gramAPSO - The Voice of the African Staffing Industry October 2012 | Volume 2

9The convergence

of resourcing & remuneration

17Desperately seeking

good recruiters

20Latest labour

review feedback

29Being a recruiter rocks!

2

THERE IS HOPE FOR ALL RECRUITERS THANKS TO THE RECRUITERS’ RELIEF INITIATIVE.SAVE YOURSELF FROM PAIN, FRUSTRATION, MISERY AND HAIR LOSS BY STARTING YOURSEARCH FOR THE IDEAL CANDIDATE ON PNET. SIMPLY POST A POSITION OR SEARCH OUR DATABASE OF CVs AT WWW.PNET.CO.ZA. | 0861 CAREER | SALES@PNET.CO.ZA

STOP THE SUFFERING

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ContentsFrom the COO’s DeskoCtoBer 2012From the President’s DeskBuilding a culture of excellence 04

Snippets / Noticeboard 05 - 06

Announcement of new Council 07

The Convergence of Resourcing & Remuneration 08

2 Quick tips for recruiters 09

Business share same concerns over the proposed labour amendments 10 - 11

Recipe for Recruitment Success 12 - 13

From the Legal DeskService Level Agreements - Are your terms and conditions contractually compliant and industry specific 14 - 15

Desperately seeking a great recruiter 16 - 17

South Africa:A country of major contrast, according to WEF Global Competitive Report 20

Job creation for the next generation 21

Are you a collaborative leader? 22 - 23

Being a recruiter rocks! 26

South African RecruitersTackling Change 27

Why do people really quit? 28

Recruiter Ethics Quiz 30

Dear jobless graduate 31

Follow APSO on twitter: @apsoza

Join our Facebook group: Federation of African Professional Staffing Organisations (APSO)or add Apso Southafrica as your friend

Join our LinkedIn group: Federation of African Professional Staffing Organisations (APSO)

Tel: +27 11 615 9417 www.apso.co.zaAPSO Head Office

This has become one of my favourite ways to explain to members how they can leverage their membership to their advantage. As a sucker who has myself fallen into the trap of believing that by simply joining the gym and going every once in a while I’ll achieve my fitness goals, I know only too well the myriad of excuses that can be dreamed up in defence – I’m too busy, they don’t offer the kind of classes I’d like to take at times convenient to me, the equipment is faulty, blah blah blah.

I’m extremely proud to be involved with APSO and believe that we’re leading the way in professionalising the staffing industry in South Africa, whether through our active lobbying and advocacy initiatives, effective ethics and best practice mechanism, or the various products and services we offer to members. However, I get disappointed when I hear members complain that we’re not doing enough, particularly when during the discussion it transpires that we do in fact offer just what the member was looking for.

Get connected! We recognise that we could improve our communication channels and are consistently seeking ways to liaise with members across a variety of platforms. We have an active social media presence and we strongly encourage all members, and their staff, to follow us on Twitter, friend us on FaceBook, and join the APSO LinkedIn group. Not only are these excellent conduits for APSO to share important information and notify you of upcoming events, but as they’re interactive, you’re able to have your

Natalie SingerEditor of the APSOgram

say and share ideas on how we can add value and improve our service offering to you. Details of our social media groups can be found on this page so please, if there is just one thing you do after reading this edition of the APSOgram, please join our groups!

Promote compliance! The rules of engage-ment, especially for TES companies, are changing and many members are feeling a little overwhelmed at how to adapt. Fear not, APSO is working closely with CAPES and other stakeholders to ensure that wherever possible we are able to influence the legislation and to understand the impact on our members. Once the new regulations are finalised we will conduct a series of educational initiatives from road shows, to workshops and webinars. We already have a series of Compliance Toolkits available to assist you in easily managing your company’s compliance, whether related to your Private Employment Agency certificate from Dept of Labour, or your statutory obligations with SARS. We will of course keep these updated to ensure that no matter what the requirements, APSO members are provided with information that is easy to access, simple to understand and logical to implement.

We are working closely with the Department of Labour to ensure that non-compliant operators are identified, investigated and shut down. If you become aware of any non compliant operator, whether operating in the perm or temp space, please report them to APSO. We will, in turn forward these on to Department of Labour for the necessary investigation and action. Of course, should you become aware of a fellow APSO member doing something contrary to the Code or regulations you are reminded that you’re obligated to let us know about this. It is only through these complaints that APSO can truly monitor compliance and, via our complaints mechanism headed by Advocate Janet Early, APSOs’ Legal and Ethics Officer, investigate these complaints, engage with the parties to drive compliance and/or take the appropriate action. Remember, that we’re all tarnished with the same brush so it’s imperative that we work together to ensure that the levels of professionalism are raised and that our industry can no longer be accused of being unethical.

Be active! As our analogy proves, only by actively participating can one truly experience the benefits of membership. APSO regularly hosts webinars, training and events and we encourage members to take the time to invest in these sessions as they’re designed to assist you in succeeding in the recruitment game. Of course, if you have any suggestions on what we could offer then please let us know – all suggestions are most welcome, simply send them to me nataliesinger@apso.co.za

“APSO membership can be likened to that of a gym. You can pay your subs,

carry the card but unless you actually go and run on

the treadmill, you’re not going to see any reduction

in your pants size”

THERE IS HOPE FOR ALL RECRUITERS THANKS TO THE RECRUITERS’ RELIEF INITIATIVE.SAVE YOURSELF FROM PAIN, FRUSTRATION, MISERY AND HAIR LOSS BY STARTING YOURSEARCH FOR THE IDEAL CANDIDATE ON PNET. SIMPLY POST A POSITION OR SEARCH OUR DATABASE OF CVs AT WWW.PNET.CO.ZA. | 0861 CAREER | SALES@PNET.CO.ZA

STOP THE SUFFERING

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the quest for a Culture oF eXCeLLeNCe

message From the President

Tabea MagodieloAPSO President

The barriers to entry into our industry are very low. This encourages entrepreneurs to venture into business and to take up market share in an already fairly saturated sector. It does however, encourage fierce competition where only the smart survive. I say only the smart, because size does not guarantee a sustainable business — on the contrary — more innovative and creative ways need to be sought to adapt to this ever changing environment. We have seen many a recruitment company closing down, and the very next minute a few others opening their doors.

So what keeps the successful companies thriving? What is the recipe not only for survival, but for growth and good returns in our environment? Let’s face it. Job specs and orders are not hard to find. Engagement with clients and candidates is not hard to attain. There must be something else that drives performance of the successful companies.

I have come to the realisation that the companies that have made a name for themselves and that keep doing well have one thing in common: Service Excellence. Hence I embarked on a research journey to get a better understanding of the subject matter.

Excellence is a talent or quality which is unusually good and surpasses ordinary standards. Therefore the companies that are flourishing must be those that surpass the ordinary service delivery standards of their competitors that are just surviving. They seek to do it better than all of us. They refuse to settle for mediocrity. They strive to offer that extra something that none of us offer and do so consistently. For them, it is not about delivering the basics — it is about going above and beyond. Instead of merely copying what all the others do and being content with matching that, they aspire to consistently surpass it. Less than that is just not good enough. It is not only in the “doing,” but also in the “aimed for” which means that they constantly strive to improve their service delivery and are determined to exceed expectations. It is easy to fall into the trap of believing that successful companies must have systems in place that are better than ours and through that have established a name for themselves. But my research revealed that a number of these exceptional companies are small ones, and some are even new in the market. It is really not about processes and procedures only, but more importantly about being a cut above the rest. They want to be the best. They have a plan on how to get there. They have a workforce consisting of individuals who are inspired and want nothing less than to be the best. One could argue that we do not all have the same desire, but I have yet to meet someone who is content to merely exist — especially if that person is an entrepreneur at heart.

But, not all of us make it. Truly, the secret must be embedded in something else...

Outliers…In his book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell talks about the concept of people who are distinctly different in the way they do

things or basically “are.” He says: ‘It is not the brightest who succeed. Nor is success simply the sum of the decisions and efforts we make on our own behalf. It is, rather, a gift. Outliers are those who have been given opportunities — and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them.’

Outliers are the exception and not the rule. Outliers are not scared to do things differently — they set the pace for the rest. So in which area of speciality could you be an Outlier within our industry and how are you going to sustain the momentum?

Alek Wek, one of the most sought after international models of our time, also dubbed one of the “50 Most Influential Faces in Fashion,” by i-D and Frank magazines, is an Outlier. For me, she has redefined beauty. She managed to change the prevailing reality of what was considered a “beautiful face” and surpassed the contemporaries of her time. Born in Sudan and having fled her country which was at Civil War, she sought to enter a stage that was set in a certain way and redefined it. Not just a giant in the fashion world, Alek has achieved much in the world of humanitarianism. She has served on U.S Congressional advisory boards with Hillary Clinton and Danny Glover working against famine, war, AIDS and cancer. When interviewing her, Oprah Winfrey said, “If you’d been on the cover of a magazine when I was growing up, I would have had a different concept of who I was.” She redefined history!

I am not remotely pronouncing that this is what our clients expect from us. They do not expect us to redefine history although I believe we could! They are simply looking for suppliers who separate themselves from the rest in terms of service offering by embracing

the best of Outliers. These, they will walk with and even partner with. The question is: Are we willing to put in what it takes? Remember no one will do it for us. We have to do it for ourselves. I have yet to meet a company that is willing to settle for less and to keep on paying for services despite the realisation that what they get is just OK. (Now guys, I am talking about responsible companies with integrity here, and not the rest!). I’m up for that challenge. I want to be valued for my service, nothing more and nothing less. Truth is if more of us strive for that, we could collectively change the reality of our industry. We could redefine it.

It’s simply not good enough to collect CVs from the job boards, call a few potential candidates and quickly check with them if you can forward

their details. Any company could do that for itself! How are we going to offer bigger and better?

I am challenging our members to invest in building a Culture of Excellence in their own companies. We need only a few good men and women to reshape their destinies and as a result, the destiny of the industry. Be an Outlier and let the rest follow!

All of the best,

Tabea

Excellence is a talent or quality which is unusually good and

surpasses ordinary standards. Therefore these companies that are flourishing must be

those that surpass the ordinary service delivery standards of

their competitors that are just surviving. They seek to do it

better than all of us.

54

sNIPPets

Members of the committee are volunteers with a passion for ethics and driving professionalism within the industry. Committee members are required to read submissions and reach an individual and objective decision before debate, resolution and ruling. The Committee meets on a ‘needs’ basis via the APSO Ethics Forum (electronic system) to adjudicate cases or complaints.

This is your chance to make a Difference!Join the APSO ethics committee and make your mark.

The APSO Ethics Committee is charged with developing a unified set of ethics standards and policies for members of APSO and to consult on important and complex cases and issues that have implications for the Recruitment and Staffing industry. The committee’s main priorities are to harmonise policies and practices among member organisations in the areas of compliance, ethics training, ethics reporting, standard setting, benchmarking and peer support.

The Ethics Committee is one of the most active within APSO and has been instrumental in establishing the norms and setting standards for the industry since APSO’s inception in 1977. Some notable achievements include affiliating with the Ethics Institute of South Africa, revising the Code to ensure relevance to today’s dynamic industry, and playing a lead role in banning the Candidate Liability practice earlier this year.

Some background...

To be part of this decisive and crucial committee please contact:Adv. Janet EarlyTel: 011 615 9417E-mail: janetearly@apso.co.za

For more information, please send an email to nataliesinger@apso.co.za

or call 011 615 9417.

APSO is always looking for members who are interested in getting involved and making a difference to the organisation and industry as a whole. Although formal

nominations take place each year ahead of the AGM, we also have the opportunity to co-opt individuals during the course of the year.

Calling all Members!

As a member’s organisation, APSO likes to have the input from members on the ground. Who better to know the local conditions, issues and requirements facing staffing businesses in these areas? We have active committees in most of the provinces and are always happy to include additional, interested individuals. If you’d like to know more about participating on a regional committee, please don’t hesitate to give us a call!

Regional Committees

APSO has a range of initiatives on the go and these are driven by teams of subject-matter experts. Although you may not specifically want to be part of a formal committee, you might feel that you could add value and contribute to one of our specific initiatives or projects. We regularly communicate with members about these projects so, if you feel you could contribute and add value, please don’t hesitate to volunteer.

Task Teams

APSO’s membership efforts have reaped reward! Since June 2012, we have the pleasure in introducing

the following new members:

APSO welcomes New Members

Ashanti Communications CA Recruitment CapCircle Carlysle Talent Search Indipath Professional Placements Khanyisizwe Consulting Mandatory Placements Masungulo Consultancy

People Solved RPS HR Solutions The Talent Fountain Touch-Stone Recruitment Umongo Training Services Vivid Staffing Solutions Zenzo Consulting Zingwazi Contractors

Welcome aboard!

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NotICe BoarD

APSO prepares new certificates of membership each

year when you renew and pay your subscription

fees. A separate certificate is generated per branch

that is registered with APSO. Once your certificate is

created an electronic copy will be sent to you via email

and uploaded to your membership profile. Please

note that due to the poor service offered by SA Post

Office, where a large number of certificates are lost

or returned –despite correct address details, APSO no

longer posts original certificates. We urge members

to collect these from our offices, where possible or, to

specifically request that these be posted. Queries in

this regard should be sent to

sinosume@apso.co.za

APSO Certificates

Members are reminded that the new APSO

Constitution and revised Code of Ethics were adopted

at the recent annual general meeting held on 1 August

2012. Although the documents were circulated to all

members via email, those who missed them are urged

to download the new versions from the APSO website

and to familiarise themselves with the changes.

In particular, members are reminded that the use of

Candidate Liability Clauses (CLC) has officially been

banned. As a result, all members who previously made

use of these, or similar contracts, are requested to

cease using them immediately. If you are uncertain or

have any questions, please do not hesitate to address

these to Adv Janet Early, APSO’s Legal & Ethics Officer.

She is best reached via email

janetearly@apso.co.za

New Constitution & Code Adopted at AGM

With the pass mark at 75% we’d like to make special mention

of those individuals who achieved more than 90% in their

exams.

Congrats to top achievers in

the APSO Entrance

Exam!

April - June 2012

May - July 2012June - August 2012

Peta Lee (Cozens)

92%

Benita Bayley

(Khanye Staffing

Solutions) 90%

Anastacia

Armstrong

(Kaufela Staffing

Solutions) 92%

Michael Diozzi (The

PeopleSource)

90%

If you’re aware of any non-

compliant operators, whether

temp or perm, please report them

to APSO. We are working together

with the Department of Labour

and are committed to rooting out

rogue operators who seek to take

advantage of vulnerable work

seekers and who give the industry a

bad name. Send details of any non-

compliant operators to

janetearly@apso.co.za

Non-Compliant Operators

Information UpdateAPSO relies on members to communicate

any changes to their contact information or circumstances. If you’ve not been receiving regular communication from us, it may be

that your details have changed and you’ve not let us know. To check your details,

simply go to the APSO website Member Directory and see what we have on file.

Please remember to confirm any changes to your details – whether email, telephone or

address – so that we can update our records to ensure that you’re getting all of your

membership benefits!

Remember if you’d like more information about the Entrance

Exam or wish to register, simply drop Gloria a mail –

gloriaclegg@apso.co.za

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aPso Representatives

Benedicta Nwamgbe

Transman

Education Chair

Angela Dick

Transman

GAP

Dudu Letseli

TPG

National Skills Authority Rep/Free State

Chairperson

Georgina Barrick

Humanity Search & Select

Executive Search

Amita Slabbert

Drake

Eastern Cape Chairperson

Carolyn Diaz

Express Employment Professionals

Temporary Employment Services

Arthur Mashaba

Ditshaba Human Capital

Transformation Vice Chair

Huida Shenker

Siyaya Placements

Ethics Chair

Andre Manders

Private (subject expert)

Disability

Michelle Darbyshire

Multisearch

KwaZulu Natal Chairperson

Roly Boardman

Impact HR

Ethics Vice Chair

Roodt Griesel

West Coast Personnel

Western Cape Chairperson

Theo Nwamadi

Interim Consulting

SME Development Vice Chair

Simon Ridge

Leaders Personnel

Vice President: Operations

Lusani Ramaru

Yawee IT Solutions

IT Vice Chair

Tabea Magodielo

TPG

President

Suraj Maharaj

Inkokheli

Transformation Chair

Lee Young

Charisma Healthcare

Healthcare

Jacqui Ford

Affirmative Portfolios

SME Development Chair

Ian Greenspan

Transman

IT Chair

Elvis Madisha

Maelvo Enterprises

Mpumalanga Chairperson

At the recent APSO annual general meeting, the following members were elected to serve on the APSO Council. As a member-driven organisation, APSO relies on the commitment of individual members who serve as volunteers on the various organisational governance structures.

(IN aLPhaBetICaL orDer)

8

The idea behind this article came from our work in Africa, where the market value is as important as the profile and credentials of a candidate. Organisations in the rest of Africa rely on and find it normal that recruiters act as trusted ‘talent advisors’. Talent advisors in this sense, provide not only the right skills, but are also able to provide in-depth market intelligence for constructing a compelling offer.

On the face of it, this seems obvious – the placement of good candidates is dependent on the construction of a compelling offer that is perceived as mutually acceptable. This relies on the recruiter having exceptional market knowledge and access to reward data that allows the candidate and organisation to make informed and therefore beneficial recruitment decisions. So much for the theory!

When I engage with recruiters particularly in South Africa I often get two ‘real’ answers to this. The one relies on their experience of their particular segment of the market, which is often extrapolated as a market generalisation. You have probably heard this type of thing before – my brother, who is an accountant, went to Australia

BY: YeNDOR FelgAte, COO OF eMeRgeNCe gROwth

to find work, therefore we are losing all our financial skills in this country and so need to pay more – don’t laugh, true example.

The second response revolves around ‘averaging the payslip’. The norm is so prevalent that even candidates use this approach in terms of their expectations and rationale for applying for a vacancy. This involves adding the de facto 20% increase to the incumbent’s payslip.

It is easy to argue that this is merely a result of the lack of skills of some recruiters. However, it may also be the result of the often artificial separation of human resources into ivory towers of specialisation – recruiters are recruiters, reward is reward and never the twain shall meet.

The next generation of talent advisor will be the recruiter that has a holistic approach to creating compelling offers. They will be intimately involved in candidate mobility, career pathing, talent management and performance using the tools of HR – job descriptions, job evaluation and reward data.

hUmaN Resources

Our view is one of ‘connecting the dots’ as shown in the model below.

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Tip 1: Prepping candidates on salary

There is probably no single area of the interview process that is so fraught with danger and emotion than the subject of money. Candidates often freeze when they hear the question, “what are you looking for in terms of salary”? As with most important subjects that are likely to come up during the interview, candidates should memorise their responses regarding salary in advance so that they sound polished. It is our job as recruiters to help them rehearse and prepare for this very important question. Here are some things to cover with your candidates regarding salary:

Tell them that it’s ok to disclose their current salary, but not to disclose the specific Rand amount that they desire for a new position. Explain that they don’t want to price themselves too high or too low for the position. You might advise them to use this response that Peter Leffkowitz recommends, “Yes, money is one reason I’m here today, but more importantly, I am here about the opportunity. If you have an interest in me, I would like to entertain your strongest offer”. Or they might say, “I’m currently making R200K; I would be in the market for a fair and reasonable increase on my salary.” The point is to memorise their answer and to rehearse it in advance until it sounds natural.

By: gary staUBLe

Quick tips For reCrUIters2 Tip 2: Three aasy steps to landing new clients

If you became a master at landing new clients via referrals, it would mean that you would need to make far fewer cold calls and spend much less time prospecting. Being hired based on a referral crushes the normal sales cycle and shrinks the time it takes to land new business. Here are a few simple ways to land new clients via referrals from your existing client base.

1. Ask! Ask your current clients who they know- especially after a successful placement. Ask candidates what managers they have respect for that they have worked for in the past.

2. Offer your clients a bonus: Barbara Bruno recommends offering clients a R500 gift to their favourite charity if you want to reward them for their referral. Once a client receives this type of reward, they will most likely be hooked and want to refer more clients to you.

3. Form strategic alliances: Pay a commission to anyone (vendors, candidates etc) who can put you in touch with hiring authorities. You could pay 4%-15% of your fees from a new client for a period of 12 months to your strategic alliance partner. Formalise this with a simple agreement letter and start asking people who you think would be a fit.

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The nearly three-year long negotiation process surrounding the labour law amendments culminated in the recent Parliamentary Public Hearings conducted on 24, 25 and 31 July 2012. Although these hearings considered all the proposed amendments to the Labour Relations Act (LRA) and Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), the issues pertaining to a-typical employment relationships were at the forefront.

Although the Confederation of Associations in the Private Employment Sector (CAPES), along with several other leading stakeholders including BUSA, FEDUSA and Solidarity, have consistently called for all four bills to be considered together, it appears that the hearings will take place separately. There is no clarity on when public hearings will be held for the Employment Equity Act (EEA) and the newly drafted Employment Services Bill and it is unlikely these will become law this year.

Consistent concerns for South Africa’s competitiveness In the global context, South Africa is becoming a less and less attractive destination for foreign direct investment and labour-intensive operations. Our escalating labour costs and decreasing productivity levels, coupled with the high incidences of ever increasingly violent labour disputes, make us one of the least favourable options for companies seeking to establish operations outside of the US or Europe. This is now exacerbated by the unrest in the mining sector which has made international headlines for weeks. There seems no short term solution to this unrest.

Throughout the three days of public hearings, a variety of companies and business organisations consistently called on the government to reassess the proposed amendments in the context of the global trends towards acceptance of the need for more flexible labour markets and the development of effective regulation mechanisms that balance the need for business to utilise flexibility whilst protecting workers.

One of the presentations, conducted by Automotive Leather Company (ALC), a client of an APSO member, clearly indicated a real-life example of an entire line that had been lost to Eastern Europe on the back of unrealistic wage demands, increasing inflexibility from trade unions and dragged out labour disputes. This has resulted in the more than four hundred individuals previously employed, now finding themselves out of work and these jobs in Eastern Europe.

There are many such examples to be found, across a range of industries, including automotive, clothing, textile and pulp/paper. In fact, Forestry South Africa (FSA) presented a clear case to the Parliamentary Committee citing their struggle to remain globally competitive. According to the FSA, the proposed amendments would only seek to encourage international companies to relocate their operations, largely to the East, or to reduce their workforce drastically by employing greater automation and mechanisation.

Request for new RIA seems to have fallen on deaf earsThroughout the presentations, it was clear that uncertainty abounded, whether related to the interpretations of some provisions or the likely impact of the proposed amendments. Several submissions called on government to commission another Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) to look at the impact, including any unintended consequences, that the new amendments would have on the economy.

The Department of Labour made a presentation to the Portfolio Committee responding to issues raised during the public hearings on the Labour Relations Amendment Bill and the Basic Conditions of

Business shares same concerns over the proposed labour amendments

Employment Amendment Bill. In addressing the Constitutionality of the Bills, the Department indicated that the Bills have been submitted to the Office of the Chief State Law Advisor for a pre-certification opinion and have been found to be consistent with the Constitution and that this does, however, not provide a guarantee that the Bills are entirely consistent with the Constitution as issues may arise in the implementation of the Bills that could give rise to Constitutional challenges at a later stage. To quote the Department on a number of issues raised:

“The Department was confident that the Bills would pass Constitutional muster but conceded that issues might arise from the implementation of the legislation that could result in constitutional challenges. The Department disputed the assertion made in the submissions from organised business that the amendments would result in job losses and curtail job creation. The Department disagreed that another Regulatory Impact Assessment was necessary as the current versions of the Bills included most of the recommendations of the 2011 assessment. In general, organised business did not support the granting of organisational rights to minority unions whilst organised labour supported the proposed amendments. The proposed amendments regarding compliance and enforcement were intended to deal more effectively with those employers who consistently failed to adhere to undertakings given in terms of compliance orders.”

In responding to BUSA’s call for a comprehensive Regulatory Impact Assessment before the Bills are approved, the Department said “legislative reform cannot be delayed for long periods by impact assessment studies that are complex to deduct and where the results are very likely to remain contentious”. CAPES through BUSA also noticed that the Department introduced new issues which have not been discussed with social partners and this is very concerning to Business as it renders social dialogue ineffective and undermines the role of NEDLAC. This has been addressed in a reply to the Portfolio committee.

A mini RIA, conducted by Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), focused on three key areas of concern and estimated that 250 000 jobs would likely be lost if the bills were to be enacted. BUSA maintains that the economy has a need for flexibility, including temporary workers provided by temporary employment services (TES), and that government should rather be seeking to make legislation easier to manage for businesses if they wish to achieve their ambitious job creation goals.

Research findings prick the ears of the committeeDuring the presentations made by CAPES and APSO, reference was made to the positive contribution that the TES sector makes in South Africa, citing numbers like those listed alongside this article (sidebar). Several questions were raised by members of the committee who seemed shocked to hear about the role that the industry plays in driving compliance at bargaining council level, provision of benefits and development of skills amongst individuals. In fact, the committee requested, and we supplied, copies of the Topline Research conducted in 2010 as well as the full Adapting to Change report commissioned by CIETT in 2011.

APSO was proud to once again host CIETT’s communication and economic affairs advisor, James Gribben, who presented the Adapting to Change research during the hearings. His presentation was well received, and whilst some questions were raised about the context of European trends in Africa, interest was peaked about the importance

wRitteN BY: JOhNNY gOlDBeRg, ChieF OPeRAtiNg OFFiCeR OF CAPeS

LegIsLatIoN

1110

of effective regulatory frameworks that allow labour market flexibility and yet provide protection for workers, not only from exploitation, but in terms of employment security and benefits. During the session James Gribben reaffirmed that data had been collated for at least two decades on various countries and that South Africa’s employment trends closely mirrored those of other countries. He urged the committee to consider the various regulatory frameworks that had been shown to work in other countries to identify areas of commonality that could be considered for the local context, as well as to avoid falling into the traps where over-regulation had resulted in the unintended consequence of promoting the non-compliant elements and thereby worsening the situation for many workers.

We believe that this strategy of getting an international perspective helped to get the committee to start to think differently.

Clarifying the fee issueDuring the final day of public hearings, the Constructional Engineering Association-Labour Broking Division (CEA-LBD), presented. They chose to tackle the often misunderstood fee model, and presented the committee with a “transparent quote” with explanations on how TES, especially those within strong bargaining council environments, comply with all statutory requirements and only levy a relatively small service fee to the client company. It was clear from some of the questions raised by the committee members that they had previously misunderstood the fee model, assuming that all labour brokers took money directly from the worker. In fact, in the draft Employment Services Bill, there is a clear provision for all private employment agencies (PEA) including TES, to transparently disclose and clearly differentiate in their contracts and service level agreements, the rate payable to the worker and the fee charged to the client.

Temp’s tale of TES successIn addition to presenting her motivations for starting Transman nearly thirty years ago, Angela Dick, CAPES Vice President, invited one of her long-standing temp employees to address the committee. The temp shared with the committee his gratitude for the opportunities provided to him by Transman, indicating that having come from a home where both parents were unemployed he had often worked merely for food. He explained that as a school leaver he’d failed to secure employment and in 2000 had joined a TES. He has remained in steady employment throughout the past 12 years and due to the skills development and work experience opportunities provided by the TES, he has developed his career to the point where he is now in a management position. He lauded the work that compliant TES companies do and urged the committee to consider the potential impact that banning them would have on other unemployed, often hopeless people like he himself once was.

The usual rhetoricOf course, the submissions by NACTU and COSATU continued to rage against the perceived scourge of labour brokers, often falling into the usual rhetoric of “slave traders” etc. This was unsurprising and despite what may happen in the final reckoning of the amendment bills, it is likely that individual trade unions will continue their quest to impact the sector, whether at sectoral or plant level. On a more positive note, it appears clear from the written submission presented by COSATU that their understanding of the “deemed employment” provision is the same as ours, i.e. that it does not mean permanent employment but rather joint and several liability between the client and the TES. This interpretation has also been reaffirmed by Professor Paul Benjamin, the

drafter representing government.Where to from here?Although in many quarters there is a definite push to get the Bills passed through this year, it is looking more and more likely that they will only be passed early next year when Parliament sits again. Each year, only two formal opportunities – in March and November – exist for the promulgation of new legislation. And as there are still public hearings to be conducted for the Employment Services Bill and the Employment Equity Amendment Bill, and we’re already well into

September, it’s highly unlikely that all due process can be concluded. Of course, only time will tell and we believe that it is still necessary to prepare for the LRA and BCEA amendments this year.

In conclusion maybe some of the presentations made are being radical. We quote from the DOL submission:

“Mr Mkalipi agreed that any job losses were of serious concern but the Department could not guarantee that there would not be any. He denied that the DOL was copying the labour practices of China but had merely pointed out that temporary employment services were restricted in other countries. By its nature, labour law restricted the rights of employers and employees but the test was whether or not the law was reasonable in terms of the Constitutional requirements. There was no guarantee that the legislation would not be challenged in Court. Currently, labour legislation was regularly being challenged and future challenges were not ruled out. He undertook to provide the Committee with more information on bargaining council agreements that restricted temporary employment services and labour broking activities, which could be taken into consideration when Members considered the arguments made by the business sector that the Bills would result in job losses.”

APSO and CAPES will continue to keep members abreast of the changes and will ensure that adequate representation and submission is made to any and all public, and or parliamentary hearings that may be scheduled in the coming months.

Members are reminded to keep themselves, and their clients informed and to address any questions or concerns to APSO. APSO will endeavour to assist you in educating your clients and clarifying any potential uncertainty that may exist. Of course, once the new legislation is promulgated and rules of the game made clear, APSO will provide workshops and other tools to assist you in ensuring compliance and sustainability.

• Introduced 5.4 million people to the world of work since 2000• Agency workers spend less time looking for work: 90 days, compared to a staggering 806 days (2 years 3 months) for the average South African job-seeker;• Gateway to the world of work: Profile of work seekers: -Never previously employed: 50% -Youth aged 18-35: 75% -Previously disadvantaged: 82%• Average of 994 000 people deployed (via TES) on a daily basis• Of those initially employed as a temp, each year significant numbers are permanently deployed: -30% within 1 year -42% within 3 years• One of the largest contributors to skills development – R450 million paid over in skills levies• Conducted 34% of all learnerships in the country

A SNAPSHOT OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN PrEA SECTOR:

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at the minimum SLA standards were welcomed by the client who could immediately see a reduction in annual recruitment costs. Those that stuck to their guns and remained at their usual fee in the region of 15% were accepted, provided they continued to deliver and the one sitting at 30% refused to negotiate but continued to prove their worth by providing specialist service (and exceptional candidates) that far exceeded the SLA and that made an indelible difference to the company’s performance.

Remember, in recruitment we should not simply talk about fees, but rather focus on value. Why not consider additional value-added services that you could offer your clients that would make them more willing to pay your original asking price and loyal to working with you and perhaps just a handful of others?

Be the best at what you do

We all strive to excel but sometimes get caught up in simply offering the same as our competition. It amazes me still that if I visit a range

of websites or read company profiles from a variety of recruitment companies, they all say just about the

same thing. Have you sat down and assessed what your unique selling proposition (USP) is?

What makes you different?

Remember too that what worked before isn’t necessarily working now. Constantly assess your recruitment methodology to ensure that it meets the current talent landscape challenges and addresses the needs of your clients and candidates. Don’t be shy to educate your clients

about your methodology – more and more clients are interrogating the actual

processes undertaken by their recruitment suppliers to assess whether they are likely to

receive the best talent available and if they are getting value for their money.

Employing the best people goes without saying. You can have the best company/brand proposition in the world but if your operational team cannot execute and deliver to expectations then it’s all for nought. Re-assess the profile of a successful recruiter today and recruit the best people for your team. It’s also important to invest in your people to ensure that their currency of knowledge and expertise is up to par and that they’re able to offer your clients the best in subject-matter expertise.

Consider the tools you’re using internally. Technology, especially the products and services offered via cloud computing, is becoming cheaper and more accessible, even to the smallest business. The effective utilisation of technology including a software database, verification tools and sourcing platforms, including social media, are critical to remaining competitive today.

There may be safety in generalisation but clients are seeking expertise when commissioning the services of an external recruitment provider. Consider how you could specialise, in one or two key areas, and work hard to become the “go to” agency in this space.

The recruitment landscape has changed drastically over the past few years and many recruiters are scratching their heads trying to figure out how to maintain success in this dynamic environment. Although your chosen niche may have its own unique challenges and opportunities, the recipe for overall success in the recruitment business is fairly simple:

1 Be competitive, but avoid commoditisation;

2 Be the best at what you do;

3 Build and maintain a “stand out” brand;

4 Develop specialist insight; and

5 Build strategic relationships

If you’re serious about future-proofing your recruitment business, consider incorporating these ingredients into your marketing mix. Many of these ideas may not be new to you, but combining them in your business may just be the recipe for sustainability in the currently tumultuous sector.

Be competitive, but avoid commoditisation

The recruitment industry has unfortunately become very transactional and when it’s possible to compare our services to those offered by others who simply procure and provide products then we shouldn’t be surprised that we’re measured and pressured by price.

Being truly competitive in a complex environment such as recruitment requires that you understand how your services compare to those of your competitors. The recruitment industry is estimated in South Africa to be as big as 2000 operators, and that’s a lot of companies to compare to. However, if you realistically consider your size, specialisation and service offering, you’ll probably be able to narrow down the list of real competitors.

It is of course desirable to be the best, but it’s also important to understand where you fit in on the recruitment food chain. Trying to compete with a large firm by simply cutting your fees, not only puts you under pressure to potentially deliver on unrealistic service levels at ridiculously low margins, but it damages the industry as a whole.

A recent conversation with a large manufacturing company confirmed that clients are looking for the best service at the best possible price. The HR Manager explained that although they had a standard SLA in place (that sought to establish the minimum delivery requirements for recruitment suppliers) they had recruitment companies on their preferred supplier listing whose fees ranged from just 10% to nearly 30%. When queried on this large disparity, the answer was simple. Those who gave into the price pressure and dropped to 10% whilst still agreeing to supply

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Find ways to continually grow your knowledge base by subscribing to relevant publications, joining appropriate groups and learning from subject-matter experts in the field. Remember to leverage this expertise and reputation by positioning yourself as an expert via your social media platforms.

Build strategic partnerships

No man is an island, and in today’s increasingly connected world this is truer than ever. All businesses, but especially small ones, need to learn to network and leverage connections that allow them to compete with their bigger competitors.

Consider how you could build strong, long-term mutually beneficial partnerships with your clients, your candidates, shifting the usual “transactional” model to one that is “relational”.

And potentially even some other recruitment companies. Of course, it wouldn’t make sense to cosy up to your direct competition but if you’ve chosen to specialise, why not form a networking alliance with other small agencies that have complimentary, not competing, service offerings?

Leverage your membership of APSO too. APSO provides a range of products and services, many of which are included in your annual subscription fee, that can assist you in keeping on top of your game and adding value to your business and thus, in turn, to your clients and your candidates. If you’re unsure of how APSO can help you, then please feel free to contact our membership officer Sino Sume on 011 615 9417 and she’d be delighted to assist you.

Build and maintain a “Stand Out” brand

Brand awareness is important, especially in a market like recruitment where all companies seem to look and sound the same. Once you’ve identified your unique selling proposition consider how this could be incorporated into your brand identity to ensure that any potential clients and candidates know why you should be their first call.

Remember to consider both target markets: clients and candidates. After all, candidates are an essential component of your business. Both because without them a never-ending pile of job orders is worthless, and many candidates become clients.

An international survey conducted by CareerBuilder.com clearly illustrated that recruitment companies have a lot of work to do in creating brand awareness amongst candidates. Although statistics show that candidates who make use of agencies in their job search secure 45% more interviews and achieve successful placement quicker, just 3% of candidates choose to start their job search by contacting a recruitment agency.

Consider the various channels you could use to get your brand out there, and they certainly don’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. In fact, with the ease in self-publishing via websites, social media, blogs and YouTube, there is almost no reason why you can’t carve out your own niche online as the “go to” recruiter for your chosen sector.

A great brand must be backed up by efficient delivery on your promises. Why not introduce a feedback mechanism with clients and candidates? This will provide you the opportunity to regularly assess if your company (and team) are living up to expectations and delivering the kind of service that could result in repeat business and referrals.

Develop specialist insight

Today, clients have access to many of the tools that recruiters have traditionally used, including full functionality job boards. As a result, unless you’re able to do something better than they can, you’re in danger of becoming redundant. HR and internal recruiters are, by nature, generalists and so one of the ways in which you can cement your place as a valued recruitment partner, is by becoming an expert in a particular field.

Monitor local and global trends within your chosen niche and the recruitment and talent management sector as whole. Make yourself available to your clients to share this insight to enable them to improve their recruitment processes and succeed in attracting, securing and retaining the best talent available.

Shift your thinking from simply “providing CVs” to the role of a professional advisor whose ideas, input and expertise is respected and desired by both clients and candidates.

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From the legal DeskBy: aDv JaNet earLy (aPso ethICs & LegaL oFFICer)

You’ve seen it… the line that appears on most CVs and that recruiters believe eradicates the need to separately contract with clients; “acceptance of this CV means acceptance of our terms and conditions”.

Many recruiters incorrectly believe that this will protect them in the event of a dispute with the client over fees or services. Contracting correctly is critical and should be a non-negotiable step in every business transaction, most especially with clients for whom you are working for the first time.

To guide you, ask yourself the following questions and see how you’d stack up if you were to have to enforce your agreement and secure your rightly earned placement fees.

Do you at the onset identify who you are contracting with, by name? Is the contract clearly made out between yourself and the correct legal entity, the one who will ultimately be responsible for paying your invoice?

Have you verified that the person representing the client is a duly authorised representative of the client and able to contract? Don’t assume that the HR person has the authority to sign a contract of this nature. Verify who the correct person is, and ensure that they sign the agreement in accordance with the company’s protocols.

Have you used definitions to aid understanding and clarity, for example are you and your client in agreement as to what is meant by concepts such as “Candidate”, “Client” or “Engagement”? Never assume that your client understands the terminology that recruiters use. Use this opportunity to discuss the contract and what it means to both parties to ensure 100% understanding of the responsibilities and rights of both parties.

Have you set down the requirements or process to be followed should a clause or aspect of the agreement need to be amended? Legally this would require any amendment or alteration to be reduced to writing, signed and dated. Any changes should be clearly indicated, agreed and accepted by both parties. Again, this limits the changes of an after-the-fact argument “I didn’t realise that this is what you meant” or “I understood that we’d agreed otherwise.” This is especially important if you agree to reduce your fees in exchange for a reduction in service – get it in writing.

Have you set down requirements to manage the process of introduction and clearly defined what constitutes a deemed introduction and placement? Remember that you need to balance your right to protection with the accepted norms of the industry. Is it reasonable to say that if you simply send a CV to your client that they are bound to pay you if they choose to employ that person in future?

Have you clearly defined the extent of your integrity or reference checks and specified when these will be done in the recruitment process? Clients make assumptions! Protect yourself by ensuring that you clearly define what is/isn’t included in your standard service and at what point you undertake these checks.

Have you clearly specified your placement fees in percentage form and clearly stipulated what benefits may be included in the calculation of the total or gross annual remuneration package? CTC, annual remuneration, gross salary, all mean different things. Establish what you mean, i.e. what you will take into account when determining the amount you’ll apply your percentage fee to, upfront. You’re in a poor negotiating position after the candidate has signed the offer as you cannot simply retract them, as you would another product.

Are your payment terms clearly detailed? How, when and what happens if the client fails to pay on time?

What does your guarantee entail, what does it exclude? Be specific. This may need to be reviewed per position as it may be reasonable for the client to expect new CVs for a reception vacancy within 2 weeks of your original candidate leaving, but if it took you 6 months to find that elusive engineer, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to deliver new candidates in such a short space of time.

Have you set down requirements to manage candidate confidentiality and expressly limited your client’s right to contact the candidate directly without your consent? This means making it clear to your client how/when they can contact the candidate, or the candidate’s current or previous employers for that matter.

Have you detailed how you would manage disputes and in what forum? Consider making use of the APSO services, particularly in the event of a fee dispute. This could avoid any costly legal engagements or an unmanaged dispute where, even if you win, you lose because the client will likely choose not to engage your services again.

If legal action is to be instituted have you provided for disclosure of Domicilium citandi et executandi for service of all legal processes and limited legal remedy to that of the magistrate’s court jurisdiction? This simply means“the physical address for delivering legal documents or the physical address where a summons or other official notice should be served if necessary.” In South Africa, where there are multiple branches or subsidies of the same company, this would be required to be its registered head office.

Has your contract been reduced in writing with appropriate signature before engagement? Although verbal contracts can be upheld, it’s definitely more difficult and always leaves room for misunderstanding and re-negotiation. Your contract needn’t be complex, or too long. In fact a concise document that simply sets out who will do what, when and how, is the best. Ensure that you agree before starting the assignment and make sure you have a signed copy to hand, just in case.

Contracting doesn’t have to be complicated and it doesn’t need lawyers, it is however a crucial aspect to good business practice and risk mitigation. Review your current contract and see whether it needs to be reviewed and then ensure that you, and your consultants, understand how to explain your terms of business and get your clients to sign before going ahead. After all, in a largely contingency based business, recruiters are the ones who are most likely to get the short end of the stick if the deal goes bad.

SERviCE LEvEL AGREEmEnTS – ARE youR TERmS AnD ConDiTionS

ConTRACTuALLy CompLiAnT AnD inDuSTRy SpECiFiC?

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b) Verification of qualifications:

• Mutual agreement is required to be reached on what relevant qualifications need to be checked and whether your client requires a full qualification verification stretching back as far as matric, for example, as is often the requirement when dealing with large financial or insurance institutions.

• Where the progression of qualifications listed is beyond the expert knowledge of the consultant, verification should be obtained as to relevance or authenticity from a profession body regulating that sector or from the relevant faculty offering that qualification.

• Disclosure should also be given on how these checks are conducted and then agree upon the process of verification.

c) Credit, Criminal and Medical checks:

• Although there is no legislation specifically prohibiting the checking of credit references of job applicants, you should proceed with caution. If challenged in court, the onus would be on the member to prove that credit checking was essential due to the operational requirements of the job. The National Credit Act forbids an employer (or recruiter) from discriminating based on an ITC record, except if the employee will be handling cash or hold a position of seniority or trust. So even if you are, for example, recruiting for a position as a bank cashier, establishing that an applicant has a bad credit reference does not imply she will steal. From a risk management perspective, mutual agreement must be reached with your client on the operational necessity of a credit check relating to the job specification and once established and recorded, agreement must be reached on the manner and degree of disclosure of the credit check to your client

• When dealing with criminal checks, mutual agreement must be reached on the timing, manner, extent, depth and process of verification. As a service provider you would need to ensure that you use a reputable verification service and that your client has agreed to the method of verification, that being either ID number/name or the more-in-depth fingerprint checks. Time-frames required for verification and possible delays must be appropriately managed. Furthermore a full disclosure of positive results must be made to your client and where these raise suspicion or reveal a potential red flag, for example a conflict between ID number and disclosed name of the candidate, further investigations must be made.

• Medical testing is prohibited, unless legislation permits or requires the testing, or it is justifiable in the light of medical facts, employment conditions or the inherent requirements of the job as specified in Section 7 of the Employment Equity Act. Medical testing includes any test, enquiry, question or other means designed to ascertain or which has the effect of enabling the employer to ascertain, whether a prospective employee has a medical condition.

Naturally it would be beyond the scope of any standard service level agreement to contractually manage every expectation which may also constantly change or evolve. A standard check-list completed and signed by the consultant and client and attached to the job assignment addressing these aspects will provide certainly and clarity to both parties. This could simply be referred to as an addendum in your standard service level agreement.

Potential legal remedies available to your client if you fail to deliver on your contractual obligations include: damages awarded for breach of contract; delictual damages if the client acted to their detriment upon a false or misleading representation made and/or a criminal charge of fraud.

ESTABLiShinG AnD mAnAGinG youR ConTRACTuAL oBLiGATionS – Reference checking: Reference checking is a common activity that recruiters perform as part of their service to clients. However, not all clients understand what kind of verification checks you will perform, employment history, criminal, credit or qualification? Protect yourself by understanding the legal and contractual obligations you have in delivering to your clients and candidates.

Subsection 20(3) of the Employment Equity Act requires one when assessing the suitability of a job applicant, to use one or all of the following four criteria:

a. Formal qualificationsb. Prior learningc. Relevant experienced. Capacity to acquire within a reasonable period, the ability

to do the job. The Act however fails to define these.

Effective reference checking processes while operating within the constraints of law that offer Constitutional legal protections against discrimination and privacy, and within the boundaries of the APSO Code of Ethical and Professional Practice provide the tools to meet both legal and ethical demands. Turning firstly to the Code of Ethical and Professional Practice, the following is required to be adhered to:

Clause 2.6.3 - Reference checks shall be taken out at an appropriate time in the recruitment process as mutually agreed with the Client;

Clause 2.6.4 - Verification of qualifications shall be carried out at an appropriate time in the recruitment process as mutually agreed with the Client;

Clause 2.7 - Requirements for Credit, Criminal and other checks must be agreed with the Client.

Contractually this requires that mutual agreement must be reached with your client to manage their expectations on all levels of the reference checking process. Some aspects to consider are:

a) Employment reference checks:

• Mutual agreement must be reached on how many reference checks your client will require you to provide with the understanding that a referee is not obliged to give a reference other than to confirm a position and period of employment.

• From a risk management perspective, it is recommended that a verbal reference be reduced in writing and confirmed with signature by the referee. Furthermore that the consultant responsible for the placement be the person who conducts the reference checks to ensure the questions asked are relevant and have bearing on the job assignment. This process also ensures that a referee has the opportunity to correct any misconceptions or inaccuracies that may arise.

• Agreement must also be reached on when in the recruitment process these are required to be conducted.

• Disclosure must be made if a reference has not been able to be traced or if a referee is a family member. The onus rests on the member to verify that the referee is, who he or she is represented to be in terms of position held and reporting structure.

• Furthermore if a CV presents facts that raise a potential red flag, for example where a candidate states reason for leaving due to company closure on numerous occasions, this should be independently verified and disclosed.

From the legal Desk

16

Desperately seeking a great recruiter...

staFFINg

The question most often asked of me by recruitment business owners is “where can I find a good recruiter?” I hear tales of woe about recruiting individuals who seem to fit the profile and yet who struggle to make it in today’s recruitment environment and of previously successful consultants failing to make target. And this got me to thinking.... what has changed that has resulted in this apparent dearth of recruitment talent?

A different marketplace

The skills landscape is vastly different today, than it was a decade ago, when it was relatively easy to source suitably skilled individuals that met the client’s requirements including budgetary constraints. The key differentiator in that market was whether your agency could sell more convincingly than your competitor to get the job spec and then to get the candidate CVs to the client first. In that market sales ability was paramount and the better sales consultants generally were the biggest billers.

Today, the market is a lot tougher. Clients are constantly seeking ways to cut their recruitment costs and have higher expectations of the candidates they wish to employ, without necessarily taking into consideration the skills shortage and resultant wage war being fought for the best candidates. In this environment, sales ability is simply not enough. Clients expect their consultants to provide value added services and subject-matter expertise. Interestingly, the biggest billers today seem to be those consultants who don’t fit the traditional DISC sales profile but rather those that have an excellent understanding of their chosen niche and an ever-increasing network of professional contacts within that circle.

Shift from transactional to relational recruitment

In a market where work abounds and sales ability was abundant is the key driver, recruitment, became very transactional. Get a job spec, source some candidates, forward candidates to clients, facilitate interviews, make placement, and get paid. It was all about numbers!

Consultants who’ve been in the industry for a long time and who were traditionally big billers are finding themselves a little lost at sea in today’s market where transaction-based recruitment is waning. The personality profile of the traditional big biller is one whereby they are motivated by the deal and their potential commission, and their methodology is focused on the transactional elements that

will get them to success.

Conversely, those consultants who have never been the big billers but who have consistently made placements, albeit at a slower pace, seem to be coping better. They generally don’t display typical sales techniques but because they make the best matches, based on relational recruitment skills, the candidates they place succeed in their new roles and their placements stick. As a result they get recommendations and referrals aplenty although the actual number of placements they work on per client is lower due to lower staff turnover rates in these companies.

The upside to relational recruitment models is that they’re less likely to be squeezed on the fee front. In a purely transactional environment the concept of recruitment is commoditised and

negotiations about fees tend to follow the path of other commodities, i.e. he who is cheaper wins. When success can be measured by performance of the individuals sourced by a recruiter who truly understands what the business needs, what makes the candidate tick and how these requirements can be best matched, it’s easier to maintain higher fee levels associated with a specialised professional service.

A sense of purpose

In the past decade that I’ve been working in

the staffing sector, I’ve come to realise that being a “lifer” in the recruitment industry is a reality. Although staff turnover is high in this industry, especially at entry level, those that choose to make this their career have a definite sense of purpose, and it doesn’t only boil down to making lots of commission.

Most successful recruiters with longevity in the industry will tell you that they do this job, not only because it can be financially rewarding, but because they get a real kick out of helping their clients and their candidates achieve their goals. They are truly invested in making a difference.

“Call it a value proposition; call it a mission statement, but your purpose defines why you come into work every day. It helps you to move past setbacks and disappointments, and helps to make your personal brand more enticing. Successful recruiters have a great purpose – to help companies grow by finding them great talent, and assisting individuals to reach their career goals.”

Yes, you do want to hire individuals who are excited by the prospect

BY NAtAlie SiNgeR

1716

staFFINg

of success, but don’t necessarily discount the one that believes that money isn’t everything. Who knows, they may well turn out to be your most successful consultant yet?

A changing profile

I remember well my interview to be considered for my first job in recruitment. I was asked endless questions about my resilience, ability to accept hearing many no’s and to keep picking up the phone and making the stipulated number of cold calls per week. I completed the DISC profile and was invited to join the agency based on my apparently high levels of dominance, influence and sufficient compliance. And, whilst I was very successful as a consultant, I did often question the value of making endless sales calls instead of focusing on building long-term mutually beneficial relationships with both clients and candidates.

Today, I’d argue that if you’re still applying the same job spec and personality profile to your recruitment endeavours then you’ll likely be disappointed by the results. The traditional hardcore sales person will be frustrated by the drawn out processes associated with securing work from clients, particularly as more and more head down the tender and preferred supplier road, and your potential clients will become disillusioned by the obvious selling that is being pitched to them.

So, what should you be looking for?

I firmly believe that today’s recruiter needs to be passionate about the industry in which he/she is going to work and be willing to become immersed in the sector, truly understanding the nuances and working hard to build a reputation as the “go to” guy or girl for companies seeking talent and individuals on the lookout for opportunities.

They must of course not be afraid to engage with strangers and to be influential in terms of developing relationships, securing business and convincing individuals to consider a new opportunity. Influence, unlike sales, does not follow a formula and is dependent largely on the ability of the consultant to “talk the talk and walk the walk” and to command respect.

With the scarcity of talent and the escalating incidences of fraud, today’s successful consultant also needs to be somewhat of a cyber sleuth. They should be curious, willing to put in the time to do research, develop talent maps, engage people and invest in relationships and of course to get to the bottom of the matter.

The ability to adapt to changing technology is also imperative as many of today’s best tools are found online. Utilising technology, including social media platforms, to source talent, to establish themselves as a subject-matter expert and to build networks is critical, and currently one of the areas that recruiters are able to do better than their HR counterparts.

It goes without saying that successful consultants must have the highest levels of integrity and to operate within the bounds of the acceptable ethics and best practice standards. Simply doing what needs to be done to close the deal doesn’t cut it and the writing is on the wall for consultants who’ve made their money in this fashion. Companies and individual candidates are aware of doing “good business” and their rights, and are unaccepting of behaviour that does not conform to the highest levels of professionalism.

Are you fishing in the right pond?

For a long time, the best place to find potential recruiters was always in service sales and whilst there is still merit in this, it may

be worthwhile widening your net. Depending on the nature of your recruitment business, and the market you service, why not consider getting someone from that industry? Increasingly we’re seeing accountants recruiting accountants, IT finding IT, and engineers sourcing engineers. Especially in technical spaces, someone from that industry is best suited to identify and assess talent.

Teachers and journalists may also prove to be a good choice as they exhibit many of the characteristics and traits that are needed by today’s relational recruiter. They generally have good communication skills, are able to interrogate people and situations and to influence the outcome whilst managing administrative duties in a deadline-driven environment. In fact, ask around, you may be surprised how many of your recruitment colleagues previously started their careers in one of these professions.

Accepting that you may well have been looking in all the wrong places is the just the start of the journey to finding great future recruiters. Spend some time re-assessing your environment and comparing this to the job profile you’ve drawn up. Think about those people within your existing team who are consistently successful today and find ways to source others like them. Be open-minded and you may be pleasantly surprised.

10 Traits of Successful Recruiters1. Structured. Organisation and discipline is critical.

2. Adaptability. Multi-tasking and shifting priorities quickly is essential.

3. Curiosity. Never being afraid to ask questions. Becoming an expert takes time and commitment to continuous learning.

4. Partnership. Be the expert advisor to both clients and candidates and work together to the common goal of successful placement.

5. Personal connections. Pick up the phone and talk to people, don’t simply rely on technology.

6. Prioritising. Quickly being able to identify the most important task and getting it done, “working closest to the money”

7. Innovation. Finding better ways to do things, including combining new technologies with tried and tested recruitment techniques.

8. Patience. The recruitment process has slowed down and whilst the recruiter may have an urgency to complete, the client or candidate may need time to make the best decision.

9. Resilience. Recruiters hear “no” more than “yes” and the ability to bounce back from setbacks or rejection is non-negotiable.

10. Strong support system. Recruitment is not a 8 -5 job and can be emotionally taxing. A strong family/friends support system will help to maintain motivation and success.

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The 2012-13 edition of the World Economic Forum’s annual Global Competitiveness Index, is a tale of two contrasts when one looks at how South Africa ranks across the various pillars. It’s a sad indictment that South Africa’s potential as a desired foreign direct investment destination is clouded by poor scores in the education, labour market efficiency and health arenas.

A slip down the rankings

In 2011-12, South Africa gained four places, to be ranked 50th out of 142 countries in terms of the overall global competitiveness index (GCI). However, this year we’ve dropped again to 52nd (out of 144) as our ratings in the labour market and education sectors pull us down.

If it weren’t for our exceptional performances in areas relating to our corporate governance; Efficacy of Corporate Boards (1st), Protection of Minority Shareholder’s Interests (2nd) and Strength of Auditing and Reporting Standards (1st), and of course our financial institutions; Soundness of Banks (2nd), Regulation of Securities Exchanges (1st) and Legal Rights Index (1st), South Africa would possibly be placed far lower on the rankings.

If one were to solely look at our financial and institution rankings South Africa would appear to be the ideal place for savvy investors in terms of investing their money and ensuring its safety in an otherwise volatile global marketplace. However, the extremely poor rankings in labour market efficiency and education standards, call into question the security of funds placed in markets that require consistent future development and predictable economic growth.

An unattractive employment destination

Sadly, South Africa has the dubious honour of ranking stone last, i.e. 144th in terms of Cooperation in Labour-Employer Relations and the recent violence in the mining sector will no doubt stir up concerns across the world about our ability to manage industrial relations effectively. Of course the fact that we rank 140th in terms of Flexibility of Wage Determination doesn’t help our labour market efficiency or competitiveness, specifically when compared directly to our BRICS counterparts.

We also rank second worst (143rd) in terms of Hiring and Firing Practices and with the impending legislation set to become law soon, we will likely see ourselves slip to the absolute bottom of the rankings in years to come.

Frighteningly, the impact of unmanaged health issues, such as Tuberculosis cases per 100000/population (143rd), Business Impact of Tuberculosis (132nd) and Business Impact of HIV/AIDS (135th), also contributes to a less productive and more burdened workplace.

And with Pay and Productivity ranking 134/144 it’s no wonder that labour intensive foreign direct investment is leaving our shores for countries with better return on investment and where labour stability is coupled with higher productivity and output.

World’s worst

Most concerning however is how dismally we perform in the areas of education and training, especially as we have an extremely young population (with nearly 40% of all South Africans under the age of 19 years old), who will need to be absorbed into the labour market.

South Africa is ranked 5th worst in the world in terms of the overall Quality of the Education System

(140th) and Quality of Primary Education at a forlorn 132nd. If one considers that we are ranked second worst (143rd) in Quality of Maths and Science Education, it is a wonder that we manage to rank at 122nd in relation to the Availability of Scientists and Engineers.

As a sector reliant on a skilled talent pipeline, the staffing industry should be

concerned about the continual decline of the education system and the fact that more

and more people are being churned out of a system that fails to establish even the most basic

foundational skills and knowledge.

Where to from here?

These two contrasting aspects (extremely favourable ratings in corporate governance and finance and devastating ratings in labour market efficiency and education) are interlinked and serve to drive South Africa downwards each year.

In most of the other pillars South Africa scores relatively highly with average rankings in the mid 40s and if we could work on improving our education standards and reviewing our labour market policies to be more aligned to new world realities such as the global requirement

for adaptable businesses, including the need to encourage and facilitate smoother transitions in a flexible way, we should see a significant improvement in our rankings and consequently greater interest from foreign direct investors.

A country of major contrast, according to WEF Global Competitiveness Report BY: NAtAlie SiNgeR

South Africa:

If one were to solely look at our financial and institution rankings South Africa would appear to be the ideal place for savvy investors in terms of

investing their money and ensuring its safety in an otherwise volatile global marketplace.

gLoBaL Perspective

2120

Creating new jobs is not easy and development in terms of this is slow. It seems that youth unemployment is often where the problem is worst. Job creation is fast becoming a global priority with the labour force in the developing world projected to increase by 50 percent by 2050. In sub-Saharan Africa, the number is expected to increase by 100 percent.

Reasons for this can certainly be attributed to the increasing global population. Although birth rates are falling in some parts of the world, they’re increasing in others and as healthcare improves, people are simply living longer with the accompanying need to work longer to provide for themselves. With the population expected to reach nine billion by 2050 – can there ever be enough jobs created?

As people live longer, the issue of the semi-retired worker that is unable to fully retire without a supplementary income, is becoming a conundrum in the workplace. Increasingly, these workers are holding part-time positions previously given to young people and scholars. As the education standards continue to dip it is likely that companies, when given the choice between an experienced older worker and an inexperienced and under-educated young person, will opt for the former.

With this as a background, how can we create jobs for this emerging young workforce?

It makes sense that a possible answer to job creation would be entrepreneurship. A study done in America by the Kauffman Foundation, an American outfit devoted to entrepreneurship, calculates that between 1980 and 2005 nearly all nett job creation in America took place in firms that were less than five years old. “They are also the firms most likely to raise productivity, a basis for economic growth. They created jobs that did not previously exist and solved problems that people assumed were part of the natural order of things.” (The Economist, February 24, 2011).

Would this work in South Africa?

A study done in South Africa by J Kroon, S.de Klerk and A Dippenaar, shows that entrepreneurship will most certainly assist the economy, job creation and alleviation of poverty. The study stresses the importance of implementing youth entrepreneurial learnership programmes for a country’s economic development where entrepreneurs initiate change and renewal.

Entrepreneurship in South Africa has become more important than ever. Small businesses have been created and large corporations

are looking for employees who think in entrepreneurial terms. There is insufficient evidence that educational institutions give our youth the tools they require to succeed. Entrepreneurial education should place emphasis on creating an awareness of the option of self-employment, thus generating interest in acquiring skills to start successful businesses of their own. A lifelong Entrepreneurial educational model is required and all young people should ideally be exposed to this.

Unfortunately economic growth and job creation is still one of SA’s biggest problems. The skill requirements of the workplace have changed faster than the educational systems capacity to provide these skills effectively. And the gap between employers’ need for skilled workers and the skills (or even possible lack thereof) the youth bring to the labour market has been widening, bringing a distinct mismatch

between what the youth offers and the demands of the dynamic, ever-more competitive labour market.

The recent debacle of the failure to deliver textbooks to schools in some provinces once again highlights the critical need for something serious to be done about the public education system. Children cannot be expected to develop into productive and employable individuals without the foundations learned at school and businesses cannot realistically be expected to take on individuals who do not possess the basic knowledge and skills required for entry.

A survey conducted among businesses in the mid-2000s, showed that while businesses firmly believe that entrepreneurially skilled workers would contribute to economic growth and ultimately higher profits in business, they unfortunately did not feel obligated towards an involvement with schools or investments in the community. Although this has changed of late, with many businesses using their BBBEE scorecard as a motivator for investing in community-oriented projects, Government still has to take ultimate responsibility for developing an education framework that meets the needs of the 21st century.

South Africa has an unprecedented opportunity to invest in its youth if we want to create a successful future and growth for all, but timing is critical. As the global youth uprisings will attest, failure to address the increasing numbers of frustrated young people can result in total anarchy but with the right investment, especially in appropriate education, South Africa’s large youth population could become an economically-productive force that is attractive to the global market.

BY: ziNA giRAlD

LoCaL landscape

22

Business people today are working more collaboratively than ever before, not just inside companies but also with suppliers, customers, governments and universities. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, video conferencing and a host of other technologies have put connectivity on steroids and enabled new forms of collaboration that would have been impossible a short while ago.

Herminia Ibarra, a professor of organisational behaviour and Morten T. Hansen, a management professor at Berkley, joined forces to unpack what it means to be a collaborative leader and produced a detailed paper for the Harvard Business Review. This article seeks to highlight some of their key findings.

After thorough research the professors determined that all collabo-rative leaders share strong skills in four areas:

1. Playing the role of connector;

2. Attracting diverse talent;

3. Modelling collaboration at the top; and

4. Showing a strong hand to keep teams from getting mired in debate

Play global connector

In his best-selling book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell used the term “connector” to describe individuals who have many ties to different social worlds. It’s not the number of people they know that makes connectors significant, however; it’s their ability to link people, ideas and resources that wouldn’t normally bump into one another. In business, connectors are facilitators of collaboration.

Connectors are not limited to leaders in roles such as President or CEO as many individuals may provide the bridge between their organisation and the outside world today. To connect their organisations to the wider world, collaborative leaders develop contacts not only in the typical areas – local clubs, industry associations, and customer-supplier relations – but beyond them. Networking in adjacent industries, innovation hot spots or emerging economies or with people of different educational or ethnic backgrounds, helps open their eyes to new business opportunities and partners.

Engage talent at the periphery

Research has consistently shown that diverse teams produce better results, provided that they are well led. The ability to bring together people from different backgrounds,

disciplines, cultures and generations and leverage all they have to offer, therefore, is a must-have for leaders. Yet many companies spend inordinate amounts of time, money, and energy attracting talented employees only to subject them to induction processes that seek to homogenise them and kill diversity and creativity.

Research on creative industries shows that collaborations that are most successful (whether in terms of patent citation, critical acclaim, or financial return) include both experienced people and newcomers and bring together people who haven’t worked together before. Leaders need to make a concerted effort to promote this mix: Left to their own devices, people will choose to collaborate with others they know well or who have a similar background. Collaborative leaders ensure that their teams stay fresh via periodic infusions of new players.

Collaborate at the top first

It’s not enough for leaders to spot collaborative opportunities and attract the best talent to them. They must also set the tone by being good collaborators themselves. All too often, efforts to collaborate in the middle are sabotaged by political games and turf battles higher up in the organisation.

Part of the problem is that many leadership teams are composed as individual divisional leaders and don’t operate as teams. Each member is solely responsible for his or her own region, function, product or service without much incentive for aligning the organisation as an inherent whole.

If leaders are to encourage more innovation through partnerships across sectors and with suppliers, customers and consumers, they need to stop relying heavily on short-term performance indicators. According to the psychologist Carol Dweck, people are driven to do tasks by either performance or learning goals. When performance goals dominate an environment, people are motivated to show

others that they have a valued attribute, such as intelligence or leadership. When learning goals dominate, they are motivated to develop the attribute. Performance goals, she finds, induce people to favour tasks that will make them look good over tasks that will help them learn. A shift towards learning goals will make managers more open to exploring opportunities to acquire knowledge from others.

De-politicising senior manage-ment so that executives are rewarded for collaboration rather than promotion of individual agendas is an absolute essential.

maNagemeNt

extRACtS FROM hARvARD BuSiNeSS Review, heRMiNiA iBARRA & MORteN t. hANSeN (Aug 2011)

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Show a strong hand

Once leaders start getting employees to collaborate, they face a different problem: overdoing it. Too often people will try to collaborate on everything and wind up in endless meetings, debating ideas and struggling to find consensus. They can’t reach a decision and execute quickly. Collaboration becomes not the oil greasing the wheel but rather the sand grinding it to a halt.

Effective collaborative leaders assume a strong role in directing teams. They maintain agility by forming and disbanding teams as opportunities come and go – in much the same way that Hollywood producers, directors, actors, writers and technicians establish teams for the lifecycle of a movie project. Collaborative efforts are highly fluid and not confined to company silos.

Effective leaders also assign clear decision rights and responsibilities, so that at the appropriate point someone can end the discussion and make a final decision.

Loosening control without losing control

In the old world of silos and solo players, leaders had access to everything they needed under one roof, and a command-and-

control style served them well. But things have changed: The world has become much more interconnected, and if executives don’t know how to tap into the power of those connections, they’ll be left behind.

Leaders today must be able to harness ideas, people, and resources from across boundaries of all kinds. That requires reinventing their talent strategies and building strong connections both inside and outside their organisations. To get all the disparate players to work together effectively, they also need to know when to wield their influence rather than authority to move things forward, and when to halt unproductive discussions, squash politicking, and make final calls.

Differences in convictions, cultural values, and operating norms inevitably add complexity to collaborative efforts. But they also make them richer, more innovative, and more valuable. Getting value is at the heart of collaborative leadership.

Collaboration does not equal Consensus

Collaborative leadership is the capacity to engage people and groups outside one’s formal control and inspire them to work towards a common goal – despite differences in convictions, values, and operating norms. Most people understand intuitively that collaborative leadership is the opposite of the old command-and-control model, but the differences with consensus-based approaches are more nuanced. Below are some helpful distinctions between the three leadership styles.

COMPARING THREE STYLES OF LEADERSHIPCOMMAND AND CONTROL CONSENSUS COLLABORATIVE

Organisational structure Hierarchy Matrix/Smaller Group Dispersed, cross-organisational network

Who has the relevant information?

Senior management Formally designated members/representatives of the relevant disciplines

Employees at all levels and locations and variety of external stakeholders

Who has the authority to make final decisions?

The people at the top of the organisation with clear authority

All parties have equal authority The people leading collaborations have clear authority

What is the basis for accountability and control?

Financial results against business plan

Many performance indicators, by function or geography

Performance on achieving shared goals

Where does it work best? Works well within a defined hierarchy; works poorly for complex organisations and when innovations is important

Works well in small teams; works poorly when speed/execution is important

Works well for diverse groups and cross-unit and cross-company work, and when innovation and creativity are critical

maNagemeNt

extRACtS FROM hARvARD BuSiNeSS Review, heRMiNiA iBARRA & MORteN t. hANSeN (Aug 2011)

24

CAReeR JuNCtiON

Please join us on and .

Call us on: 0860 00 2020Email us at sales@careerjunction.co.zaVisit our services site at www.onejunction.co.za

In June 2012 we started our monthly Live The Good Life competition.CareerSeekers can win amazing Career Gear like laptops, smartphonesand shopping sprees. For more info, check out the competition websiteat www.junction.co.za/thegoodlife.

Here at CareerJunction, we’ve listened to what our clients want. We have invested a great deal of time and effort in making sure we give Recruiters new wow-tools and amazing customer service, not to mention new flexible packages to suit your every need and budget.

START RECRUITING TODAY

CareerJunction

RecruiterAwards2012 Recruiter of the Year.

of all CareerSeekers who registeredand completed their Resumes onCareerJunction, have made it searchable.

In October CareerJunction will be hosting The Network event in Cape Town. The Network is an alliance of leading job boards across the world (120 offices). This will be the first time it’s hosted on African soil, so we’re looking forward to sharing our friendly country and city with them. We’re the only job board in South Africa that is part of this alliance. Learn more at www.the-network.com

Our next RecruiterAwards is coming soon. This prestigious event recognises service excellence inSA’s recruitment industry. Kris Jarzebowski, CEO of CareerJunction, will also be giving feedbackfrom the HR Conference he will be presenting at, in Las Vegas.

SHARE YOUR JOBS!You can share your jobs from CareerJunction to your company pages on

Over the last 15 months, the Government & Local Government sector has been experiencing signifi-cant growth in job ad volumes. Stay up to date with online labour trends with our free reports and analysis. Download your copy at www.cji.co.za.

Did you know that you can measure your Recruitment success by using our Placement Tracker (and Reporting tools) to monitor your return on investment?

Traffic to our mobile site is booming! We’ve seen over 200% growth from month to month in visits to our mobile site. That’s over 80,000 users. Just one more way we take your jobs to where the people are.

With over 2,2 Million CareerSeekers, you’re spoiltfor choice and it’s growing by a 1,000 daily! Here’s more of what we’ve been up to:

CareerSeek, CareerJunction's new monthly eMag talks directly

to South Africa’s CareerSeekers. It was launched in June2012 and is every young professional’s guide to a great

working life. It abounds with career advice, freshjob opportunities and inspiring stories for young

professionals in the job market. View your copy at www.careerjunction.co.za/careerseek.

A warm welcome to our latest partners, Yellow Pages,HPCSA, All4Women.co.za and MedPages who now offer our jobs search on their websites. Translation? More exposure for your jobs at no additional charge.

100% of CareerSeekers are searchable byRecruitment Agencies on CareerJunction.

2524

CAReeR JuNCtiON

Please join us on and .

Call us on: 0860 00 2020Email us at sales@careerjunction.co.zaVisit our services site at www.onejunction.co.za

In June 2012 we started our monthly Live The Good Life competition.CareerSeekers can win amazing Career Gear like laptops, smartphonesand shopping sprees. For more info, check out the competition websiteat www.junction.co.za/thegoodlife.

Here at CareerJunction, we’ve listened to what our clients want. We have invested a great deal of time and effort in making sure we give Recruiters new wow-tools and amazing customer service, not to mention new flexible packages to suit your every need and budget.

START RECRUITING TODAY

CareerJunction

RecruiterAwards2012 Recruiter of the Year.

of all CareerSeekers who registeredand completed their Resumes onCareerJunction, have made it searchable.

In October CareerJunction will be hosting The Network event in Cape Town. The Network is an alliance of leading job boards across the world (120 offices). This will be the first time it’s hosted on African soil, so we’re looking forward to sharing our friendly country and city with them. We’re the only job board in South Africa that is part of this alliance. Learn more at www.the-network.com

Our next RecruiterAwards is coming soon. This prestigious event recognises service excellence inSA’s recruitment industry. Kris Jarzebowski, CEO of CareerJunction, will also be giving feedbackfrom the HR Conference he will be presenting at, in Las Vegas.

SHARE YOUR JOBS!You can share your jobs from CareerJunction to your company pages on

Over the last 15 months, the Government & Local Government sector has been experiencing signifi-cant growth in job ad volumes. Stay up to date with online labour trends with our free reports and analysis. Download your copy at www.cji.co.za.

Did you know that you can measure your Recruitment success by using our Placement Tracker (and Reporting tools) to monitor your return on investment?

Traffic to our mobile site is booming! We’ve seen over 200% growth from month to month in visits to our mobile site. That’s over 80,000 users. Just one more way we take your jobs to where the people are.

With over 2,2 Million CareerSeekers, you’re spoiltfor choice and it’s growing by a 1,000 daily! Here’s more of what we’ve been up to:

CareerSeek, CareerJunction's new monthly eMag talks directly

to South Africa’s CareerSeekers. It was launched in June2012 and is every young professional’s guide to a great

working life. It abounds with career advice, freshjob opportunities and inspiring stories for young

professionals in the job market. View your copy at www.careerjunction.co.za/careerseek.

A warm welcome to our latest partners, Yellow Pages,HPCSA, All4Women.co.za and MedPages who now offer our jobs search on their websites. Translation? More exposure for your jobs at no additional charge.

100% of CareerSeekers are searchable byRecruitment Agencies on CareerJunction.

26

BY gReg SAvAge, FiRSt APPeAReD ON hiS BlOg “the SAvAge tRuth”

lives. We solve companies staffing issues. We help people further their career ambitions. Fantastic!

One of the beautiful things about our business is that it is so measurable. This does not suit everybody I know, but in recruiting there is nowhere to hide, and I like that. If you have the right temperament, you will thrive in this competitive environment, love the fact that you can measure yourself against your competitors and colleagues, and revel in the transparency of fee-tables and pay-by-results. Truly in our business, you eat what you kill.

You can own your market. If you have longevity, if you maintain integrity, if you deliver service and outcomes that your customers want… you can elevate yourself to be a true trusted advisor; and then recruitment becomes a beautiful, beautiful thing. All your work is exclusive, all your candidates come via referrals

and commendations, clients treat you with respect, seek your advice, and bring you into their tent. You actually ‘own’ your patch and that is a wonderful place to be!

Yes it’s true. Recruiting rocks!When it all boils down, what all of us want from a great job is just two things. Fun & Money. And if you’re a great recruiter you’ll get lots of both. The fun of winning, the fun of finding people jobs, the fun of working in a job that actually counts. And money? I don’t mean how much you earn, although of course that important. I mean working in a job where you get a great return on your efforts. That is where it is at!

So if you are having a down day. Never forget. Fun and money. Recruitment rocks!

Recruiting is a win/win/win. Unlike most commercial transactions, recruiting is not a win/lose scenario. If I sell you a car I aim for the highest price, you push for the lowest. One of us will feel we ‘won’, the other a bit despondent that we ‘lost’. But in the perfect recruitment scenario everybody wins. Happy client, happy candidate, happy you. This is not as trivial as it seems. There is something intensely rewarding about doing a job where everyone is grateful, everyone is excited with the outcome… and then you get paid as well.

You create great outcomes. Maybe the coolest thing about being a recruiter is that this is a job where you actually make good things happen. The candidate is reluctant to go on an interview, but through your influencing skills they reluctantly go along, do fantastically well, love the job, and get hired! The client won’t see your top talent because of something they spotted in the CV, but you persist, explaining the person is better than the paper, the client relents and your talent gets the job, gets promoted and in time becomes your client!

For me, when I recruited, this was the real buzz. Making things happen and controlling the process. I would often crack open a beer on Friday and reflect. That would NOT have happened if I had not seen the opportunity and influenced the outcome. Beyond cool, and of course that leads us to another reason why recruiting rocks.

What we do actually matters. I mean it really matters. Recruiters get a horrific rap sometimes, and often it’s deserved but hey, at the end of the day, we find people jobs! And that’s a good thing right? Something to be proud of. It makes an impact. We change people’s

I love being a recruiter. Seriously, I think it’s the best job in the world. Yet 80% of people who enter this industry, fail in the first 2 years, leave, and are never sighted again. And it’s true; it is tough being a recruiter. And I believe in the modern era it’s getting even harder. During the downturn it got even worse. We all worked harder and harder, and earned less and less. On top of that, our customers seem to resent us more than ever, as can be seen in my recent blog, ‘God I hate recruiters’. Ironically there is a fate worse than being amongst the 80% of recruiters who fail. Yes, being an average, mediocre, ploddy recruiter who survives is real purgatory. Why? Because this job is too hard and has too many disappointments not to be great at it! You have to be a great recruiter to reap the rewards that make it all worthwhile. So for the top 5%, the cream, recruiting is the coolest job in the world. Here’s why:

BLogosPhere

2726

The recruitment & staffing landscape in South Africa is changing dramatically, on a number of levels, and these shifts have caused angst amongst recruitment business owners who’re struggling to come to terms with these changes and the necessary adaption of their business models. Although many of the issues facing South African recruiters are also felt by their international counterparts, the fact that so many of these changes are happening simultaneously means that some of the obstacles appear insurmountable.

The Federation of African Professional Staffing Organisations (APSO) is committed to professionalising the industry and in empowering its members, the majority of whom are small owner-managed businesses, to manage the dynamic nature of the sector and to adapt their service offerings to remain relevant, profitable and of course sustainable into the future.

Paradox: Extreme unemployment but scarcity of skill

At the heart of South Africa’s many problems lies the ever-increasing scourge of unemployment. According to statistics released for 1st quarter 2012, the official expanded unemployment rate sits at 33.8% although others suggest that as many as 60% of South Africa’s working age population are unemployed.

In addition, the country is experiencing increasing levels of scarcity of skill, particularly within the technical occupations, where the average age of qualified artisans is nearing 60 years old. The education system is failing desperately and many young people are exiting secondary education with Matric certificates yet still functionally illiterate and less than 12% annually achieve passes in Maths and Science. The lack of a competent education system presents an enormous threat to the country’s talent pipeline.

As a result of these two extremes, recruiters are faced daily with the difficult task of sourcing skilled individuals whilst simultaneously managing the administrative burden and expectations of literally thousands of unsuitable applicants.

Regulation review

South Africa’s labour legislation is currently under review and, in particular, regulations to govern the recruitment/staffing sector are being proposed. The implications for the temporary employment services (TES) sector are very concerning as the proposed amendments seek to severely curtail the use of TES, heading in the total opposite direction to the rest of the world who recognise that flexibility in today’s volatile economy is essential. Part of these proposals includes the development of a specific regulatory framework for the licensing of recruitment companies, including adherence to compliance, ethics and professional standards.

Whilst APSO has long advocated the need to professionalise and regulate the industry, we do not support the restrictive measures proposed, specifically for TES. Tabea Magodielo, APSO President says, “we are actively

South African Recruiters

involved in negotiations with the social partners, including Government, in an attempt to ensure that any regulation that is promulgated is fair, reasonable and effectively enforced.”

Technology: Friend or foe?

South Africa has had a very unique situation in that, until two years ago, job portals were solely accessible to recruiters creating exclusive access to online candidates. A couple of years ago the major job boards took the decision to allow corporate companies (clients) to advertise alongside recruiters but continued to restrict their access to database search. Just a few months ago the largest job board in the country made an announcement, to the horror of many recruiters, to allow their corporate clients to have full access to the services previously only offered to their recruiter customer base. This has caused major consternation in the market and only time will tell what real impact this will have on the sector.

Interestingly, this move by job portals was motivated by the increasing use of social media to source candidates. South African recruiters are utilising social media more and more but many still haven’t managed to excel in this space.

Technology in the 21st century is non-negotiable and recruiters are now getting to grips with using it to their advantage. In an era where information is accessible to everyone, Natalie Singer, APSO Chief Operating Officer believes “successful recruiters will need to determine how they can become experts in finding, interpreting and presenting this information to their clients in a way that adds value.”

Shift from transactional to valuable service provider

Globally, and South Africa is no different, clients are looking for more value from their service providers. Traditional transactional recruitment services can no longer be sold on the same fee models as companies seek to cut costs and bring recruitment in-house. However, given the scarcity of certain skills, many companies still engage the services of specialist recruiters but trends now show that these companies are employing more rigorous screening and monitoring mechanisms to evaluate the quality and value of their preferred recruitment service providers.

For many recruitment business owners this step up to a more professional subject-matter expertise business

model is daunting. Realising that ‘the way we’ve always done it’ no longer meets the expectations

of clients and candidates is tough.

Tabea concludes by saying, “APSO cannot stop the advance of technology or the dynamic shifts in client

requirements, but we can commit to supporting and empowering our members through information, education and practical tools.”

For more information about APSO and our initiatives visit: www.apso.co.za

By NataLIe sINger, aPso ChIeF oPeratINg oFFICer

staFFINg

28

Why do people reallyIf you asked employers to tell you why their employees leave, they’ll undoubtedly say that it was for more money. Whilst in 12% of the cases this is the truth, the vast majority of individuals quit their jobs or rather leave their current employer, for a variety of other reasons.

In a global study conducted by PriceWaterHouseCoopers (PwC) more than 19 000 people provided their reasons for leaving as part of formal exit interviews conducted by the previous employers. For the most part, the primary reasons that people left employment related to feelings of frustration, lack of appreciation or boredom.

People leave managers, not jobs

It seems clear that as 4/10 reasons related directly to the abilities of the supervisor, the adage “people don’t leave jobs, the leave managers” rings true.

It may be possible to avoid excessive turnover, or worse still, the loss of key and critical talent, to institute a system whereby frustrated individuals can make their situation known without having necessarily to do this directly via their supervisor.

In larger organisations it may be possible to move someone within a department to ensure that they’re able to report to a different individual, thereby alleviating some of their frustration and avoiding their otherwise inevitable resignation. Alternatively, addressing the supervisor’s shortcomings, particularly if reported by more than one individual, could assist in improving overall productivity and workplace happiness.

Creating an environment that encourages development of people

Great employees want to feel as if they’re contributing to the organisation and not just filling a seat. More and more people, including those from Generation Y, are seeking work opportunities that not only provide them with the finances to succeed in their outside interests but that also provide meaningful work.

How would your people respond if you asked them these questions?

• I am able to grow and develop my skills

• I have opportunities for advancement or career progress

• My job is challenging and makes good use of my talents

• I receive the necessary training in order to perform my job capably

• I can see the end results of my work

• I receive regular, constructive feedback on my performance

• I am confident that if I work hard, demonstrate commitment and make meaningful contributions I will be recognised and reward-ed accordingly

Skills development needn’t be limited to formal training interventions and could be as simple as allowing your existing staff members the opportunity to provide input on areas within their responsibility that they feel could be improved. Alternatively, you could also allow them to job shadow someone else in another department where they feel they may be able to add value. Encouraging innovation and outside-the-box thinking will not only empower your people but may result in some brilliant ideas that could improve your business.

Establishing a structured exit process

Unless you really understand why people are exiting your company, you may be spending too much time and money on the wrong things. When asked why they’re leaving, most employees will be coy and may just resort to the favourite “better opportunities” line. If you feel that a formal face-to-face exit interview may not work in your environment, why not consider an online exit interview survey that you ask the people to complete once they’ve left? This may not always get a full response rate, but you’re far more likely to get some real/valuable information that can assist you in monitoring and managing staff retention.

Keep the survey short and sweet and provide a combination of multiple-choice (why not utilise the examples from the PwC survey above?) and free text questions. This way you’re likely to get information that is easily interpreted and can be tracked to see whether any of your internal staff interventions have worked towards

mitigating the risk of staff leaving for reasons that could otherwise have been dealt with.

So, it’s not actually all about money...

It’s fully understandable that in tighter economic times, large increases or additional benefits are not as easy to offer, especially if you’re a small company. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t create a company culture that puts its people first. Why not show your people that you care, appreciate their contribution, are interested in their long-term development and are committed to helping them develop their careers?

PeoPLe Management

2928

South Africa’s largest online job distribution network.

Time for a Change

You’re going to need a lot of confidence, when over

350 000 candidates and a further 5 million visitors view

your job listing on our online job distribution network.

Our network includes News24.com and other top South

African online portals. So if your job ad is not getting the

attention it deserves then maybe it’s time for a change.

Contact our sales team on 011 715 8014 or sales@careers24.com. For more information visit www.careers24.com/recruiters.

30

Recruiter Ethics Quiz

1. Your client asks you only to forward pretty young ladies for his current receptionist vacancy, you:

a. Do what he says, after all, if you don’t he will just use another recruiter

b. Inform him that this is discrimination and you cannot assist him

c. Explain to the client that you’re uncomfortable with his brief due to the fact that you believe its discriminatory but if he’s insistent, you ask him to send you this specific request in writing so that if you’re challenged, you can refer any complaints to him directly

2. As a member of APSO, you are required to adhere to all require ments of the APSO Code of Ethical and Professional Practice, irrespective of the company’s Terms and Conditions

a. True

b. False

3. In the event of a duplication of CVs arriving at the same client for the same vacancy, the agency that would be considered the “owner” of the candidate, would be:

a. The agency who sent to the client first

b. The agency that can show that they followed the requirements as per the APSO fee dispute process including interviewing the candidate and getting the candidate’s permission to submit him/her to that specific client for that specific vacancy

c. The agency who is able to convince the candidate to retract their CV from the other agency

4. All consultants working for an APSO member must write and pass the APSO Entrance Exam (or previous IPSC) within 6 months of joining.

a. True

b. False

5. Before submitting a candidate’s CV to the client you should:

a. Inform the candidate about the job but not divulge the name in case he/she goes directly to the client

b. Request permission from the candidate to submit his/her CV to the client by divulging the name of the client and the exact specifics of the job

c. Nothing, after all you’re still testing to see whether the client is interested in this candidate or not

6. It’s okay to approach a candidate you previously placed with a client if they’ve been working there for more than a year.

a. True

b. False

7. A client expects you to exclude any candidates with a positive ITC record for a junior administration role, you:

a. Comply and only send candidates who do not have any ITC problems

b. Inform the client that the National Credit Act forbids an employer (or recruiter) from discriminating based on ITC records, except if the employee will be handling cash or hold a position of seniority or trust, and that you will therefore not be able to comply without their written request to do so

c. Send candidates to the client without conducting an ITC, hoping that everything will work out alright

8. It’s acceptable to search for possible candidates on a job portal and to forward their details to the client to see if they’re interested before contacting the candidate.

a. True

b. False

9. You’re writing up the job advert for a senior accounting position with your client who has clearly indicated that they require an Affirmative Action candidate, you:

a. Clearly include the fact that only AA candidates will be considered

b. Not say anything, for fear of discriminating, and simply ignore applications from candidates that don’t meet the AA criteria

c. Request clarity from your client that the AA requirement is in line with their employment equity policy and include this on the advert

10. References may only be done with the specific individual that was provided as a referee by the candidate:

a. True

b. False

Why not try this quick quiz to see how you’d rank in terms of best practice recruitment in line with APSO’s Code of Ethical & Professional Practice. Answers at the bottom of the page, but don’t peek just yet!

QUICK Quiz

3130

Jobless Graduate (JG) writes to me often, posing a question filled with emotion and frustration. “I have a degree, but I cannot find a job. How do you explain that, professor?”

There is a veiled accusation in the question, something like “you are always telling people to study and get an education; well, my parents sacrificed much to send me to university and now, look, I cannot even find a simple job with this qualification.”

JG is male and female, in the early to mid-20s, mostly black, from a poor family, and from all nine provinces. JG has applied for every job available, starting with one that fits the degree that she studied for and then, later, going for any job that could earn her some money.

JG feels frustrated because he is invited to interviews but the companies never call back. He feels he is there simply to make up the numbers; at his lowest points, he believes they need black faces on parade without feeling the need to hire one. After all, they can claim they made the effort.

So JG, here is my message to you.

The reason you fail to get a job has little to do with your degree. It has everything to do with the other things employers look for in a candidate.

To begin with, take a close look at your curriculum vitae. You will notice spelling errors and large gaps between words. You will see that your paragraphs are not always aligned, and that your references at the end are missing information.

Your sloppy CV is one reason that employers decide, there and then, that you would probably make a careless worker.

You will also see that your CV is quite thin. From this important document it is clear that you did nothing else with your life while you were a student.

You did not belong to youth associations, and I do not mean the destructive political ones that go around insulting people and disrupting classes. You were not part of progressive social, cultural and political organisations that sought to make a difference in the lives of poor people.

Your CV makes no reference to voluntary work or holiday occupations. That part-time job at the Spur might have brought in

much-needed cash, but volunteering at an Aids hospice or starting up your own youth literacy project or reading club in the township would have shortlisted you for the job.

Then take a look at the marks you took from your transcripts and pasted onto your CV.

Your marks reveal that you concentrated on passing, and so your 40% in mathematical literacy at school, and your 52% in sociology at university, send all the wrong signals, and here I am not even talking about your meaningless 90% in life orientation.

While you were concentrating on passing, other students were focused on excelling; there is a big difference. I also noticed from your transcript that you repeated anthropology and political science three times each; fat chance of an interview, to be honest.

Now I want you to reflect on your last interview.

The way you walked into the interview room suggested a serious energy deficit. There was no smile, and you looked depressed, with your drooping shoulders. And for heaven’s sake, dress properly.

The way you used language was not upbeat, and you made several grammatical errors that the panel members noticed.

You were not prepared, and this showed when one of the panellists asked you what you had found out about their organisation from Google. Your answer was not cool: “I have not yet met Mr Google.”

I am glad you did not respond when one of the interviewers, out of frustration, mumbled, “Bring me Jack Daniels.”

And so you see, JG, it is not about showing up with a degree that matters. It is the other stuff they are looking for, the value added to the degree.

You see, unlike with political appointments, they are looking for competence, composure and confidence, and evidence of a life well lived. They want proof of an energetic self-starter who filled her leisure time with service to others.

They want an articulate and accomplished employee who can be trusted to represent the organisation well to the outside world.

They regard an investment in a professional CV writer as demonstrating care and concern for the small things that matter.

And by the way, that line on the CV that says “Criminal Record - None.” Please remove that useless information just in case they do a background check.

BY JONAthAN JANSeN: ReCtOR AND viCe-ChANCellOR OF the uNiveRSitY OF the FRee StAte.

“you are always telling people to study and get an education;

well, my parents sacrificed much to send me to university and now, look, I cannot even

find a simple job with this qualification.”

PartINg Shot

32

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PPA4Advert.indd 1 09/05/2012 12:49