I moderated a panel that addressed this exact topic at the recent TechServe Alliance Owner Summit.  There were over 200 Executives from the Staffing and Recruiting Profession in the audience and this panel addressed three options:

Do you train your own team?

Do you recruit individuals with experience?

Do you acquire other firms that have an experienced team

Polls were taken from the audience and over 60% of the attendees were interested in acquiring other firms.  One of the greatest drivers was the acquisition of their in-house talent.  It was amazing how many owners were not filling 50% of the business written but were not hiring because they didn’t have the time to train.

There is a reason that our clients have a training and development budget.  It’s also important to note that Millennials and Gen Z now make up over 50% of the workforce and training and development is an area that is very important when they are making a career choice.

Let’s discuss the three options the panel addressed.  Everyone agreed that it was important to hire individuals who had some sales experience and wanted to continue to sell, primarily over the phone (except in Temporary or Contract Staffing Firms) where the salespeople are | were outside sales reps (pre-Covid).  It was also agreed upon that individuals hired should have a track record of over-achievement.  If a recent college graduate was hired, it should be someone who had good grades, possibly participated in sports, or held leadership roles in organization.  The other desirable trait for a recent grad was work experience during college.

Most companies did not have a structured, comprehensive training program for new hires and were too busy to provide continual training for their experienced team.  Everyone agreed this was an area of weakness that prevented many owners from adding to their internal team.

I don’t normally promote my training, but I have online Tutors that are now delivered in short videos that a new hire could take at their own pace.  My Tutors teach them our profession from A to Z and are separated by segment (i.e., Direct Hire, Contract or Temporary Staffing).  Whether you utilize my training or another industry trainer – training is not best use of your time!

The next option was hiring individuals with experience who always demand a much higher compensation package and often don’t live up to expectations.  Too often, these individuals brought along their “baggage” and did not easily adjust to new processes or systems.  If you do hire an experienced recruiter or account executive, ask for a copy of their W-2 and realize they are probably restricted by a non-compete which their current employer will enforce.

If you are in a position to acquire another company, take time to understand not only the financials, but the core values and culture of the company and employees.  There is no guarantee that the sales team will stay in place after an acquisition unless they are taken care of and see a career path and an opportunity to learn and grow.

Whatever option you select, you can’t afford not to add to your team if you are not able to fill the business written because there are just not enough people on your team or hours in the day. If you would like to see our Tutors, please call my office, and ask for Jodi, my VP of sales 219.663.9609.  If you don’t utilize our training, develop comprehensive, consistent training for your team if you want to consistently helps them achieve a higher level of success.  This will also help you retain your big billers.