Search Results - approach

Blog Post: How to Coach a Focused Team

Added by Ryan Mead at 4:11pm on June 30, 2015

Blog Post: Take This Cult and Shove It - Why Culture Fit Shouldn't Be a Thing: Am I the only one who has finally reached the end of the proverbial rope…; Added by Skip Graham at 1:19pm on September 9, 2015

Topic: Meet Thomas F.X. Licari, Corporate Recruiter, And Activist Founder of The Illinois Recruiters Association: link Facebook Profile - MySpace Profile Blog Site Plaxo Resume: http://TFXL.emurse.com Meet our friend, Thomas Licari, RBC Community enthusiast, founder of his own activist local staffing organization, corporate recruiter and family man. Thomas is a Human Capital Management Professional with 15 years of experience working with fortune 500’s, the U.S. government and startup’s companies providing cutting edge talent acquisition strategies. He specializes in recruitment, retention, compensation, global strategic sourcing, OFCCP regulations, and training/development. Overall, he is primarily Client-focused with strong relationship building and strategic planning skills and particular strengths in the broad areas of Recruitment Optimization, Recruiting Technology Expertise, and Executive Recruitment Specialist. I have communicated over the years with Thomas but had a chance to finally meet him one-on-one while he sat next to Jason Davis interviewing live on a webcam at ONREC last September. Thomas did not disappoint, he has a keen sense of humor, the kind where his answers to some of JD's questions would have caused a fountain of soft drinks to burst out from noses had they been privy to his candor and wit. (If you were there, you would attest to the accuracy of my statement!) Thomas has that rare tenacity of not merely being a follower, but a leader in his own right, who cares deeply about the quality of topics and events of the Illinois Recruiters Association he founded, and has been active in referring his own membership to the RBC community. Q&A With Thomas Licari Six Degrees: Tell us of your home world. Thomas: I married my beloved dream girl Kelly Sue August 19th 2005. We rented a private house with its own beach “McKenna” on the island of Maui, HI. We had a huge party with all our family, friends and the giant sea turtles that came to witness our nuptials. We have two kids a girl 2 1/2 years; Alexandria Soleil Licari and a son 6 months old; Dallas Hawk Licari Thomas: My hobbies include but are not limited to: playing the guitar, rocking the mic, geeking out on the computer, watching way to much TV, making up loving nicknames to call my wifey, singing the Dora the explorer theme song to make my daughter smile, becoming mental over the play of my Dallas Cowboys, FYI, some day my daughter will buy the Cowboys for me as a gift, boxing, and teaching my son Hawk how to throw a perfect punch at six months of age Six Degrees: How many years have you been in the staffing industry? Thomas: I have been a Human Capital Management Professional for 15 years and still love it! I must be sick in the head. Six Degrees: How did you get started as a recruiter? Thomas: I became a recruiter by mistake. I graduated college with my 1st degree in Criminal Justice with an eye on becoming a FBI agent. After obtaining my degree I started the testing process for state and federal law enforcement positions. The problem was that I needed a job now so I could eat, and the testing process takes months to achieve a result. So I put together a resume, you all know the kind of resume I mean, as a recruiter I am sure you’ve read thousands of them. The kind that says you did all these wonderful things, but is a really big stretch. I sent my resume for a COO position to a very success female owned temp to perm agency and was called in for an interview. So I dressed up in my only suit and when in with high hopes knowing full well that I was totally 100% not qualified for the position. I met with the president of the company her name was Hallean. She got me in that interview chair and went for my throat for the start. I was too dumb to recognize that she was messing with me. At the end of the interview Hallean offer me a job as a Jr. recruiter. I was totally excited to have a job as it meant that I could eat something other than ramen noodles. I had no idea what a recruiter even did, but you can be assured Hallean taught me in her own very direct way. I think about her sometimes and would love to show her what I became or in other words what she helped create. Six Degrees: What single event had the most impact on your sourcing/recruiting career? Thomas: I was very young in my recruiting life and still wasn’t sure that I wanted it to be my career. I worked for a small technology firm as a recruiter and was given a great deal of authority when it came to the hiring process. Remembering the lessons that Hallean taught me about understanding the “resume stretch” I implemented it into my selection process when choosing talent to interview. I quickly became the top producing recruiting at the small tech firm. After a few months of working there one of my recruits sent me a card all about how I changed his life by giving him a job. I sat in my chair reading the card and suddenly realized that I in a small way could affect change. I fell in love with recruiting right then and there. Come to think about it, I think I still have that card, I should dig it out to show my son and daughter one day when they are older. Do you have a mentor to whom you attribute your overall outlook on recruitment, capabilities, and/or model your career after? Thomas: Short answer my Pop! I wanted to prove to him that I could be the best recruiter. You see he wasn’t sold on the fact that I turned down offers to go into law enforcement at the time. So when I decided that I would continue my career as a recruiter I made up my mind that I would succeed at it. The second person would be Scott A. Spear currently the co-founder and Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Acquity Group. I worked for Scott at Modern Business Technology when he founded the company. Scott always had a way that I can’t explain fully around the hiring process. When I recruited for him he always had a great eye for talent and a different approach for judging all candidates. It wasn’t behavioral, skills, or matrix driven I think you’d call it instinct. Anyway I told you I couldn’t explain it. He had the uncanny ability build structure where there was chaos. He is a good guy look him up & connect with him http://www.linkedin.com/pub/3/2a7/755. The third person would be Tim Simmons the guy is just unbelievable at dealing with people. You’d just have to see him work to know what I mean. He is a top notch people person and I tell him often that he should write a how to book http://www.linkedin.com/pub/0/189/958 Six Degrees: Tell us about your job, Thomas Thomas: I can description my current roles in two ways; I am the president and founder of the Illinois Recruiters Association and a professional consultant. As the president and founder of the Illinois Recruiters Association my responsibilities are providing strategic direction, building membership, constructing the organizations web channel, virtual marketing and participating in speaking events. The size of the Illinois Recruiters Association is a moving target because we grow larger every day. We currently have over 2500 active members with a national newsletter that reaches over 10,000. As a professional consultant in area of Human Capital Management. I have 15 years of experience working with fortune 500’s, the U.S. government and startup’s companies providing cutting edge talent acquisition strategies. I have proven abilities in recruiting, retention, compensation, global strategic sourcing, OFCCP regulations, and training/development. I am Client-focused with strong relationship building and strategic planning skills. Other key areas I might be able to help you with include: Recruitment Optimization, Recruiting Technology Expert, Successful Instructor, Networking leader, Team/Project Leader, Executive Recruitment Specialist. If you need help feel free to give me a call if I don’t have time to assist I’ll refer you to someone that can. Six Degrees: (A) What other companies' recruiting operations do you admire or have heard are best-practice examples? Thomas: I admire the following: Doug Berg the founder and chief innovation officer of Jobs2Web because of his vision. Shally Steckerl from JobMachine, because the guy is just that crazy good, also I believe in what RD Whitney is doing with Onrec. (B) In what aspects are they superior? Thomas: Doug Berg all you need to do is visit www.jobs2web.com. To understand why I dig Doug is visit http://www.jobs2web.com/what-we-do/attract-talent/ read the page and you’ll get it I promise. Shally is best in class as a recruiting technology strategist, he is always willing to help people, and constantly comes up with new great ideas, he seems to drive the industry. RD Whitney I’ve gotten to know personally/professionally and he really goes all out to build strong virtual marketing channels for all his exhibitors at the OnRec shows. Six Degrees: What recent general news story or industry trend do you feel will have an impact on your work in the future? Why? Thomas: Government bail outs, the down economy, global recession. The WHY just bums me out when I think about it. Hiring slows down to a snail’s pace and my fellow recruiters starve. To all my fellow recruiters out there reading this keep your head up things will get better. If you are looking for a new job email me and I’ll try and help. Six Degrees: Tell us about speaking events, awards, publications, where you have you represented your company: Thomas: The event I’d really like to focus on is the January 28, 2009 Training Seminar & Networking Event. I am invited an expert panel of Web 2.0 recruiting strategists to discuss Topic: “Web 2.0 Recruiting & the Latest Trends”. If you are going to be in Illinois 01/28/09 come check out this event. For more information visit www.illinoisrecruiters.org My events can easily be found with a simple Google search or visiting http://www.illinoisrecruiters.org/calendar/calendar.htm. Six Degrees: What is your next career goal? What do you need to do to get there? Thomas: My next career goal is to build the largest professional recruiters network in the industry, which include educational/networking events. All I need to accomplish this is more time. Recommendations “Thomas is able to build relationships with Hiring Managers quickly, thereby, jump starting searches with accurate information. Thomas is creative in his sourcing approach and keen on networking to find the right people at the right time for the right job. He is a great team player and a delight to work with!” November 12, 2007 Mary Claire Ryan, Dir. of Global Exec. Search and Diverstiy Staffing, Abbott Laboratories “Thomas is a knowledgeable recruiter and an expert 'networker' who works tirelessly for the Illinois Recruiters Association. He has arranged and promoted a number of very useful educational and networking programs for local recruiters to hone their skills and enhance their professional networks. I have known Thomas for a number of years and all of my interactions with him have been positive and productive.” October 24, 2008 Marianne Murphy-Orland, Executive Recruiter & Training Specialist, Electro-Motive Diesel “I have had the opportunity to attend several Illinois Recruiter Association meetings that have been hosted by Tom. He does an excellent job in providing relevant information to his audience; things we can use right now. I definitely look forward to interfacing with him in the future.” April 22, 2008 Mike Madura, Manager Recruiting, KPMG “I had the opportunity to see Tom "work his mojo" at the Illinois Recruiters Association's meeting. He provided an excellent presentation and was able to talk with a diverse set of recruiters in the room. He was able to explain it so that it made sense to all levels and was able to get into some advanced topics without losing the room. Based on his presentation I could see clearly why he has been such a successful recruiter. I would highly recommend Tom for speaking and recruiting engagements.” April 17, 2008. Top qualities: Expert, High Integrity, Creative Scott McCance…; Added by Dave Mendoza at 3:34am on January 12, 2009

Topic: Meet Melbourne's Charles Van Heerden, "Three Decades, Mandela to Change Management": series please click here." Sage words from 'Van Heerden:' "I am a firm believer in measurement. I have a value score for my contacts based on the level of interactions by email, phone or face to face. You have to make friends now with the people you may need later." "... Rather than trying to fill traditional full-time roles, companies will have to consider flexible approaches to resourcing to fill skill gaps. The other big driver is technology .." • RecruitingBlogs Profile • Linkedin • Facebook • Twitter • Website • Personal Blog • Community Volunteering: I am on the Corporate Advisory Panel of an educational organization (Open Universities Australia) as well as about 10% of my time is pro-bono work which I provide to clients and customers based on needs Office: +61 418 271 506 • Personal Email Charles Van Heerden Observes his Three Decades, Generations & Countries, from Nelson Mandela to Change Management. A Veteran of the Staffing Industry, Charles has over thirty years of expertise which he regularly and generously shares to the RecruitingBlogs.com community. He is a Change expert, commercial HR Director & innovative OD consultant, authentic leader & executive coach. His experience includes services (consulting, information technology and research), heavy industry (mining, engineering), FMCG (dairy, beer and carpets), working with medium and large scale organisational change, including acquisitions and mergers. Tertiary qualifications include psychology, industrial relations, human resources and change management. Q&A with Charles Van Heerden Six Degrees: Tell us of your home world. Charles: After getting married on my 21st birthday we have defied all the odds and my best friend Marianne and I have been married this year for 30 years. I am good at remembering our wedding anniversary, but tend to forget to buy a card or gift. We have two darling daughters; Tanya (27) and Leana (25), who both live in Melbourne as well. Tanya has a daughter (Felicity) who is ten months old. I really don’t feel like a grandfather as many of my friends recently had babies, so we enjoy being a close family, getting together on a weekly basis. We live in the outskirts of Melbourne on a golf estate designed by Greg Norman, which should be really good for my handicap, but I still struggle to find enough time. I used to do a lot of running, including about a 100 half-marathons, until I did my first marathon in New Zealand, running around Lake Rotorua. After that, I reverted back to more gentle pursuits. The last couple of years we were based for most of the time in Warrnambool, which is based at the end of the world famous Great Ocean Road. This is known as the Shipwreck Coast and the weather can be pretty wild. Contrary to most of Australia, the Southwest is very green with lots of rain, very similar to New Zealand. My life can easily be divided into three chapters, the first half living in South Africa, then moving to New Zealand for ten years, followed by the last eight years in Australia. Six Degrees: What are some of the unexpected adventures in your life's journey's outside of the staffing industry? Charles: We lived in South Africa during a turbulent time and I was working for the most progressive employer (SAB), which included various meetings with the ANC, including a very special dinner with President Nelson Mandela, including meeting him personally, just before the 1994 elections. I had the opportunity to meet him and other key ANC figures; I was quite involved with an organization that assisted returning exiles to the new South Africa. This included several trips to the UK. One of my fond memories is a presentation to a large group of graduates on how to prepare for interviews and the best way of finding a role. It was really difficult to make the decision to leave South Africa, but we decided to leave due to the high level of crime. My next-door neighbor was the MD of an arms company and had guards outside with machine guns. I wasn’t sure if we should feel safer or whether we run the risk of being shot in case of mistaken identity. Unfortunately we had to leave our three Persian cats behind, as the quarantine period was nine months, just too long so we found them good homes. It wasn’t long before we had another three cats in New Zealand, which my company agreed to move to Australia. Due to old age we lost two of them in recent months, with one faithful tabby, Tammy, now being spoiled. Six Degrees: How many years have you been in the staffing industry? Charles: It is getting close to three decades, most of it as a corporate recruiter. I have been involved with all types of roles, from shop floor to technical, with my expertise around management roles, as I have been head of HR from age 26. In my consulting roles I often redesign structures, resulting in revised roles or new roles. I refer any recruitment to recruiters, as WaveBox is not a recruiter but a strategic HR consulting business, developing strong relationships with other consultants. Six Degrees: How did you get started as a recruiter? Charles: My very first reference book was on recruitment (Successful Staff Selection), which is still in my extensive library of a few hundred books. So I got into recruitment from the start, initially as a Personnel Officer. Most of my career has been in corporate HR, culminating in heading the Personnel function, which included Talent Management and Recruitment for South African Breweries (now known as SAB Miller). After about 15 years in HR, I moved to New Zealand and was appointed in a senior line management role, which means I had to manage a team of twenty consultants, providing services to about 500 customers, from large companies like Gillette and Phillips, to very small companies. Six Degrees: What single event had the most impact on your sourcing/recruiting career? Charles: Recruitment has been an integral part of my career, including managing the Employment function for the Feltex group. It was during this time that I was leading a project that was recognized as a best practice in recruitment, working with Management Search International. Terry McCloy, the MD and I were able to develop and implement a true partnership model, where MSI was doing all external recruitment for Feltex. This resulted not only in a 30% reduction on recruitment costs, but a significant improvement in quality, including retention and time to fill. This model served the business very well for about three years, until we bought an Australian company and we had to change our resourcing strategies. Do you have a mentor to whom you attribute your overall outlook on recruitment, capabilities, and/or model your career after? Charles: Though I have been able to work with some excellent recruiters, I have learned most by leading teams and energizing and motivating HR teams to create a culture where the company is a great place to work. Getting feedback from my teams and others has been the biggest influence on my career. Six Degrees: Tell us about your position, Charles. Charles: My current focus is on change management and Strategic HR, including talent management. This includes Leadership Risk Assessment, which means that my key contact is with recruiters. I work hard to try and understand the real strengths and specialty areas so I can match it with specific clients. Six Degrees: (A) What other companies' recruiting operations do you admire or have heard are best-practice examples? Charles: There is a company in NZ (Kerridge & Partners) that I would regard as highly innovative. Six Degrees: (B) In what aspects are they superior? Charles: They are the first firm as far as I know, to have engaged a global CA firm to review their performance and confirm statistics based on an assessment of every assignment completed, not just a sample. This is an extraordinary high level of transparency, giving clients a sense of actual performance and accountability. They also offer an integrated search and coaching solution – taking full responsibility for identifying, assessing, attracting and developing senior leaders into critical roles. Six Degrees: What recent general news story or industry trend do you feel will have an impact on your work in the future? Why? Charles: The way in which we work is changing profoundly, which means companies will have to adapt the way in which they consider their talent requirements. Though it may not be quite as radical as making a movie, the concept of getting a group of talented people to deliver a project will require more innovative ways to attract talent. Rather than trying to fill traditional full-time roles, companies will have to consider flexible approaches to resourcing to fill skill gaps. The other big driver is technology, which means that a virtual team can be established, consisting of permanent, casual and contract staff, supported by consultants. Virtual leadership is demanding a different skill set, by getting a diverse and dispersed group to deliver outstanding results. Six Degrees: Tell us about your broader involvement within the staffing industry: Charles: Conferences are great to stay in touch with networks. I am fortunate that I have been invited to speak at a number of international conferences, though I now try and limit it to special events. When I chaired a conference a few years ago we had a number of speakers pulling out on the second day (highly contagious?) so we got the speakers together in a panel, which proved to be the best session! My key topic areas are around strategic HR, managing change and talent management. Most recently, I spoke at a regional HR conference about configuring the workplace in recessionary times. Six Degrees: Can you detail how the recession has affected your particular industry niche? Has it affected your job or that of your fellow team members within the organization? Charles: The GFC impacted most industries in Australia though we have been fortunate that a strong banking sector, and a positive approach by the Government’s fiscal stimulus package have made it less severe than many other parts of the world. We haven’t yet seen much of an upswing and our client base is indicating little improvement until early 2010. The only sectors spending in real terms are government related projects. There are some signs of life at the lower end but more senior roles are still scarce. HR seems to have been hard hit and know of several senior HR people having been moved on. Six Degrees: Aside from simply the generic term “Networking” what specific efforts have you made on your own behalf, or on behalf of colleagues to broaden your opportunities. Are there specific groups, both online and in-person that have proved fruitful in extending your personal brand and job seeking prospects? Charles: Rather than networking in a haphazard way, I prefer a more structured approach. It takes time, but it means that you are more strategic in your networking. I am a firm believer in measurement. I have a value score for my contacts based on the level of interactions by email, phone or face to face. You have to make friends now with the people you may need later. This was a key lesson I learned from a previous CEO, Sam Magill, who did quarterly staff communication sessions. Sam also used to say: “I is no good trying to talk to staff in bad times, you have do it during the good times so you build a trust relationship”. Six Degrees: Given your own Trial and Error experiences as a Networker, what advice do you have for your peers on what NOT to do? Charles: As a result of my moves across countries I had to rebuild my networks twice from the ground up. I have been able to build enduring relationships. There are probably three things I would highlight: (a) It is important to stay in touch with your existing network, as much as it is vital to keep expanding and adding new contacts. People quickly realize when you are like a butterfly moving from one contact to the next. (b) Linked to this is the recognition to close the loop by keeping your network posted on your interactions with any referrals. (c) Lastly, it helps everyone if you are generous by introducing others to your network. Creating a closed society is not beneficial to anyone. It really has to be a give and take. Six Degrees: What is your next career goal? What do you need to do to get there? Charles: Reinvention is the key to success and through WaveBox, my consulting business, I am developing a portfolio of innovative programs to cover key gaps in the market place – coaching/mentoring of HR Practitioners is an area I particularly enjoy. Another project is around talent management and helping people to grow their careers, which strongly relates to recruiting. Through my networking I developed great relationships with a number of consultants and we are working on a number of projects, all around improving business performance through people. Almost finished is my first eBook on Job Search, which has been commissioned by a career development web site. I would like to spread my time doing consulting, training, speaking and writing, which is why I really appreciate the great feedback from the recruiting community.…; Added by Dave Mendoza at 2:43am on November 16, 2009

Blog Post: Employee Referrals: The Candidate's Silver Bullet

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