SSC Debuts Industry’s First 1 Year Guarantee

 

(Toledo, Ohio)  Strategic Search Consultants, the premiere search firm for the Electronic Document & EBPP industries today announced the availability of a one year guarantee for talent placed with clients based on the very successful interviewing process, The P.E.R.F.E.C.T. Hire® developed by SSC Founder Ken Leslie.

 

“For the quality we deliver, a short term guarantee like 30, 60, 90 days is nothing more than managing to the exception.  As 97% of our hires last longer than one year, we are comfortable in putting our money (guarantee) where our quality is.” Leslie said.

 

Leslie credits Best of Breed recruiting and screening processes for the quality and stability of their hires, and realizes this is a core benefit of their offering.

 

This guarantee is available only to certain companies that pass the SSC Company Certification process.  This process reviews such items as turnover, management, and company growth.

 

“This guarantee covers only candidates we recommend for hire at the offer stage.” Leslie said.  “Sometimes we uncover issues in our final screening process that can change our recommendation to not hire.  There have been times when the company liked the candidate and despite the risk, hired against our recommendation. “

 

For more information about the One Year Guarantee, contact Ken at ken@ssc-online.com or call (419) 324-2424.

 

 

 

How to Build Your Talent Pool

By Susan M Heathfield

Identify Your Ideal Candidate

A job description that tells potential employees the exact requirements of the position is useful. Even more useful is the process you use to develop the job description internally and the behavioral characteristics of your ideal candidate. Assemble a team of people who represent the best qualities of the people who currently hold the same or a similar position. Include the hiring manager.

Develop a job description that delineates the key responsibilities and outputs of the position. Then, define the behavioral characteristics of the person you feel is your ideal candidate. Finally, list your five - ten key responsibilities and characteristics you will use to screen resumes, perform phone screens and eventually, establish the questions for the candidates you interview.

Sound like a lot of effort? It is. But, you'll have a much better idea about the characteristics of the ideal candidate you want to attract to your company.

Maintain Frequent Contact With Interested Candidates

Don't let these potential employees submit their resumes and never hear from you again either. You'd lose all the momentum you just spent time developing with the favored few. Just as I recommended earlier with employee networks and professional contacts, continue and nurture the relationship.

Become an Employer of Choice

Think about what a potential employee considers before agreeing to join your organization or business. Are you stable, making money and growing? Are you employee-friendly? Does your mission catch the mindshare and/or the heartstrings of the people you most want to recruit? Will a new employee feel part of something bigger than themselves if they join you? Will your organization nurture their talent and provide exciting opportunities for challenge and professional growth?

If you can answer these questions affirmatively, analyze every component of your recruiting process to make sure that you are sending these messages. If you want to be an employer of choice, you must act like an employer of choice. Further more, you must communicate this commitment to your prospective employees.

People look for little things - that are really big things - such as noticing whether you return phone calls promptly. They observe when all interviewers repeat the same questions. They are aware that you responded to acknowledge receipt of their resume. They appreciate a phone call when someone else is picked for the job they wanted. (Yes, you still need to send a letter to the people you interviewed, but the more informal follow-up is appreciated.) They feel welcomed when they can communicate with you via email.

In addition, being an employer of choice is a reputation you build in your industry that is a powerful tool in attracting top talent.

Use Headhunters and Recruiters

Sometimes, it is worth your time to use headhunters, recruiters and employment placement firms. The best firms have done much of this homework and candidate pool development for you. Expect to pay 20-35 percent of the cost of the new recruit's annual salary. But, for some positions and in some industries, the cost in your department's time and the time invested in a possible failed search, are worth it.

Additionally, recruiters have an already-developed pool of candidates. They provide a second pair of experienced eyes to help you with your search.

Just One More - Publicity

The publicity your organization receives in the news media, in print, on television, on the radio and online is tremendously important for recruiting. A few good words, an interesting article or a piece about your mission that reflects your organization in a favorable light, will result in candidates coming to you. And that, in my way of thinking, is the best way of all to find great candidates for your candidate pool.

Ideas for recruiting are endless and endlessly challenging, but the time and effort you invest are worth it when they result in top talent for your organization.

This article has been reprinted from humanresources.about.com.