Recruiting Efforts Can Be Continuous Even When There Is Not An Immediate Opening

"Recruiting" efforts can be continuous even When there is not an immediate opening

Set a goal to continue to build your database and network with solid candidates who are engaged!

We learn early on that in order to be a strong recruiter, the need to continuously build relationships and networks is a must.  We also learn the importance of staying in touch with professionals we like, want to help and believe can help us. Recruiting efforts can be continuous even if there is NOT an immediate opening. It can easily be done if you make networking part of your daily routine.

Unfortunately many recruiters  fall prey to habits that focus only  on filling the pipeline, getting the hire and moving on. Why? Why should all of your recruiting efforts, relationships, conversations, fall by the way side, be forgotten, become lost in the black hole of an Reviews on a number of ATS systems? Instead, incorporate "staying in touch" and engaging techniques as a way to keep your recruiting efforts continuous. Allow yourself the ability to continuously build upon your Leverage your strong network of professionals. Learn to get engaged, be engaged and stay engaged with those professionals who you believe will someday be a great candidate and networker for you. 

Sounds difficult, somewhat time-consuming? It doesn't have to be. Allow your ATS and other recruiting tools to become your friend beyond recruiting for the current job(s). Don't let it just be a way to connect and stay organized for current roles. But allow these tools to help you stay connected after the roles are filled. 

5 Easy Steps To  Stay Connected & Engaged 

• Start by sending an email or text to all you have spoken with regarding the successful completion of the assignment.

• Create a 30-45 Day Letter - Send an email or text to those who you considered to be the "A" Players in this space. Those you connected with on prior engagements. The letter can simply include an interesting article about the industry or a trend. It must be something you found interesting and believe others will t00.
• Create a 60 -90 Day Letter - Send an email or text regarding what you may be working on to see if they may know of someone. Let them know you have them on your radar screen. Tell them how you wish to stay engaged with them regarding opportunities since you recognize them as being talented and among the wanted.
• Create a 90-120 Day Letter - send out an email or text wishing them a Happy Holiday, or something that states I hope you are enjoying the season. It can also be a great time to ask if there is anything YOU may be able to assist them with?
• Be sure you are LinkedIn with everyone you want to stay engaged with.

SGA Talent Recruiting can be continuous with very little effort, once it becomes habit. I assure you these actions will pay off for you.

Happy Hunting.

Sheila Greco

In recruiting there is no such thing as being overly proactive. Join Sheila Greco as she hosts an event in NYC November 5

Join Sheila Greco as she hosts and presents “Sourcing Tips that will Provide Continuous Candidates and Reduce the Cost Per Hire” Come learn how Sheila helps clients implement a proactive recruiting strategy that is continuous by incorporating data (recruitment research/mapping) to get connected as well as how to stay connected and engaged with the desired talent. During this presentation Sheila Greco will share details of how to make a proactive recruiting strategy work for you and your clients.

Search firms http://tinyurl.com/pamzchy (Invitation and details to event)

In the recruiting world, time is always of the essence and the need to perform is expected.

As your clients continue to request qualified pipeline of candidates to interview quickly, why not hit it out of the park by having a qualified group of talent that is all ready engaged to reach out to? Learn how Sheila and her clients are prepared. For corporations http://tinyurl.com/ogmos6h (Invitation and details to event)

It doesn’t matter if you are using outside partners or internal resources this proactive continuous recruiting strategy can play a critical role in driving successful recruiting performances than ever before. This strategy doesn’t require a huge investment of money but dedicated time by your team. Learn how mapping, creating networks and staying engaged will reduce your time to hire as well as reduce your recruiting costs. Sheila’s goal is to discuss how she and others leverage data/mapping/recruitment research to help reduce the cost per hire and keep the candidates of choice in their networks. Let us know if you can join us.

Sheila Greco LION sgreco@sgatalent.com sgreco@sgatalent.com

Exploiting Intelligence Will Be Part of Future Recruiting Strategies

 

Intelligence will be part of future recruiting efforts.

Recruiters know how to successfully identify talent amongst the crowd. They also know how to exploit the intelligence gathered during the research/sourcing process. Often realizing the value of such intelligence and the importance it plays in creating a strong pipeline. But what happens to this intelligence once the pipeline is filled? Is the once sought after talent suddenly dismissed? Forgotten?  I sure hope not! They could be part of the next candidate pipeline. Even the next hire. That being said, it is important to cultivate relationships with such talented professionals. Don't waste the intelligence that was captured. Not to mention the time, energy and money spent. Be aware that intelligence will be part of future recruiting efforts.

Not measured on cultivating relationships? Probably true. But making it part of your recruiting practice is not a waste of your time. Soon enough there will be emphasis put on capturing and exploiting the mapping intelligence. The change in the marketplace is all ready occurring. Internal executive recruiting teams are beginning to take notice and monitoring top talent in the industry. It includes, mapping talent at companies of interest while tracking "A" Players. Yes, the industry is moving in this direction. Senior management has Intelligence on their radar. They are becoming more and more aware of the importance of such intelligence. Therefore I am a true believer that intelligence will be part of future recruiting efforts and strategies.

Lastly, no one can argue the fact that intelligence often results in attracting more talent than the company needs. Routinely over producing, creating efficiency while quickly filling the pipeline with exceptional candidates. All the more reason to cultivate relationships with the professionals identified. The goal needs to be that the recruiter gets to know them and they get to know you! As the relationship unfolds do begin to softly sell the company and the benefits related to working there.

Happy Hunting.

Sheila Greco

sgreco@sgatalent.com

Results & Customer Driven Teams Along With Loyal Clients Are The Foundation Of SGA Talent's Success

Thank you SGA Talent Teams, You All Rock!

Thank you loyal and returning clients, You All Rock!

Here is to the next 25 years!

I just want to say that I truly believe that our teams and clients just as they were 25 years ago continue to be SGA Talent's greatest assets. Thank you all. You are the foundation of our success!

The strong loyalty of both cannot be duplicated, here is to another 25! As we make our way into the 4th quarter of 2014, I would personally like to say thanks to all who have made the first 25 years of Sheila Greco Associates LLC - SGA Talent a successful one.

Looking back it has been an interesting great journey. SGA Talent started as a research house offering mapping/research mainly to search firms. At the request of our clients we entered into the recruiting/pipeline generation business. Shortly thereafter, we made a logical decision to enter into the business of customized competitive intelligence/business intelligence and in 2005 we launched SGA ExecutiveTracker. Throughout our history, SGA Talent has undergone many changes, and continues to evolve, but one thing is for certain, we understand the importance of delivering results driven services that help our clients succeed and keep them coming back.

As Mahatma Gandhi quoted, "A customer is the most important visitor on our premises, he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so." All so true.

As the close of 2014 decends upon us, let me say,  thank you to our loyal clients and we are looking forward to welcoming the new ones. It is all about the team and accomplishing the goals together.

As we have done in the past, lets continue to do it in the future; learn from each communicate, deliver, and understand the true meaning of the word partnership. In our world where time is of the essence, supeior results are expected and being cost conscious is the norm lets walk along side each other and continue to be succcessful as a team.

Are you ready to hire your next top performer? Don't Ignore Personal Qualities

  Successful hires go beyond just looking for specific qualifications.

As you look to hire your next top performer, don't ignore their qualities.

It makes sense to hire those who share the same qualities as you and your team's top performers.

You obviously took the time to create a job specification, the needs, the wants and the desires. But just as important a leader needs to review, examine and understand the qualities of his/her own team's top performers. As the list of qualities is created, it will become obvious the type of person you should be looking to hire. Taking the time to do this, does pay off as you look to hire your next top performer.

Generally speaking there are many qualities that make someone successful to include confidence, integrity, hardworking, knowledgeable, decisive, focused, positive attitude, strong communicator, team player,  the desire to learn, listen, results driven, loyal, organized among other qualities. Again, only you know which qualities you desire and will work for you and your team. So take the time to look at your team, select the qualities of your top performers and as you look to hire your next top performer, be sure to look for qualities that fit your team.

Additionally, as you interview don't ignore the values of the team, you and of course your company. Good luck and remember as you hire your next top performer once they have accepted be sure to provide them with what they need to succeed.

Happy hunting.

Sheila Greco

Is There A Disconnect Between Your Candidate Pipeline & The Potential Talent Pool?

Could be if you are limiting your research and recruiting efforts to just big data, free data, technology and social media. Look beyond these restrictive and limiting resources.

It is time to train and retrain the brain. Recruiters seek intelligence that assists with creating exceptional candidate pipelines their hiring managers much deserve.

Looking for a great potential talent pool for your next search? I am sure you. Try not to just limit your efforts to the internet, social media and free or paid research/recruiting tools. I understand this may be a habit for many successful recruiters, however when you limit your efforts to just these resources, your are obviously limiting your search for talent. Wouldn't you agree? Recruiting requires linking intelligence with talent. This will provide the potential talent pool necessary for conducting a comprehensive search for talent.

No one can dispute the fact that there is plenty of data out there. However much of it has been found to be inaccurate, incomplete and at times borderline a waste of time! However good recruiters who have time, can weed through such data to find viable candidates. Yet, the process of doing so, can be exhaustive, time-consuming, inefficient and at times yield little results. Therefore time to retrain the brain. Look to linking intelligence with the talent you need to recruit.

Train the brain into believing that it is unrealistic to think that by simply posting, tweeting and using social media the best of breed will come. Long term, it is not a strategy that should be focused upon. Recruiting efforts need to be linking intelligence with talent to ensure a solid pipeline of candidates.

Linking intelligence with talent is much different then just having access to a limited, inaccurate, talent pool. Intelligence not only links a recruiter to specific potential talent but offers other benefits that save time and money. Intelligence provides relevant contacts, exact titles, reporting relationships, otherwise known as organization charts, direct dials, emails, and profiles. But more importantly, as this information is exploited, it suddenly creates an ideal candidate pipeline, compared to a candidate pipeline which is the result of such limiting efforts as an ad, a post, a tweet or from a social media outlet. In simple terms, intelligence establishes a more focused recruiting process so that recruiters can deliver candidates to the hiring manager who have been carefully sought out, recruited and selected by both traditional recruiting efforts and the latest ones. No one can dispute the fact that limiting any recruiting efforts to a limited, closed network will of course hamper the search for qualified candidates. Not to exclude the fact that such efforts have been known to have delivered a limited, sub par slate of candidates who simply have responded to a "shout out!" or found amongst the limited talent pool and network the recruiter may only has access to. Huge difference, don't you think?

Don't have a disconnect between your candidate pipeline and the potential talent pool out there. Look to use intelligence to uncover the complete potential talent pool. Recruiters deserve to have access to such intelligence and more importantly, the hiring managers deserve it.

It's not too late to change or retrain the brain. Maybe it is time to  reassess your research and recruiting methods. Don't limit yourself to only what is "available" to you, go beyond and you will see the difference.

Happy Hunting!

Sheila Greco

Trending Today....The Importance of Having Access To External Talent and Intelligence

  Is your team exploiting the benefits of having access to external talent and external Intelligence?

Or are you part of the group that only recruits talent and is not interested in Intelligence?

In 2014 all involved with talent acquisition, talent management and human resources will realize the importance of linking talent and intelligence.

This year is all ready starting out to be an interesting and an exciting year. It is the year where the economy is expected to grow, employees become more interested in exploring new opportunities outside of their current organizations thus causing all involved with recruiting, talent management and human resources in general, to be able to react and perform accordingly and successfully.

This improved economy also means corporations will be hiring, investing in their employees and comparing internal talent to external talent. The importance of doing all three should result in the creation of building strong internal talent with the ability to successfully compete in a variety of ways and levels. In order to do this task, the company and the players involved with this exercise will need to have access to both external talent and intelligence. It will also require having a strong talent acquisition strategy and results driven recruiting process that delivers.

So as I see what is trending today and this year is to have access to external talent and intelligence. It has been done and continues to be done by many of the best of breed companies as well as many industry leaders. For human resources the need to have access to organization charts to include diversity information and salary information will be a necessity.

Of course it is all about the team that is pulled together to do monumental, yet important task. Just as important will be the fact that there is a strong leader in place who can handle this. He/She must be ready to manage, set goals for each player, and have the ability to arm the team with information and tools necessary to succeed.

From a recruiting standpoint there needs to be strong engagement between human resources, recruiting teams and the hiring managers, but just as important is having access to the talent that no one else may have. Once this data is compiled and available to both the talent management and talent acquisition team this invaluable information will prove to provide differing benefits specific to each. The data should not be limited to just mapping and producing organization charts of the companies of interest but have additional intelligence as direct dials, emails, profiles and salaries. Brilliant and powerful!

External Talent and Intelligence.......

Every corporation needs it!

Every human resources professional needs it too.

It's logical, it is a necessity!

Sheila Greco

sgreco@sgatalent.com

Sheila's Top 10 Qualities Results Driven Recruiters Should Possess

Sheila Greco's Top 10 List 

As a recruiter, do you possess these qualities?

Ask yourself, are you a proven results driven recruiter?

Having quality talent compared to the competition makes a big difference for any corporation and for that matter its leaders. It can greatly impact a company and a team's overall success, competitiveness, sustainability and growth. Therefore having a strong recruiting team or partner is very important long-term. Yes, it is important to have the right recruiting team in place and it is just as important to have results driven recruiters who can and do recruit the right talent needed for each and every role.

Each company needs results driven recruiters. Goals can be set, matrix put in place but at the end of the day is each recruiter a performer? Are they effective? Do they possess the qualities that many results driven recruiters possess?

Hiring managers, staffing and talent acquisition leaders are you happy with your recruiting team? Their efforts put forth by the team and each recruiter? It may be time to access each individual on your team. In an effort to do so, feel free to review the qualities I believe results driven recruiters possess and use it as your guide.

Today I will be sharing with all of you the qualities I believe results driven recruiters must possess. Below are my top 10 qualities I look for when recruiting recruiters By no means are they in any specific order. Enjoy.

1. The need to have a clear understanding for who the client is seeking. A results driven recruiter wants a clear definition of the role, requires communications regarding the process, the needs, the wants and the soft skills the hiring manager is seeking.  Once this information is provided, the recruiter can then help build the recruiting strategy or the go-to-recruit plan that will deliver.

2. Creative, disciplined and prepared to be in a recruiter state of mind. Focus, focus, focus. I define the recruiter state of mind as putting your head down, going 90 miles per hour straight ahead and actively recruiting!  Only focus on identifying "A" Players not "B" Players who are interested. Once again focus on quality, not quantity.

3. Results driven recruiters are often organized, process driven, wonderfully savvy, always sharp, inquisitive and clever not to mention quick on their feet.

4. Great results driven recruiters tend to be very intelligent. Many great recruiters are naturally smart and have well-rounded, diverse knowledge.

5. Typically are solid citizens so to speak tending to choose the high road, instilling that throughout the team and with their recruits. Open, offering as much information as requested and able to provide. Thorough.

6. Performers! Results driven recruiters never give up until the successful hire is made.

7. Great listeners, willing to learn, determined to match the right individual to the right company, team and position. Look to recruit those professionals whose long and short-term goals match the company's.

8. Flexible. Willing to work nights and weekends. Not afraid to do whatever it takes.

9. Aware of weaknesses and not afraid to go to the strongest team player to obtain additional information and if needed close the deal.

10. Dynamic, multi-talented and a cerebral thinker.

Not sure all your recruiters are results driven recruiters. Take a look around at your team, identify and then compare them to the others to see how each team player stacks up. People are a company's greatest asset and those involved with bringing new recruits to your company must be "A" Players themselves.

Happy Hunting & Are your recruiters in the recruiter state of mind?

Sheila Greco

A Tribute To The Beatles Introduced February 9, 1964

Music is heard in the halls of SGA Talent daily!

Today a Big Tribute to The Beatles...

February 9, 1964 Ed Sullivan introduces The Beatles. Decades later their memories live on! No one can deny that fact that they became an international phenomenon overnight. Releasing 13 original albums in only 7 years is unbelievable. I don't think any other rock band has even come close to this. This very talented group changed the music world profoundly. Many years later their songs continue to be played over and over again. Will there ever be another band like The Beatles? Probably not!

Below I have listed a few of my favorite Beatles songs.

Enjoy and feel free to click-through to their lyrics and the songs themselves. Thank you John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr....thank you!

A Hard Days Night  Video & Song

Help!  Video & Song

Hey Jude

Let It Be Video & Song 

Lucy in The Sky With Diamonds  Song and interesting Video and of course my hero Elton John's version in 1974 on the Cher show.

Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Strawberry Fields Forever

Their songs are timeless and incomparable.

Now on with the show, as Ed Sullivan would say. Second time on the show live video.

Time to get back to recruiting talent.

Happy Hunting.

Sheila Greco

SGA Talent Continues To Evolve Through Innovation 7/25

SGA Talent believes in Innovation

Early on I decided that in order to stay ahead of the competition, innovation needed to be part of the plan.

Innovation, I believe assists with improving productivity, delivery of our services and is one of our competitive advantages.

Understanding you are only as good as your last project in our world, the idea of making the team more efficient ultimately will positively impact the services our firm delivers, not to mention become cost-effective for our clients. I believe innovation centered around technology and process is why we continue to have a competitive edge in the industry.

In 2004 we decided to create SGA ExecutiveTracker. With 93% renewal rate this recruiting tool has over 800,000 business contacts that continue to be compiled by our in-house staff, all telephone verified with over 400,000 biographies, 600,000 confirmed emails, (all companies have an email formula) 525,000 having direct dials and information regarding reporting structure. Today, 10 years later, it continues to prosper and spurred internal technology changes. It helps having an exceptional information technology specialist on staff who as well as the team believes in innovation. Since 2001, our team has been involved with the development of 7 internal databases (proprietary to our team) as well as many new and improved service offerings created almost yearly. Just this month we released an enhanced research service (see below) and we are in test market with something similar for recruiting.

This is an example of a part of our research spreadsheet obviously offering customized research as well as additional access to pubic profiles and biographies. (to learn more call us at 518 843-4611 today)

As one can see, we believe in innovation, creativity and the need to evolve. We embrace technology, are not afraid to think out the box and seek out better ways to do things. As Robert Iger said, "The heart and soul of the company is creativity and innovation." I believe in this and our people at SGA Talent believe this too.

If you wish to learn more about SGA Talent, call us today.

Sheila Greco

SGA Talent

SGA Talent Believes In Team Work 6/25

SGA Talent is all about the team.

We at SGA Talent have proven that teams can move mountains.

We know our personnel. As we choose a team to work on a research or recruiting assignment it is our goal to pull together the best team for the job. We have discovered that this team environment over time has fostered a collaborative, effective, positive, productive and friendly environment. As our journey continues having a team focused corporate culture will remain part of our company's DNA

SGA Talent Believes in Team Work.

Here is how we have worked and continue to work as a team at SGA Talent

1. First, we only hire team players. We believe strong teams need strong players. Therefore the need to be a productive and results driven individual is a must.

2. Our leaders set goals for the team and each individual right from the start. Additionally it is expected that each team player sets their own goals too. The individual's goals are always in line with the team's overall objectives.

3. Communication is key. We are sure to communicate with the team as often as needed. Typically there are 2 meetings per day, one in the morning and one right after lunch. We promote an open door policy whereby each leader is  accessible to anyone in need. We make every effort to try to keep the accomplishments or lack there of monitored to be sure the project objectives are being met as well as on schedule.

4. During the term of the project, we make sure we are promoting mutual respect and appreciation to all on the team. At SGA successful team accomplishments are recognized almost daily. We believe that when this is done, each team player comes to realize the importance of the team's successes while at the same time the need to rely on each other is of utmost importance to the team's overall success.

5. The goal of the project meetings are typically set to discuss the good and the not so good results during the life of the project. During these meetings if someone on the team is struggling another team member is asked to help in an attempt to achieve team success. We ask all to honest with their abilities to accomplish their set goals while being consistent and trusted.Teams depend on each other and each team player is well aware of that.

5. We all have a sense of humor at SGA Talent. We have discovered that a light-hearted environment is a good one since we are in a very intense, high pressure oriented industry. Therefore many of us laugh with each other, alongside each other and can laugh at ourselves....well most of the time.

Overall I am all about playing as a team. For us it has spurred innovation, efficiency for the company, growth for the team player.

As a company our journey continues focusing on team successes! It is amazing the amount of camaraderie it has created, especially when the going gets tough. We have proven that our team successes are often driven by the fact that when necessary all are willing to go beyond what may have been originally asked. We have come to realize we can rely on the support and encouragement of the team when needed. We never underestimate the significance of this in achieving results.

Happy Hunting....

Sheila Greco

Work Hard, Play Hard........ It's Friday! 4/25.....We Love Friday's!

Thank God It's Friday! F on Friday At SGA means.....

Each Friday at SGA is magical. It can be sensed as one walks in the door. Everyone is scurrying around, a sense of urgency is over the top but a light hearted atmosphere is also present. It is hard to explain but it really is awesome!

The team knows what needs to get done while at the same time can look back at the great results the team has accomplished during this time period. It has been our tradition since day one, to end the week with lively conversations where we gather relax, talk about our successes, and our journeys. Much of this time is spent  laughing,  joking and picking on one another in a good way. We become one supportive happy big team!

The letter F to us on a Friday....

Fruits of our labor - sit back and see the week's successes!

Final day of the week - Need to meet the deadlines we promised and ones we set for ourselves.

Oh what a Fabulous and Freaky Day it is - sometimes referred to as Freaky Friday! Our sales team closes many deals on Friday, however the ones that just fall out of the sky on Friday's are referred to as "Freaky"!

Fun - Typically there are contests and drawing spurring the day's activities.

Food Day! It is not unusual for many to bring food to the office on Friday for all to share and enjoy!

We love Friday's and this tradition! We set aside the last hour of our day to reflect on our successes and just gather around to chat. Love this team!

What is your Friday like at the office?

Sheila Greco

Sheila Greco Shares - The Importance Of Confirming Information 3/25

In our business accuracy is expected.

Therefore confirming information is a must!

Confirming information for us is embedded in our company's DNA. Right from Day 1 information gathered (research) each day was required to be confirmed and reconfirmed at the end of the day prior to sending it to a client. Not to give away a secret, but our confirmation process requires our team to share amongst each other their research completed that day to be confirmed. Why because it needs to be.

As dependent as we are on a variety of sources and people to do our job, any and all information gathered whether it is discovered on the internet, found on social media and/or  information gathered over the telephone, it needs to be confirmed for accuracy. I am a firm believer of this so again confirm any and all information for accuracy.

Theme of Day 3; The importance of Confirming Information.

I believe any and all information gathered, discovered and recorded needs to be confirmed. End of story. The following in an experience that we had early on with information we had gathered over the telephone when researching into a Big 6 Firm. What we were given was wrong! We were actually given the names of people at the competitors office not the one in which we were researching. Obviously looking back it was funny, but at the time we were furious. We were hoodwinked to say the least!

Story Please.....

A request was given to us to identify Partners down to associates at 3 tax & audit companies in Detroit, Michigan. As with all projects we had a team working the project to ensure completeness, accuracy and getting the job done on time.

As the team started the project one of our research analysts began jumping up and down since he obtained what he believed was the entire request in one phone call. He was so excited, happy, thrilled and feeling like "the man". But before long, this high came crashing down when his fellow team player discovered his information was all wrong.

The confirmation call went something like this;

SGA researcher: John Smith please.

Receptionist: He does not work here but I know him. He used to work here but now is employed by our competitor.

SGA researcher: Okay how about Mary Donahue?

Receptionist: No she does not work here either, she works with John.

SGA Researcher: Hmmm how about Tony Marcus?

Receptionist: Not here either, (laugh, laugh, laugh), he works with John too.I think you might be calling the wrong company. Try this number and I am sure you will reach these people......good bye."

Laughter came from the researcher confirming the information and "the man" felt awful. Moral of the story, confirm information prior to sending it to the client. It is better if we catch an error then our client. And.....don't feel like "the man" until you know the information that you received is confirmed and correct.

More of these stories to follow. Enjoy your day.

If you wish to share a story or two with us, I would welcome that.

Happy Hunting!

Sheila Greco

Sheila Greco Shares Wisdom and Experiences of the past 25 Years 2/25 Hiring Your First Employee

 

Hiring Your First Employee

Theme for Today is Hiring Your First Employee!

Hiring my first employee was exciting and scary at the same time. Prior to making this decision I looked at the possibility of hiring a freelancer,  but due to the business and my philosophy of wanting everyone under one roof, I decided to hire a full-time employee who would work alongside me at the office.

Significant growth warranted this move as did the number of future hires shortly thereafter. My hiring strategy was such as to hire an "athlete"; a solid citizen with a strong career background and track record of success. Ideally I looked for professionals coming from a relatively small company who were not afraid to roll up their sleeves and be utility players. Qualities of these professionals needed to be; must have a strong work ethic, the desire to work hard, the ability to set his/her own goals versus what the company sets and to be engaged with who we were and what we did. Additionally, I preferred to hire those with great personalities, were athletes in high school and/or college or involved with extracurricular activities that required these folks to go the extra mile for themselves and others. Ok, don't crucify me with this one, but I really found great success with recent college graduates who had come from a family where females worked as opposed to being at home. Truthfully, in the beginning I was just looking for professionals who had thick skin, were not afraid to ask questions and were okay with rejection. Remember research 25 years ago required the use of the telephone and our successes were dependent upon obtaining accurate information for our clients to use. A researcher's job is not an easy one as many of us know, so hiring for this role was not that easy either. However I must say we did make many successful hires many of whom today continue to be employed with us.

How did I go about the hiring process? I networked. I believe if people knew me, my personality and what I expected from an employee this route would be the best way to go. Honestly, it worked and still does. I would also like to mention the value of internal referrals. Many of my first 15 employees were the result of employee referrals.  So my advice to entrepreneurs is do not neglect employee referrals, be sure to investigate them. Make it a habit to ask your employees who they know and of course no family members please. However this resource dried up as time went on, so the need to look beyond this resource became a must. It became necessary to look outside our networks and rely on others for future candidates. However to this day, I still ask the team who they know when we are looking to hire.

I must say that I am happy how we have grown over the last 25 years and we must have done something right since over 75% of our current employee base were amongst the first few hiring waves. I love my team!!

Happy Hunting and sure hope you enjoyed how I hired my first employee (s)!

Sheila Greco

SGA Talent & Sheila Greco Celebrating 25 Years of Service

SGA Talent & Sheila Greco Celebrating 25 years of ServiceSheila Greco 518 843-4611

January 2014

1989 what a great year for many. The cost of a postage stamp was $0.25,  the annual median household income in the United States was $28,906.00, after 28 years, the Berlin Wall becomes open to the West, George Herbert Walker Bush was inaugurated as 41st United State’s President, the Kentucky Derby Champion was Sunday Silence, Rain Man was recorded the best Picture, and the song of the year was Don’t Worry Be Happy”. Most of these have become distant memories and have faded into the past, yet Sheila Greco Associates LLC today SGA Talent has weathered the test of time and has become known as an industry leader in the passive candidate research and recruiting world.

SGA began in 1989 as a small company of one employee with a big vision. Sheila’s mission was to  set out to provide the highest quality, name generation services in the world. Within 2 years the company grew to 5 employees, in 1993 the company added recruiting services to the mix, in 1998 Customized Competitive Intelligence was added to the company’s service capabilities and in 2005 SGA ExecutiveTracker was born. A company with vision, a company that acts and a company that is clearly all about innovation and change often times in response to listening, understanding and responding to customer needs. Along the way the company started in a one room office, grew to 11 employees sharing a 3,500 square feet building and in 2001 due to explosive growth the company moved to a 9,000 sq ft building whereby Sheila created a state of the art, employee friendly office environment. Today the company continues to employ more than 75% of its employee base, dating back to 1999. This means the company’s experienced team cannot be matched in our industry.

From the very beginning Sheila Greco, President  and CEO  has had a firm commitment to doing things the right way and living by “the client is always right” attitude, thus creating a history whereby 99.9% of new business is referral based. Greco believed early on that if the business was going to succeed they had to develop a good reputation by consistently satisfying the needs of each and every the customer, alway! One of the ways that SGA has sought to build this into their DNA is through applying what Greco refers to as the seven principles to live and grow by;

Do what the clients says Provide Services that the client asked for and more Continue to innovate Stay ahead of the competition Be results driven Grow as a team player and as an individual Never give up

The leadership style that defines SGA values are  character, strong work ethic, strong competencies, results driven behaviors, in-depth knowledge and learning daily. The organization has a very solid internal leadership team with strong executives at the helm always asking its team, “How may I help you”. Sheila along with its sector leaders are always in the trenches with their team members and on the front line with their clients. Their example of servanthood is one that has come to define SGA in all aspects of the organization from internal affairs to the needs of the client and has consequentially led to loyal employees and customers.

In addition to expanding their service lines, the company has made strategic investments to remain on the cutting edge with regards to technology. SGA has created 7 internal databases, all of which were done internally by the technology team and are enhanced when needed. Having these capabilities provides each employee with state of the art tools that help with day-to-day activities resulting in cost-effective, quality services the clients have come to know and expect. This has enabled SGA to enhance their already strong ability as a research and recruiting provider.

The Future Upward and Onward!  SGA intends to continue to be the leader in the industry as they seek to provide excellent and innovative solutions to help meet each clients needs, with integrity.  Their 25 years of industry experience, knowledgeable employee base, will enable SGA to continue to offer a cost-effective recruiting solutions. Because SGA has consistently implemented these principles over the years, they have formed partnerships with some well-known companies who have come to count-on the excellent service and dependability of SGA.

Tips for Recruiting Top Talent....Use The Right Recruiting Email Subject Line!

Identify, Connect, Vet and Present!

Recruiting is all about connecting!

Recruiters need both a great message and a strong recruiting email subject line in order to be successful.

Recruiters have found success using emails to connect with potential candidates. I am sure the results are directly related to having a recruiting email subject line that wants the potential candidate to read more.

As always I like to share email subject lines that have been successful for me. Please note these are the ones I used while recruiting a Vice President of Marketing.

Enjoy!

1. Subject line: We have identified you as a marketing expert. I want to learn more about you, your career and possibly next steps.

2. Subject line: We have identified you as being one of the most talented in your space, lets network.

3. Subject line: As a marketing expert, I am interested in networking with you regarding a role we are working on.

Again be sure each email is personalized and has enough information regarding the role and the responsibilities. Having this information helps the professional with making the decision to learn more, refer or decline. If they decide to move forward and schedules a call, I make it a practice to send along the job specification and ask for their resume or biography prior to the upcoming discussion. I believe this results in having a productive conversation for both parties.

What recruiting email and recruiting email subject line works for you? Please share with us so we may use it too.

Happy Hunting.

Sheila Greco

sgreco@sheilagreco.com

Giving Tuesday - We Are Giving 2 Months Access To SGA ExecutiveTracker As Part Of The Deal

14 month access to SGA ExecutiveTracker for $1188.00 or $85.00 per month. We are in the giving mood and this week we are giving 2 months free access to SGA ExecutiveTracker with the purchase an annual subscription to SGA ExecutiveTracker. Inside there are biographies, emails, direct dials and more With over 800,000 Contacts this resource can be the edge you are looking for.

Not everyone is on the internet and obviously we have those that are not. Call us today to learn more! With 93% renewal rate it is worth at least looking into.

Giving is not limited to food and presents.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 Since 1989 it has become a tradition of our company to give, give give and it is not just about food, presents but about our time as well. I have discovered that giving of ourselves can become not just a habit but addicting and contagious. 

When  you can volunteer and if you can give something to someone in need. It makes you feel fantastic and puts smiles on our faces and those on the receiving end.

 

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Sheila Greco

It's No Secret - Recruiting Requires The Use Of The 3 T's - Telephone, Tools & Technology

These 3 T's  offer the powerful solution to identify, connect and recruit mission critical talent!

Once again we are setting the bar high for the industry. If you are not using the 3 T's to create the potential talent pool, provide ways to connect with these folks, offer biographical information and of course presenting qualified candidates that are needed by your clients, then in my opinion you have not reached your full potential.

3 T'S FOR RESEARCH; TELEPHONE, TOOLS & TECHNOLOGY

Telephone - It almost always ensures completeness. It provides such information as direct dials, emails, reporting relationships and current titles. It is accurate! This method also builds organization structure around professionals of interest and is certainly used to connect with potential candidates.

Tools - Recruiters love tools and as we all know there are many benefits associated with using tools. Such tools are SGA ExecutiveTracker, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to name a few. So be sure you are using the ones appropriate for each assignment but do not rely only on these tools to recruit.

Technology - The computer, the telephone (smart phone) and any other device that can help with identifying, connecting and recruiting the candidates.

Recruiting requires results and the 3 T's can and do help with producing results.

Recruiting requires knowing the potential talent pool.

Recruiting requires the ability to have a number of ways to connect with people and knowing you need to use all of them.

Recruiting requires someone who believes that time is of the essence and knowing that you can never stop recruiting until the hire is made. No one said this job but it can be very rewarding!

Use the 3 T's because recruiting requires it!

By using the 3 T's there is no limit that can't be reached. Check out an example of our research deliverable that produces a strong pipeline of candidates. 

Happy Hunting!

Sheila Greco