

Our candidates are the core of our business, of our job. It goes without saying that you interview as many as you possibly can. It’s the core of your job, it’s the biggest success determinator for a recruiter. The more interviews the more candidates you place. The most important KPI is to reach at least 80 interviews per month.

This example shows the impact of great interviews. Imagine you do 20 great interviews per week instead of 8. Imagine the impact on your results when you do 20 or 30 per month instead of 10….

Who Is Inferior?

We’re having colleagues who are recruiting for temporary staff for factories and when they are invited to recruit a management position they tend to feel unsecure, being impressed by the “higher level” of the vacancy and its candidates. They have a sense of inferiority. We’re having colleagues doing (top) management positions and when they are invited for mass recruitment for operators they tend to regard them as inferior. They have a sense of superiority. Plus, many of our colleagues, when having to communicate with the CEO or the HR Director, they become unsure, feeling inferior.

       High Or Low Level Vacancies

 You are offered to work on vacancies which are not within your main scope: you do top vacancies and it’s needed to do mass recruitment for operators. You do temporary staffing and you’re needed to do some management vacancies. And suddenly you have to communicate directly with the CEO of a very big client of our company.

       Mass Recruitment vs Executive Search

Doing 30 placements in mass recruitment per month is not better or worse than doing 4 top-vacancies per month. Mass recruitment skills are not superior or inferior. Executive Search, Search & Selection, Mass Recruitment, Recruitment for Temporary Staff, they all require their specific expertise. To be champion in either one of them is not more or less difficult. It requires different know-how and skills. That’s all. They are all equal.

       We Are All Equal

Nobody is superior to you. Nobody is inferior to you. We are all equal. None of the above mentioned services is better or worse. They all have their specific challenges, they all offer their specific added value and opportunities.

When you normally do management vacancies and a mass recruitment project is offered to you: take that opportunity with both hands! Gaining new experiences will raise your professional level so very much.

When you normally do Executive Search and you have the opportunity to do the recruitment for temporary staff; go for it and enjoy the specific challenges and new experiences.

When your help is needed for vacancies in a complete different sector than the specializations you are having: don’t hesitate for a second and take the opportunity with enthusiasm. It will stimulate your personal and professional development.

Rejecting Your Candidate

When Danka rejects a candidate she spends all the time necessary in explaining the person the why’s of her decision. She does this in a constructive manner and makes it easy for the receiver to understand and accept the message. It even gives the receiver a sense of true connection.

       How Do You Like To Be Rejected?

Probably daily you are rejecting candidates for the vacancies you are working on. And you might have some templates with standard, uninspiring, texts which never ever really cover the exact reasons for rejection. You most probably would not like to receive such a message yourself. If you don’t like to be treated yourself in such a way, why would you treat other people in such manner?

       Reject Without Delay In Person

Rejecting your candidates takes time. Especially when you postpone rejections as they will increase in such big numbers that you get stressed and overwhelmed. In the end you either don’t reject your candidates at all or you send a flat, uninspiring, maybe even offensive message.

The moment you realize the candidate should be rejected: write the e-mail, or even better: call the person and explain.

       Reject Positive & Honest, Give Advice

Most effective is to reject your candidate during the interview. In person. He or she can ask you questions and you’ll have a meaningful conversation.

You reject right here and now. You do NOT delay the message because procrastinating causes an immense amount of activities-to-do which soon will become an overwhelming burden which makes you freak-out, stressed and highly ineffective.

If you can’t do it in person you’ll call the person and if this is not possible you write an e-mail. As personal as you can allow yourself.

Keep in mind that you do not possibly hurt or insult the person and that you give constructive input with which the person can positively do something useful:

> Job application tips & tricks (CV, interview, preparation…)

> Courses, requalification

> Overview of companies, other vacancies, job boards, other agencies…

You Know What You Like

When you ask a shop assistant if they have a certain product you’ll appreciate it, you take it actually for granted, that she answers you in a pleasant and meaningful way: whether they have the product and if not, when they think they’ll have it. And if they don’t have it at all that they’ll give you a tip where you can buy it. That is what you want. When you apply for a job by sending your CV you’ll appreciate the agency answering you immediately and giving you meaningful information.

       Friendly & Pleasant

You receive hundreds of job applications and whenever an application is received an immediate answer must go to the person. We have standard messages. But make sure, if you use these standard messages, that they are pleasant and meaningful. And if the standard messages are not good enough, make better ones.  

       Express Your Gratitude

When you have general applications, for no specific vacancy, you can easily create a wonderful message which will fit most general applications:

Express your gratitude for sending you their CV, explain how we work, what we can do, attach a PDF document with “Tips & Tricks of how to get the job you want”, leaf your phone number with the invitation to call you and suggest them the possibility to have a personal interview.

With applications for specific vacancies it is just as easy:

Express your gratitude for their application, explain the next steps, attach the PDF and more information about the vacancy, and explicitly invite them to call you and to schedule a personal interview with you.

Does the person not qualify? Send a nice rejection message: thank the person for his or her application, explain the reasons why not, attach the PDF and invite them to call you and have a personal interview.

       Smile & Say Thank You

Using standard messages is often a necessity in order to manage in a timely manner your responses. BUT… a standard message does NOT mean a stupid message. Also your standard messages can be pleasant, meaningful and effective.

If you don’t like the standard messages you are having at your disposal you don’t use them. You make better ones. Don’t accept standardized stupidity in our company.

How can you recognize standardized stupidity? Be aware, be conscious and assess whether you would like to receive those stupid messages or treatment. And if you don’t like it, why would you treat somebody else in such way?

       Limiting Your Chances. Do You Like That?

Silvia interviewed a candidate for a Financial Management position for Emerson and she concluded that the candidate would fit also 2 other vacancies at 2 other clients. Usually she would not offer more than one vacancy to a candidate in order not to challenge the interests of our clients.

       Give Possibility Of Choice

When you are having candidates qualifying for more than one vacancy you discuss all the vacancies with the candidate (also if one of these vacancies is not your vacancy but from your colleague). You give the possibility to introduce the candidate to all or a selection of the qualifying vacancies.

       You Like To Be Delighted. So Do Your Candidates

Imagine that you apply for a job at an agency and the recruiter offers you several great jobs and gives you the choice to which companies he should introduce you, you are delighted. You like that much more than if he would hide all the other jobs for you. Especially if you’ll find out.

       What You Like Is What They Like

So it’s simple what you do: you discuss all the vacancies with the candidate (also the vacancies of your colleagues if relevant) and you leave the choice to your candidate.

This is also in the interest of the client. Because if your candidate will receive 2 or more job offers he or she will chose for the best fit, which is also in the interest of the companies who miss out on this candidate as they do not end up with a person being unhappy after a while.

Giving more alternatives has great benefit for the candidate, for you and in the end also for the company who succeeds to hire the person.

How can you know this is the best way? Just think about what you would like as a candidate.

Lying Is Crying

You are fitting new clothes and the shop assistance tells you how great the dress suits you. You doubt but the shop assistant is so enthusiastic and convincing that you decide to buy the dress. But… as the dress is discounted you are not allowed to change it once you bought it. Coming home you put it on again, and now, when having a good look, the dress is awful. It fits terribly. And you can’t return it. You make the decision to never ever buy something in that shop.

I interviewed a great Financial Manager from a wonderful company in Bratislava for a job at Heineken in Hurbanovo, a 2 hour drive from Bratislava and in the middle of no-where. I sold this job so incredibly well that the lady took the job.

       Fixing Regret Is Tough

She called me after one month. She wanted to see me. When I stepped into her office she told me how disappointed she was with the job, that she feels miserable, as both the job and the company did not suit her at all and she was so very sad that she left her previous job. And they didn’t want to take her back.

       Before You Make The Mistake, Don’t Make It

I realized that, in my enthusiasm about Heineken and her excellent professional profile, that I talked her into the job and that I was not at all focused on her needs and requirements. Now that I got to my senses I could only agree with her. She was not the right match and I should have not talked her into this job at all. I apologized and did my best to find her a new job, matching her requirements.

       Be Considerate

Trying to persuade a candidate for a job opening backfires. It’s paramount that we work in the interest of both our clients as well as our candidates. And nobody wins when somebody takes a forced decision.

> Check, double check and cross check with the candidate whether the job and the company are a good match,

> Understand that a career move is a very big thing in a person’s life, deal with it carefully,

> Try to demotivate the person for the job…does he or she stay enthusiastic?