Wendy Weber on Executive Recruiting

A key employee asks to speak to you privately.

You know before he or she says a word that they are going to give notice. They have accepted an offer of employment elsewhere. A number of thoughts race through your mind: Where are they going? How much notice are they giving? How long will it take to find a replacement?

It won’t be easy to find someone to fill the departing employee’s shoes. It will take time; almost certainly longer than the 2 weeks notice you are likely to receive.

What are your options? You can post the position on a Job Board immediately, and spread the word to your network of friends and professional colleagues. You can reach out to your local trade association.

You can engage the services of an executive recruiter. No, that’s too costly. Or is it?

I am an executive recruiter. I do understand that the expense of a professional recruitment fee can be daunting. Especially if you are not convinced that the recruiter is worth his/her salt. I wouldn’t want to pay a recruiter to post my opening on the Monster board. I’m sure you wouldn’t either.

But that’s not what a good recruiter does. A good recruiter has been cultivating a network of contacts in your industry, day in and day out, for years. In our case, 37 years. We have established relationships with direct and ecommerce marketing professionals, and, over time, their friends, colleagues, and in some cases, husbands, wives and grown children. We have seen candidates become clients, and clients become candidates. It takes time to develop a professional reputation, and trust, and a network the size of ours. That is our focus; it has not been, and need not be yours.

What is the cost of a bad hire anyway?

- Time. Once a hire is made, it takes some time to realize that the new employee is not working out. Even when it becomes apparent that the new employee is not working out, it is difficult for the hiring manager to digest the fact that he/she has made a mistake, and usually more time is invested in trying to work it out. Often this time involves others on the team, who assist in trying to turn a bad hire good.

- Morale. Nobody works in a vacuum. When a bad hire is made, many people suffer. Others on the team must help the new employee to master their job, and after a while, this drags down those around the new employee.

- Money. There is the salary paid to the new employee, and possibly a sign-on bonus, or relocation expenses were covered. Those are sunk costs. But there is also the “opportunity cost” of a bad hire. . . if that person does not have significant mastery of the skill sets required, they can cost you orders or renewals. They can do damage to your company’s reputation. Their ignorance of best practices or best business partners can result in unnecessary expenditures. If you hired the ideal candidate, who knows what would have been accomplished? They might have suggested a new way of doing things that would save your company more than the price of their salary…or implemented a procedure that would increase visitors to your website…or simply streamlined a process for an ongoing project that had been done the same way “forever”.

When purchasing bananas, seek out a bargain. When hiring for your company, think long term, and take whatever steps necessary to bring on the best.

I had conducted a survey years ago that was published in Direct Marketing Magazine about job satisfaction in Direct Marketing. This year, I created 2 follow up surveys; one for women (August 20th) and one for men (September 10th) in which I asked readers to respond to my blog polls on job satisfaction. I was disheartened when survey results revealed that job satisfaction in direct marketing had fallen over the years.

A new survey by the Conference Board was brought to my attention in Sunday’s New York Times.

Apprently it isn’t only direct marketers that are less happy with their jobs than they used to be. This sentiment cuts across all industries:

The article says that “beneath the high unemployment rate lurks a simmering discontent – among people who still have jobs.

A new survey by the Conference Board found that only 45% of people were satisfied with their jobs, compared with 61% in 1987, the first year the survey was done.

It stands to reason that if fewer jobs are available, more people will be stuck in jobs they dislike. And the recession may indeed be a factor in the low number for 2009.

But job satisfaction has been trending downward through booms and busts, the Conference Board notes, and ‘no age or income group is immune.’

Is American work inherently less satisfying now, or do more workers feel entitled to a job that seems like a walk in the park?

Whatever the reason, expect some turnover once the jobless rate falls and more workers feel free to release themselves from their current workplace shackles.”

While I’m glad it’s not just direct marketers who aren’t as satisfied as they used to be, I am hopeful that once the job market expands more people will once again be satisfied in the workplace.

From Money Magazine’s January/February 2010 issue:

Use these tools to help you assess a job in another locale.

- See how far your salary will go:
cnnmoney.cnn.com/tools/costofliving/costofliving.html

- Check out various neighborhoods:
homefair.com

- Research school ratings:
schooldatadirect.org

- Investigate home prices:
domania.com and zillow.com

- Find out what it will cost to move:
relocation.com/library/moving_calculator.html

- Evaluate the quality of life:
money.cnn.com/best/bplive

There is one other relocation resource I recommend to my candidates to assess the differentials between their current home town and the place they are considering a relocation to:
- www.bestplaces.net/city

Relocation can be complicated, but utilizing these resources can help you to make a more informed decision. Good luck.

DM News asked me for my thoughts on the state of hiring in 2010.

In a piece titled, “What is the current state of hiring for direct and digital marketers at the start of 2010“, I indicated that we have seen the worst of the recession, and the job market is slowly improving.

Check out the article to see the 3 trends in hiring activity that I have seen as we enter the New Year.

In 1992, when I was working in magazine circulation, I had the honor of being chosen for inclusion as one of Target Marketing Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Direct Marketers.

I have no idea how the group was selected, and I assure you, I brought down the prestige of the group. Industry luminaries including Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Computer Corp., Jonah Gitlitz, President & CEO of the Direct Marketing Association, and Joseph M. Segel, Chairman & CEO of QVC Network, were featured on the accompanying pages.

I was an Assistant Circulation Director at Bon Appetit Magazine. All I can imagine is that because I was heavily involved in participating in the direct marketing industry through public speaking, writing for trade publications, and taking advanced coursework in direct marketing at New York University, I caught the eye of the decision makers.

In any case, it was quite a thrill to be recognized for my accomplishments, and I saved the issue. I just noticed it on my bookcase, and was flipping through it. I decided to reach out to some of my co-honorees, as a sort of “where are they now?” Well, I didn’t reach out to Michael Dell. I sort of know what he’s up to. And a number of the honorees were so senior in stature and age that they must have retired by now. But I did reach out to a number of them, and they are still at the top of their games, in senior level positions in their given fields. I connected with a number of them on LinkedIn, and hope to stay in touch over time.

As far as my own sphere of influence…it’s no longer as a direct marketer, but as someone who helps to shape the careers of direct marketers. It’s been a gratifying journey.