Do you have a business plan to INCREASE your bottom line through infilling and strategic growth initiatives in 2012?
This past year, Hammerhouse has made significant strides in innovating the way we help our clients execute infilling and expansion efforts on a micro and macro level. Our results have produced 12-month rolling retention rates of 91% for people we have placed and an increased average production per loan officer and teams over previous years. The point is, there is a right way to plan and produce tangible results with high levels of retention and adding productive members to your team.
But most companies and leaders LACK A BUSINESS PLAN for recruiting. When it comes to recruiting, we understand that it’s difficult for companies to establish the framework for a plan, let alone put on a headhunter’s hat and produce the results they want.
Boiling it down to the topics below is a very simple way to look at some of the important aspects to cover in a recruitment business plan. Remember that with each point there are still many other factors to consider in developing the right plan for you and your business.
- Establish your goal — For predicting outcomes of ACTIVE pipelines, use 20% close rates and a 60-to-90-day window on average from a first meeting to someone physically starting. Over those 60 to 90 days, there will be four to five face-to-face meetings. If you are trying to infill two empty desks, build the pipeline for 10 meetings.
- Do what is difficult — Most of the people you want to attract do not know you yet. Have the initiative to pick up the phone and call people of interest. Your goal in the call is to establish rapport and develop awareness of yourself and your organization. (IMPACT – How to Create New Relationships Cold Calling)
- OWN your ACTIVE pipeline — If you do not have a defined ACTION on every candidate in your pipeline, it’s not ACTIVE. The purpose of an ACTION is for you and the candidate to both know where things stand, what is happening next, and when and where it will happen. (RESULTS – Determine the Status of Your Candidate Pipeline)
- Synergy — Leverage the efforts and energy from your current team in the recruiting process. Include other producers, people who have worked at the candidate’s company, decision makers in operations and leadership, and your direct reports. The people you are recruiting will want to get to KNOW you before they can LIKE you and eventually TRUST you. (RESULTS – Know, Like, Trust). Having others validate and getting a candidate to engage along the way will have a high impact on results.
As with previous years, there are major changes causing constant recruitment opportunities in our business, including financial stability of companies, desire to be in the patient purchase market, operational challenges, legacy contingent liability and an overall lack of ability to invest in and create an infrastructure to support, attract, hire and retain top talent with transferrable books of business. These situations can put you in a great position to execute on the ultimate goal of positively IMPACTing your bottom line for 2012.
Remember that recruiting is not an event — it is a process. It requires discipline, patience, persistence and a lot of good will.
Let me know how this topic impacts your business. Hammerhouse — a leading strategic and development growth partner — will continue to strive to create value by reporting on the trends and best business practices in our industry. If you want to find out more, give us a call. If someone has forwarded this RESULTS to you and you would like to start receiving these personally, please visit our website www.teamhammerhouse.com. We would like to invite you to also participate in our industry survey to help us better understand what is important to you in 2012.
