Pinewood Derby RPO

  

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Several weekends ago, Aaron, my youngest son, participated in a Cub Scout Pinewood Derby event.  

For those of you unfamiliar with the pinewood derby, it is a racing event for Cub Scouts. Young scouts, with the help of parents, build their own cars from wood, usually from kits containing a block of pine, 4 plastic wheels and 4 metal axles. The finished car must use all nine pieces, must not exceed a certain 5 ounces in weight, must not exceed a certain length and must fit on the track used by that particular scout pack.

While we had a great time making the car (well, at least Aaron did) and participating in the race day activities (well, at least Aaron did), we unfortunately did not place in the top 3. We were less than .15 seconds per heat from our goal. .15 seconds may not seem a lot and yet it was the difference between coming home with a “thank you for participating” award and winning a big trophy (along with lots of peer admiration).

I have observed that there are some striking similarities between winning a Pinewood Derby event and winning a Recruitment Process Outsourcing deal.

Here are my top three (3) parallels:

1. To win you must overcome inertia with a solution that maximizes the opportunity.  An “off-the -shelf” design isn’t going to beat a well thought out custom design.
2. Attention to detail is critical. Some people spend hours laboring on their design; looking for potential weaknesses and reworking until the final product is much better. On the other hand, there are others who just “slap” together something and hope for the best. I believe our win ratio at Pinstripe is so good because we take the “attention to detail” approach.  
3. Sometimes you have to go “above and beyond.” All designs are not created equal. In the Pinewood Derby world this might entail polishing the axles and using a graphite lubricant on the wheels. And in the RPO RFP selection process, it might mean researching and building extra customized talent attraction and diversity recruitment strategies for key roles or customizing all the technology portals with the client’s branding and open requisitions. Just meeting the bar doesn’t win much new business in today's competitive RPO world. 

Unfortunately, Aaron and I have to wait an entire year before the next Pinewood Derby and a chance to redeem ourselves. However, when it comes to RPO, I have a good number of proposals in my current funnel where, with the right effort, I can win the big trophy.

Post contributed by Barry Diamond. Follow me on Twitter @bddiamond

How to pick your RPO Employer

  

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With the exponential growth of Recruitment Process Outsourcing, recruiters should be enjoying lots of potential RPO job opportunities. And since the average recruiter spends more than 40 hours a week on the job, selecting the right RPO provider is very important to your career and life.

So how do you decide the right RPO career move?  What are your criteria? How can you differentiate one RPO employer from another?

The following are five (5) crucial items you need to know about your next RPO employer:  

1) What is the company's short and long-term plan?
With my extensive exposure to RPO service providers, I’ve learned that most RPO companies have a short term revenues goals, but lack a long-term strategic vision and plan. The majority of firms find it acceptable to be almost exclusively driven by the market versus trying to influence and shape the industry. One of the things I appreciate about Pinstripe is our clearly defined long-term business strategy and how our executive team readily and frequently shares the information with all our team members.   

2) Are you and the company a culture match?

Almost all recruiters I know believe that recruiting is a valued profession and talent acquisition is a critical, strategic business function. However, some RPO firms have commoditized their services so much that any opportunity for recruiters to think “outside the box” and find creative solutions is frowned upon. In the world of RPO, there are providers who give their recruiters the freedom to add additional value and there are other RPO companies just looking for a “small cog in their large wheel.” In my opinion, culture often trumps strategy. Decide who you are, figure out the RPO Service Provider’s culture and choose wisely.

3) What is the company doing about training and development?
Smart RPO companies invest in their employees (both onsite and virtual) and offer a number of ways to continuously learn and develop—not just for your current role but for the role you’d like to have in the future. In my position, I interview lots of recruiters from our competition and have learned that many RPO providers are rushing so quickly to keep up with new accounts or expanding accounts that recruiters are just thrown into the “lion’s den” with little to no initial orientation and virtually zero on-going training. Over the past several years, Anne Bucher, my colleague, as built out a comprehensive “certification” program that every recruiter receives as part of their Pinstripe and client on-boarding process. Sometimes this impacts the implementation and transition timeline; however, long-term it improves recruiter success, job satisfaction and employee engagement (and ultimately clients get better results).

4) What are the opportunities for career growth?
Growth doesn't always mean a new position, it could mean a developmental assignment, a mentoring relationship, joining company employee resource groups or volunteering in the community.  However, in regards to internal mobility, Sue Marks, our CEO, shares all promotions and internal moves on a monthly basis.  She does to help our employees understand potential career paths, improve retention but most of all to recognize and celebrate employee achievements

5) What are the people who already work there saying? 
Nothing is better than hearing first-hand how an employee already with the company has grown throughout his/her career. And since recruiters like to network and talk, it shouldn’t be hard to gather information. . This type of “unofficial” endorsement should be an essential part of any RPO career move.

The key to selecting your RPO employer is simple. Don't just take any job; be discriminating.

Post contributed by Barry Diamond. Follow me on Twitter @bddiamond

This post has nothing to do with RPO

  

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Warning: This post has nothing to do with RPO!

99.9% of the time, I focus on Recruitment Process Outsourcing and Pinstripe; however, sometimes I just come across things that need sharing. This might shock some of you, but I do believe there is more to life than RPO. 

So this time there will be no discussion of Service Delivery Agreements (SLAs) or Talent Attraction Strategies or Quality of Hire. I'm just here to share something outside of RPO and I hope you will find it beneficial.

Like most of you, I’m always looking for new reading material (especially on those long plane rides). I often struggle to find reliable sources for my book purchases. It can be incredibly frustrating to spend $12.95 on a paperback and realize 100 pages later you made a bad buying decision. So I thought I would share the following book review resource. This comes from the Random House website:

"So what does a publisher at the world’s biggest publishing house read for pleasure? Jane von Mehren is the Senior Vice President and Publisher of Trade Paperbacks at the Random House Publishing Group. Every now and then, she’ll be featuring her favorite new reads in her Reader’s Circle column, Jane’s Bookshelf. And if you’re on Twitter, you can follow her tweets at @janeatrandom."

And this isn't some casual recommendation on my part. I know Jane (she's my sister-in-law) and her suggestions are on target.

Post contributed by Barry Diamond. Follow me on Twitter @bddiamond

2011: Barry Diamond's RPO Year in Review

  

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As 2011 was coming to a close, I sat down and made a list of my 21 RPO observations from the previous 12 months. However, since I never blog over 500 words (a self-imposed rule), I reduced my list by two thirds to just 7 key observations.

So here are my top 7 RPO Observations for 2011:

1. A group of RPO service providers talked a lot about total workforce solutions, but buyers were still mostly looking for standalone RPO offerings. In 2012, this should continue to help RPO service providers whose core product is Recruitment Process Outsourcing.
2. One of the most frequently asked questions of 2011 was about our recruiters and whether they were employees of Pinstripe or just contractors. All of Pinstripe’s recruiters are employees; however, I learned that, unlike Pinstripe, a majority of RPO firms are leveraging significant numbers of contract recruiters. This contractor “situation” results in higher recruiter turnover, less program continuity and greater hiring manager frustration.   
3. More potential clients asked for a cost per hire fee model is 2011. In addition, they also wanted us to ensure program reinvestment and resource continuity. I spent some significant time (successfully) explaining that a combination of fixed and variable costs can be the most optimal pricing structure for driving reinvestment, continuity, results and return on investment.
4. A major acquisition was completed by a large payroll services/human resource management organization. It seems this move will help them compete in some bundled HRO deals; however, the transaction may not benefit them as much in the Recruitment Process Outsourcing only deals. I’m watching this one closely as 2012 unfolds.
5. If a RPO provider was not measuring up, then incumbency meant very little last year. With many 1^st generation RPO contracts expiring in 2011, companies that went back out to RFP had clearly decided that RPO was the right solution; however, they also decided that they needed to find a new service provider.
6. There was both more talk and more actual global and multi-national RPO deals in 2011. In addition, any service provider who said they can do it all themselves globally without partners, lost credibility in the marketplace. RPO buyers are getting more and more sophisticated and their due diligence is leading them to more credible solutions.
7. The RPO market grew tremendously in 2011 and soon there will be a lot of press releases about 2011 results. As you read these announcements, please note that any service provider extolling their 10% or 15% or 20% or even 25% revenue increases, should also mention that they did not keep pace with overall industry growth by 10% or 15% or 20% or even 25%.

In conclusion, I perused of a lot of year end reviews about books, movies, restaurants, sports, politics, etc… and a frequent topic of discussion was whether or not it was a “magical” year.

So in your opinion, was 2011 a “magical” year for RPO? For me, it was really interesting but never quite reached the “magical” level.

Post contributed by Barry Diamond. Follow me on Twitter @bddiamond

RPO and the Client’s Brand

  

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Post contributed by Barry Diamond. Follow Barry on Twitter @bddiamond

Recently, I was preparing to present an RPO solution at a Fortune 50 company who is working with one of our competitors.

Whether my prospect has an internal recruitment team or is already outsourcing, I always try to figure out what is currently going on. One of the easiest ways to investigate talent acquisition is to research the prospect’s recruitment marketing efforts and candidate application process. Four questions I always try to answer prior to a meeting are:

1. Where are they posting, do the links actually work, and is the message compelling and consistent?
2. What social recruiting tools are they leverage and how “connected” are their recruiters?
3. Is the online application process candidate friendly and intuitive?
4. How well is the career portal designed?

Going into this exercise, my predisposition is always that most companies already working with a RPO service provider will be doing a better job marketing career opportunities and improving the candidate experience than an internal team. Clearly one of RPO’s value propositions is that talent attraction strategies and tools is one of our core competencies. Simple put companies hire us to do it better.

However, my latest research for the Fortune 50, “we are already working with a RPO firm” organization was truly eye-opening. In summary, the RPO service provider was co-branding positions thus creating confusion for candidates. The RPO provider’s logo and the client’s name were both prominently displayed on all the job postings. In addition, the positions were advertised in a manner totally inconsistent with the client’s image and the client’s marketing efforts. These were professional careers promoted as if I was going to own a fast food franchise.

Compounding the branding issue further and creating a less than intuitive application process, candidates could apply through either the RPO service provider’s ATS or the client’s ATS for the same positions. Honestly, this tactic seems to further muddle the client’s brand message and reduce process efficiency. My intuition tells me that a large number of candidates are being “lost.” In addition, this situation raises some additional questions like:

1. Who owns the candidates in the service provider’s ATS?
2. Is the candidate pool being shared with other clients?
3. What would happen if the client had an OFCCP audit?

In a Pinstripe Recruitment Process Outsourcing engagement, it is always about the client’s brand. It is always their logo. It is always their messaging. It is always their values. Pinstripe does the work but it is never about us. In fact, in our worlds, candidates never know Pinstripe. Each candidate should only experience great service and believe that service was delivered by their potential future employer.

If the end goal is about helping the client’s overall business initiatives and goals, then talent acquisition and the employment brand should support and enhance the overall client brand. You can’t do this in RPO if the service provider is co-advertising or co-promoting themselves alongside you, the client.

Respecting, promoting and building your client’s brand is very much RPO 101. It is unfortunate that not all service providers adhere to this key Recruitment Process Outsourcing principle.

For more on the importance of your employer brand, please download the Pinstripe whitepaper Recruiting at the Speed of Now.

RPOland

  

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Post contributed by Barry Diamond. Follow Barry on Twitter @bddiamond

In his book, “Tomatoland,” Barry Estabrook covers the history of the grocery store tomato in the United States. The narrative is a scathing portrayal of South Florida’s tomato growers and their tactics to achieve total bland uniformity.

To commercial tomato growers, bland uniformity is perfection. And it starts with hard, tasteless, green balls that barely dent when they fall off a truck at 60 miles per hour and that must be gassed to achieve the sick-pink hue they present in supermarkets.

Additionally, regulations actually prohibit growers in the southern part of Florida from exporting many of the older tasty tomato varieties because their coloration and shape don’t conform to what the all-powerful Florida Tomato Committee says a tomato should look like.

What is happening in the tomato world is tragic and I believe, as the RPO industry matures, we must be conscious not to make the same mistakes made by others. Many companies have taken the entire "flavor" out of their products and services (just bite into a supermarket banana or tomato) because they believe homogeny is the path to almost limitless market opportunities and profit.

However, what about those of us (and it is a growing segment) that want more and see specialized and uniqueness as a value. Why should we be limited to commoditized, generic products and services when we clearly see significance and greater ROI in customization. In all things including tomatoes and RPO, you get what you pay.

As Recruitment Process Outsourcing grows larger and larger, there is a challenge all service provides face. The challenge is we need to avoid the temptation of sacrificing what makes us special at the expense of just being bigger. Our services must remain client by client centric in order to maintain our loyal and delighted customers. We must always put quality ahead of quantity.  We cannot become like the large Florida tomato farmer who said, 'I don't get paid a single cent for flavor, I get paid for weight.”

Honestly, I do fear that some day RPO will become mass produced and available at ever corner human capital supermarket. And when that happens the only thing left for me to do is write my book entitled “RPOland, The History of RPO and How Bland Uniformity caused its Demise."

RPO or RPO Ditto

  

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Post contributed by Barry Diamond. Follow Barry on Twitter @bddiamond

The other day my wife, Barbara, showed me this holiday picture. Normally I’d just find amusement in this snapshot and move on. However, for some reason, this image stuck with me. It stuck with me because, in a way, this photo represents the current schism of service providers in the Recruitment Process Outsourcing industry.

Many RPO service providers are like the house on the left hand side of the photo (albeit a bit less ostentatious). They are delivering great results and reinvesting in their core competency. They are industry leaders who have set the bar high. Because of these RPO firms, recruitment process outsourcing has been elevated to the strategic outsourcing option it is today.

But success has also created a new group of companies that resemble the house on the right hand side. These firms are simply looking to capitalize on the uptick in RPO popularity. To be fair, some new entrants have gotten it right and we welcome them. They have a clear value proposition and the capabilities to back it up.

However, some upstarts are mostly talk. Their value proposition is basically “me too;" We can do anything. Many have basic recruiting capabilities and some even have technology tools, but most lack the expertise of transition, change management and seamless integration. In addition, they are missing the required depth of knowledgeable and associated talent (people) to make RPO sustainable. Outsourcing is difficult and without these critical components, any RPO program will quickly implode.

Creating an exceptional holiday display takes experience, commitment and investment ….and so does RPO.  While the “ditto” briefly catches our attention, there really are no shortcuts.

Turning the RPO World Upside Down

  

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Post contributed by Barry Diamond. Follow Barry on Twitter @bddiamond

It was just Halloween and every year our home town, Whitefish Bay, WI, has a huge pumpkin carving event. The event is sponsored by the Whitefish Bay Civic Foundation. They provide free pumpkins, carving tools, candles, and table space. You design a jack-o-lantern, and it will be lit and on display every night during the last week of October.

Like many of you, I’ve been carving pumpkins for many years. I always start by cutting out the top of the pumpkin and scooping out the inside. Once my pumpkin is prepped, I find a design, apply it to the pumpkin and begin to carve.

In preparation for this year’s event, I went to the Internet to research some “cool” designs. Before I could even find a theme for this year's pumpkin, I discovered something earth shattering about pumpkin carving technique. The information was so simple and yet I had never ever even considered this revolutionary pumpkin carving methodology. I checked with a few friends and they also had never heard on this alternative and exciting pumpkin carving process. It will forever change the way I carve pumpkins.

Here is what I learned:

“Instead of cutting the top, try cutting out the bottom of the pumpkin. Carving from the bottom up gives the pumpkin a cleaner look, plus it's safer. You won't burn your hand when you try to light a candle and place the pumpkin over it.”

When I look around at the RPO industry, I see 2 types of service providers that are represented in the pumpkin carving world.

One type of RPO company is “cutting the top of the pumpkin.” Or stated another way, they are providing services that lack innovation and inspiration. These firms have chosen to just transfer services from the client without dratically altering the way things are being done.

Their value proposition is all (or mostly) about cost. They barely have enough resources at their price point to meet their client’s transaction volume, let alone have people who can provide thought leadership, innovation and continuous process improvement.

The other type of RPO partner brings innovation and is always looking for “a better way to carve the pumpkin” even if it means, at times, flipping the pumpkin upside down. These providers are committed to finding a superior way to do talent acquisition. They are not the lowest (hard) cost RPO firms because they are resourcing programs correctly with both transactional and strategic team members. However, in the long run, they are delivering the best results and overall long term value.

A World Without Fribbles

  

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Post contributed by Barry Diamond. Follow Barry on Twitter @bddiamond

As someone who grew up during the heyday of Friendly’s I was saddened to recently learn that the family restaurant chain was another casualty of the economy and changing customer preferences.  

For those of you not familiar with Friendly’s and their signature drink, the Fribble, the best way to describe the restaurant chain is that it exists somewhere ½ way between McDonalds and Applebees.  Unfortunately, as dining tastes evolved, Friendly’s ended up in restaurant no man’s land. Late attempts to catch up failed miserably and the company recently filed Chapter 11.

The question I keep pondering is: Does everything have a life cycle? Is it inescapable that at some point every concept goes out of style? And, is the best we can do is just delay inevitable? Is this the eventually fate of RPO?

I truly believe that everything does eventually come to end even Recruitment Process Outsourcing.  However, there is a lot we can do to keep RPO going for the foreseeable futures (multiple decades).

Here are 5 things for RPO Service Providers to consider so we don’t end up like Friendly’s:

1. Keep Innovating
2. Keep Listening to Clients
3. Keep Listening to the Market
4. Keep Looking beyond the RPO industry 
5. Keep being paranoid and always be looking over your shoulder at whose coming up behind you

So we may not be able to “Fribble It” anymore, but here’s to many more years of being able to “RPO It.”

When RPO Names Become RPO Nouns

  

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Post contributed by Barry Diamond. Follow Barry on Twitter @bddiamond

All kinds of people become nouns.

For example, the term maverick comes from Texan Samuel Maverick who refused to brand his cattle supposedly because he didn't want to cause them pain, but his neighbors thought he was just showing off an independent streak. French acrobat Jules Leotard didn’t just invent the art of the trapeze; he also lent his name to the skin-tight, one-piece outfit that allowed him to keep his limbs free while performing. And Jon Duns was well-respected for theology until his rivals took offense and said Dunce means someone dense. There is similar etymology surrounding Charles Boycott, James Thomas Brudenell, the 7th Earl of Cardigan, Henry Shrapnel, and Thomas Crapper.

All these people, for better or worse, have become enduring, not exactly as people, but as common nouns.

Currently, Recruitment Process Outsourcing has yet to experience this phenomena; however, I can imagine the day when:

• Marks will be synonymous with an innovative RPO program
• A company will use the Grimaldi to facilitate their RPO service provider selection process
• Someone will reference the Bucher to describe a flawless Recruitment Process Outsourcing implemenatation

RPO names becoming RPO nouns are inevitable. I’m just not sure what RPO personalities are going to be the lucky ones to be immortalized.