Greg Savage's Blog – August 2009 Archive (6)

Can the staffing industry really learn a lesson on customer service from Qantas, of all companies?

I see a lot of the inside of planes. Being responsible for a recruitment business in upwards of 25 cities, in 15 countries, takes care of that. And I have been a Qantas “Platinum Frequent Flyer” for 8 years straight as a result.

Lately I have been assessing why I usually fly Qantas, as I have been getting more and more aggrieved at the airlines pricing policy. Seriously, Qantas regularly have Business Class seats at TWICE the price of comparable airlines to places like Shanghai,… Continue

Added by Greg Savage on August 31, 2009 at 7:49am — 3 Comments

Recruiters? Honest as the day is long!

I had a bad experience last week. A bad experience which quickly rebounded into a good one, I am happy to say.

It was Friday 6 pm. I was rushing to wrap up things at work. Last minute emails to complete. A call from our Director in China with a client issue. A Skype call from our Europe MD. And then my wife on the phone saying don’t forget to pick up the kids.

I race down the elevator to the under-building car park, juggling laptop, gym gear, mobile phone and security… Continue

Added by Greg Savage on August 26, 2009 at 7:30pm — No Comments

Recruiters! We must learn to sell why we are still relevant

Let’s not fool ourselves. We are not a loved profession. Clients often use us begrudgingly, some even with open hostility. I have sat in client board-level meetings and heard with my own ears, the resentment felt towards our industry. I have listened, squirming, while clients plan to avoid using recruiters and any third party staff providers.

Even before the downturn, the evidence was all around us. The rise of internal recruitment teams, the clear strategy to reduce use of outside… Continue

Added by Greg Savage on August 23, 2009 at 8:36am — 5 Comments

Social media – it’s a tool, not a strategy

I was very reluctant to write this post initially. There has been so much noise about social media, and how it’s going to impact our industry, do we really need another blog on the topic?

Probably not. But the rhetoric and hyperbole about social media has been bugging me lately, and it will make me feel better if I offer some thoughts about how all this may play out.

Lets start ‘big picture’ and then focus in on social media itself. It seems to me that the big issue facing… Continue

Added by Greg Savage on August 19, 2009 at 9:00am — No Comments

Leading in adversity. Your toughest test yet

Trust me on this. You have never had a test of your leadership until you have managed a recruitment business through a recession.

It’s beyond tough. Balancing falling revenues while trying to retain key staff. Communicating critical fee generation targets while at the same time not “spooking” the troops and leaving people depressed and panicky. And then there is the myriad of decisions about cost control, pricing levels, and strategy.

Really, who would want to be running a… Continue

Added by Greg Savage on August 12, 2009 at 3:31am — No Comments

Get ready for a whole new world as the recruitment market recovers

Increasingly it’s becoming clear that a real recovery in recruitment demand is looming over the horizon. In Australia we are seeing little surges of temp demand, and in Asia our job order flow at Aquent is strengthening slowly but surely. Europe is more problematical for the moment, but certainly the RCSA (Recruitment industry body in Australia and New Zealand) must believe an upswing is probable, as they have asked me to speak on that very topic over the coming months right across the… Continue

Added by Greg Savage on August 3, 2009 at 10:30pm — 2 Comments