the dark side - sept 2012
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
the Darkside.tvwww. SE
PTEM
BER
2012WANT
TO KNOWWHY?
Inside this issue: Inside this issue:
Spam, Spam, Spam
Girls, Girls, Girls
Still Frustrated
Factoring Who?
Stress Test! Clare & A Few “Myths”The Power of Three!
Why the Girls ‘r’ winning!
Secrets, Lies & Hard Work!
SEE
PAGE11
T
Girls won, Boys....lost!2012
The Power of Three!
What’s New?Grumpy CatPop’s Pantry
Factoring!Employment MythsChris & Spam
Why do girls always seem to win?
In arguments about cooking, knitting or decorating, that seems fair enough, (lol!) but why do the fairer sex seem to be winning everything else too these days?!
No such thing as a glass ceiling in recruitment it would appear as we boys are definitely having to take it on the chin – as the girls turn up the heat, generating more profits, turnover and business than the tough guys with the stubble and the dodgy attitudes.
Well, apparently it really does all comes down to attitude and commitment. The girls are working harder, remain more consistent in what they do and are more prepared to ‘get their hands dirty’ when it matters. Take a look at the ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ article in this edition of TDS and see what you think.
Elsewhere, we are still being warned about the Eurozone and the ECB & whatever else. Is it just SSG or all we all getting a little sick of this phoney war on the causes of the problem? I am beginning to hate all of the hype, the worry and the anxiety eroding the basic will to push on and get things done. It seems it is getting harder to do the same things and yet we all have to keep plugging away.
Having said all of that, the News Section this month is packed full of great little stories about the successes that keep flowing from the ventures we support – profits rising, babies being born and new toilet configurations being installed (thanks for that one Barnes Frank!).
In addition, it is brilliant to read about Big Sky Additions who go from strength to strength (see ‘On the Couch’) who having decided unilaterally that the recession is not for them have seemingly found the solution to the larger economic issues surrounding us all – just ignore it all and ‘hit the phones!’
So, all in all we are faced with the same situation as we have been facing since 2008 – rubbish economy but lots of reasons to push on and ignore what happens on Wall Street & in Brussels and make sure that you get out of bed and make a placement!
That’s all it takes guys!!
1. All the contents of The Dark Side are only for general information and/or use. Such contents do not constitute advice and should not be relied upon in making (or refraining from making) any decision. Any specific advice or replies to queries in any part of the publication is/are the personal opinion of such experts/consultants/persons. 2. The information in The Dark Side is provided on an "AS IS" basis, and all warranties, expressed or implied of any kind, regarding any matter pertaining to any information, advice or replies are disclaimed and excluded. 3. The Dark Side and its associates shall not be liable, at any time for damages including, without limitation, damages for loss of any kind(but excluding personal injury or death caused by negligence) arising in contract, tort or otherwise from the use of or inability to use the publication, or any of its contents, or from any action taken (or refrained from being taken) as a result of using the publication or any such contents or use of information contained in the publication. 4. No representations, warranties, or guarantees whatsoever are made as to the accuracy, adequacy, reliability, completeness, suitability, or applicability of the information to a particular situation. 5. Certain references in the publication refer to third parties over whom The Dark Side has no control or connection, business or otherwise.
Material Submitted by OthersSome sections in The Dark Side contain materials submitted by users. The Dark Side accepts no responsibility for the content, accuracy, and conformity to applicable laws of such material, and any views or opinions expressed by such third parties are those of the author alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the owners or publishers of the Dark Side.Effect of these TermsThese terms constitute the sole basis on which the Dark Side is published and made available and supersede and replace all prior or contemporaneous understandings or agreements, written or oral, or any implied terms which might otherwise apply.
EDITOR’S NOTE
Regular Stuff
Today’s Special
Serious Bits
Nonsense!
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Launches!Don’t Forget
8
14
info@ the-darkside.tv
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Girls, Girls, Girls! The Stress Test
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GIRLS ON TOP - Page 11
Why is this TRUE?(or is it?!)
3
KeyFacts
Legal Formations
Accounting Issues
The Tax Man
The VAT Man
Sourcing Vacancies
Personal Cash Flow
Personal Isolation
Restrictive Covenants
Technical Issues
Staying Organised
Impact on your Family
Making Placements
Room in the Market
NIGGLING ANXIETIESExpectation Reality
MOTIVATIONS
Freedom & Autonomy
Financial / Earnings
Long Term Ambition
Increased Family Time
Reduction in Commute
Escape Office Politics
A Difficult Employer
The ‘Right Time’
Prove Doubters Wrong
Work / Life Balance
Shorter Working Day
Expectation Reality
?
ig kyadditionsB SAccountancy Search & Selection
So far,
so g
ood?
Big
gest
challe
nge?
Majo
r upsid
es?A:Overall we are very
happy with how things have gone – we have had a good solid start and we are proud of what we have achieved so far – there is still a lot more to do.
A:Certainly we both enjoy the job now and get a huge amount of satisfaction from doing it for ourselves – we have the freedom to work how we want to work and are not restricted in any way.
A:Without a doubt, Cash Flow and everything that goes with that element of the business has been our biggest challenge. We want to increase the number of vacancies coming to us without us chasing after them and achieve a consistency to the billing – we have very high billing months and then not so high – our challenge is evening this out.
So, what made you decide to SYOB? Why did you make the transition from Employee to Business Owner? For all of the rhetoric & seemingly endless discussions, was it money, freedom or perhaps the children which finally made you ‘get out of recruitment & into business’? What did you expect and what has been the reality?
Justin: my main aim was to achieve freedom and a better lifestyle – not to have to save up the chores for the weekend, to blend work and non-work tasks over the full week.
Sam: it was the chance to be financially secure – with a young family, the thought of working for someone else for the rest of my life filled me with dread – I was bored where I was, I needed to try it and was confident that I could succeed
• Home Based• Two Owners• 2010 Launch• Temp & Perm• Finance & Accounting
Justin and Sam worked together for 3 years before setting up Big Sky Additions, working in the local Norfolk market in Accountancy & Finance.
50 WORDS ON WHY!For us, we didn’t have any doubts about the concept of going it alone but what was holding us back were the mechanics of running a business – these were the elements that made us doubt whether we should be doing this. We both wanted to concentrate on the recruiting side and we were not so confident on how to go about actually starting and building a business.
50 WORDS ON WHY NOT!
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And before you made the big decision to SYOB, what kept you awake at night? What were the awful worries, the ‘niggles’ you couldn’t escape? Has the Tax man been friend or foe? Did your Restrictive Covenant hold you back? What about cash flow? Technology? Do you have more time for your family? Has it been tougher than you anticipated?
810
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910
4
Why
cho
ose
SSG
?H
ow w
as t
he la
unch
?M
ost
impo
rtan
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ppor
t
RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS
Expectation? Reality?
Making Placements
Work Routine
Personal Cash Flow
Personal Routine
Distractions
Feeling Isolated
Family Support
Candidate Attraction
Client Attraction
Working Hours
Stress Levels
ig kyadditionsB SAccountancy Search & Selection
LONG-TERM GOALS?BIGGEST MISTAKE?ADVICE FOR OTHERS?
We wanted to find a company who could help us with the mechanics of starting and building a business so that we could concentrate on recruiting. We chose SSG principally because we met David and got on well with him – we really bought in to him and when we needed to reconnect with SSG, he was there to help us.
Once we had managed to get out of Norfolk through the snow, the launch went well and we found it pretty straightforward – it would have been ideal to have met the team before the launch date as the day itself was pretty full on but it has all worked out well.
The Cash Flow forecasting that we have implemented recently with the help of the Toolkit has been very useful and we are getting a huge amount out of the meetings we are having with David. His recent support in a mentoring capacity has been invaluable and we can see our business starting to grow.
The main thing is to have confidence in your own ability – if you can visualise yourself running your own business then do it! Have a good support network around you and make sure you have enough money to survive for 6 months
We think that possibly we have been too impatient at times and that has led to sometimes not being guarded enough when we come across business advisors at networking events – we have been at risk of being sucked into making the wrong decisions sometimes. Our growing confidence in the business now means that we think we should be more aggressive when we know we are in the right!
Justin: to be in a financial position that for few years I wouldn’t need to work if I chose not to and to be able to look back and to have been a success.
Sam: without a doubt, financial freedom – being able to do what I want when I want, provide for my family and be proud of the business and what we’ve achieved.
We have been working with Big Sky for a couple of years – passionate about their market and the area that they serve, they are
carving out a niche for themselves within the Accounting and Finance space. Some adjustment to the services that we provide and the addition of a mentor has proved to be just what the company needed to kick-start a new period of growth. Although Justin feels he has lost his ‘baby face’ features to the stress of running a business, we are confident that he and Sam will achieve their goals.
What to do Next?
Take the Challenge?
Why not Volunteer to be next with Clare?
Surely, it is much better to step forward and take a hit for the team than to be relentlessly tracked down by a seemingly pleasant & fair minded pseudo Psychiatrist?
To take part, please contact
CLARE ARMSTRONG01442 200 957
Football EastendersRock Jogging Wine LiteratureCasual UK Hol’sGlasses History
RugbyCorrieOperaCrispsBeerDVD’sSuitedOverseasContactsSci-Fi
NeitherNeitherNeitherNeitherNeitherNeitherNeitherNeitherNeitherNeither
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“Getting family and friends on side wasn’t
an issue - our challenge was to show
our clients that we could compete ”
“Long hours, high stress - these aren’t a
negative, we do it because we love it. ”
In Sam’s opinion:
510
710
1010
Clare’s Last Words
5
WORDS TO UNDERSTAND
Service Charge
Drawdown
Discount
Disallowed
Avaliable Funds
The first consideration for any temp recruitment business is how am I going to pay my contractors?
This is before Insurance, getting timesheets signed, filling the vacancy and all the other steps to running a temp desk.
And why is that I hear you ask?
The short answer is that if your temps don’t get paid you have no temp desk.
The slightly less short answer is that you pay the contractors before you get paid by the client to cover those temp payments.
Therefore you need some form of finance to cover the payments until the client pays you.
This is where Factoring steps in:
So what is Factoring?
Factoring is the bank (in our case, Lloyds Commercial Finance) lending you money against your sales invoices. Usually this advance is up to 90% of invoice value.
The factoring company then collect the money from your clients due on the invoices and this is how they get their money back.
This releases the final amount due to you which is the remaining 10% of the invoice that you have not received yet.
An example
Joe Bloggs works for a week at Temp Client Ltd – We will call this week 1
The following Monday Joe Bloggs submits his timesheet to you and expects to be paid his wages of £90 that Friday – we will call this week 2.
Still in week 2, you raise an invoice of £100 to your client for the supply of Joe Bloggs.
You are one of the lucky ones and your
client pays in the agreed terms of 14 days so you get your £100 from Temp Client Ltd in week 4.
However this is after the wages have been paid leaving you with a shortfall.
The factoring company agree that because you have raised an invoice of £100 in week 2 they will lend you 90% of that (£90) in week 2 as a result.
Therefore you use the £90 to pay Joe Bloggs in week 2.
So now you are at the point of where you have borrowed £90 to pay Joe Bloggs but your client owes you £100 which will cover the repayment of the bank borrowing.
In week 4 the bank receive £100 from your client.
They take £90 of it straight away to get the money back they lent you. This leaves £10 remaining that is yours.
Or to look at in its simplest form :
You raised a £100 invoice which you received £90 up front and £10 when the client pays.
“When you need to get your hands on
the money....”
And the bank do this for free?!?!
Well No!
The example above has deliberately ignored the fees that the Factoring company charge for providing this service. These can be split into 2 charges
Service charge
This is the charge to you for the bank “running” the facility.
The service charge is worked out as a percentage of the invoice value that you raise.
This can be anywhere from 0.08% to 1.5% of turnover that is factored, depending on what you expect your turnover to be.
The higher the turnover the lower the %age as Lloyds will earn more from higher turnover businesses.
However, don’t think you can just say you’ll do high turnover and get a lower %age as they impose what they call a minimum service charge.
This is a set amount that they will charge as a minimum regardless of the value of the invoices they raise.
So your great idea of saying you will raise £1million in the first year to lower your
Factoring : What is it?Darren’s Helpful Hints
6
%age means you will be hit with a far higher minimum service charge and actually be worse off!
But don’t think of the minimum as an additional charge on top of the Service charge.
You pay one or the other, depending which one is higher.
“Discount”
This is really the interest charge for borrowing money and is the term used by Lloyds.
Looking back at our example, you borrowed £90 from week 2 until week 4 when the client paid.
The factoring company will charge you interest on that £90 from week 2 till week 4.
SSG can arrange a meeting with Lloyds for you and you will get a full quote that will outline all charges that you will pay for the factoring facility.
Using the Facility
When you actually use a factoring facility your main contact with Lloyds will be through their web portal – www.cashconnect.co.uk.
You will be given your own unique login and will be presented with information that is unique to you and is all the information as to what is happening in your factoring account.
It is here that you can “draw down” funds, see what your customers owe, see what you owe Lloyds, etc.
Let’s take a look inside www.cashconnect.co.uk and explain the important areas and what they mean.
Once logged in you will be presented with the my account screen
This gives you a summary of your whole factoring account. (Fig 1)
So lets work through the figures in the top half first
Gross Debtors – This is the value of your invoices that have not been paid to Lloyds yet.
So looking at our example earlier this figure would show £100 in week 2
When invoices are paid by your clients this figure reduces and when invoices are raised by you, it increases.
Disapproved/capped – If a client says that an invoice will not be paid, or if a customer is over their credit limit then Lloyds will not advance against these as they do not expect to get the money back.
So any figure in these will need to be looked at.
And as a result Lloyds reduce it from the Gross Debtors to arrive at the funded figure.
Funded – This is the total value of invoices that Lloyds expect to receive from your clients.
So this is what they base the total funding figure that they will advance you on.
So in our earlier example this would be £100 giving a total allowed funding of £90
IP – This just shows the agreed percentage figure that Lloyds will advance on that we discussed earlier
Current Account – This is your current borrowings from Lloyds. It is an ongoing figure that increases or decreases.
So when Lloyds give you funds against the invoices this figure increases (because your borrowings from Lloyds increase)
When your Clients make a payment to Lloyds this decreases as you are borrowing less.
Total available at start of
day – The current account is what is owed to Lloyds.
However, Lloyds will advance up to 90% of the Funded balance.
If the Current account is below that figure then there are additional funds available to borrow.
This is what is known as the availability and shown in this box.
It is calculated as follows :
Funded multiplied by IP %age
The result of this is the total available to be borrowed.
This total less the Current account (Current borrowings) gives you the remaining availability.
Using our example at the beginning :
An invoice was raised for £100.“Cash is King!”
TOP TIP!Passwords change
monthly on CashCon-nect so try to use
numerical ones (01, 02 etc..)
Fig 1
7
Sea Front Recruitment!How lucky is our latest
Entrepreneurial Recruiter?Living with the Devon beach literally on her
doorstep, this is afabulous opportunity to
combine all of thebenefits of running a
business withlooking after 2 young
children - did I mentionliving on the beach?
BLAST OFF!July
2012
For more info, contact:[email protected]
Young Gun shooting forSouth Coast Success!
Our Recruiter may onlybe 25,but he has driveenthusiasm & a great
mental attitude.Coupled with just over
2 yrs of TechnicalRecruitment skills,
SSG is happy toback this chap all the way
BLAST OFF!July
2012
For more info, contact:[email protected]
Home Counties Hero!Generalist Recruitmentwith a specialist twist!No CV Blasting here,
just a great jobwith genuine focus& care is a sector
better knownfor volume &
complaints!
BLAST OFF!July
2012
For more info, contact:[email protected]
This would have shown in the gross debtors as £100 in week 2 and made the funded figure £100.
This would have created an availability in week 2 or £90.
Lloyds advanced £90 to you in week 2 which would have had 2 effects.
The Current account would have increased by £90 (as you have borrowed this amount) and the availability would have gone down to 0 as you have borrowed all you can.
In week 4 – When the client has paid their invoice the following would happen.
Gross debtors would have decreased to 0 as the £100 was paid.
This would give a funded of 0 which means that the Current account can only be 0 at its highest.
However, the current account which was £90 would be decreased by £100 which means it would become negative £10.
As a result the availability would be would be £10 as the current account is actually showing £10 due to you.
So that is the overview.
But how do you get at that money?!
The Drawdown
Drawdown is the request of funds from the factoring account to your business bank account.
This is registered at the amount in Fig 1.
The factoring account is not a bank account.
You can’t make payments to other people from it.
All you can do is request to borrow money that is accessible in the availability figure.
Once requested the money will show in your business bank account.
So when you require funds you enter the figure required in the amount box.
RISE IN TEMPORARY ROLES ENCOURAGING FOR RECRUITERS
Employers are increasingly turning to recruitment businesses to provide temporary, flexible workers to fill vacancies against the challenging business backdrop, enabling firms to increase or decrease headcount in line with fluctuations in trading.
The number of job vacancies available through recruitment companies continued to rise in July – albeit at a more modest pace than previous months – particularly in the engineering, construction and medical sectors, according to the latest REC/KPMG Report on Jobs.
Conditions remain stable for young recruitment businesses, particularly specialists operating in resilient vertical sectors, to realise their growth potential.
However, access to working capital to pay temporary workers, and the significant administrative burden associated with candidate and client management, can leave directors’ with their heads down in day to day activities, rather than above the parapet focusing on expansion.
Cash Friday, the outsourced payroll finance service from Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance’s Recruitment Finance division, comprises payroll management, a factoring facility and a credit insurance policy, and is well suited to remedying these issues.
Payroll funding addresses the tasks which ensure temps are paid correctly and on time, whilst being compliant with tax and data protection legislation. Alternatively a factoring facility advances up to 90 per cent of issued invoices, to make funds available to reinvest in growth, while credit insurance covers businesses against losses due to unpaid accounts receivable.
The challenging market means that it is more important than ever for recruiters to position themselves to capitalise on emerging growth opportunities.
To learn more speak to our advisors on
0800 55 00 22 or visitwww.recruitmentfinance.co.ukSTUART TALBOTHead of the Recruitment Finance Division of Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance
8
You will then need to decide what payment method you require. This is the amount box (Fig 1)
But please be aware of the following
There is a 3:30 pm cut off to request funds via BACS but this method is free of charge.
A BACS transfer takes 3 working days to show in your bank account.
There is a 10:30am cut off point to request a CHAPS and there is a charge for this method of payment.
However a CHAPS transfer will show in your bank account the same day.
To view previous drawdown payments made just click on the last 10 payments icon and they will show. (Fig 1)
The front page shows a summary of your account.
We shall now look at some of the other pages (accessed by the menu’s at the side) that you will look at in the course of running the factoring account.
You can find more information on Factoring at the following sites:
www.ltsbcf.co.uk/
Factoring
www.cash-connect
.com
www.ltsbcf.co.uk/
invoice-finance-
solutions/factoring/
Or contact me,Darren Hulbert on 01442 200961.
You can also email medarren@supportservices
group.tv
I look forward to hearingfrom you!
Daily change report (Fig 2)
This gives you lots of information on what has changed on your account on a daily basis.
You will first see that there are date ranges so you can look at different periods.
Select the period you want and click Load report
This will bring up a host of other information that you can access for the period in question
Client Summary – This is the front page that I have explained above but for the days in selected (Fig 2)
Disapproval – This shows any invoices disapproved in the period
Payment Advice – This is any drawdowns paid in the period
Schedule acknowledgement – This shows totals for your sales invoices raised and submitted to Lloyds in the period. It also includes estimated charges on those invoices
Credit rating amendment – This shows any changes in the credit ratings given by Lloyds for any of your clients in the period
Reconciled – This shows payments received from your clients and what invoices they were reconciled with in the period
Cash Received – This just shows the actual cash received in the period
New Customer
details – This shows any new c u s t o m e r s submitted to
Lloyds in the period
Reassignment - this shows any invoices that have been reassigned
So there is a lot of information there.
But the most important is cash received.
You need to know when payments are being made to keep track on your debtors.
The slower your customers pay the higher the discount charge as you are borrowing for longer so it is good practice to keep your own checks on outstanding invoices.
This leads us to look at how you look at what invoices are outstanding by customer.This page is accessed by selecting Customer on the left hand side menu then customer list on any page.
It does what it says on the tin – it gives a customer list. (Fig 3)
However, it is not just a list of names, it
TOP TIP!ALWAYS Check Individual Client
credit limits against their outstanding
balances
e information he following
k/
ect
k/
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on
ail metservices
hearing
Clie
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Fig 2
Fig 3
9
Nowt grim about up North!Yet another great
Commercial recruitmentventure based out of
Newcastle!Super Star Recruiterwith a great accentand 10yrs of local
experience.This just has to
work!
BLAST OFF!July
2012
For more info, contact:[email protected]
Ang
ela
from
Man
ches
ter
JOKER! £50
WINNER!
g
JQ: Driving up the motorway,
my boss phoned me & told me I'd been promoted. He then made me director and I went right off into a tree.
A: The police came and asked me what had happened. I said 'I careered off the road"
Mic
hael
fro
m L
odno
n
JOKER! £50
WINNER!
JQ:
A:
What do you see when you look into a Recruitment Consultants eyes?
The back of his head
Luke
fro
m H
erts
JOKER! £50
WINNER!
JQ:
A:
Why did the Recruitment Consultant scale the chain link fence?
To see what was on the other side
“Need Help?
Give Darren a call
it also gives the customer’s credit limit, the balance outstanding, any disapproved values and over credit limit values.
Any element of information on cashconnect that is underlined means that you can click on it for further information.
So if you click on the customer name, you will get address, contact details, last payment date and any diary notes of interaction with the client that Lloyds have had.
If you click on the balance figure it will show all the invoices that make up that figure.
More importantly these are invoices that your client hasn’t paid yet.
Looking at this screen also raises the new area of Client Credit limits.
When a new client is entered on cashconnect Lloyds will only fund a g a i n s t invoices to that client up to a certain amount.
This is the Credit Limit.
While a client’s outstanding invoices with you are below that credit limit any new invoices will increase your availability as normal.
However, if a client goes over their credit limit then any further invoices will go in the capped figure and have no effect on the funded figure so do not increase your availability.
This means you are not getting funding on those invoices until the client pays so could have an adverse effect on your cashflow.
So credit limits are an important area to keep an eye on.
So the customer list is quite important as it lets you know what is happening with each customer and assists in giving you the information you need to chase your clients.
So now you have all the information in front of you and a new understanding of how factoring works.
There are a number of other areas to explore on cashconnect but they are for another day.
Feel free to check them out yourself.
One last word of warning.
Lloyds may not use old fashion methods of communication like the telephone if they have a query.
The whole point of having this online portal is that is gives you all the information you need in real time and online.
Therefore do please keep a regular eye on the memo tab (Fig 4)
Clicking on this then memo List brings up a list of items that Lloyds want to communicate to you.
If you miss these you may miss some vital information.
But don’t fear, If you have some unread memos it also tells you on the front page in the bottom left hand corner.
If you would like to get any further info please feel free to contact me on 01442
200961
TOP TIP!ALWAYS Check the memo section for unread memos
DID
YO
U K
NO
W?....
SS
G h
as la
un
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30
ve
ntu
res in
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Fig 4
10
Is it a Happy 2012?
2012 is going great for the girls!
£
MONTHS
It might shame the boys to have to admit it but the Girls are winning so far in 2012!
Bearing in mind that approximately 50% of all SSG client recruiters are female, they seem to be making more than 50% of the money of all SSG Ventures since the start of the Olympic Year!
Is it the Jessica Ennis effect? Are we all more likely to work with the fairer sex than the boys or are female Recruiters just better? What can the little ladies teach us big butch blokes?!
The Trends since January 2012
On a global basis, things are no better are they? August is likely to be the same as January and February was not any different to March whilst April seemed like May and June to me!
Every news bulletin is (at best) cautious and usually fairly miserable. The Euro is sinking, the unemployment numbers soaring and the Sovereign dangers seem determined to remain.
No one appears to be making the right moves to solve this ‘perfect storm’ of economic woe & as individuals there would seem to be little we can do to change anything – the best that we can do is to work in the moment – just go with the flow and not get too ambitious.
Read the national press, scour the trade press or just talk to any sensible Recruiter & you will hear the same stories rehashed one way or another. It isn’t good, things are tough and every day seems to generate a new problem.
The major players in the recruitment market are not making any more money – we are seeing profits warnings, cut backs, redundancy notices or (again, at best) a ‘reallocation of resources’ from the likes of Robert Walters, Hays, Michael Page etc
Look further down the food chain with the independents and we see a similar story but with a slighter less pessimistic outlook – things are ‘ok’, the outlook remains ‘stable’ and the numbers seem fairly ‘predictable’.
And then right down in the dirt fighting for every penny and working hard to win any business ..... The battling Recruitment Start-Up venture!
So, what about us? How are things since January 2012? Are things getting better or worse? Any lessons to learn – apart from the fact that it seems more profitable to be a girl than it is to be a boy!
Let’s look at the SSG KPIsJust like you guys, SSG works to a number of KPIs (you do work with KPIs don’t you?).
You guys might talk about interviews, offers and placements – whilst we focus on Business Launches, Revenues per Venture, Expansion Rates and the like.
Same meat – different gravy!
OK – let’s focus on some of the obvious indicators of how start-up recruiters and their businesses are managing (as reflected by the SSG Experience!)
Applications
Since January 2012, SSG has registered a decrease in qualified Recruiters wanting to launch a new business. This is not a massive decrease but it is noticeable – a tangible reduction in numbers (both in absolute terms but also on a comparative basis).
It would appear that Recruiters feel less keen to take the plunge right now. Is this a reflection of the market or is it just tough luck on SSG?
Launches
The numbers are solid – no change since the start of the year and in fact a little better than in 2011 and in 2010. In other words, SSG is launching more businesses than we have done in the first 6 months of 2011 and 2010, but to be frank, that in itself is not much to shout about.
After all, is the quality going to be as good or just a skew of the curve? After all, if we are launching the same number of businesses but working with fewer applications, are we just lowering the bar?
Revenues
Ok – here is a definite trend!Overall revenues per venture remain almost the same (or ‘stagnant’ if you want
Work in the Moment......
Girls, Girls, Girls!
Never mind the Spice Girls, Female Recruiterslead the way!
11
2012 has seen a BIGincrease in bad debts
Court Case
Applications
BAD DEBTS
Girls won, Boys......lost!2012
to be miserable or ‘robust’ if you want to be optimistic!).
But, (& if you are a boy, you may want to look away now!), the girls are doing better – about 20% better in fact.
SSG revenues from the boys are down. SSG Revenues from the girls are up. The net result is the same.
So, the big question is really ‘what are the girls doing that the boys are not?’
Business Failures
Another miserable face I am sorry to say.
For nine years (since our launch in 2003) we know that 1 in every 6 businesses SSG launch with an eager fresh faced Recruiter will ‘fail’ (or more nicely put, the Recruiter will decide to do something ‘different’).
Since the start of 2012 and indeed looking back 12 months and even 18 months) that number is slighter higher.
Not so high that most analysts would advocate jumping off a tall building, but enough to make a reasonable Recruiter start to wonder why? It is tougher and again the boys are fairing less well. The boys seem more susceptible to calling it a day than the girls do.
Bad Debts
Yet another misery statistic!
Yep, you have guessed it – our ventures (& therefore SSG) are suffering more than we have with bad debts. More ‘’placed’’ candidates are not working to the end of a rebate period (damnation!) & more end clients are failing to cough up on their legitimate recruitment invoices.
Again, please don’t reach for the sleeping pills just yet, but it is interesting that the bad debt numbers have crawled their way up for three consecutive years (2010, 2011 and so far in 2012).
Legal Disputes
Up, up & up!
No doubt here guys! 2012 has seen another increase in the number of legal disputes our ventures are involved in. Not only is the actual number rising but the progression of the actual dispute is going further than they have traditionally done.
In other words, more and more start up Recruitment Ventures are being forced into going to court to get their fees paid.
Expansion Ah ha! At last – a rare taste of good news!
Although I need to add a caveat or two, there have been significantly more cases of expansion during the first six months of 2012 than there has been in either 2011 or 2010.
The most significant caveat which I need to add is that this expansion has come more from well established ventures which launched prior to 2010 than it has from Recruiters who set up in the last 18 months.
What this suggests is that it has been more difficult to establish a foothold in the market since the financial meltdown of 2009 and onwards. I guess we would all know that anyway!
Overall, the KPI view is that things are just as tough now as they have been in the recent past. It would appear that there has been no real improvement in 2012 and that we are flat lining at best!
The Girls makemore money, seem to work
harder & chat more!
What this KPI evidence seems to highlight is that as Recruiters we are almost too optimistic! Perhaps we really do talk a better game than we play? Maybe we need to be a little more pessimistic – more prudent on our outlook.
What about the Girls?This is the really interesting bit!
The girls are doing better – there is no doubt about that. They seem to have suffered less and prospered more.
In other words, for those Recruiters who have suffered (seen their revenues actually fall in 2012 from the same period in 2011) they seem to have suffered less.
For those Recruiters who have prospered (i.e. seen their revenues increase in 2012 from the same period in 2011) they seem to have prospered more.
Here are a few facts for you:
Another interesting set of facts relate to the type of recruitment which our fabulous girls work in:
‘Female Revenues’ now account for 61% of all SSG Revenues.
‘Female Revenues’ in 2012 are up 9% on the same period of 2011.
‘Female Revenues’ in 2012 are up 11% on the same period of 2010.
‘Male Revenues’ now account for 39% of all SSG Revenues.
‘Male Revenues’ in 2012 are down 4% on the same period of 2011.
‘Male Revenues’ in 2012 are down 7% on the same period of 2010.
Of the 19 Ventures who have expanded their team in 2012, 12 are owned by women.
Of the 5 Ventures who have ‘called it a day’ since January 2012, 4 were owned by the boys!
74% of Female Revenues come from PERM recruitment
12
Girls work hard & consistently
Girls build lasting relationships
Girls make 61% of SSG revenues
Girls talk, listen and engage
So, the girls maintain higher PERM fees than the boys since 2012 started and they make more of their money in the PERM market than the boys.
This seems to support the clear recruitment market trend of lowering TEMP revenues and stable PERM fees. In other words, it seems less difficult to make a PERM fee than it does to generate the same TEMP revenues. The TEMP market is harder & is contracting a little whilst the PERM market is robust
More facts about girls Up-North:
What about Down South?
Why are the Girls doing better?
Well, we have some theories of course, but it is impossible to be too definite for a million reasons; including
But, what have we noticed about the girls?
Focus
Of course it is hard to be too empirical here, but the girls really do seem to be a focussed bunch. Not necessarily more
aggressive or more determined, but seemingly very focussed and able to concentrate on new business and revenue earning opportunities.
SSG notice that the girls are always available – whatever the time of day. They are sat at their desks or out on call. They are working, ready to talk and are obviously ‘out there’ doing ‘it’.
The girls want to discuss how things are going, they seem to want to canvass opinions and contribute to conversations, debates and The Dark Side.
Hard Working
There is an almost tangible feeling of commitment from the girls. Running a recruitment business seems a very serious process for the girls – this is not simply about not wanting to work for someone else. They want to do well and seem determined to work hard, put in the hours and try every angle to make more money.
Of course it is hard to be too empirical here, but the girls really do seem to work harder ??
Humility
It is very clear that the vast majority of the female recruiters working with SSG are demonstratively humble! If they don’t know something, they come forward and say so. If there is something which is unclear, they seek clarity.
There is no bravado about it – just a tendency to want to know what they need to do to make more money and be more successful. Very impressive!
Relationships
Most of our female clients seem to benefit from ‘repeat business’. They work with smaller client numbers but in a more focussed way – they build relationships
and take their time to do the right thing, not just to make a quick buck.
Process Driven
The girls have a plan and they stick to it!
This is not about being inflexible; this is about being focussed and process driven. The girls are not reliant upon inspirational recruitment but work hard against a clear plan.
It may take the girls longer to get going, but once they start making money they seem to do it better!
Work Smart
The girls don’t appear to work any longer hours than the boys – indeed the impression that SSG has is that the girls are usually responsible for things other than ‘just recruitment‘ (kids, shopping, chores) but somehow manage to get it all done.
Do the girls work smarter or are they just so busy that they can’t waste time?
Tools
Ok guys, you might hate this but it seems that the girls make better use of the tools which are available to them via SSG!
More girls engage with SSG than not. More girls utilise some of the business tools than do not & more girls ask for help than do not.
Big favourites include:
So, what is the advice then?
If you are girl and don’t feel that you are doing better in 2012 than you were in 2011, then the advice to you is probably the same as it is to the boys!
56% of Male Revenues come from PERM recruitment
The average invoice value of Female PERM Revenue is just under £3,200 compared with an average of £2,650 for the boys.
They are (on average) nearly 25% more successful than their northern male equivalent!
Fees north of Birmingham have grown by around 10% for the girls but not shifted for the boys.
Girls are not more successful than the boys.
The boys are just as successful as the girls!
x
SSG might use be lucky that the girlie ventures are particularly good.
The boys might be unlucky right now.
It is market led and the girls happen to operate in more buoyant markets.
Luck may well be a factor.
The KPI Tool Kit
The Cash Flow Tool Kit
The Vacancy Spider
The Online Assessment product
The Business Strategy meetings with SSG
Engage with SSG - talk to us, meet with us and discuss ideas with us. We may not know everything of course but we do hear a lot of great ideas from a lot of great Recruiters.
13
BoysMight!
the Darkside.tvwww.
Happy New Year?....
Inside this issue:
How to escape the2012 doom & gloom
(page 13)
Selling Up! Part DeuxDevelop a Press ReleaseMeet SSG’s New Girl
3 Ways to SYOBClare is serious (again)Making the most of SKYPE
:::
RU ?
NEXTYo
u fr
om H
ome!
Happy, content & safe inthe knowledge that whatever you
acheive will be for you and your family.Never did the phrase ‘work for
someone else’ sound so silly, you’re motivated & progressing your life
BLAST OFF! VerySoon
Why not call David on01442 200944 to chat through
how to break free
Your
Bes
t Fr
iend Bob made the break and he
is doing well. You try to be pleasedfor him of course, but as Morrisey
might sing ‘we hate it when ourfriends are successful’.Tough to watch. It should have been you.
BLAST OFF!Feb
2012
Why not call ‘The Samaritans’or Bob (ask him for a job?)
JAN
UA
RY
2012
PhD inEntrepreneurship
www.SSG-PhD.tv
PE
the Darkside.tvwww.
Fancy a PhD in Entrepreneurship?
Banks take a bashing
Inside this issue:
Selling Up! Part 1 Corporation Tax BasicsGoogle+ Exposed!The Death of Cold Calling?Who Owns YOUR Contacts?
See Page 12
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2011
30k Basic 50% Equity!
Herts base for a GREAT Recruiter
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on salaries up to £50k
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Unusual combination of Engineering recruitment with a side dish of RTR work! This is a business led by a Recruiter with
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for someone else for too long!
BLAST OFF! October2011
For more info, contact:[email protected]
Be a VIDEO Star!Is AWR Evil?
Start Your Own BusinessTime to Sell Up?
Inside this issue:
Sometimesit’s hard tokeep up witheverything ........
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45k + Bonus + 10% EquityNr. Heathrow
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the Darkside.tvwww.
Inside this issue:
BRANDING FOR YOU MORE, MORE, MORE!
Selling up! Part 3 (of 5)Worthwhile PR StrategyCash Flow Tool KitHello from Lloyds
At Last!
SomeBright
ideas!
• Professional Presenter• Online Video• Professional Director• SSG Client Discount
• New Client Launches• Free Training Resources
FEBR
UA
RY
2012
The Power of Three!Power of Th the Darkside.tvwww.
Page 6
CopingOK?
:eussi siht edisnI:eussi siht edisnI
Clare’s Apprentices
Cash Flow Toolkit!
On the Couch!
Selling Up! Pt 4
!gnidnuF emoS teGYID lla seog sirhC
On the
Couc h.....
The Power of Three!
We’ll see ...
MA
RCH
2012
MA
RCH
SSG
SSG
Love SSG?Then make
it Pay!- see Page 20 - the Darkside.tvww
w.
Page 28
:eussi siht edisnI:eussi siht edisnI
On the Couch
The Budget & You
£20,000 Challenge!
CIS - CI What?
s’ppA enohPi tseb ehT5 .tP lleS ,lleS ,lleS The Power of Three!
8Pa 28Business?
Forecastingthe Future ...
... of your
APR
IL
2012
Page 6
On the
Couc h.....
the Darkside.tvwww.
JUN
E
2012
Company car?........
Is it worth it?
Inside this issue: Inside this issue:LinkedIn ‘TAGS’
Job Board Branding!
National
What’s New Pussy Cat?
Email on my iPhone
The ‘30 UP’ Club Lots of FlashesThe Power of Three!
OR
National
Unwelcome Cost to your business?
- see Page 16 -
the Darkside.tvwww. SE
PTEM
BER
2012WANT
TO KNOWWHY?
Inside this issue: Inside this issue:
Spam, Spam, Spam
Girls, Girls, Girls
Still Frustrated
Factoring Who?
Stress Test! Clare & A Few “Myths”The Power of Three!
Why the Girls ‘r’ winning!
Secrets, Lies & Hard Work!
SEE
PAGE11
T
www.the-darkside.tv/recenteditions
It’s all here!!
Yes, it is hard and certainly none of us has had it easy for a long time. But there are numerous examples of Recruiters doing well and building for the future – most of them just happen to be girls!!
Don’t be a stranger - get out & about. Talk to your customers, clients, candidates. Better to chat for a few minutes on the phone than it is to watch Jeremy Kyle!
Make the most of SSG - use the tools available. There are a lot of things you can do to feel more in control of your business. Don’t wait for the Monthly Management Accounts to arrive - think about what is available to you and use it!
Keep going - without effort there is really no hope!
14
Breaking News .....It’s amazing what goes on out there in ‘SSG
Client-Land’!Here are a few snippets of news from around
the ‘network’.
Commercial retail company, Unico has successfully launched
onto the scene with a fantastic (although we do say it ourselves!) website, offices and an expanding team – we wish Lesley and the team every success.
Congratulations to the energetic and tenacious commercial agency,
Smart10, who continue to thrive – they have taken on another new recruit and have entered into a joint venture with a coaching and training consultant to add to their increasingly diverse offering. Never able to stand still, the company has put in place initiatives such as awards nights, charity sponsorships and even a zumba evening to increase their profile within the market.
Congratulations to building services recruitment agency, Arco
– a long-standing relationship with a major household named client enabled Joe to not only get onto its PSL but to gain the coveted Tier One position which means that they are managing a number of agencies within the recruitment process (including one very close to Joe!). We were delighted to be able to offer help and support during this process and are really chuffed for Arco that it has all paid off. On the strength of this massive achievement, Arco are able to expand again and move into new offices.
We were delighted to be asked and pleased to be able to support long
established agency, Rapid Staff, in a recent tendering process. Fingers crossed that this all works out for Ade and his team.
Congratulations to international IT recruitment company,
Cirro IT on their launch – operating in the UK and Norway, this agency will offer a niche solution to their clients – we wish them every success.
Some great collaboration going on between ventures this month,
ranging from split fee possibilities to sharing of temp assignments, working together really does work! Glad that we were able to facilitate this for Multitrades, The
Edinburgh Recruitment Agency and Unico.
Exec Engineers has benefitted from an injection of cash into the
business which has enabled it to move into new offices and recruit an extra team member with plans for more additions to headcount before the end of 2012 – we wish Stewart and his growing team every success in the engineering space.
Lots of questions on restrictive covenants this month – as always, our
advice is to abide by all post- contractual restrictions. There are quite a number of ventures adding team members and it is worth remembering that a Venture may be liable if the new recruit is in breach.
Smart 10 win the award this month for taking on the VAT man and getting
an apology out of them – we hope you have got that framed!
High end e-commerce retail agency, Barnes
Frank have moved into new offices in Manchester and have expanded by taking on a resourcer (plus a ‘therapeutic dog’) – we were able to offer advice on the lease and have been delighted to see the before and after photos as Gareth and his team have worked their decorating magic!.
What’s New Pussy Cat?
15
Congratulations to retail agency JJH Consulting, who have a new young consultant in the form of Baby Archie – we look forward to helping him develop some KPIs!
Some Nappy
News to celebrate!
Did you know?.......
8,000 Recruiters receive this
...........
HAVE
YOUR
SHOUT!
Newsworthy itemsWelcomed by
Congratulations to new agency with the very trendy name of Recruit
Mint who have made a solid start to their industrial and commercial business in Peterborough - having moved in to offices and been inundated with business, this company is set to grow very quickly – one to watch we think!
Relatively new recruitment agency, Digitive, operating in the
digital and creative sector has taken the bold step of making a quick hiring decision – we applaud the risk taking quality and wish Chris and his new recruit every success as they build the business.
Congratulations to commercial recruitment agency with a distinctly
Irish flavour Eireann Personnel
who are making a move into the temp market. This long established agency has been extremely successful in weathering the fall out from the recession and this latest strategic move will only mean good things to come for Anna.
We are delighted to announce the other new companies that we are in
the process of launching onto the market - Technical Consultancy, CDC Technical, Healthcare Specialists, Octo Staffing and Which Doctor and Niche graduate recruitment agency, Graduatis are all in the Launch phases of their development - We look forward to continuing to support these fantastic businesses as they undertake their first steps in the stages of growth.
Positively the last mention of, Barnes Frank – we couldn’t let this issue go
without publishing a photo of the amazing wonder loo that Gareth has installed in his new Manchester Office – an eco-warrior’s dream!
Fantastic news for Oxford
Recruitment who move into prestigious offices in
Oxford as we go to press. We wish Elisa and her growing team all the great success that they deserve.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing specialists, Igloo (we have always
loved the name of that agency!) have opened an education branch and recruited a heavyweight recruiter to manage that area of the business – we wish Louise and her team the very best of luck in this important growth phase of the company!
HR professional recruitment company, Satarah took advantage
of the referral scheme we have in place and available to all of our ventures – as a result of Esther’s hard work , we now have a new Venture to support and Satarah earned a nice fee!
Congratulations to high flying agency, Talent on
Board who have made a flying start to their business (if you pardon the pun) – based in prestigious offices in Luton, perfectly positioned for the airport, this wonderful partnership has an infectious enthusiasm that we believe will ensure that their business does great things.
Congratulations to Barnes Frank who has managed to secure the
highest fee (so far!) of any single deal in 2012. A nervous couple of weeks before the start date ahead of them, but so far so good! Bizarrely, Barnes Frank also wins the award for the strangest reason for a candidate dropping out – they didn’t want to work with dead people!
Magic Loo!
16
I am a
‘MYTH
BUSTER’
I am a
‘MYTH
BUSTER’
Clare admitted that a stunt “Myth
Buster” may have been used in this
image....
We all love a bit of gossip don’t we?
Nothing quite like speculating about what people are up to or what Recruiter is hoping to leave which firm and start up on their own.
Myths are great – Pegasus, Troy, an England World Cup win.
But what about some of the nonsense we all hear about Employment Law?
You know what I mean – the rubbish we all hear about who can get away with what and who got in trouble for doing whatever.
Now, obviously, quite a few of ‘our guys’ are Employers and as anyone will confirm, the law in this area is ever changing and sometimes completely baffling!
This, coupled with seemingly never ending cases being heard in Tribunals and courts and the ‘bloke in the pub said’ or ‘my friend who knows these things said’ or ‘at my old company we did it differently’ type statements mean that there are a number of urban myths surrounding employment contracts and redundancy which we thought it worth trying to debunk.
Myth 1:
‘’We never put anything in writing so
there is no employment contract’’
Debunking Bottom Line: There is!
It is a common misconception that, where there is nothing in writing to confirm the relationship between an employer and employee, the employee does not have a contract of employment.
From there, it is easy to assume that where there is nothing in writing and an employer wants to dismiss an employee or change their working arrangements, pay or benefits, they can do so without any repercussions because there is nothing in writing.
However, a contract of employment is
formed once an employee accepts a job offer (and this is worth noting if you ever need to withdraw an offer as an employer or you work with a client who does) and it continues for the duration of the employment.
The contract of employment is, in effect, the relationship between the employer and employee: the employee carries out work for the employer in exchange for something good – i.e money!
The fact that this is not in writing does not mean that there is no contractual relationship.
Just because it is not in writing doesn’t mean also that the employee has no rights – (unfair dismissal, redundancy payments, unlawful discrimination).
Nor does it mean that employers can alter terms and conditions without risking being in breach of contract.
To complicate matters more, even if the contract is in writing but perhaps some terms haven’t been covered, they can be binding even if they are not in writing.
If it ever gets this far, the court or tribunal will create the terms by looking at the how the employer and employee behaved – what happened on a day to day basis- just because it quacks doesn’t make it a duck kind of principle!
Terms may also be put into a contract through the employer's custom and practice, industry standardsor common Law (i.e. cases that go through the courtsand create precedence)
We would always advise you as employers to set
out terms and conditions in writing.
While it is possible to agree terms verbally, this creates uncertainty and leaves both you and the employee in a difficult position if a dispute arises about rights and obligations under the contract.
In addition, as recruitment businesses, you will want to protect your business from competition and misuse of confidential information and these really do need to be in writing – it is not a good idea to hope that a judge will imply them into your contract later on down the line.
Myth 2:
‘’We have a contract but it was never
signed therefore it isn’t valid’’
Debunking Bottom Line: It is!
Where the employer has issued a written contract of employment but neither you or the employee or one of you only has signed it, you both will continue to be bound by the terms of the contract if you have worked in accordance with it.
Myth 3:
‘’An employer cannot withdraw a job
offer once it has been made’’.
Debunking Bottom Line: Yes they can
but it may be costly!
It is a scenario that we dread as recruiters of course but what if you find yourself in the situation of having made an offer to a new recruiter and they have resigned, have a new pencil case and everything and you decide that actually you simply cannot take them on.
MYTH NO. 1
“Nothing is in writing, so we do not have an Employment Contract!”
VERDICT: RUBBISH
I AM THE MYTH BUSTER! (No, really I am!)
Employment Law
17
MYTH NO. 2
“I never signed my contract, so it does not apply”
VERDICT: RUBBISH
MYTH NO. 3
“Once an offer is made, it can’t be taken back”
VERDICT: RUBBISH
I am a
‘MYTH
BUSTER’
I am a
‘MYTH
BUSTER’
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Why Running Temps
is getting harder& is worth less!
Any cat about town will tell you that things have changed since the heady days of Summer 2008.
Back then, all a moggy could think about was ‘Cat Nip’ & Bankers Bonus payments, but with the Lehman Brothers induced meltdown, even a saucer of warm milk has begun to taste a little sour!
The issue for us Temp’ Based recruiters (& yes, I do specialise in placing temps’ – why is that so strange?) is that over the last three years or so two things are true:
1. There are less Temp’ Vacancies &2. In real terms, the cost of running Temps has risen.
There is no question that Companies have adopted a much more cautious approach to hiring of course but paradoxically, it is the Temp side of things which has suffered more than the Perm’.
It seems very little to do with the AWR initiative or the supply side of things - it is much more apparent than employers view the margins charged on Temps’ as having been excessive and have gradually moved towards hiring Permanent employees rather than Temp staff.
At the same time, the banking crisis has made the cost of running Temps much more of an issue that it used to be for the Recruiter. Factoring costs are sky high and even if you are ‘lucky enough’ to get a factoring deal, the providers are clamping down on the supply of cash to pay the temps (setting much tougher credit control targets and ‘disallowing’ much more debt).
Bottom line is that if I were a kitten just starting out on my own again, I might avoid Temps altogether and just place Perms – it seems to be a little easier and a lot less costly.
Employers often think that they have to go through with it once they have made an offer of employment.
This is not necessarily the case.
If circumstances change so that you no longer require an individual's services, you can withdraw the offer of employment.
However, the consequences of it doing so depend on whether or not the prospective employee has already accepted the employer's offer of employment.
If the prospective employee has not accepted the offer of employment, no employment contract exists.
In this case, if you want to withdraw the job offer, simply write to him or her explaining the change in circumstances and make it clear that you are withdrawing the offer of employment.
If the prospective employee has accepted your job offer, a contract of employment has come into force between you and them.
This means that the withdrawal of the job offer will constitute a breach of contract, even if the individual has not commenced work with you.
As soon as you withdaw the job offer, theprospective employee will be entitled to be paid for the notice that theywould have received in theevent of starting work andthen being dismissed.
This would normally be a week or two at the most (hopefully!)
If you don’t pay, then you may find yourself on the end of a breach of contract case.
It gets complicated where you may have made a conditional offer of employment, (e.g an offer subject to you receiving satisfactory references or the prospective employee passing a medical check) and that condition is not satisfied, the contract is not formed and the employer is able to withdraw it’s offer of employment without being in breach of contract
NEXT STEPS:
If you want to talk through these issues or anyEmployment Law related stuff, you know where I am (if you don’t my Lawyer will!)
Even more exciting than these myths will be the ones that we look at next time. What a crazy, exciting World Law is....
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I enjoy doing several things at once
I think it’s always best to expect the worst
I often have little bruises, headaches or sore throats
I like my rituals and habits
I need to know what’s going on, to stay informed and in touch
I often think to myself ‘I should have’ or ‘if I could have...’
I find it hard to deal with indifference
I’m as aware of what is unspoken as what is said
I admire people who can drop everything to pursue their dreams
I have trouble saying no
I tend to go over and over things that haven’t gone well
I’m often nervous and tense
Anxiety keeps me awake at night
I often feel that I have too much to do and not enough time in which to do it all
I hate making the first move, whether it’s in relationships or my career
I don’t feel comfortable when I’m by myself.
When someone pays me a compli-ment, I think it’s only because they are being polite.
I find it hard to pinpoint what I’m feeling.
I tend to withdraw into my own bubble (both in terms of relationships and at work)
A small worry often escalates until I feel overwhelmed
I find it difficult to concentrate when other people are talking
I sometimes feel that I don’t make myself stand out
My phone rings constantly
I haven’t moved house much during my adult life
Planning calms me down
I’m more likely to put my head down and work for the future than to enjoy life one day at a time
I would rather be less dependent on other people’s opinions
I often think of witty things to say but usually when it’s too late to say them
If you love what you do, working on holiday doesn’t count as work
Feeling useful puts my mind at rest
I often get angry
I’d like to meditate but it doesn’t suit my disposition
I envy those who are carefree and bohemian
I’ve often said that I need to change my life
Recognition is what drives me
Does life have you reaching for the pills?
SleepingPills
Background
No doubt about it, ‘times is hard’! We’ve talked about the economy and the effect on the employment market and how recruiters are managing to keep going. If you missed it, you can find this update on page 28 of the May issue of The Dark Side.
To recap, the UK Recruitment market is giving mixed signals. Less vacancies, caution from within the larger corporate organisations but more start-up recruitment businesses. Many recruiters are relying on their instincts. Which, as we all know, can be both challenging and stressful.
So how is it for you? Are you at the top of your game enjoying the buzz and excitement of the unknown or do you find the ‘fear factor’ is taking over?
Are you sleeping like a baby after a long busy day or are you reaching for those sleeping pills?
The Stress TestFor a bit of light relief (and perhaps an insight into your own coping mechanisms for a busy profession) have a go at our Stress Test below.
Review each of the statements and circle those that you feel may apply to you:
The Results
You are scared of missing out or being missed out
You need your mobile phone, internet access and constant news updates to feel that you are in control of everything and this gives you a sense of calm. You have a
At least 3
Recruitment can be stressful!
Do you pass the Stress Test?
19
Big, Bad & Mad?Big Bad & Mad?
Well, would you believe a word he said?
Well, would you believe
fear of missing out, being left out, losing your place in the world and this constant state of being alert can make you feel stressed and irritable.
You are scared of having time to stop and think
You live life at full speed, filling your days with plans, projects, social and business arrangements and find it hard to switch off. You like to feel that there is action all the time. You are not allowing yourself time to just be.
You are frightened of what you don’t know
Your life is made up of routine and you like the familiarity of normal everyday things. You have a great sense of control and order and like adventure but only in other people’s lives. Changing your routine slightly would allow you the chance to experience something new.
You over-think
This is probably typical of many people. Even if you are physically relaxing or relaxed, you can’t switch your mind off and it’s constantly running over past events and situations – some good and some bad. This can waste a lot of valuable energy.
You are always anxious
This is a tricky one. Even if it’s a good day and you are surrounded by friends and people who love you, you still feel like there is danger lurking around the corner. This can make you constantly stressed and unable to relax.
Summary
Interesting test? Truth is, of course, that no-one fits neatly into any of these boxes and we are all a little bit of each one. Stress does, of course, play an important part in our lives and can greatly affect how we deal with our working life – in this case – in Recruitment.
So what kind of Recruiter are you?
Are you cool, calm and collected? Do you have complete control over your working day or does the pressure having you roaring by lunchtime?
We’ve all been there haven’t we? Everyone has, at some point in their lives, been into an agency to meet a recruiter or maybe caught up with them in a neutral venue – a coffee shop at a handy motorway service station or at a local hotel bar.
For simplicity, let’s call our eager job seeker ‘Mr Average’. So Mr Average arrives and is brimming with confidence, perhaps a little nervous but keen to talk through career opportunities. He’s eager to be told what is on offer for him and is keen to do whatever it takes to secure the next role.
What he doesn’t expect is to be told the full life story of his recruiter – the ins and outs of his complicated family life – how many times he’s been married, how many children he has and how he had that nervous breakdown back in 2006.
Mr Average wants the meeting to be all about him but, unfortunately, that is not always the case.
Recruiter Types
Mr Mailshot
You know this type. He creates dodgy adverts which are designed to attract candidates. He takes the best of these candidates, writes an email including their key skills and mails this out to his list of clients. No added value, no extra work and an expectation of a full ‘fat’ introduction fee.
Mr Aggressor
He can be summed up in three words – pushy, pushy, pushy! He doesn’t listen, won’t take ‘no’ for an answer and carries on until the magic words ‘just send me the details’ are uttered. Very irritating!
Mr Forgetful
You certainly know this type. He completely forgets everything you’ve previously said to him. ‘No, I’m not recruiting’, ‘No, I’m not interested’, ‘No, same as last week, I never use recruitment agencies’. Definite skill to Mr Forgetful – he’s got professional amnesia down to a fine art!
Mr Professional Closer
Ah – the perfect salesman. He will just go on and on until the kill. Excellent sales patter, won’t give in until the end and will try and wow you with his sales technique. His candidate is the best, no doubt about it.
Mr Mind Reader
Now we have the ‘Derren Brown’ impersonator. Mr Mind Reader believes that you might be recruiting. He pretends or says that he’s heard a rumour and will continue to talk/’lie’ to you about what he feels that you may or may not need. Tricky one to get rid of is Mr Mind Reader.
Mr Porky Pie
This recruiter will answer ‘yes’ to anything you ask. He will always say what you want to hear and will promise he can deliver any kind of candidate you might be looking for. He may only deal with temporary warehouse staff but, in his eyes, your next Managing Director will be on his books.
At least 3
At least 3
At least 3
At least 3
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Mr Know it All
A very annoying type and another one that’s hard to get off the phone. Mr Know it All knows everything there is to know about your industry – more than you of course! He is happy to name drop and always keen to tell you how to do your job.
You may find a genuine Mr Know it All in the mix – he may well be an expert in his field and could be quite useful to you but check him out before you get in too deep!
Mr Cowboy
Oh dear – this is a bit of a sad one. No scruples, no morals, no professionalism. Mr Cowboy will, quite literally, do anything to make money out of you. It’s all about his business and nothing will stand in his way. Avoid like the plague!
Mr Order Taker
How annoying these are. They work from a standard script – just like your average call centre worker. “Do you need anyone this week?” “No, OK, bye, speak to you next week”. Hardly very memorable eh?
Mr Professional
This is the one that everyone wants to emulate. Mr Professional is very ‘old school’. He uses tried and tested methods.
He knows his market, understands your business and genuinely wants to do the best for you and present you with quality candidates that will enhance your business.
So what have we learnt so far?
How can you make
Recruitment less stressful?
So we’ve established that some stress is normal – after all it keeps us motivated, keeps the adrenaline running and gets us out of bed in the morning. We’ve also established that Recruitment is a stressful profession and that Recruiters – a very mixed bunch of people – can get stressed!
What can we do about dealing with stress to make us better recruiters? For this section of our article, we’re going to dip in and out of the NHS website and see what they recommend in the way of ‘stress-busting’ techniques. The following suggestions have all been adapted to appeal to our TDS readers!
Activity
Yes – an old, tried and tested method and not something that you really feel like doing if you are feeling stressed. However, it really does work! Do some exercise – go for a swim, walk, run or anything – get out there and breathe in some fresh air and get away from your desk.
Take control
Problem avoidance is quite normal. ‘If I don’t look at it, it won’t be there’ is a common thought. Every problem has a solution so deal with situations as they arise and work through them. The satisfaction of a job well done can be extremely invigorating.
Connect with people
Many people try and deal with stress by keeping themselves to themselves however a good team around you can definitely help. Sharing thoughts and
issues with colleagues, close friends and family can help to put a different perspective on things.
Quality ‘me’ time
The dreaded ‘me’ time which is now such a clichéd phrase that it’s laughable. In summary though, it does make sense. Step away from the laptop, blackberry, TV, whatever. Work hard but make time to do other things that you enjoy.
Challenge yourself
In the work environment, you will hear phrases like ‘setting goals’ and ‘creating KPIs’ all the time. No-one wants to feel that they are constantly setting themselves targets that they haven’t got a hope in heaven of ever achieving. However, it is good to try new things. Varying the ‘norm’ can be exciting and challenging and this, in itself, has a very positive effect on your emotional well being.
Avoid unhealthy habits
Well – what did you expect when we mentioned the NHS? Relying too heavily on caffeine, nicotine, drugs or alcohol is commonly known as ‘avoidance’ behaviour.
Turning to any of these substitutes to deal with stress will not be good for you in the long run. Having said that, everything in moderation is a good motto! Who can deny the obvious enjoyment of a good cup of coffee or a fine glass of wine with a meal?
Do volunteer work or in ‘modern
language’ – Do someone else a favour!
Yep – it would be good to feel that we could fit volunteer work into our already busy working days but, in the real world, this is not necessarily going to happen. Not knocking the volunteers – people
Mr Professional
He knows his market &
understands your business
Mr Professional
Find useful information...
Recruitment can be stressful!
Some stress is normal.
Everyone gets stressed - not just recruiters!There are many differentkinds of recruiters!
A fine glass of wine!
21
who visit the sick in hospital, those who give their time to work in the community.
These are people who are worthy of praise. In the hectic recruitment world though, how can we do our bit? Be a team player – give someone a compliment at work, buy someone a bar of chocolate from the machine. Small things but pleasing others can also have a positive effect on your own emotional well being.
Work smarter, not harder
Oh no – the dreaded ‘Work Life balance’ statement. It is true though unfortunately. Work all the time and you run the risk of burning yourself out. Life is for living. Enjoy your work, work hard and prioritise your workload. Remember that it is not always possible to clear the in-tray in one day!
Be positive
Yet another cliché! However it is true. At the risk of sounding like a child of the ‘60’s, embrace the moment, enjoy the small things.
Everyone knows or has met someone who is permanently negative. Nothing is right for them, they are not happy at work or at home, the weather is always too hot or too cold, they can’t eat this or that or the other. And it’s all a bit depressing isn’t it?
A positive attitude to life can have a very positive effect on your mental health and can help to combat stress.
Accept the things that
you can’t change
We’ll end with a difficult one! Everyone wants to feel that they can make a difference. All employees like to feel that
they are indispensible. The truth is that no-one is. We live in difficult times – double or single dip recession or whatever it is. All anyone can do is do the best they can and accept that they can’t change the world!
What are we aiming for?
This is it – Mr Chilled and Relaxed.
He is calm, professional, intelligent and knows his market.
He has a good work life balance.
He listens to both his clients and his candidates and tries to do the best for them.
Above all, he tries to remain as stress-free as possible as he knows that, by being this way, he is able to help both clients and candidates alike to the best of his ability.
To discuss this in more detail, please contact me, David Jones on 01442 200944 or you can email me at [email protected]
Mr Chilled and Relaxed
A good work/life balance
is important
Alis
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m N
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JOKER! £50
WINNER!
g
JQ:
A:
Why did the Recruitment Consultant keep a coat hanger in the back of her car?
In case she locks her keys in the car
Sam
fro
m S
heff
ield
JOKER! £50
WINNER!
JQ:
A:
Did you hear about the Recruitment Consultant who stood in front of a mirror with his eyes closed?
He wanted to see what he looked like asleep
NUMBERS, NUMBERS & NUMBERS!
You might be sick of SSG saying so, but knowing the numbers of your business is not only necessary but it will save you heaps of stress and anxiety.
Bearing in mind that David has been at the coal face with business numbers for ages (& he looks like he has been too), then you might appreciate that if he takes all of this stuff so seriously, there must be a reason!
So, David is going to give you a run-down of the variables which you ought to KNOW the numbers which make sense and the way in which you can keep on top of it all.
This is not just about your Monthly Management accounts either, it is about planning ahead for business expansion, tax costs and ‘rainy day money’.
Get your calculators at the ready guys!
A GOOD LOOK AT YOU!
As you know, we are asked on a regular basis to provide feedback on how the ventures supported by SSG are doing – not just in terms of money but everything. We are also frequently asked a much more focussed question about what types of people are starting a business through SSG, where they are based, what markets they work and which sectors are the most lucrative.
A special report is on its way outlining exactly that – the ‘demographics’ of SSG – where the money is being generated, both in terms of the specific recruitment markets but also geographically where too? Is the money coming from the ‘South in Technology’ or the ‘North in Commercial Recruitment’? Why is so little (apparently) happening in Wales when Scotland is booming? We know that the Girls are doing slightly better than the Boys right now (see Page 11 of this issue) but how does that translate across the whole of SSG?
If nothing else, you will be able to ‘place yourself’ against the rest of the pack and see where you might want to think about expanding?
WHAT’S IN A COMPANY HANDBOOK?
Before you dismiss the idea of a Company Handbook, let’s just have a think about what it ought to contain & why it might be a good idea to have one – even if you have yet to hire an employee!!
We are not talking about the glorious nonsense we have all been presented with over the years when working for a big corporate or power crazed independent! – we are talking about the nuts & bolts that you need to protect your business, your data and your future.
This is about making sure that you comply with both the law but also with the good principles behind any successful business.
And yes, before you ask – SSG can help you to put it all together!
22
Chris Goes all ‘DIY’
SPAM Checklist
Does it actually “look” genuine?
Check the “Sender” - if it looks dodgy it probably is
Look for inaccuracies i.e. wrong logo, obvious spelling mistakes
Look for “alias links” ie obviously not a link to a genuine page
Attachments - ZIP, PDF, HTM, .txt are often used. If you’re not expecting it, or don’t recognise the sender -DON’T OPEN IT!
Talk to SSG - they can set up aliases for you and in some cases block senders (and senders whole domains) at server level for those persistent offenders
SPAM email is becoming more prevalent - what can you do to stop it?
In short, not a lot! But there are some indentifiers to help stop you from inadvertently clicking on an email either out of curiosity or because it “looks genuine”.
Classic cases are emails supposedly from banks. I can’t tell you how many Barclays accounts I’ve had “Changes to my Barclaycard Conditions”. As I hadn’t got a Barclaycard when I first started receiving these emails, I was a little bit suspicious!
The latest trend is emails from “China Domain Name Registration Center” which usually start:
Dear Manager,
(If you are not the person who is in charge of this, please forward to your CEO, Thanks) .....
When looking up the address on a few received recently on Google Maps, I found one of these to be in the middle of a Paddy Field - seriously! So you can kind of tell that they are hoax just from that. In an article on netregistry.com.au, it states:
This is a scam because the claim is false and nobody actually applied for the domains in question. Registrants should merely ignore such emails as spam. However if the registrant wishes to truly secure those domains in the Chinese and other Asia based TLDs, the registrant is welcome to find a reputable Chinese registrar and complete their online branding portfolios.
So, please be warned - IGNORE IT!
As for the other types of SPAM ,there is also the Phishing type of email, which is intended to try and steal your bank details or other identity details - these are more likely to be emails purporting to be from your bank. They are getting cleverer by the day in how to persuade you to “Click on the link below to update your security details” or other similar devious tricks.
If ever you receive an email purporting to be
from your bank, apply the following checklist:
Is it actually my bank i.e. my account’s with Lloyds but this is from Barclays - Don’t Click!
Check any links for genuineness - if you roll over a link and it says “http://www.loydstsb.com” (as an example), it is not “http://www.lloydstsb.com” - 1 l missing could be the difference between a legitimate email and a hoax.
Is it named - or signed-off, does it contain any actual personal information such as last 4 digits of your account number
Has it actually come from an email address that’s relevant - an alias that’s not actually a valid email address can be used - it may look valid but is the @.....co.uk part genuine, it may look similar eg @halyfax.co.uk
This is of course just one example - but could lead to your identity being nicked so it’s really worth checking before clicking!
Can I reduce the amount of SPAM?
Again, it really depends on your “online activity”.
If you buy online or use sites that need registration, your details can quite easily be sold. Your Junk folder (if using Outlook) is normally pretty good at picking up actual SPAM.
Use an “alias” that can be cancelled for registering for anything that asks if you want to receive updates - the company you are registering with may be reasonably respectable but of course may pass your details on to “third parties you may be interested in”.
As a forwarding address it wil just “die” when cancelled.
If in doubt, DON’T CLICK! Give me a call or send me a screen print ....
[email protected] 200941
23
LetUs
ComeRunning!