Leading Through Coronavirus Week 8

To Shift Direction or Not

We’re in the eighth week of the Staffing & Recruiting Leaders Mastermind Group.  We are getting 25-30 participants now, and quite a few new participants who want to learn more about how this resource can support their success in this challenging time.  People continue to show up as generous and engaged.  There’s a desire to both give and receive so everyone can leave with useful takeaways and recruitment best practices to implement.

People continue to report a trend to bring in new job orders.  Even though this has been a huge increase it’s still an encouraging sign.  Most states are beginning to open their economies to bring back idled workers carefully.   The uptick in discussions with clients on new hiring needs provides optimism for future recovery.

50% of participants reported an improvement in their emotional state over the past week.  The other half said that their condition remained the same.  Nobody reported a diminishment in this valuable measure.  That’s an improvement which indicates both people’s resiliency and improving conditions!

Breakout Discussions and takeaways
We separated into small groups of three-four people in video breakout rooms for participants to discuss a challenge or question for which they’d like to receive input from others.

The most common question or challenge related to whether to shift focus to new industries or areas of specialization.  Quickly moving to “greener pastures” is an understandable desire when your own grass looks dead. However, those segments experiencing greater hiring demand are likely to have experienced, entrenched, placement firms they’re already working with. Also, there may be an influx of other placement firms who have the same idea to call these prospects too. Thus, It’s unlikely that you’d get a quick return on investment in making a quick pivot.

Some other problems and questions addressed included:

• How to keep everyone focused and motivated
• What to do about PPP if nobody in your firm is a W-2 employee
• Should you consider hiring your spouse to capitalize on PPP
• How to get new jobs with companies that don’t already know you
• How to use this time to build relationships with candidates who will be valuable in the future

Some of the takeaways from the meeting that multiple people shared included:

• Keep reaching out to clients and prospects even more now
• Let clients know about Most Marketable Candidates you’re working with
• We’re all in the same boat and will be able to get through this together
• Invest in building relationships with your most valuable candidates now

Many people had similar takeaways and left with new ideas that they could start implementing now. At the end of the day, it’s about putting ideas into action rather than awareness alone!

I’m honored to facilitate the “Leading Through Coronavirus Virtual Mastermind Group” for a growing community of staffing and recruiting industry leaders.   This group is open to other staffing industry leaders who’d like to both give and receive help.  It occurs every Tuesday from 12-1 pm EDT while we’re dealing with the coronavirus disruption. Just click on https://zoom.us/j/3571033654.

There’s no invitation or sign-up. Put it on your calendar as a recurring item to hop on and participate.  This is a group of experienced people who have a great deal of collective wisdom and are glad to help each other with relevant advice and encouragement. We hope to see you next Tuesday!