Why and how do I collaborate?

By Tali Nizic, Controllers-On-Call

The Association of Canadian Search, Employment & Staffing Services (ACSESS), recently held the "2001 A Staffing Odyssey Conference". The conference described a promising forecast for the staffing industry in Canada. Recent statistics indicate the market for talent is tight and the war for talent is likely to get worse. Although the workforce continues to be dominated by baby boomers, post boomer sub-groups are beginning to have a strong influence. It was revealed during the conference that 75% of companies currently post jobs on third-party websites and 90% of executives' use the Internet for job searches and career management. However, the overall message was that technology would never completely replace the role of human intervention in recruitment.

The staffing industry in Canada is worth $3.5 billion. The most pressing issues facing the permanent sector are finding qualified candidates. The most pressing issues facing the temporary sector are finding qualified candidates, followed closely by government regulations and labor codes.

I began my recruiting/executive search career with an agency specializing in the placement of middle to senior level finance professionals in contract positions The positions were always advertised, and we did not have any difficulty finding candidates. In the contract world the employer's focus is finding a candidate that will hit the ground running. As it is temporary, the employer's mindset is totally different. Collaboration in this case did not come into play.

When I chose to expand my recruiting experience and master the art of "head hunting", I was hired to recruit sales and marketing individuals in the telecommunications field. I had no difficulties in generating job orders, however, I did not have any candidates to fill these positions, and the agency did not believe in advertising of any kind. After all we were headhunters…it became clear very quickly that in order to be successful, I would need to find a reliable source that had been recruiting in the telecommunications field with a solid database of candidates. It is here that my collaboration journey began and I have never looked back. Consequently I met with this recruiter, agreed on a mutual split with flexibility. It took a while for this telecommunications recruiter to build full trust however as time went on, trust was built and by the time I left the field we benefited a great deal from this relationship. We created a win/win situation that lasted for a very long time.

I now own my own agency, Controllers On Call, in Toronto, Canada, specializing in the placement of Accounting and Finance Professionals in project/contract and full time positions. Our positions start at the $45,000 level up to the C.F.O. level. A good client of ours, working with us exclusively, needed junior people. Could we find them? Absolutely! However, that is not our niche. It would take us far too long, and away from our focus. In order to serve our client, we gave this order to another agency specializing in the placement of accountants at the clerical level. We did not ask for commission. Resumes of Financial executives are referred to Controllers On Call. Once again we are creating on going business relationship and a win/win situation.

We have a wonderful working relationship with a seasoned recruiter, specializing in the recruitment of Finance Professionals, on a full-time basis only. We built trust very quickly. When his clients are in need of contract employees, it is turned over to us. By now we have collaborated on more than one occasion and very successfully. Controllers On Call advertise consistently and has a web site that drives new applicants on a daily basis. This recruiter always looks to place Auditors, or recently graduated Chartered Accountants and these resumes get forwarded. When a candidate we referred gets placed, we receive a nice check in the mail. Bonus!

The Oxford Dictionary gives the word collaborate the following definition: "Work together; co-operate with the enemy"…with my collaboration experience, we are definitely working together and benefiting from the relationship, and although recruiting firms are deemed to be the enemy, are we really? To me, collaboration has meant more placements in a shorter period of time, and outstanding service to both clients and candidates. Good luck and happy collaborating!

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Tali Nizic, the president and C.E.O. of Controllers On Call has been recruiting since 1996. Controllers On Call (www.controllersoncall.net), is a leader in the placement of middle to senior level Accounting and Finance Professionals in contract and permanent positions. With over 20 years of accounting experience, she chose the recruiting world; assisting employers obtain suitable Accounting and Finance Professionals, thereby creating a win-win proposition for both client and candidate. Ms. Nizic can be reached at tali@controllersoncall.net