Managers Maketh Man

I’ve spent the last few weeks meeting with clients up here in Auckland and down in The Windy City. It’s very true, there’s no better time to meet with clients than when nothing's going on, and boy! Is there nothing going on in the capital. Some of the more optimistic recruitment leaders I sat down with in Welly thought we might see an uplift around the end of July. However, the majority of people were saying realistically, end of the year, which is mental! I mean it’s only just turned May. The term 'end of an era' was uttered numerous times. Gone are the days of sticking a contractor on $100+ an hour into a gov agency and them sitting there year after year. The gravy train is well and truly off the rails for some agencies with both Temp and Perm taps turned off simultaneously.  It was interesting to hear the different responses to such an event and how people are handling it. One client insightfully remarked everyone is very quick to talk about the standard of consultants being low. You often hear that those who joined the industry while it was hissing have struggled in recent times, having not had to handle objections or deal with pushback from clients before. But, what doesn’t get talked about is the quality of management of these blindsided consultants. It made me think, maybe they have a point.

Proficiscere telephonum! Or for those not familiar with Latin, get on the phone! If recruitment had a Coat of Arms that phrase would be emblazoned below two phones on either side of a compendium. A moto that’s said without a hint of irony, not like the Latin phrase on Everton badge’s Nil satis nisi optimum ("Nothing but the best is good enough") as you can tell, I’m still not over the derby. It’s been the salve to all manner of recruitment ailments over the years but, modern problems require modern solutions. Endlessly calling the same hiring managers to see if they have any requirements isn’t going to result in the outcome you want. If anything, you’re going to risk damaging the relationship and forever impress the feeling of desperation and discontent whenever your name pops up on their phone in the future. Managers are no longer able to resort to ramping up productivity as a way of turning round a poor month. While recruitment is essentially sales and sales is of course a numbers game, it’s never been more evident that quality outdoes quantity in times of scarcity. We need to think about how else we can add value outside of putting bums on seats.

While the sales element of our roles has been overlooked in recent years, the consultative part shouldn’t be too far away from your day-to-day, it’s right there in the job title. Heading out to a client meeting without the intent of getting a brief is by no means a waste of time. It’s liberating in a lot of ways and something your manager should be encouraging of. You can connect on a more human level and give reassurance that there are plenty of other folks in the same boat. Give some context to what the rest of the market is doing and when it’s likely to pick back up. Invite decision-makers to the rugby or hit up the front 9. Attend industry events or better yet, host them. There’s a comradery that forms when you’re all in the shit together and harking back to those dark days once things are moving again establishes yourself as a lifer. We need leaders, those who aren’t turning a blind eye to the obvious. A more realistic approach to outcomes may serve to improve the drive and motivations of consultants. There has always been a ‘shoot for the moon, land among stars’ approach to targets. If you give an inflated glory goal then even coming up short is coming up trumps. I think honesty is the best policy when it comes to expectations in today's market.

It's easy to manage and motivate in the good times. It’s only when things are a little tough that we see the level of leadership people are capable of. The market will pick back up and we will have consultants that have been war-hardened and they will have options. How they are treated, motivated, and acknowledged in this period will be a big factor in how long they will remain with their current management. To end on a more optimistic note, today is the day when Tim Naki can hit 1 million bucks! Manifest the milli baby! 🤑