| Imagine you've just been given the task of creating | | | | foreign sunshine. |
| the perfect Executive Recruitment firm. What sort | | | | One young Pom is a mate who works in the same |
| of consultants would you want to put in front of | | | | mega firm as my indiscreet HR lady. Last week he |
| your clients, the employers - what would be their | | | | estimated the Pommies number 60% to 70% of his |
| dream team? | | | | firm - which concurs with other estimates. It is |
| You would probably want your new team to be able | | | | certainly over 50%. Just ask any group of HR or Line |
| to positively answer the 9 Tough Questions for | | | | managers where all the cold sales calls come from. |
| Recruiters | | | | So after two years we can say the young HR lady |
| The recruiters would need some work and life | | | | failed in her challenge! |
| experience, so be at least late 20s or older. Then you | | | | What's the real problem of the backpackers from |
| would want them to understand the needs of | | | | the employer's perspective? Well they lack life and |
| Australian employers, particularly in the industry | | | | work experience and don't know much about our |
| sector they work in. And you would want them with | | | | culture or local ways of working. They learn at the |
| a couple of years recruiting experience in this market | | | | expense of their clients and add to the woeful |
| so they have good local contacts and local | | | | reputation of our industry. |
| knowledge. | | | | But there is a bigger problem - the mayhem they |
| No. Let's not do that! Let's fill over half the team with | | | | cause in the 6 to 12 months before they leave. |
| hard selling young Pommie travellers! So what that | | | | There are many who believe that the transaction |
| most will wander home or off around Asia in the | | | | recruitment model, where you brief multiple recruiters |
| next year or two? | | | | for the same job is not all bad. Their argument is a |
| Nightmare team? No - the reality in most large | | | | touch naive, as they believe that recruiters will still do |
| recruitment firms, not a bad dream. | | | | a good job in this 'dog eat dog' world of no loyalty, |
| Now I've known for a while there are many young | | | | given they want future work from employers. |
| English, Irish and Scottish recruiters in Oz. But until | | | | Clearly they have never been to conferences with a |
| one foggy morning 2 years ago when the Rose Bay | | | | bunch of recruiters who've had a drink or 2 - how |
| ferry was cancelled I didn't understand the extent of | | | | they discuss their clients would make your hair curl. |
| the problem. | | | | They of course see their behaviour as justified - |
| I cadged a lift from a charming young lady who was | | | | they are just reacting to how their clients treat them. |
| heading back to her car. She asked what I did - "I'm | | | | Whatever, as my daughter would say. For the sake |
| a recruiter and an author, and I've just written a | | | | of getting on with the argument, let's join Alice's |
| book about the recruitment industry and all its | | | | Wonderland and assume they are right, that |
| problems". And what do you do? "I'm an internal HR | | | | contingent recruiters do care about the long term |
| manager for Mega Recruitment Ltd." | | | | relationship. Then, what is the Care factor of the |
| So I asked what challenges she was working on. "My | | | | young backpacker when they are going to be on the |
| biggest is working on how to reduce our reliance on | | | | other side of the world in 6 months? When they are |
| 'backpackers'. It causes big staff turnover which | | | | paid big commissions which are due when the new |
| disrupts our clients. The problem is they are great at | | | | employee starts work? |
| sales: if they can survive in London where employers | | | | They have got their commission and somebody else |
| literally hang-up on recruiters, they can do it here | | | | has to find any replacements where they have |
| where they at least listen. So a lot of our revenue is | | | | stuffed up - remember, it's the only industry where |
| dependent on them." | | | | the salesman has control over the perceived quality |
| Wow! | | | | of the product. Would you have acted any |
| Now before I bag these young travellers, I must say | | | | differently when you were 26 and working in London |
| many are lovely guys - it's not their fault that big | | | | or New York? |
| firms lure them over for a few years of well paid | | | | |