Sales Staff – Recruiters shy away when they are commission-driven only
Sales staff live for commission! When I started my career in Recruitment, I was offered a decent salary and a lucrative commission in the professional recruiters stable. Accepting this offer would have made me comfortable, but would never give me what I wanted in life. I knew I needed to earn a decent income and I knew I was a good salesman. So, I did what most salespeople would think unspeakable. I countered the offer of a decent salary and a lucrative commission with no basic and a very high commission structure. This was the best decision I could have ever made; it literally changed my life forever. Having read this, I am sure you thinking, he is right, why are there not more people like you, who are willing to prove their worth and be rewarded tremendously in a sales commission scheme. I am sure there are and it is my job to find those stars who are willing to work for a basic small enough to cover expenses and kill it on the commission, or even just earn big money on a commission-only basis. A REAL OPPORTUNITY For this to be a reality, there needs to be a REAL opportunity. There needs to be numbers and data to prove this (i.e. turnover, margins and history). Why do recruiters hate hiring your sales staff for you? Well, here is the answer. Most recruiters won’t even touch a commission only job. And, sales staff live for commission. We bill on an annual cost to company which includes basic, benefits and commission x 12. (+ 13 cheque x 15% to 18% = x + vat) If we work out this formula based on basic only, you are looking at a pretty low commission for the recruiter. What you are asking for to get the best sales staff out there, willing to prove themselves by earning high commission only and pay the least you can for it. This is literally the hardest find for a recruiter and you offer the lowest reward. BASIC AND BENEFITS Sometimes employment agencies only want to pay the recruiter on the basic and benefits and not even pay commission on a commission-based salesperson. This is harder to find than a Full Stack Software Developer with more than 6yrs experience for R35 000 pm. How do you get Recruiters to find you these commission-driven gems that can turn your business around? It’s quite simple. Reward/pay them for good salespeople. Do this with lower or no basics. Instead of trying to pass them off as low-income people to save on the fee. Negotiate the probable lowest commission and the highest commission that someone can earn. Divide it by 2 to reach an average. That is the fee you will pay( R x 12 months x 15%-18% + VAT). You know your number, margins and the real potential. Reward your recruiter for finding gems and you will get gems. Author – Anthony Kettle To find staff – be sure to link through here or follow up on our social platforms.
Confronting an Employee the right way
Nobody enjoys confrontation, and it can be a really tricky space to navigate for leaders and HR. Luckily, if we avoid making some common communication mistakes, it can get a whole lot easier. Below are three of the most common errors managers make when dealing with confrontation like defiant employee behavior, and tips on what you can do instead: 1. Hold your fire: Sometimes you’re really angry or you’ve avoided confrontation for so long, you have a long list of complaints. So, you just spew them out one by one. Now, no matter how valid your complaints, your employee will be so overwhelmed by the feedback that it’s unlikely they will take in everything you’ve said, let alone make the necessary changes. The solution? Make things easier on your employees and yourself by addressing issues as soon as they arise. Calmly and clearly state the issue at hand, the impact, and give no more than three examples of when it occurred. 2. Too soft: The opposite of the above is to avoid confrontation so much, that you work overly hard to minimise any negative impact. When this happens, the employee often doesn’t even know he or she has a problem to fix. The solution? Be direct with your employees so they have clear action steps on what to do next. When confronting, tell them what’s at stake and that you wish to resolve this. And, work with them to ensure a plan is in place before they leave the meeting. 3. The Compliment Sandwich: This is a method where you begin with a compliment, sandwich in a complaint, and top it off with another compliment. Confusing? We think so. Plus, every time you pay someone a regular compliment, they are going to wince in anticipation for the follow-up complaint. The solution? When you notice someone doing great work, tell them straight away and stop there. Give them the opportunity to bask in their success and don’t pop their bubble. And, when the time comes to address an issue, they can focus on the problem clearly, and hopefully, make a change. So there you go, with these tips, you can hopefully turn unpleasant conversations into opportunities to improve everyone’s performance. To find staff – be sure to link through here or follow up on our social platforms.
5 Reasons we are a Great Recruiter
We have been in business for more years than we care to mention … only kidding … we love that we have been around for decades. And, over that time, as a recruiter, we have made mistakes and learnt from those mistakes too. We have adjusted our methodologies as we have grown and engaged with our clients and with our candidates. We are proud of all our recruiters and handpick them according to a certain fit and skill set. So, what makes a great recruiter? 1. A great communicator Because we deal with all walks of life, we insist that our recruiters be able to communicate on all levels. Besides being able to speak to all sorts of people, they need to always keep the client and the candidate in the loop. 2. Confidence Having a non-arrogant attitude is important. Being confident makes clients and candidates feel secure in the position the recruiter is filling. 3. A great listener While recruiters are generally good talkers, they also need to listen. Listen to the client so they can interpret their needs and listen to the candidates so they can ensure they place them correctly. 4. Target Driven The recruitment business is a business like most others where goals need to be set and targets need to be achieved. Its cut-throat and we want our recruiters to do well so we can do well. 5. A great salesperson At the end of the day, a recruiter needs to sell to the client. They need to sell the candidates to the client but also they need to sell the concept of using a third party recruiter for the process. What makes a great recruiter? It’s a business that requires much patience as it can be a waiting game. Keeping one’s cool and remembering the bigger picture is key. We believe all our recruiters fit this bill – and on that positive note, we have just given you many reasons to use us for your next recruitment process. To find staff – be sure to link through here or follow up on our social platforms.
5 Steps To Successful Employee Recruitment
Employee Recruitment finding the right employees is possible when you follow these recruitment steps: KNOW YOUR GOAL What do you want to achieve through this process? Besides finding the perfect candidate, how much do you want to spend? Is this for a new position or are you replacing someone? These all can make a difference to how you approach the process. Other areas to look into are when do you want to secure this employee by? You should be setting deadlines so that the process doesn’t carry on for too long. Also look at where you will find these candidates. Will you use an online platform or going via a recruitment agency? These employee recruitment strategies will help you focus your search and get the best outcome. PREPARE YOURSELF FOR EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT This pertains to: 1. The job profile Ensure you have listed all the requirements for this position and don’t forget to make it not only specific but attractive. To attract good quality candidates, you want to present your company in a good light and also what you can offer the potential candidate. 2. The interview process Know exactly what it is you want to cover, what you want to ask and what responses you want to hear. 3. Qualifications and Skills What will they need in order to do the job well? Think not only about their professional qualifications but also their hard and soft skills. 4. Attitude and Drive What kind of attitude will help them perform well? And, do they have what it takes to push through in adversity and tough times? 5. Cultural Fit Do they fit into your company culture? There are many questions you can ask to ensure they do. We have great advice on how to recruit employees for small business, in the long run it pays to get professional advice. If you’re struggling to plan this out and need some help, consider reaching out to West Coast today.Fruitful Recruitment Steps to follow Fruitful Recruitment Steps to follow To find staff – be sure to link through here or follow up on our social platforms.
Upgrade your Company Brand to attract Talent
Having an Employer Brand Strategy is one of the most important elements in an organisation. It affects current employees, potential employees and your overall image in your industry. Here is how to create and ensure a positive, impactful brand identity: 1. Decide on how you want the outside to view your organisation Do you want to be known for your flexibility, your professionalism, your happy team of motivated staff or your competitiveness? Decide on what your goal image is. 2. Strategise and go for that image Now that you know how you want the world to view your company, set steps in place to get there. Don’t sit on it too long. Your brand identity may need to adapt as the world evolves. The things that are attractive today, may not seem attractive in a decade from now. Be sure to act quickly, precisely and be adaptable to change. 3. Ensure that your team is on board You can’t be portraying “the best office environment” if you can cut the air with a knife when walking into the office. Explain your plan to your staff – let them be a part of it. 4. Be Authentic Don’t create an image that doesn’t exist. Create a strategy, a real strategy, based on actual events and circumstances. If you need to clean things up before you implement your strategy, DO IT QUICK. Your credibility will suffer if authenticity is not there. 5. Create the perfect employee Avatar Yes, create a little make-believe version of the perfect candidates to employ. From personality to engagement to dress style. Use that as a guideline when employing new staff. They need to fit into your Company Brand Strategy. Based on the company brand you want portrayed, the authenticity thereof and the avatar you’ve created (who should naturally be a perfect fit), you are well on your way to having quality candidates knocking at your door for an employment opportunity to be a part of your incredible organisation. Potential clients, too, will see your value. It’s a win-win-win Look into it, strategise and get the dream brand image you’re looking for! To find staff – be sure to link through here or follow up on our social platforms.
Temporary Staff – Managing them well
Temporary staff can be needed for a variety of reasons. Peak season? Staff member on Maternity Leave? Sometimes a temporary staff member is necessary to ease the load of your current staff complement or to fill a gap during an extended leave of a permanent employee. It may be a short-lived arrangement but it’s important to treat them well. We’ve put together a list of key points to ensure that once you’ve parted ways, it leaves their (and your) experience a good one. KNOW WHAT IT IS YOU REQUIRE What do you require from a temporary staff member? Make a list of duties they will need to Make it clear whether you have any intention of having them fill a permanent role at a later stage. Set clear guidelines and expectations. It will ensure that there is no uncertainty from either side. COMMUNICATE YOUR INTENTION OF RECRUITMENT TO EXISTING STAFF If you will be taking on the temporary staff permanently, let your current staff know. Ensure that the team the temp will be a part of, understands your reasons and assign someone senior to guide them through the processes. A surprise temp may not be as well received. As much as the temp employee is there to help, your staff may feel that you think them incapable of meeting the requirements in their department. TREAT THEM AS PART OF THE TEAM Their stay may not be a lengthy one but ensure that you treat them the same as you would your permanent staff. For as long as they are there, celebrate their achievements and encourage them as you would the rest of your staff. KEEP RECORDS Keep a record of the timekeeping, enthusiasm and competency of your temporary employee. If a position becomes available within your organisation, you will have a “pre-qualified” candidate. One who has had practical experience in a trial run, and may be ready to fill the slot quickly. To find staff – be sure to link through here or follow up on our social platforms.
Do you have Substance Abuse Policies in place?
The matter of Mthembu and 2 others v NCT Durban Wood Chips (September 2018), showed us that employers and the CCMA have zero tolerance when it comes to substance abuse, and that policies are required to be in place. The facts were laid out like this as to why the CCMA agreed that the 3 employees were fairly dismissed: The employers business has dangerous and large machinery moving in and around their premises on a daily basis, such as a clipper that rotates at 5000RPM, and as these employees jobs were directly related to these machines, there was the danger of them causing harm to themselves and others, never mind damage to the machinery Their jobs were of a log deck assistance, a knife sharpener and a weigh-bridge operator, which further impacted that their ability to perform these roles could be impacted by being under the influence of cannabis They had received the substance abuse policy and they had regular discussions around the matter within their groups, so there was no excuse for claiming to not understand the rules If you don’t have the correct policies, practices and procedures in place, you may be opening up your company to legal claims, and of course the possibility of health and safety issues. While the private cultivation and use of cannabis have been passed, it does not allow for use when it impacts on the health and safety of others, especially in a work environment. Download the Substance Abuse Policy should you not have this in place yet. West Coast Personnel are always finding ways to assist employers so that they stay on the straight on narrow. If you have any queries on what you need in place, please reach out today. To find staff – be sure to link through here or follow up on our social platforms.
WHAT KIND OF LEADER ARE YOU?
A leader comes in many shapes and sizes. Knowing which one you are can help you lead better. There are commonly 8 leadership styles – we explore these: 8 LEADERSHIP STYLES 1. Transformational Leader Innovation and change is a big part of this leadership style. These leaders want to encourage growth and ideas within their followers. 2. Democratic Leader This leader wants to bring in their sheep to participate. They are open to “the more the merrier” and believe that strength and growth come in numbers. They are very team led. 3. Bureaucratic Leader ‘By the book’ is a phrase that resonates with this type of leader. They want to follow a set of rules and do it right. They are not very forgiving when the rules are bent or broken. They believe that everything and everyone belongs in a box and that this is what works best. 4. Transactional Leader With this leader, they will give but they do expect something in return. There will always be a transaction or trade taking place here. 5. Servant Leader Some may get confused whether this person is a leader at all, as they always seem to be doing things themselves. But, their belief is that if they serve, the rest will follow in likeness. 6. Autocratic Leader The opposite of the democratic leader – they want it all to go their way. The term, ‘my way or the highway’ comes to mind here. 7. Hands-off Leader With an attitude that people are more capable when they are left to do things their way, this leader is very much a hands-off type of person. They give their followers the tools and then oversee that all is going according to plan. 8. Charismatic Leader You know this type well and their qualities are often resident in most styles of leadership. But, this character leads by magnetism. People just want to do whatever they say because they are that charismatic. You will know where you fit in and for some styles, there is always some improvement needed. Get in touch at https://wcp.localinternetmarketing.co.za/find-staff/. Follow us on Facebook to keep up to date.
SLOW RECRUITMENT PROCESSES LOSE HOT PROSPECTS
I just had a client request a meeting with a star candidate I recommended to them four weeks ago and low and behold I had to let them know that the candidate had started work with an opposition company a week ago. WHY? Slow recruitment processes! This is not a once off. It occurs at least twice a week. I am sure that all HR and Recruitment Consultants who hunt top talent have experienced this. I understand that big companies often have more red tape and recruitment processes to follow. I also understand that it is difficult to get panels together and difficult to get signatures of authorisation for interviewing candidates, but at what price? There is a war for talent and if you don’t re-look your selection process you will not get the top 5% of candidates in your industry, but rather candidates who are available and definitely not the best for the business. Top talent has at least 3 offers or interviews in recruitment processes. They are being hunted daily and when they make the decision to move companies, they do have options. It is no longer a market where candidates are desperate and will wait 3-4 weeks for an interview. Skill shortages is not just a South African issue, it’s global and yes, we are losing the war. The root of unemployment is not only a lack of jobs, but a key underlying issue is also the inadequately educated workforce. Companies who understand that top talent do not stay looking for work for long, have a distinct advantage. Those companies who have tailored their recruitment processes to see top talent quickly, are those companies who are beating you to the candidates. Many firms now go the first step and track some variation of the “time-to-fill” metric. But despite that metric, not only are firms still almost universally guilty of painfully slow hiring but to compound the problem, few recruiting leaders truly understand the many negative recruitment processes that impact and result from slow hiring process timeline. I estimate that the impact at most corporations exceeds tens of millions of rand’s each year and the rand loss from this factor may be as much as 10 times higher than losses resulting from low recruiting efficiency related to the more popular “cost-per-hire” metric. It’s not enough to be conscious and aware of slow hiring. Identify and then quantify in rands each of the negative impacts of slow hiring, so that everyone from the CEO down will support the streamlining of the recruitment process. A big misconception that needs to be addressed is the old-fashioned way of thinking is that a slow recruitment process improves the quality of those you hire. You will lose most of the candidates who are in high demand during the late stages of your recruitment process. You also will lose significant revenue and productivity because vacant positions are open for too many days and essentially you end up paying new hires more in salary because they will be bid on by opposition. Your image of being slow decision-makers will cause you to lose many top prospects. Recruiting is a lot like acquiring a Grade 12 dance date. If you wait 40 days to make a selective decision, you must realize how relatively “ugly” your new hire is likely to be! Connect with us should you need help in moving swifter in your recruitment process.
WHY IS THERE A BATTLE FOR TALENT?
Skill shortages are not just a South African issue, it’s global and yes, we are losing the war trying to find talent. South Africa’s unemployment rate rose to 27.5% in the third quarter of 2018 from 27.2% in the second quarter. There were 6.2 million jobless people in Q3/2018; about 100 000 more than in Q2/2018. The unemployment rate is 37.3%, including people who have stopped actively looking for work. The issue is that most of these unemployed people are part of the inadequately educated workforce. Many students currently enrolled in South Africa’s tertiary institutions are studying subjects that do not support the need in business for science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) as well as future-orientated skills. The unemployment rate in South Africa remains one of the highest in the world, yet over the past year it has become more difficult to fill positions, with the demand for Engineers, IT staff, and skilled Trade-Workers at its highest. South Africa has a shortfall of about 40 000 qualified artisans. While government has started to actively encourage young South Africans to choose trade jobs, they’re also filling skills gaps in the trade with professionals from abroad. Survey shows skilled trades remain in the top three most difficult positions for companies to fill, followed by engineers. Pertaining to IT, actual coding experience can become more valuable than traditional qualifications. After all, you learn through working and sometimes traditional education simply can’t prepare you for the world of work. In a world of fast-paced technological advancement, more and more IT skills are needed to keep up with the demands of a changing global marketplace. In South Africa, in particular, there is a lot of discussion around the lack of IT skills in the local job market. As skill needs change rapidly employers are looking inside their organisations for solutions, with more than half choosing to develop and train their own people. Production and machine operators also become tougher roles to fill. As the talent shortage escalates, employability not only depends now on what you know, but on your ability to learn, apply and adapt to the constantly evolving business landscape. Is paying higher salaries the answer? Companies have budgets and need to remain profitable, getting into a salary war with competitors could prove counterproductive. Building the right talent for Africa’s jobs of today and tomorrow is therefore critical.