The Power of People

Today the world is digital. Emails, Facebook, LinkedIn, Skype, WhatsApp – everything seems to be online. As a result, face-to-face contact seems to take second place. Going to Houston for a week for my company reinforced one, valuable lesson that I will take with me throughout my career:

Power lies in People

What do I mean by that?

Let me set the scene.

I recently started at a successful executive search firm in a newly-developed role as the marketing associate. I do not fit into the most established roles that are the most common in executive search and recruitment– that of consultant or researcher or support staff.  My role is a fairly new one, but not uncommon now within the industry. It’s challenging and exciting in equal measures, and necessary. I am based in London, and what I do contributes to the company on a global scale. I had never met my international colleagues before this trip. Instead we mainly emailed, Skyped, or sometimes phoned. All digital.

Fast-forward to a warm afternoon at the end of July and the phone rings. It’s the CEO. He has decided that I will go to Houston. I jump at the chance, I am excited. Of course there is a reason to go – to broach and explore a new global project we have been working on – but that aside I am buzzing. However, on the way home, I am struck by a thought, a conflict in my thinking. I believe in people relationships. I am a people person, and I use that term with absolute sincerity. However, I also believe in efficiency and so at the back of my mind I can’t help wondering whether an hour’s Skype call would be more cost effective then an expensive trip to Houston. It’s a niggle.

Three weeks later, I am in Houston and I couldn’t be more wrong. The sheer impact of meeting my colleagues, of putting a voice and a picture to a person was enormous. Banding around ideas, sharing our thoughts around a table, was more beneficial than I could have ever imagined.

Research has noted that the best business relationships are those that are built face-to-face. Humans are creatures designed to communicate through our most natural form – in person. Those relationships foster trust and lead to long-term, solid relationships that stand the test of time. People buy people, and in our industry where relationships are central to everything we do, ensuring we have face-to-face meetings with our candidates and our clients is critical. Not only are they trusting the company, they are trusting you, the person. They trust the relationship and for companies in executive search and recruitment, those relationships are fundamental to success. We have been successful for thirty years. Through our business development efforts, my CEO meets clients every week, whether in the Middle East or Scotland, South Africa or Norway. We maintain strong relationships with our clients and they appreciate the effort of us visiting, rather than just dropping them an email

Of course there needs to be balance when we apply this dynamic internally. Meeting your colleagues face-to-face when you are a global company isn’t always practical. However, if you are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to travel to your offices in other regions, take it. The benefit is priceless. Relationships are cemented through that face-to-face contact and can be kept alive then through digital means. The relationship has been established, the trust is there and that email has an extra touch of warmth.

In my one week away, I learnt the lesson of people and relationships and the value of meeting in person. At the ripe age of 28 I am still old-fashioned at heart and would always choose to meet for a coffee than catch up on the phone (location of course permitting). It is those coffee catch ups with my contacts, those face-to-face meetings, that cement the strongest business relationships I have. So my take-away is this - I left London going to meet my colleagues and left Houston having made real friends.

That says it all.