Advice for New Managers in Recruitment

People who have selected to forge a career in recruitment tend to have a sadomasochistic streak… those who look to forge a career in management within recruitment are the individuals who reach for the spikiest of objects to flagellate!... and their Directors love it when they do!!

A symptom of this dynamic is the widely accepted term that as a new manager “You always need to set the pace”:

This is the message that recently promoted managers will often hear from their directors… “set the pace”. It makes sense – they get you into the office earlier than ever, staying later than ever, making more calls, meeting more people, attending the most networking events, billing record numbers….. 

You are likely one of their highest performing consultants, their largest fear and risk factor is likely to be that your step into leadership dramatically impacts your personal revenue outputs. Challenging you to ‘set the pace’ is often seen as a step to mitigate that drop-off in your billings….

And the logic is also absolutely there – you must set the bar so that others respect you when they see you putting in everything you have at all times. You must ‘practice what you preach’ – after all how can you ask a consultant you manage to attend a networking event every week if you haven’t been to once since last year?????..........

Here is the rub… pace setters very rarely win the race… because they gas. Or if they do stay on and win the race they struggle to hold on to their titles for long because the exertion of going at full pelt constantly takes its toll in the medium term.

The reality often is that the highest biller is selected to step up and manage the team. So it is likely you were already running at maximum speed. So now you have a bag to carry, and ankle weights, and a couple of water bottles for your peers… but you are expected to run faster than before……… for longer…… potentially without your team mates cheering you on as loudly now you are seen to have stepped ahead of them……..

Sticking with the analogy it should also be considered that if you have inherited or built a small team of recruiters you likely have a mix of athletes….

·        A 100 metre sprinter who can claw a fee from nowhere in the last week of the quarter but works in fits and starts.

·        A 10,000m runner who makes great time, sits at the head of the leaderboard but has a big personality to manage.

·        An ultra-marathon athlete who might not ever be the fastest in the office but will always get around – and will be stood at the start line with you again next year.

If you keep the pace with everyone in every race you will quickly develop cracks – and they will quickly show. 

The key is to select when and where you will set the pace… you can throw yourself at projects, specific development areas and incentives… first-hand demonstration of what you expect (quality and gusto)… but once you have do so it is key you allow people to run past you as you then gear up for the next race.

It is key that you take the initiative to set the expectation (pace) when required to your collective team. However at other times and individual may need to you simply run alongside them and view their approach, here-and-there it may be that your most impactful role will be to give huge autonomy to those around you and simply stand at trackside, shout support and clap.

The greatest performing and most consistent recruitment teams set their own paces and expectations in my experience rather than being dragged through by a torch-bearer seeking the plaudits and being under pressure to always be seen to finish first.

If you are reading this as a recruitment professional and you can see your manager is racing forward and flagging then feel free grab the baton and run ahead of them – they will likely appreciate the gesture!

[email protected] / 07802 236 713