Maximize Your Job Order to Placement Ratio!

by Nelson Abreu

As layoffs continue businesses will expect to produce more talent with less help from third-party sources. There is a perceived notion that since there will be more people looking for work, job openings will be easier to fill. If you are not hiring from high demand talent areas or if your hiring standards suddenly decrease then perhaps this holds true. Lets face it, when companies downsize the sharpest people rarely get the first hand shakes if any at all. Layoffs are about decreasing headcount while trying to maintain productivity.

In many and quite possibly most cases the first move corporate management will take is to stop introducing new searches to third-party suppliers or more drastically stop existing searches altogether and beef up internal initiatives. Lets come to grips with the fact that any company would do what it takes to cut their recruiting budget and that they will, given the change in the marketplace. What does this mean to the executive recruiter?

The third-party recruiting sector will experience a decline in the total number of job orders received. Naturally one would conclude that revenue potential will also decrease but realistically how much your business is affected depends on the state of the industry your serve, the type of talent you specialize in and most importantly the relationship you have with your clients.

All new business relationships go through a testing or courting phase which usually means the supplier has to perform regardless of circumstance. In the recruiting industry this translates to receiving less favorable job orders, dealing with a slow feedback loop, post-placement fee negotiations, mid-search internal promotions, headcount freezes, etc. What this boils down to is that a lack of relationship translates to a lack of commitment. When job orders are plentiful failing on one or two assignments won't break the bank. Just move onto the next one.

When the volume of job orders decrease it becomes most important that a greater percentage get filled. Naturally then you want to concentrate on the ones that you have the best chance at filling. The quality of a job order should be judged primarily on your relationship with your client. Regardless of the position, salary level or the fee arrangement, your relationship with your client is directly proportionate to the percentage chance of completing the assignment. It is no secret that the most successful recruiters get hold of the best job openings and have the best order to placement ratios. This is because their client relationships are deeply rooted and posses high trust factors.

Another symptom of layoffs and/or economic downturn is the increase in resumes, applicants and the time you will devote to screening. Time you should be devoting to your searches. Do your research now and get a handle on a good applicant tracking software package. Applicant tracking software has come a long way over the last 3 or so years so if you're still using an old one its time to shop around again. The way our industry has taken to the electronic medium has made it extremely simple for job seekers to blast resumes in volume. Your old software won't do nearly as good a job at searching for and sorting information as contemporary systems can and there are many available specifically for the agency business model. Conduct a search on any major search engine for "applicant tracking software".

Make a concerted effort to be aware of the orders your peers are working on. You never know when you can add a candidate into the mix, help a colleague and make a split. By the same token don't start 'sandbagging' your own orders in the hope of guaranteeing yourself full fees. Providing the best candidates available on the market should always be your goal and in your long-term best interest. If you 'sandbag' your orders and your best candidate doesn't make the cut your client may be forced to open the search to others or go elsewhere altogether. When every order counts this is a mistake you can't afford to make. Your contact/support network is the essential other half to maximizing your job order to placement ratio. Stay well connected and well informed.

Nelson Abreu