Employees want:
• A comfortable work station and environment.
“A lighter laptop”…
All of our Directors use company laptops to give presentations to clients. We are the only company in our local industry that does this and it does differentiate us in terms of professionalism. However, the laptops became a bit dated and heavy, which can make it overly cumbersome for some of the female members in our Directors’ team.
This was a high-ticket replacement item for us at that time but something we still needed to consider as the team’s happiness and comfort is directly related to their performance.
Employees want:
• Equipment that is easy to handle and use.
“Maybe have a telemarketer/researcher to make me more productive as they can give me the names of people to call on”…
I agree with this suggestion as anything that can make us more productive is something we should look into.
We have never hired a person to simply collect names for the sales team as the Directors are responsible for this, as part of their defined role. However, this is worth considering and, perhaps, trying in order to see if we can increase our revenues.
Employees want:
• Assistance, in order to be more productive themselves and for the company.
“Trainings for new or existing team members, or to participate in this and can also do an industry info session”…”Again, I am very good in sales and can train everyone in this, I am ready to share my talent with everyone”…”I can develop talents of others to provide better service”…
These comments came from three Directors and Consultants that are very good at what they do, and are high-level performers. It is encouraging that they are offering their time and talent to train others so that we may develop a better team and a better company.
I firmly believe that the best trainers can often be the talent within your own company. This is especially the case when they are training others about a role or task which they, themselves, already do very well. I made notes to take all three of these people up on their offer to help train others in the team.
Employees want:
• To train others, in their areas of expertise; and
• To share their knowledge to help the company perform better.
“Getting help on writing highlights, using the database, etc.”…
This is someone asking for help in specific areas and I think it is great that this person wants to improve. I made a note to immediately follow up on this.
Employees want:
• To perfect their skills; and
• Training to improve their job performance.
“All is good, I would be interested in my growth plan”…
It is very clear that this person strongly desires, in a polite way, upward movement in the company – as she has mentioned this a few times in her responses. As I feel she is good at what she does, is smart and is respected within the team, I decided that I would definitely give consideration to her future career trajectory within the company.
Employees want:
• To grow and develop with the company.
“I feel that the best use of my skills and experience is in front of clients and senior managers, presenting, selling and negotiating on behalf of the company, I enjoy this side of the job immensely. If I could be in front of clients more often I believe we would all benefit”…
This Director commenting is very good in front of clients and he just keeps getting better at it every year. There is a fair amount of administration that goes with the role of Director; all of which is quite necessary. However, I feel that the company would indeed benefit if this person was in front of clients more often.
This Director, in his prior submissions, is also seeking a sales management role, which I think makes sense as he is deserving and talented, and would necessitate that he be in the field with the team more often.
Employees want:
• To focus on what they do well; and
• To specialize in their areas of expertise.
“It is harder to sell now so I would be willing to create analytical reports for PR purposes and for clients”…
Employees need to feel useful, even in down-market times. I believe this person probably could create a very good analytical report containing recruitment-related information, such as compensation and benefits surveys, industry-specific analyses and market trends. I made a note to take action on this.
Employees want:
• To use other talents they have, and are not using, to benefit the company.
“I would like to be a part of the management team to create new services, if the market needs it”…
Creating new services is a lot of fun at times so I understand this person’s interest. Having said that, I am not sure if we are going to create any more new services in the nearest future as, at the moment, I am leaning more toward focusing on our core business areas. However, we do occasionally explore the idea and I made a note of this person’s interest and potential participation.
Employees want:
• To be creative and to build and develop new products for the company.
“Already taking on another sector, also KAM, more client work, but not sales, same as before, more opportunities to meet clients, KAM and trainings”…”KAM role”…
We do not have Key Account Managers, per se. We have Directors that sell, oversee client recruitment projects, update clients on our progress, and handle any issues that may arise during the course of a search. Our Consultants source, screen and present candidates to our clients, arrange client candidate interviews and assist with the negotiation process when job offers are extended. Both roles are extremely vital to providing our clients with a very thorough service.
It is clear to me from these responses, and those in earlier chapters, that the Consultants’ team, overall, would really like a Key Account Management role created for their division.
As before, I made a note to look into this. Again, this requires some thought and a strategy in regard to potentially changing our current role structure, compensation elements and parameters – but I feel it is certainly worth considering.
Employees want:
• To provide better services to clients;
• To have more access to the company’s clients; and
• To get out of the office, on occasion, and visit clients.
“Attracting new clients via candidate relations”…
This was an encouraging answer as it came from a Consultant who, while not responsible for new client sales, nonetheless is offering to assist with our sales efforts. I would point out