Viewpoint - Viewpoint

The incivility occurring in politics which we all hear about in every newspaper, online journal and cable TV reflects a disturbing trend which unfortunately, is not limited to the political arena.

What I mean by that, is there seems to be a fresh crop of unpleasant and rogue recruiters that were once on the fringe of our industry and are with each passing year, penetrating deeper and being accepted as mainstream when in fact veteran recruiters are aghast at the acceptance of some.

I was having a few discussions since last summer. Each telephone call began with a different subject but led to the same concern echoed by veterans of our industry: The ever-expanding definition of acceptable behavior and what passes for “professional recruiting conduct” in our industry.

Over and over again, the fifty, sixty and even seventy-ear-old paternal and maternal leaders of our industry expressed grave concerns with what is becoming a new “norm” among some (not all of course) of the younger generations entering the recruiting industry.

First let me step back, I am proud to meet many highly professional, enthusiastic, well-adjusted young recruiters all the time. They are doing their best to take the baton and treat it as well as possible with their own practice, clients, candidates and vendor relations. I stress that the elements I’m referring to are still limited as the exception.

The behavior pattern noticed went even beyond recruiting to envelope certain vendor and support services whose tactics seemed to be involving the poorest of judgment and unprofessional conduct. Had I used some of the business tactics discussed in our telephone discussions, my business would have been forced to shut down within its first year.

The conversations I had were with some of the great giants of our industry. I gave my word I would not mention names and I uphold my word. These were some of the very individuals that almost created contingency search as an acceptable business service for the business community. They were the creators of the maze and placers of the cheese today’s mice are feeding upon without any consideration as to who even put the cheese there. They were dispersed in states such as Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, Missouri, Florida, California and elsewhere.

What struck me about this disconcerting topic is none of us started the conversation with the issue of addressing rogue elements of recruiting in mind. We had actually called one another for completely different and fairly innocuous purposes; such as exchanging ideas for wording examples on an engaged/hybrid fee agreement, a telephone number for so-and-so, who’s on the board so I could send a few copies of my newest book out … and so on.

Yet, without any prodding the topic of a noted lack of civility, poor business behavior, unprofessional conduct and perhaps, even criminal conduct (that has yet to go prosecuted) by a certain element of “groupies” that participate in our industry came up spontaneously and almost simultaneously as the single, consistent, greatest worry everyone had on their mind and how it might impact the search profession as a whole for those of us that do our best every day to fight the sleaze factor our industry suffers from.

Right now our industry is semi-unregulated. The only regulation … as was with health insurance and the mortgage industry … is fractured and left to each state to control.  Some states require licensing, some require you simply register your company as a recruiting firm (and abide by some guidelines to meet those qualifications). Others have neither licensing or registering requirements.

Add to this open-gate, free-range invitation to join is the fact that there’s little specific education, certification or other credentials needed to set up shop. (You can get a certification but it’s not required of course, only optional.) This was not the case when I started in 1987. I had to study the following year in 1988 and sit for a state exam in Trenton, N.J. that required a few hours to take. That test led to the launch of great search firms some of which continue to operate today such as Cindi Crepea’s Haley Stuart (Cindi and I took the test on the same day), my own firm of IRES, and a few others I’ve lost track of whom were in the room taking the same test.

But the day’s of standardized testing, even if limited on a state-by-state basis, are long gone. Could it be we got what we asked for and are now de-regulated to the point of our self detriment? Is it possible we are so lax in our own policing we will invite government agencies to aim their cross-hairs (sorry for the over-used term) at our industry next? If this would occur the search profession could become the next target like Wall Street investment bankers, mortgage companies, banks, credit card companies, and health insurance.

Our only saving grace thus far is we do not deal with the general public, we deal on a business to business level which is treated differently as business decision makers are expected to be more sophisticated.

Added to this Wild West approach to law and order is the fact we have numerous professional associations and each has its own set of rules, regulations and ethics and “code of conduct” members must abide to. I love codes of conduct – They’re great! But when’s the last time you have heard of any trade association barring a member because they were not following the “rules of conduct”?

I am not blaming anyone nor pointing fingers as I have been on board positions myself and nothing could be more unpleasant than having to single out a member. I don’t welcome it and neither does anyone else. But someone – and that someone could be a newly empowered and invigorated government bureaucracy –  may step in and fill the void if we as a community of business owners turn a blind eye to worrisome practices that could affect all of our livelihood.

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BIOGRAPHY

Within two years after leaving the corporate world for the search industry Frank Risalvato was earning $21,000 single fees – rivaling his previous annual salary on a semi-monthly basis. He founded www.iresinc.com, the search firm he continues to operate today. Today his fees average $37,500 and he works on multiple positions in the $150k range monthly. His recruiter training site now features his newest book “A Manager’s Guide To Maximizing Search Firm Success”. Click the preceding link or the book cover below for the amazon.com order page and buy a handful to share with your clients. 704-243-2110.

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