The Spark that Ignites Revenue

Transcription

1 The Spark that Ignites Revenue Presenter: Donato Diorio Founder, Broadlook Technologies Donato Diorio is a pioneer in the field of Internet research. As a software architect and the owner of a top billing placement firm, Donato envisioned applications that could automate many of the most time-consuming research functions performed by his recruiters. With the assistance of a team of developers, Donato created a series of innovative tools that immediately impacted revenue for his firm. In 2001, Donato founded Broadlook Technologies. Today, Broadlook serves thousands of clients worldwide (including Fortune 100 companies) with applications to aid in staffing, sales, and overall business intelligence initiatives. About This Segment Donato discusses how adding a great researcher to your practice can be The Spark that Ignites Revenue. He shows you how to find great researchers that will: Fill in the talent gaps Drive more revenue Top Task your talent pool Meeting, Week 1: The Spark that Ignites Revenue by Donato Diorio If you are reviewing this episode with a team, watch the entire video and ask the group for their key takeaways and insights. STEP 1: DAILY TASK AUDIT (see supplemental attachment for blank task audit document)

2 STEP 2: DAILY TASK ANALYSIS: Once you have aggregated the tasks performed by you or your organization over the course of a week, analyze and assign each task a number from one to five. Do not confuse skill level with uniqueness to your organization. Remember that uniqueness means as it relates to your firm, not the world as a whole. As an example, low in both Importance and Uniqueness could be administrative responsibilities such as scheduling a phone interview, checking voic , and pulling resumes from job boards. STEP 3: DAILY TASK CHARTING: Use the compiled task list to map the quadrants of these responsibilities as it relates to the individual able to perform a role. This can provide initial structure for a job description and expectations for a researcher, sourcer, or assistant.

3 RESEARCHER RESPONSIBILITIES: Once you have completed the exercise of a daily task audit and analysis, use the list below to create a comprehensive list of responsibilities that could be assigned to a researcher or sourcer within your organization: Work with ATS/CRM systems Broadlook Profiler, Eclipse, Market Mapper, Diver, Job Pulse Hoovers, OneSource, Zoominfo LinkedIN, Social Networks Active resume sourcing from Job Boards Passive candidate searching New desk research and development Building lists of companies Market segment research Data entry Data compare, de-duplication, normalization Pre-call research QC (quality check) PDF conversion (OCR image to text) Document scanning Data conversion Search engine optimization (SEO) Website content delivery Custom search engines Google Adwords customization Name gathering Phone system mapping (night dialing) Contact info - verification calls Once the task list has been created, put a process and system behind the ongoing responsibilities that will be managed. Think through core functions such as database building, candidate search protocol, business development needs, and online resource review.

4 BEHAVIORAL PROFILING: Pick an assessment test and utilize with your current team and continue to aggregate results of future hires; the larger of an eventual sampling you can create, the better the benchmark overall. Maintain consistency with the tool and the data analyzed. TIPS FOR WORKING WITH OFFSHORE RESEARCHERS: Research is a service, not a tech offering. This partnership is not only about efficiency and cost savings, it is also about relationship. The offshore firm should have service, service and service in their DNA. Don t treat people like a number. This sounds like common sense, or The Golden Rule however, somehow the terms offshore or remote has a tendency to depersonalize the relationship. Don t let that happen! Use their real name. If one of your offshore contacts name is Rajaranan, don t call him Joe, Bob, or Peter. Call centers started this protocol of giving foreign workers western names. This may work for a call centers, but it is a poor idea for someone you work with on a long term basis. Use their real name; insist on it! You might butcher it, but they will respect you more than if you call then Jimmy. Beware of a dedicated researcher. A little known secret is that offshore firms are absolutely notorious for placing two workers on three accounts. If the price is too good to be true, you may possibly have a two for three situation; make sure you are not being taken advantage of. Have a plan. If you cannot articulate what your current process is, it will be hard for a researcher to achieve any level of success. Make time. In the recruitment arena, an offshore researcher will take about 15 minutes per day of your time to manage them. Of course, some days this could be more and some days less, but be prepared for the time required! Beware of metered results. If you are getting 8-10 resumes per day, every day, something is wrong. Wake up and smell the appeasement! This is usually a symptom of firms that do the two for three non-dedicated researcher technique; don t accept these automated results! Undergo a process audit. Before connecting a new client with a remote researcher, Donato s firm performs a technology and process audit. This has been critical for their clients to understand what their current processes are, and what resources they have to accomplish their goals. Have defined timelines. This is necessary for each task as well as a weekly schedule outlining what should be done and by when. This is most critical at the beginning stages of a partnership with an offshore research team. Know how to do their job. This will give you insight into how long repetitive tasks will take and will allow you to know how much time should be budgeted to those tasks. If you don t know, consult your staff or an outside expert.

5 Host onsite. With today's technology, there is no reason for research to be done on a terminal thousands of miles away! Set up an in-house research station and give the researcher remote access to it; you can use for free to accomplish this. Watch them work. This requires an in-house research station, but will provide insight well worth the extra work. You will be amazed by what you can learn about someone s efficiency by watching them work for an hour! Work with several firms. Donato s experience has been that when he compared the results of one firm against another, he was quite surprised - all firms are not equal! Get a referral. If you need recruitment research done, don t use a firm that does offshore mapping services (as an example). Most firms will take any business they can get; make sure you are picking a firm that specializes in what you need done. Check certifications, training and tenure. Insist on a researcher with at least six months of experience. If you have multiple researchers, it is acceptable to hire a new researcher as long as the team lead is a veteran. All researchers Donato works with go through Broadlook s certification program. Have them visit, or, you may choose to take a trip to India or Sri Lanka. If you have a team of people, an on-site visit makes sense. However, if you work with a single person and expect a long-term relationship, invite them to visit for a few days. This connection is irreplaceable for building extending your culture to your remote workers. Work directly with the source. The larger the outsource firm, the greater chance you may train and work with one person today and a different person tomorrow. Get as much personal information about your researcher as you can. Chances are they are getting a surprising low percent of what you pay the outsource firm; if they ever leave that firm, you will want to be able to connect with them. Mirrored directives. When you assign a new task to your researcher, have them write back to you, in their own words, what they should be doing. This is a phenomenal technique to make sure they understand your goals! Web cams. Looking for a foolproof method of getting the same researcher instead of a rotation of the lowest paid new worker? Insist on a web cam!