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Permalink Reply by Arianne Bachove on August 15, 2012 at 11:25am

My last company required a minimum of 100 calls per day. This was not always realistic or productive. I understand the reasoning behind "the numbers game" but the majority of the recruiters would make "fake" phone calls just to reach the goal. I feel that it is more about quality than quantity. 

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Permalink Reply by Adam on August 15, 2012 at 12:47pm

Thanks, Arianne.  We also chose the 100 per day minimum, but there won't be any pressure that would result in "fake" calls.  If she's only hitting 80 but is on the phone all day making quality calls, there won't be any penalty.  But I think it helps to have that baseline number of calls that "need" to be made, if for nothing else than psychological reasons...

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Permalink Reply by Amy Ala Miller on August 15, 2012 at 1:49pm

Hi Adam - I've also worked for companies requiring 100 dials, tracked our phone time, etc. What worked better for me as a newbie (and what I tracked as a manager/director) was actual submissions. I wanted to know how many legit phone screens were conducted with candidates, how many new job orders (for full desk recruiters) followed by submissions, interviews, etc.

I think the number of quality candidates / clients she's reaching is more valuable. I would check out training materials / info from Lou Adler and Barb Bruno. Maybe Scott Love. I've used pieces of all of theirs.

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Permalink Reply by Adam on August 15, 2012 at 2:21pm

Thanks very much Amy.  And that's actually what I mentioned to her during the interview process, that submissions/interviews would be the true measure of how she is doing.  But what I didn't necessarily anticipate was the guidance that she will need to put her in a position to get the resumes from the quality candidates.  And I feel that, as her employer, my job is to put her in the best position possible to succeed.  Then once she has the tools, it is up to her to be motivated enough to make it all work...

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Permalink Reply by Amber on August 15, 2012 at 3:42pm

Adam, unless you are really going to track and hold her accountable for specific numbers they won't be effective in any case. From personal experience, I worked very poorly under the strict metrics system but do think if this is the person's first job of this type it has some benefit to get them used to being on the phone all the time. I have worked and managed sales staff where the metrics were tracked from the top down. And these would be similar for most types of jobs requiring contact to be made:

Minimum        50 dials/day

Contacts        20 minimum/day

Resumes        5  minimum/day

 

You keep mentioning your industry having candidates info at your disposal, so the numbers might call for some adjustments. But again, the goal of a certain of calls, resumes, sendouts, placements, etc. will be moot if the person does not learn how to match, qualify, sell and present candidates to your clients. From your last comment, this person will need to watch someone doing this. What is the new hire's background/experience?

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Adam on August 15, 2012 at 4:09pm

The new hire is a law school graduate, but she never actually practiced in large law firms, which adds a level of difficulty in terms of knowing the different practice areas, etc.  She sits close to me and can hear my calls, so I'm hoping that will be helpful...and based on how her calls have changed just today, I think it is working. 

I definitely think she has the motivation and ability to make both herself and me a decent amount of money...I just need to make sure I provide her with the necessary tools...

Thanks very much for your feedback, Amber...

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Permalink Reply by Amber on August 15, 2012 at 4:54pm

Amy mentioned some training people, and I also have used and shared some of Scott Love's info and Barb Bruno's. Scott has quite a bit of free info on his site, http://www.greatrecruitertraining.com/freebies. I recall there were even some activity tracking sheets on there.

If it is just the 2 of you in the office, I would suggest trying to find some meetings /events to go to locally, together or seperately. That way it helps break up the routine, to avoid it becoming a "rut".

Also, as you get to know your new hire, look for what seems to motivate her and try to incorporate that into the goals you have set for her. Example, for some reason I had a group of top account executives that would get ridiculously excited about winning a lunch break that included 2 movie passes, certificate for snacks, and the time off to go during a work day. I gave this out usually to the person who exceeded a weekly goal - like getting over the "required" 5 loan applications per week. Now, these AE's earned an average of $2,000 in commission per loan they made each month but that little prize really got them racing to see who would win it.

 

Also, I have a pretty new person here so let me know what's working well for you!!

 

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Permalink Reply by Amy Ala Miller on August 15, 2012 at 8:27pm

Also, I'm assuming she's going to run a full desk but I would recommend having her concentrate strictly on candidate development. Let her submit to your openings, but I would not try to teach biz dev and recruiting at the same time. Once she's comfortable with candidate generation and is comfortable presenting, then she can start getting her own business.

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Permalink Reply by Adam on August 16, 2012 at 3:28pm

Thanks, Amy and Amber.  Great suggestions. 

 

Amy, yes, I have her working only on candidate development at this point.  And it will probably continue that way for the foreseeable future.  I have more than enough open positions to keep both of us busy.

 

Amber, so far, she has improved on a daily basis. I think it large part from listening to me making calls, but also just out of a genuine need to place people as quickly as possible.  I think it hit her after her first two weeks that she needed to pick up the pace or it just wasn't going to work.  And today she got her first couple of good resumes.  Hopefully one of them will lead to a placement for her!

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