While the North American Manufacturing industry is a cornerstone of economic vitality, identifying and hiring apt executive talent continues to be a challenge for many companies. Having 20+ years of hands-on experience in Manufacturing recruitment, our CareerBrokers have compiled 6 proven strategies that can help you hire the executive talent you need.

1) Expand Your Network and Industry Connections
Networking with industry professionals and passive candidates plays an important role in recruiting executives. In fact, this LinkedIn survey indicates that 85% of all jobs are filled through networking. Our experienced team of CareerBrokers has experienced this too.

Our team has also witnessed that qualified executive-level candidates like VP of Operations, Plant Managers, Production Managers, and Maintenance Directors are found through networking.

2) Collaborate with Executive Search Firms
If you want to save time and hire a qualified candidate, partner with an executive search firm. Executive search firms like The Staffing Exchange Inc. have robust networks of passive candidates which is why they can introduce you to the most eligible candidates.

A report by the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC) suggests that 60% of manufacturing companies use executive search firms to fulfil senior positions.

3) Develop Compelling and Visible Employer Brand
Having a compelling and visible employer brand is essential for grabbing attention of top-tier executive talent. Your employer brand builds trust amongst people. It also conveys your organizational culture to executive-level candidates.

A LinkedIn study shows 72% of job seekers pay attention to the employer’s brand even before even before applying to their job. In order to build your employer brand, highlight your company’s case studies, career progression stories of candidates, future plans and potential, employees’ testimonials, and industry awards.

4) Craft Irresistible Compensation Packages
Companies typically have salary ranges for almost all roles. However, it is imperative to craft irresistible compensation packages for senior roles. That also means you need to be flexible with compensation packages when you consider hiring for a senior role. To craft a competitive compensation package, it is important to have a comprehensive know-how of the market value of the role, market trends, and industry standards. Apart from this, consider doing a survey on perks, benefits, and bonuses. Using these steps, you can create a competitive compensation package for the right candidates.

5) Create Effective Succession Planning Strategy
Succession planning is imperative to attract qualified executive-level candidates. This strategy also helps candidates get “psychological safety” and can clearly see their growing career path. Besides hiring top talent, this strategy can help your company in many other ways, including mitigating leadership gaps, retaining top performers, and improving company’s performance.

6) Focus on Diversity and Inclusion
Diversity and inclusion are important aspects of a hiring process. Keep your shortlisted candidates updated with status on their application throughout the process. With 20+ years of experience in the industry, we can say that this culture helps companies hire best-fit candidates for senior roles without making any biased decisions.

Conclusion
Hiring executive talent in the manufacturing industry requires a multifaceted approach. These strategies, supported by industry data and best practices, provide a comprehensive framework for successfully navigating the complexities of executive recruitment in the manufacturing sector. If you’re looking to hire proven executives for your team, please reach out to us at info@staffingexchange.com

I’m also heavily-invested in the community where I work and live.

In fact, for the past two years, I’ve had the privilege to serve on the Board of Directors of Catholic Crosscultural Services (CCS), a GTA-based, national not-for-profit organization that helps newcomers, immigrants and refugees of various religions, ethnicities and cultural backgrounds settle, integrate and prosper in Canada.

Since seeing the work first-hand, it’s clear that what the organization does from a diversity perspective is very important. From its humble beginnings in a downtown church in 1954, CCS has grown into one of the largest settlement organizations in Canada, a leader in the social services field and an innovator in service delivery. In 2018 alone, over 200 employees and 100’s of volunteers collaborated with over forty social services’ partners in delivering more than thirty programs to over 28,000 clients in the GTA and across Canada through our Refugee Sponsorship Training Program brand.   

But CCS wants to do more and I heartily endorse this goal. Here’s why. One million newcomers have come to Canada in the last three years. As a nation, we help people get here, but sometimes integration isn’t easy for them. Language can be a barrier and it can be a big challenge to gain a strategic understanding of what it takes to successfully transition into the Canadian workforce.

The challenge is how do we help them grow their careers, not just work at a ‘job’? We need to help them connect the dots, address the misconceptions in the marketplace and better package their value proposition.

Simply put, everybody deserves the opportunity to have a great career and enjoy the dignity and respect that go along with it.  While many newcomers come here with no Canadian work experience, they do have excellent experience, nonetheless. Many newcomers, such as health care professionals, for example, enjoyed thriving careers in their countries of origin, but once in Canada, they not only needed to learn the language, they also had to acquire the licensing and accreditation to practice legally.

CSS addresses this scenario head-on with programs offering English-language training and workshops tailored to international health care professionals and their industry. One of the speakers at their recent annual general meeting was a graduate of this program. He said it gave him back his self-confidence. Imagine that, a doctor in his home country, and educated at one of the best schools prior to immigrating, and he still found it daunting as a newcomer to Canada!?

CCS’ goal is to scale up offerings like these to give newcomers a competitive advantage, and they need your help.

I encourage you to visit the organization’s website: https://www.cathcrosscultural.org/ for a more substantial overview of the CCS mission. I am happy to connect you with CCS’ fund development director, Darcy Bonner, who can walk you through options on how you can support their work, or you can donate directly at: https://www.cathcrosscultural.org/how-can-you-help/

Your investment will enable CCS to increase capacity, lead change and accelerate the value of dignity.

Sincerely,

Richard

Toronto Recruiter Conference success story!

Yesterday was  a great day of sharing and collaboration between recruiters at the Toronto Recruiter Conference. The guest speakers have been outstanding along with the networking and handshaking amongst colleagues.

Over the past decades that I have been in the recruitment industry, I have rarely seen live regular recruiter networking events in the Canadian marketplace. 

Our industry is worth over $15 Billion Dollars in Canada but is yet still  highly fragmented with many firms operating with less then 5 employees and without collaboration. There are over 1,600 agencies and 9,000 recruiters in total across Canada 

This is the time to encourage all recruiters across Canada to come together more often and bring thought leadership to this fast growing industry.

As we all know, the word TEAM stands for Together Everybody Achieves More. 

So, here are 5 suggestions to network more and bring this industry closer as a community

1. create a monthly social for recruiters to come together and share their success stories 
2. Have suppliers from insurance to payroll funding to cell phone companies offering our industry discounted rates 
3. For new recruiters we should have mentoring programs available to them delivered by senior recruiters
4. A central website for Recruiting events by city or town
5. Set up a monthly newsletter for recruiters to contribute 

Who would have imagined that going to university to become a Public Accountant would turn into a 30 year career in Headhunting. Form the 80’s to 90’s to the new millennium.

In fact, I remember how it all started in April of 1988 as clear as yesterday. I was contacted by a headhunter in Toronto to interview for an accounting role at a leading bank when the conversation turned into “Richard, have you ever considered becoming an accounting Headhunter?” Needless to say my immediate answer was a firm “no” but I was still curious as to what the term Headhunting really meant. I had no idea it that it was a multibillion industry that involved consulting with leading corporations or that it helped gainfully employed people find a better career opportunity confidentially.

Interestingly, that headhunter did get me a job offer for the banking job but he also gave me an offer to become a Headhunter. I took the job at the bank and started on a Monday but as I stared at the wall sitting at my desk, I wondered why not take a chance at Headhunting at the young age of 24. I quit that job at the end of the day and started with the headhunting company on the Tuesday.

In those days there were no short cuts like job boards, LinkedIn, or even computers. There was only the yellow pages, a pen, pad of paper and a fax machine. But what we did have was the human touch of meeting people in person and the Power of the Phone. The next day I booked 3 sendouts (interviews) and unbelievably on the Friday of my first week the client made an offer to one of my candidates. The candidate accepted and I made my first placement in a mere 4 days.

Those billings paid off my student loan which would have taken me years to do so if I were still working at the bank.

I was now bitten by the Headhunting bug and realized I could apply my accounting background to becoming a successful Accounting Headhunter versus crunching numbers as an accountant. I also wondered why more people did not know about how amazing the headhunting industry was as a profession. It was part entrepreneur, sales person, detective, researcher, advocate, business consultant and much more.

Fast forward to 2018, having trained hundreds of recruiters and built an owner based platform for Headhunters to make shared placements, I wonder how much has been lost from the ethos of headhunting.

In fact, I even took an even deeper commitment to the profession by going into the jungle to meet real Headhunters! I had always been intrigued by who the real Headhunters were While the macabre of real headhunting may be hard to fathom, the fact is those headhunters were on the hunt for heads the same way we hunted down the best candidates for our clients. Of course, the heads we hunt were more to do with the brain our clients wanted inside those heads.

Similarly, the real headhunters had their own organizational structure much like our corporate world. From specialized teams, techniques and processes they solved their own simple problems with human resources.

Another highlight in their jungle was their ability to even communicate and with animals like the Orangutan which has 98% of our human DNA. I was given the privilege to actually sit down with one and interact with him. From holding hands and sharing food it felt like a corporate lunch meeting in the jungle!

So what has happened to true headhunting in the millennium? What happened to the days of interviewing candidates in person, connecting with passive candidates over the phone or meeting with clients at their office?

Well, I can tell you that what is old is new again! Old School Headhunting is back and with a fervor. The unemployment rate is at the lowest it has been in 40 years, the population is aging, the birth rate is low and there is an anticipated skills shortage of over 1.2 million people by 2020. Human capital will become the most valuable commodity in the market place and it the reason that the $400 billion dollar headhunting industry is growing at an unprecedented rate.

The Job Boards will NOT replace headhunters. In fact, companies will realize sooner than later that the best candidates who want to find new career opportunities want to do so confidentially. And more importantly only humans can identify the best qualities of other humans.

There has never been a better time to become a Headhunter and solve the skills shortages for both companies and the gainfully employed who are dissatisfied with their jobs.

Even after 30 years, this industry continues to be the best things that has ever happened to me!

6 one way, half a dozen the other. The world is full of intractable problems, or problems with no easy, clear, or singular answer. They are just a matter of preference combined with the variety of needs for each individual. Tricky stuff.

What works for one recruiter may be a disaster for the next. This is important to know. Your best bud might recommend Webex for video conferencing only for you to pay the fees and hate it. Or your boss may purchase Skype and drive you crazy. It all depends on who you are, what you like and what you need. They’re both good services, and they both have limitations.

This review doesn’t clearly choose which is better, but offers some insight into which is better for who and why. In the end, if you have a home office, you need to collaborate and use video conferencing. Period. End of story.

I can say definitively that you need a business tool and here are two of the options out there.

Webex from Cisco – Are you looking for a lot of versatility in your collaboration and video conferencing? Webex certainly offers variety.

Users of Webex love that they can share screens easily, connect through their computers or phones, and integrate their scheduling with Outlook. Webex provides a platform for webinars, video conferences, and regular face time for home based recruiters and their teams.

With all of that beautiful technology comes a downfall; whether you’re using Webex or some other tool there are always times when the connection gets fuzzy. Instead of the tinny crackle of a rotary phone (which was before my time by the way… kind of, sort of) there is buffering, blank stares, and repetitive “can you hear me nows?”. In the world of business where time is money, and the world of recruiting where reputation and rapport is everything, this isn’t ideal. Webex offers a highly usable chat option for times just like this when the connection is bad.

Webex like all things (except for me maybe) isn’t perfect. Users note that sign-in can be tricky and having to enter host room IDs every time without a save function is annoying. Another complaint is that although the 14-day free trial is robust, so is the pricing afterwards. The base plan is a hefty $24 per month and can be more than $60 per month depending on what options your business needs. If you need to incorporate many different users during your video chats and broadcasts, Webex can get pretty pricey.

Skype from Microsoft – Are you looking to reach a lot of people quickly and easily? Then Skype is a great choice because of its ease of access, large group collaboration and basic, but smooth interface.

Where Webex charges beau-coup bucks for adding members to the plan, Skype keeps it cost effective. With it you can include up to 250 attendees, and base plans for the business version begin at just $2 per month and top out around $5. But, those pricing options are hard to navigate.

With their beefier plans, Skype for Business has great upgrades including meetings scheduled via Outlook, ability to join from the web, remote control of attendees’ desktops and a lobby area for them to “hang out” in prior to joining the conference. Webex has many of these options with a more sophisticated and robust interface, but it has a bigger price tag and doesn’t include the lobby – which is a frustration some users of the Cisco software shared.

Although Skype offers screen sharing, it is basic and not optimal for many modern IT needs. Yet if you’re looking for general conferencing, that shouldn’t be a problem. Skype is great for those looking to chat, video conference and collaborate with face time. It also boasts video and recording within calls which is useful if you are doing interviews or want to go back to a conversation for later reference.

In closing, I can’t tell you which is better for you because I don’t know your unique needs. But, I can say you need something for your home-based recruiting. And if you’re doing webinars or conferencing more than once a year, then you need a handy headset to do it with. Check out my review of Blue Parrot, Plantronics Voyager Legend HD UC, and Apple Wired headsets.

Leaving the cubicle life behind for the freedom and fulfillment of home-based recruiting is refreshing. It allows you to ditch 99 problems, but still leaves you with one: back fatigue.

Extended periods of sitting, even if they are from the comfort of your own home, a tropical island, in an office, or off in some magical place, leave you with the opposite of pleasure and joy. Sitting can cause back issues, leg stiffness, increased poor posture, weakness in key muscles such as your legs and glutes, weight gain, or muscle tightness. None of that is any good.

Thankfully the world of ergonomic design has heeded these consequences and popularized the idea of a standing desk. As a recruiter you’ve done your time in the chair, and I’ve got some reviews to guide you through which standing desk model is best for your glorious glutes.

L-Desk Standing Desk with Programmable Adjustable Height Controls from Anthrodesk –

Do you change your home office as often as you change your sheets (which is a subjective timeline – so let’s go with the general recommendation of weekly)? Then you could use a versatile desk like this.

Anthrodesk’s L-Desk is adjustable in both height, angle and shape. Virtually all ways! It can be set to an 180 degree shape and line up against a wall and sit in the center of a room, or it can be made into a 90 degree angle for corner placement. All of these options make it an excellent choice if you move the placement of your office frequently.

This is definitely the desk Goldilocks would have chose, it’s not too tall, not too short, nor does it slant too much or too little. The adjustments for height and angle offer many options, allowing you to make it just right.

Another benefit of this desk is that it comes as a base without the top, or with a top for an additional cost. You can save money by reusing your old desktop or cutting material and making your own. A full standing desk comes with a full price tag compared to its add-on duplicates.

Adjustable Desk Converter – Quickstand.

If you’re not looking to commit to a new desk, love your old desk, or want to be a desk nomad, then an add-on makes more sense. Ugoburo offers one with a sleek design that takes up minimal space.

Converters are great because they allow you to stand or sit. This flexibility prevents the problems some users experience with standing desks. Just like their seated counterparts, standing desks can lead to problems. If you have poor posture it is magnified when you are on your feet all day. Additionally, the floor surface or type of shoes you’re wearing may lead to foot and back pain.

Either way, whether you want to stand full time or live the optional life with a sit down desk upgrade, the point is you need to choose what is best for you. Working from home allows you the freedom to make that choice. Your desk is your home office and it should be one that gives you optimal comfort, health and happiness.

So, what did you do with your summer?

Did you kick back and relax? Or did you vacation at your desk while others were enjoying the sun? Or did you manage to close deals and write up new business all while sipping Mojitos off the end of the dock? Whatever you made of your summer, hopefully, you are not chasing your tail and behind the eight ball on all the new business you need to finish off with what’s left of Q3 and end the year with better billings then last year. If you are the latter well then “lock & load”, smile and dial and hopefully there are some scraps left for you! Those that enjoyed the Mobile lifestyle in the recruitment industry are surely already ahead of the game and ready to fill all those orders that they picked up over the summer. The end of Q3 will be filled with bells ringing while those chained to a desk are still hitting the bricks.

As we all get back into our routines I am not going to do my usual singing from the mountain tops about being Mobile because it is not complete without one other very important element…..we will get to that in a minute. The picture you see above was taking from the top of “La Roche” trail in Parc Mont Tremblant in Quebec, Canada. For years now I have been progressively exposing my children to more challenging adventures in nature AND no cellular signal, essentially, “off the grid”. Well, all the “mobility” in the world will not do you a lick of good deep in the Laurentians. Being “off the grid” in our world can be scary especially if you have deals still on the table and it is very common for us as CareerBrokers to close deals on our vacations because of the mobility we enjoy. On this trip, I was fortunate enough to close one of the largest deals of my career WITHOUT wifi or a cell signal.

How you ask?

Back to that other very important element which facilitated this billing opportunity…..COLLABORATION! Mobility is enhanced by collaboration. I can be the best Mobile/Remote recruiter but by myself I am just a “Lone Ranger” and will never really reach my true billing potential. That adage of “Many hands make for light work” couldn’t be truer in the world of headhunting. Having a strong team to rely on not only helps with that elusive 3rd candidate on a tough search or in my case, closing a deal while you are off the grid because you have a strong reliable team to lean on.

This will be my 10th year as a professional Head-hunter and 2 things still boggle my mind in this industry. 1. No barrier of entry (another topic for another day) AND 2. Lack of collaboration. There tends to be too many egos in this industry to create a truly collaborative environment. However, our collaborative community at The Staffing Exchange miss second to none. Our CareerBrokers collaborate every day to maintain an edge in our industry with 90% of billings happening by way of….COLLABORATION. I am inviting you to stay tuned for a series of information sessions I will be hosting in the coming weeks for our Fall training session in October. If you want to work smarter and not harder, “Get Connected!” and take yourself up to the next level by becoming a Career Broker!

When I played High School football many years ago, we had a regular routine as our team bus pulled into our opponents parking lot. Once the bus stopped you would hear someone yell “LOCK & LOAD!!” meaning put your helmets on and get ready!

You might be asking yourself…what does this have to do with headsets?? Well, spending most of my life in phone sales this became a part of the routine again and after a high-energy pre-shift I would shout out “Lock & Load!”

The alignment here is a psychological one to get yourself locked in and ready to make something happen. It was the “lock and load” state of mind that will give you the intensity and confidence to speak to new people and create opportunity. Much like we do in Headhunting every day.

So, here it is my headset review of 3 options I have used extensively. “What’s that you say?” “You don’t use a headset??” “Why not?!”

I think first off, if you are not creating a hands-free environment while you are calling you will suffer from longer duration between calls, momentum will slow and most importantly you will never feel that “Lock & Load” feeling to dial yourself in for the day. No pun intended.

So now you are thinking, “I need a headset!” Which one to buy??

1. Blue Parrot– If you know a trucker, this is the headset they swear by. With the intense rumble coming from an 18-wheeler, this headset surely flexes its noise cancelling muscle.

I have used this headset for over a year with great success. The noise cancelling is exceptional to the point where some people ask if I’m still there. Voice quality is decent and the adjustable boom microphone can be moved further or closer to your mouth depending on your environment. Where this headset falls short is on looks. If you are a “fashion forward out and about person” this headset can look a little silly around town.

The design has never changed and has the look and feel of one of those old headsets you had with your “Walkman”, yes I said “Walkman”, surely dating myself.

So, all in all the performance of this headset is exceptional, it just lacks the cosmetic appeal a lot of its competitors possess. Battery life is outstanding! No problem lasting a full day on the phone

2. Plantronics Voyager Legend HD UC – Now, this is a slick looking headset. It fits nicely on the ear (you can wear it all day) and is very discreet. So discreet that I think everyone at the grocery store thinks I’m that crazy guy that talks to himself and no one can ever tell if you are on the phone or not, which is common with all headsets to a degree.

Being truly “MOBILE” this headset has some nice features such as voice answering which is handy when a call comes through, it tells you who is calling and asks you “Answer or Ignore”, a truly great feature for heavy multitasking.

When it works that is! The CareerBrokers at my office regularly hear me screaming “ANSWER!” and a few swear words when I miss the call. This annoyance is outweighed on the convenience as this feature does work fine most of the time.

Noise cancelling is ok and it tends to be more susceptible to interference overall. It does have its bad days as well as great days. The sensors in this headset work great and you can answer calls just by putting it on and has an easy button to find for answering another line or hanging up.

If this sounds like the one for you I strongly advise getting the charging case with it as it has saved me a few times. One last thing, this model functions excellent across many operating systems and programs. I use it on a MAC, PC, Skype, Skype for business and GOTO Meeting.

3. Apple Wired Headset – The good old wired Apple headset! Hey, if it is good enough for Gary V then its good enough for me! Well. Sort of.

Don’t get me wrong sound quality is exceptional and you will never have pairing issues as you just plug it in and go. However, I did take a while to go completely wireless as I do a lot of speaking on webinars and such and my voice quality is most important factor to me.

When I finally did “cut the cord” it was literal, meaning I went through many headsets and phones from the cord being ripped out or me dropping my phone. You know what they say “motion creates emotion” and if you are a pacer you are probably better off with wireless solution. If you are quite stationary and voice quality is most important to you then this headset could be a great fit and it usually comes with your device so the costs is best as well and you never need to charge it.

That about sums it up! My main point to this is USE A HEADSET! It will change your game, make you more productive and give you the freedom to card a candidate at the grocery store, but be aware these devices have a downside as well, they can turn you into a workaholic.

Next Headset review will be the New Apple wireless. Have any of you tried it yet?

Going to your first interview is no different then auditioning for the the lead role in a movie, except that YOU are the one auditioning and hoping to land the next big step in your career.

Going to your first interview is no different then auditioning for the the lead role in a movie, except that YOU are the one auditioning and hoping to land the next big step in your career.

So how do you prepare for the audition? Here are 5 Audition Tips:

1) You need to have the mindset of winning. You are competing with many other people who also want the role but unfortunately only one person can win the part. You need to ask yourself “what is my competitive edge and how do I win?” Make sure your answers demonstrate and clearly express that edge.

2) Research the role you are auditioning for. Research is the key to knowing as much about the position you are auditioning for. Examples include:

Finding out what the job entails, the history and current news of the company, what the professional backgrounds of the people you are meeting with, knowing the corporate culture of the company or why the last person left the role. Make your edge SHARPER.

Between Googling and the Company’s website, you can find out all the information you need to be prepared.

3) Practice your script. As the expression goes, practice makes perfect! Stand in front of a mirror and ask yourself the typical types of questions you can expect from the interviewer. Common questions include: What makes you a great candidate for this role? What do you know about our company? What are your salary expectations? and the most difficult one: Tell us a little about yourself. Recording and listening to yourself will help too.

4) Dress the part. If you interviewing for a role that requires a corporate image, be prepared to look the part. That could mean suit, tie and shiny shoes or a white shirt and blazer with low heels.

Even if the company website looks like it is “business casual”, show the director a great first impression by looking your best. Look them in the eyes, sit up straight and be ready to present the best you because that is who they want to hire.

5) Always have a final pitch ready when asked “is there anything you would like to add?” This is your final chance to add some sizzle to your audition. This is where you are free to improvise, free of script and express who YOU are. Pull out your portfolio of awards and accomplishments. Put them on the spot by asking when you can start! Show them your references. Or leave them with something thought provoking such as why you believe you are a great investment for the company while explaining how much ROI you will create for them.

So, who knows you may become the next Tom Cruise or Julia Roberts and be a star in your next career move!!

THOUGHT LEADERS, MAKE RECRUITING A SHARED ECONOMY

With over $400 Billion dollars spent globally on recruiting by corporations, it is time to look at a better way to share the revenue of this large pie.

Currently most of the pie is eaten up by the multinational staffing firms, leaving thousands of SME’s and independent recruiters by the wayside with the scraps.

Interestingly, we have already seen many industries from transportation to housing, find a better way to create a shared economy in their own billion dollar industries.

So, why not the recruiting industry?

There are many complexities to the answer but the 3 Keys to the solution revolve around Recruiters, Clients and Candidates.

All the stakeholder need to be on the same page

An excellent starting point would be the need for Key #1, the recruiters, to see the benefits of sharing.

From lower costs to increased placement volume or lower turnover to standardized training, the benefits are vast.

It’s interesting to note that even as children we were taught to share. However, as grown-up recruiters we seem to have forgotten this basic life principle.

It also appears that due to lack of regulation and the failure to certify recruiters as a profession, we have failed Key #2 and Key #3, the candidates and clients.

But its never too late to solve a problem. We have already seen other professions like Real Estate, Insurance and Financial Planning lead the way. They have shown us that you can build trust and integrity by creating a true profession. So now we have some examples of the path we need to take

With some of the greatest minds in the recruiting industry there is no reason that these same minds can help lead the way to a shared economy. They have already helped make the industry great. But now its time to make the recruiting industry greater!

Together we are stronger. United we stand divided we fall!

I invite you to an open a dialogue via the article comments below. I look forward to your thoughts and feedback.