Articles - Recruiting and Candidate Dev

I have been in the staffing and recruiting industry in North Carolina for over 20 years.  Throughout that time I have worked with companies large and small; those just starting out and those looking to expand.  I wanted to share with you some of the things I have found that take some of the challenges out of picking the right recruiting firm in North Carolina and around the country.

1) Start by accurately assessing your recruiting needs. The recruiting service should be equipped to assist in this discovery process.

2) Ask questions to establish credibility. Keep in mind that you’re not just hiring employees, but contracting with a management team as well. Are they a member of their state and national association? Have they ever lost a large contract and why? Ask to speak with those clients.

3) Ask for references and a brief company history. How long have they been in business? How do they recruit, train, and screen their employees? How do they ensure quality? What are their guarantees? Some companies honor the guarantee only if they provide the replacement. While most guarantees have time limits, there are services like Greene Resources that will offer Unconditional Guarantees where there are no time limits.

4) Conduct references. Speak with someone in HR to get an overall perspective on the service. Speak with Department Heads to find out how well the service did with specific placements.

5) Be aware of the legal responsibilities of the service. Do they have the proper insurance coverages? Are benefits offered? Will they conduct the necessary background checks? Do they understand employment laws and regulations? Are they equipped to train your managers on how to work with a contingent workforce?

6) If a happy employee is a productive employee, it helps to ask about a firm’s recruiting practices, benefits package, and compensation package. Recruiting services that invest the most in their employees are likely to provide you with higher quality employees.

7) Remember price is not the only consideration in selecting the right recruiting service. Find out the value-adds. Quality workers should be practically a given. What value-adds exist? Value -added services can include on-site servicing, unique technology, compliance programs, management training on topics such as minimizing co-employment, customized reporting such as for OFCCP, employee handbooks and orientations, delivering customized testing and training programs, and so on.

8 ) Understand the rates. Demand value from your supplier’s services. A rule of thumb is that services commonly charge between 150 percent and 170 percent of what they are paying the contract employee if the need is for a one-time placement. The larger the needs, the more competitive the rates usually. If you go with a sole vendor, your rates even become more competitive because the service knows you are going to them for all of your recruiting needs.

9) Review the terms and conditions of the contract before the employee begins. It is common practice to incorporate the terms and conditions of the contract into the weekly time sheet.

10) Meet the recruiters who will be filling your orders. Do the recruiters work in a team environment, providing you guaranteed coverage, or do they operate individually? Are the recruiters working with you interviewing the candidates? How do they recruit for the candidates? Do they wait for the candidates to come to them or are they proactive, recruiting out in the field? Do the recruiters visit you onsite getting to the working environment of the candidates they are placing?

11) When choosing a primary recruiting supplier, are they open to utilizing recruiting partners to ensure ALL of your orders are filled in a timely manner? When utilizing recruiting partners, do they have a system in place to guarantee quality even from the secondary suppliers? Keep in mind it is not necessary for the service you choose to fill all of your recruiting needs themselves, as long as they have the resources to get your needs filled.

12) Make sure to ask yourself, does the service have the experience and capability of creating and providing lasting solutions to my problems?

BIOGRAPHY

Gary Greene is President of Greene Resources, Inc., an employment solutions company based in Raleigh, North Carolina that designs and delivers specialized recruiting solutions for businesses from a wide variety of industries across the nation.  He is also a nationally recognized speaker and motivator in the areas of sales, service and leadership.  In his business, he excels in building and maintaining lifetime partnerships with clients.

Recognitions for Gary and Greene Resources have included:

• Seven consecutive years as a Triangle Fast Fifty (Fifty Fastest Growing Privately-Owned Companies in the Triangle area of North Carolina)
• Entrepreneur Magazine’s 100 Hottest Companies in America
• Business Leader Magazine Top 100 NC Small Businesses
• Business Leader Magazine/Wake Tech Community College Business Champion
• Business Leader Magazine Impact HR Leader
• Premier Recipient of the RSM McGladrey Integrity in Business Award
• Rotary Outstanding Service Award
• Business Leader Magazine Impact Mover and Shaker
• North Carolina Association of Staffing Professionals Sales/Marketer of the Year

Gary’s community involvement includes serving as a Rotarian, Junior Achievement volunteer, YMCA advisory board member, Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce advisory board member and committee chair, Wake Education Partnership board member, and a youth baseball coach.

Gary was born and raised in Raleigh, NC and graduated with honors from North Carolina State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.  He and his wife, Julie, have two sons, Joey 12 and Nicholas 9.

Gary can be reached by email at gary@greeneresources.com or by phone at (800) 784-9619.

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