Staffing Business: Trends and Opportunities

Staffing Business: Trends and Opportunities

Trends:

· Commoditization: Bulk hire, VMOs will shrink margins (/ fees) for average firms

· Social media usage will grow among Staffing company employees

· RPO & MSP: will be a growing trend as Recruitment becomes more Consultative

· Usage of Mobile Job Apps will ramp-up

Opportunities (& Recommended Action for Growth):

· Improving Recruiting Service level from ‘meeting the expectation’ to ‘exceeding the 

  expectation’  - will help in protecting your margins (/ fees)

· Inbound marketing: Blogging, content sharing etc. - will help in engaging your prospects

· Taking a Consultative approach (versus Transactional) in Recruitment – will help in 

  outperforming your competition

· Providing additional services: resource utilization analysis, conducting performance 

  appraisals, managing surveys etc. - will build value-added differentiation

· Investing in Sales Management and Coaching employees - will help in developing your  

  organization & enabling long-term growth

· Addressing client’s underlying needs in the Human Resource domain – will increase  your 

  visibility and clout inside the client’s C-suite

5 Best Practices for Sales Management

5 Best Practices for Sales Management

The challenge for Sales Managers has been to align the individual sales person’s behaviors to match with the company’s direction.

By driving an ongoing alignment of various teams inside your organization; Sales Managers could increase their business relevance to the customer.

 

Sales Management Best Practices:

·         Provide marketing support services (mailers, brochures, newsletters, social media) for your sales team to develop and close new opportunities

·         Empower your sales team with rich context (deeper client and industry insights) for enabling consultative selling

·         Align your internal staff for linking your company’s unique capabilities to your customer’s priorities

·         Use meaningful content (blogs, whitepapers, informative articles) for stimulating trusted conversations with prospective customers

·         Analyze outcomes and make requisite modifications to improve results

The Science and Art of making Important DECISIONS

The Science and Art of making Important DECISIONS

Sometimes we wonder what goes on inside us while we are in the process of taking important decisions which would have a major impact on us.

Our subject for this discussion is not those urgent situations where-in the decision needs to be taken IMPULSIVELY (fight or flight response). We are discussing only those decisions which require deliberation, consideration and forethought.

The Science of Deciding:

For these decisions our Frontal Lobes (right and left FRONT portion of the brain), Hippocampus, and Prefrontal Cortex is engaged. Also, through our nervous system our entire body is engaged: heart, gut, adrenal glands.

Left Lobe is the seat for: Numbers, Analysis, Reason

Right Lobe is the seat for: Art, Intuition, Feeling

Hippocampus is the Memory center - repository of past events

Prefrontal Cortex is the EXECUTIVE CENTER of the brain

The Lobes (right and left) engage the Hippocampus to provide past instances of similar or almost comparable situations encountered. The heart, gut, adrenals etc. send signals on how the whole body is responding to the thoughts taking place in our brains while we weigh the various paths or options. Now the Prefrontal Cortex takes charge and takes the decision.

The Art of Deciding:

Brains of different people function in a different manner viz. Emotional people tend to give emphasis to FEELING; whereas Logical people tend to give importance to REASON.

It’s important to analyze, understand, and accept our brain chemistry the way it functions when taking important decisions.

The key is to first internalize, buy-in and ACCEPT the decision AND then take the decision externally. Not the other way around: take a hurried decision AND then try to analyze and justify the reasons. Taking the former path will make you more empowered to take actions and more adaptive to the outcomes.

Internalize the decision to see how your body responds to it and what your gut feels about it. By knowing ourselves well - we will be more empowered to take important decisions which are in-sync with our core being.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective EXECUTIVES

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective EXECUTIVES

You might have read Stephen R. Covey’s top-seller - ‘The 7 habits of highly effective people’. Taking inspiration from the same and adding my own observations and experiences, here are the 7 habits of highly effective executives:

Habit 1: They endeavor for excellence in their domain AND keep track of super performers in their market space

Habit 2: They learn from the past, focus in the present AND lead into the future

Habit 3: They welcome diversity of thought among stakeholders AND collaborate with them to achieve the business objectives

Habit 4: They build dignified relations in their business community AND earn respect among their industry peers

Habit 5: They ascertain performance based on metrics AND differentiate reality from hype

Habit 6: They hold a healthy balance between their individual & business interests AND maintain integrity with their personal values

Habit 7: They foster a learning culture in their organization AND actively seek solutions to overcome challenges faced in their business

Writing a good job description to attract matching candidates

Writing a good job description to attract matching candidates

Once a need is felt to hire or augment a team, there’s pressure to recruit immediately. This often leads Managers to write job descriptions in a rush. They tend to write generic statements based on a template, and at best specify some skills and years of experience.

The pitfall is that these general descriptions don’t give a clear picture of the must-haves and/or soft attributes of the job.

Here are some tips to write job descriptions that are fairly specific and sell the opportunity to candidates. It can also help candidates ascertain whether they are a match for the role.

Analyze previously successful candidates in this role and list 3 to 5 key responsibilities that the person has to perform on a daily basis. Consider various factors to analyze the role such as: knowledge required, degree of autonomy, crucial issues/ problems to be solved.

Next, list 3 to 5 mandatory hard-skills that the candidate must-have in order to qualify for this opportunity.

Then, list 2 to 3 soft-attributes which are required to be successful in this role. Choose from traits such as: quick learning ability, attitude, work ethics, team adaptability, innovative thinking, customer service, communication skills, social aptitude etc. These are unique behavioral factors based on the job type, organizational culture, team dynamics, department structure, market situation etc.

Next, in order to attract applicants give a glimpse of the growth path for this role, possibility to be involved in engaging projects; and added perks to be earned based on performance.

Lastly, write a few self-assessment criteria/ questions for the candidate to self-evaluate whether this is a matching opportunity for them.

Which SALES PERSONALITY fits your business situation: Hunter or Farmer or Developer?

Which SALES PERSONALITY fits your business situation: Hunter or Farmer or Developer?

Normally, we hear about two sales personalities: Hunter or Farmer.

Adding one more: Developer.

Hunters: They are aggressive pursuers of sales leads. Hunters are straight shooters who are well-suited for closing deals. In the short-term they could give a boost to your sales revenue. However, they are ill-suited for business situations which require ongoing relationship building or a differentiation-based approach.

Farmers: They are relationship managers who are good at maintaining existing business or expanding sales in current client sites. Farmers are more suited for Account Management roles in established client accounts. Also, they are suited in roles which need managing a preferred vendor relationship with clients.

Developers: They are builders of new business and revenue enablers. Developers are more suited for roles requiring a consistent pursuit for building new revenue streams. They are relationship enhancers who also rate high on customer service. Also, they progressively build the confidence with the client to position the company as the preferred choice.

So the question is: which type suits a company’s situation?

‘Hunters’ are best suited when you:

•  need to go straight for the ‘kill’

•  already have the credentials/ references to differentiate from your competitors

•  are selling one-off deals viz. cars, appliances, or other commodities

•  know that there’s not much innovation or differentiation needed

Farmers are best suited when you:

•  need to manage an existing business relationship

•  are harvesting revenue based on a preferred vendor contract

•  want to provide for the client’s already defined needs

•  are selling existing products to existing accounts

Developers are best suited when you:

•  need to make a differentiation on an ongoing basis

•  want to consultatively sell value instead of features

•  need to scope-out opportunities and customize your approach to achieve the objective

•  you want to build the relationship and close the sale at the right time

Prioritization matrix for competitive advantage

Professional Services Organizations comprise a diverse set of firms - information technology, management consulting, audit & advisory, architecture, engineering, recruiting, marketing, advertising, public relations, legal, research & development, training etc.

Here’s a matrix for analyzing various initiatives/ business segments. It’s in the form of a quadrant (four boxes) taking as its axes – ‘cash flow’ against ‘differentiation’. It is useful for selecting initiatives to actively focus and allocate your resources in order to maximize profits and get highest value returns. It may also help you analyze your revenue stream and redefine offerings in the market.

Some of the business initiatives/ units for a typical Professional Services Organization are: 

Staffing services, advisory services, managed services, project-based consulting, strategic planning, process re-engineering, change management, integration services etc.

Quadrant 1: Low Cash-flow & Low Differentiation

These are commoditized areas where your market presence is weak due to lack of differentiation. These initiatives generate barely enough profit to maintain the sustainability of the unit. Furthermore, they depress the company's profitability over a period of time.

Recommended Actions:

•    Dilute your focus
•    Avoid any capital investments

Quadrant 2: High Cash-flow & Low Differentiation

These units generate quick & surplus cash in comparison to the amount needed to maintain them. If competition is high and there are few opportunities for differentiation; then it may be less attractive for further investment. These units are regarded as dull and boring in a mature market.

Recommended Actions:

•    Harvest the cash-flow & maximize profits
•    Invest resources only if it gets immediate ROI
•    Increase market share by volume discounting

Quadrant 3: Low Cash-flow & High Differentiation

These units are niche and/or fragmented segments with a potential to grow. They could generate higher revenue and improve the company’s competitive advantage. You need to work incrementally to gain market share. If you do not succeed then the unit might consume a lot of cash and hinder your profitability; and drain your resources.

Recommended Actions:

•    Expend efforts wisely and in a discretionary manner
•    Use innovation to differentiate from competition

Quadrant 4: High Cash-flow & High Differentiation

These are areas where you are well-established and you have a good reputation with clients. It’s a growing market with many opportunities and scope for building your own market share.

Recommended Actions:

•    Focus actively on this business
•    Grow market share by engaging your best resources
•    Make continued investments