Recruiting Firm Owners - When is it Time to Terminate a Poor Performing Recruiter? Part 2

In part one of this article I outlined setting properbasis with daily benchmarks. Hitting exact recruiting
expectations for a new hire. This same theory appliesactivity targets every day with the ebbs and flows
to a recruiter with experience. Simply have a "comeof running a desk is difficult sometimes. Hitting them
to Buddha" meeting with them if they are way offweekly, while a challenge is much more manageable
track, get them back to the basics, give them somethan hitting the targets daily.
basic recruiter training, and start measuring activity.So, once you have set the numerical, definable,
Obviously, one needs to be a bit more delicate withexpectation and have gained agreement with the
an experienced recruiter over a newbie. I wouldAccount Executive that it is attainable you have
challenge you to negotiate the activity number withmade their termination THEIR decision. Hit the
them, ask for their commitment on execution andnumbers, you stay, miss them for a full week, you
then the biggie, "what should I do if you don't hitleave.
these targets?" You will be surprised; sometime theyI once had an employee who I set 80 outbound
come right out and say, "I should not be here then".attempts per day. The first day she left at 5:15 with
Can you see how in either situation, the decision is75 attempts. I called her into my office the next day
really theirs? Think about it, if someone told youand asked what happened, she said she felt pretty
during the recruiting interview process or after agood because she was "close". I felt differently, I
prolonged dry period that you had to do "x" amountsaid, if my job were on the line, I sure as heck would
of activity to stay, would you hit it? If you reallyhit 80 and probably 90 to show how serious I was.
wanted the career and the job, YES! If you wereThen I said it was unfortunate, I liked her as a
burnt-out or had made the wrong decision, you justperson, but she had made her decision. She seemed
may want to get shot. For some it is easier thanshocked, but, and here is the biggie, NO ONE after
quitting. I am dead serious here.her was shocked and knew I was serious.
In addition, I generally set expectations on a weekly