How to recruit like the professionals…but without the costs

Monroe Consulting Group

Monroe Overview

Experts in executive recruitment

Specialist executive recruitment company

Established in 1998

Over 12 years in Southeast Asia

Mid to Senior level appointments

Thailand focus on Manufacturing, Consumer Goods, Logistics, I.T & Technology, Oil & Gas and Banking & Finance

2012 – PWC, Groupon, Beiersdorf, Standard Chartered, DHL, Macquarie Securities, Philip Morris, UOB, Diageo, Fonterra.

Recruit like the pros…..without the cost• For any business, recruitment costs through an agency can be prohibitively expensive with

most agencies charging between 15% and 35% of candidates yearly remuneration. On a salary of 70,000 baht per month, this could be a fee of as much as 200,000 baht.

• However, before you start, work out the actual & the hidden costs of recruiting. • Actual costs; advertising costs - Job boards, Bangkok Post/Nation, Jobs DB etc.• Hidden costs; the time it takes you (or your employee) to handle the recruitment

campaign by working out a per hour cost. Eg. 200k salary p/m = 1250 p/h• Time can vary dramatically but on average , if you add all the hours together to handle

applications, rejections, interviews and the likes, it will take about 2 weeks – what is the practical costs of this? (1250 X 80 hours = 100K).

• Also, if you are doing the recruitment, what are you not doing? Time spent on recruitment is time not spent on sales, operations, marketing etc.

• Check list – right people/right recruiting skills? Market perception? Competitive?• Not everyone is suited to recruitment - If you don’t have the patience, sales ability or

“attract ability” to do the job, are you doing more harm than good?

Common methods of Recruitment

Common methods of recruitment• Printed adverts in the likes of Bangkok Post & Nation.• On-line advertising in the likes of Jobs DB• Using social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin• Using Forums, on-line networking and blogs• Social networking through the likes of Bangkok Entrepreneurs, Chambers of Commerce

etc .• Head-hunting• Doing ‘milk round’ at relevant Universities• Incentivised referrals from existing staff

Cheap, alternative methods of recruitment

Recruiting for Free•YouTube videos — using employee-produced videos to show the excitement within the firm. •Employee referral cards – providing employees with Talent Spotting” cards to give to people who impress them during the course of their day. •“Show your work” sites – sourcing on Internet sites like Dribble and Printerest where individuals post their actual work can allow you to assess and complement on the work of individuals who are not actively looking for a job. •Recruiting at non-recruiting events – recruiting at events that are regularly attended by your targets including trade shows, charity events, sporting events, and wine festivals. •Question sites/forums – recruit individuals who continually give high quality answers on Internet questions sites .•Blogs – having your employees write blogs can send an authentic message to individuals who are not actively seeking a job creating brand and company awareness. •Creating a story book – compiling and publishing a book highlighting key employee’s stories about the firm’s culture and environment is a form of authentic messaging.

Creating an effective Job Advert

Creating an effective Job Advert• Firstly remember that a job advert is being put out there and is a reflection of your

company…and is there to attract people, not put them off.• You should adopt a style that suits your target audience e.g. vibrant & dynamic for a

younger audience, more staid for a senior audience.• Less can be more effective than more with imagery and less words being better.• Remember to sell yourself. The candidate needs to be attracted to you before you get a

chance to say yes or no to them. Far too often adverts just concentrate on what you want from a candidate and don’t sell the company/opportunity.

• Don’t over stipulate on requirements; insisting on 5 years experience when in reality you will take 3; wanting a 1st class honours when it’s not really necessary. Remember you will get a chance to see a CV and can ‘adjust’ requirements according to the number of responses. An advert is a net, cast wide to catch the most, then whittled down to ‘land the big one’.

• For on-line advertising pay attention to Search Terms.• Adverts with salaries on them attract 40% more responses than those without. • And don’t forget any good benefits, commissions or selling points that are attractive.

Head-hunting Made Easyitle

Headhunting – the basics• Only 10% of senior candidates are actively on the market and looking at your job adverts.

Many won’t apply to a direct competitor. That leaves 90% who will only be interested if you head-hunt them direct.

• 100% of the FTSE 500 companies use head-hunters. Co-incidence?• Be realistic about where you stand in the market. It will be hard to attract someone who

sees you as a lesser prospect than their current employer.• Candidates moving to a bigger company with better career options will move for the same

role or slightly less.• Candidates currently in a bigger company will move to a smaller one if the role is bigger.• Money can be a motivator but rarely is it the main one. Number one for most candidates

is career prospects closely followed by job satisfaction.• Be creative with your position; understand the week areas and make them stronger.

How to headhunt

Headhunting – it’s not rocket science!• Once you have worked out what/who you want you need to create a search list.• A search list should comprise of direct competitors and associated companies and

should be listed in reverse order of preference i.e. main ones first and then working backwards.

• If you do not know the name of the person you are looking for then a job title will do. Name gathering can be achieved by several means. Information on the internet, articles, press releases, referrals, etc.

• If you can’t get it from this then simply call up the company and ask for the Sales Director or whoever you are trying to head-hunt

• Be creative in your call. Many companies will not simply give out employee names to strangers.

• Once you have a name then it’s simply a case of calling that person and ‘pitching’ your opportunity.

• REMEMBER: They are not applying to you. You are trying to attract them.

Attracting Top Talent

So how do you attract top talent?1. Big Company Bureaucracy. This is probably the #1 reason you will hear from Top Talent. Feeling like a small fish in a big pond, senior management taking all the credit, not having a say in what’s going on. These are all things you can use as a small company to attract Top Talent.2. Failing to Find a Project for the Talent that Ignites Their Passion. Big companies have many moving parts. Therefore, they usually don’t have people going around to their best and brightest asking them if they’re happy with their current project. Top talent isn’t driven by money and power, but by the opportunity to be a part of something big; something that will change the world, and for which they can get passionate about. Can you ignite that passion? 3. Poor Annual Performance Reviews. You would be amazed at how many companies do not do a very effective job at annual performance reviews. Or, if they have them, they are rushed through, with a form quickly filled out and sent off to HR, and back to real work. The impression this leaves with the employee is that the boss — and, therefore, the company — isn’t really interested in their long-term future. If you’re talented enough, why stay? This one leads into #4…. 4. No Discussion around Career Development. Here’s a secret for most bosses: most employees don’t know what they’ll be doing in 5 years. However everyone wants to have a discussion with you about their future. Most bosses never engage with their employees about where they want to go in their careers — even the Top Talent. This represents a huge opportunity for you and your organization if you do bring it up. Top Talent want to know there are good options for them going forward and that you are able to realise their potential..

Attracting Top Talent

5. Shifting Whims/Strategic Priorities. Big companies are always changing their strategies and projects. The challenge for most organizations is sticking with a plan or strategy in a year or two from now. Top talent hates to be “jerked around.” If you can be more versatile and ‘faster on your feet”, you can give Top Talent an opportunity to see a project through to completion. 6. Lack of Accountability and/or mentoring. Although you can’t “jerk around” Top Talent, it’s a mistake to treat Top Talent leading a project as “untouchable.” No one is saying that you need to get into anyone’s business or telling them what to do, however, top talent demands accountability from others and expects to learn from those more knowledgeable. Are you the person or type of company to mentor? 7. Top Talent likes other Top Talent. What are the rest of the people around the Top Talent like? Many large organizations keep some people on the payroll that rationally shouldn’t be there. Exit interviews with Top Talent leaving big companies often reveals how they were turned off by some of their former “team mates.” Can you surround them with other great people? 8. The Missing Vision Thing. This might sound obvious, but is the future of your organization exciting? What strategy are you executing? What is the vision you want this talented person to fulfill? Did they have a say/input into this vision? If the answer is yes, then you too can attract Top Talent. 9. Lack of Open-Mindedness. The best people want to share their ideas and have them listened to. However, a lot of big companies have a vision/strategy which they are trying to execute against — and, often find opposing voices to this strategy as an annoyance and a sign that someone’s not a “team player.” Can you do better? . 10. I hate my Boss? If a few people have recently quit a company and they all report to the same boss, it’s likely not a coincidence. Top Talent want strong leadership who they can learn from and who will, well lead them. Big companies can afford to have not so good people in top positions through politics and nepotism. Are you the type of boss to inspire?

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John TolmieManaging DirectorMonroe Consulting Group

Tel: 02 664 4014Email: john@monroeconsulting.co.th