Month: August 2018

Categories
Human Resources

Recruiting Failures: Pick-Up Artists

Recruiters Want a One Night Stand

Written By: James Aiken

Email | LinkedIn

Kim from Human Resources needed to outsource her recruiting process for an urgent role. She had been contacted by dozens of different recruiters promising to deliver the best talent in the market. They all operated in her niche, they all had a guarantee and they all had the best network (what a surprise). Kim handed the role off to a few different contingency recruiters she felt she could trust with the vacancy.

After receiving an initial wave of candidates, most of which were inapplicable, she requested more candidates from her recruiters. Then she waited, and she waited… She emailed, she called, she even thought about sending a carrier pigeon, but no matter how much she reached out – she began to hear less and less back!

“There aren’t any superstar candidates in this tight market”

“Are you open to paying for candidate relocation?”

“This person seems relatively qualified…”

“The qualifications are too specific!”

“Lets have another call to revisit this…”

Kim wanted an ideal recruiting partner, but nobody sticks around past the initial candidate presentation! She had all kinds of recruiting resources, why can’t they pull anything off? Before they got the search, they were knocking down her door, now all she hears are crickets!

Recruiting Failures: Hitting it and Quitting It

I’ll share a secret about many recruiting firms that are famous for “playing the numbers”. They want the quick placement. They accept jobs and sign agreements in order to boost their numbers. They partner in hopes that something will set off quick and easy without having to really target down and run a true search. Large recruiting firms justify this by arguing “well, the client has no engagement with me – what do they expect?”

Many times, recruiting teams focus on getting an initial candidate or two in to test the waters. They only plan on sticking around if someone happens to get some type of interest. When that candidate gets an interview, they polish, promote and push the candidate as hard as they can in order to make a quick placement. Not to mention, they might be sharing those same candidates with your local competitors.

If You Liked It, Then You Should’ve Put a Ring on It

Imagine if the search was run with a trusted recruiting partner. Hiring managers aren’t being left in the dark as to how the recruiting process is going. Sub-par candidates aren’t being aggressively sold to your company. You have multiple candidates to interview and choose from. You understand why certain candidates are turning down the opportunity. You see that your recruiters are targeting local competitors, where, and what the results are. You have a strong, lengthy guarantee with your candidate.

Contingency recruiters don’t have as strong of a structured process. Their entire incentive is only on making a hire, not on making the right hire. The way to avoid this is to avoid the structure altogether and partner with a true professional search firm. Partner with a firm capable of giving you the guidance and quantifiable data of what exactly is going on in the process.

Setting Objective Recruiting Standards

When working with an external recruiting firm, there should be a focus on setting objective standards within the process. Hiring managers should establish an acceptable amount of applicable candidates presented (our process guarantees at least three). They should also have a good line of communication on candidates contacted and screened, as well as data from those conversations. Time until presentation is an important metric to watch as well.

Realistic timetables should be set by your recruiter on when they will present initial candidates, as well as secondary or ancillary candidates. They should also be setting objective experiences within the candidate profile to completely avoid any inapplicable candidates. Candidates who do not make sense for the search should never be presented by any retained recruiting firm.

Strategies: Tinder versus E-Harmony

When firms are looking for a long-term recruiting partner, they need specificity. Are recruiters quickly swiping left and right on candidate profiles from job boards and internal systems? Or are they surveying you, your firm and your hiring managers to best understand your situation? Firms need a partner that will properly diagnose vacancies and related operational pains. In order to have a long lasting relationships, both parties need to commit. Hiring managers are committed to filling their vacancy, they need a committed recruiter.

Building materials firms should partner with a recruiting firm that gets their vacancy down to a science. In a sales aspect, is the search for a consultative manufacturer’s rep dealing with architects and designers, or for a distribution rep who can better communicate with general contractors and developers? Recruiting firms need to best understand every intricacy of the role, or else they will end up with a sub-par placement, and run high risks of retention problems early in candidate tenure.

Recruiting a Team with True Chemistry

Do you want to look like a team-building aficionado or is it okay for you to hire average employees? Get away from the recruiters who are treating your job orders like a one night stand. You need a partner who is going to be meticulous and dedicated, not loosely tied and uncommitted. You need someone that offers structured updates and complete transparency through the process. If you’re focused on being seen as the talent mastermind at work – you need the strong recruiters of Legacy Search.

 


Categories
Human Resources

Spraying, Praying, and Delaying

Recruiters are Spraying, Praying, and Delaying

Written By: James Aiken

Email | LinkedIn

The Spray

Joe the Human Resources Manager received an email from the General Manager. The GM was asking once again how their recruiting pipeline for a sales representative for an under-performing region was going. With the current union negotiations, safety ceremonies, scheduling, strategic planning, and middle-manning negotiations, let’s be frank – he didn’t exactly have the free time to source and recruit, let alone interview endless candidates. In this case, Joe decided to throw some meat to the wolves. Joe emailed four of his favorite contingency recruiters and gave them a shot.

Within a few days he heard the comforting ding, ding, ding from emails of candidates from his external recruiters. As he opened each email, he began noticing these candidates hardly had anything to do with the sales vacancy. They distributed hardwood flooring and most of his candidates didn’t have anything to do with flooring or distribution sales, let alone the construction industry.

The Pray

On the other side of the computer, Joe’s recruiters were praying…

They were praying that Joe wouldn’t have any other options. They were hoping that one of the stretch candidates would work. They were crossing their fingers that they could get a quick and easy placement, just this time…

While reading a hard sell from one of his recruiters on the ‘high potential’ of a candidate who only had experience selling telephone packages to local businesses, Joe started to wonder how is this possible. Joe gave the recruiters a specific outline, yet all none of the candidates so far are even considered eligible for interview! He rejects the candidates and waits it out hoping that they will bring some better candidates to the table. A few days pass, no emails. Another week passes, and he has no new candidates. “What the hell happened? Where are my recruiters?”

The Delay

Joe emails out to his recruiters asking where all of the candidates are and is lucky enough to get a response from about half of them:

“It looks like the market is pretty tight…” 
“We just aren’t seeing any applicable candidates”
“We have a couple in process… We should see a good candidate by next week!”
“Here’s a candidate, he’s a little on the green side, but he may work for this…”

Joe’s recruiters are already giving up on the role and he’s being put back into square one.

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Opening Up Pandora’s Box of Candidates

The reason is: your external recruiters are “spraying and praying”! Many contingency recruiters are focused on making a ‘quick fill’ due to competition, leading to heavy selling and pressure on action. This isn’t necessarily their fault, after all, they know they’re up against other contingency recruiters so there is much more of a focus on speed versus quality. Some external recruiters keep throwing in candidates until something sticks, and quick! They aren’t as concerned with recruiting as much as they are aggregating.

Many are using less efficient tactics such as posting the job description anywhere and everywhere, then screen all of the people that apply and forward the ‘top’ candidates. This is much more popular in larger agencies where they are getting big discounts on posting jobs on LinkedIn, CareerBuilder, Monster and ZipRecruiter. Heck, some of them even post professional roles on Craigslist.

Utilizing Your Town Crier and a “Help Wanted” Sign

Would you try to hire the top talent in your market by putting an ad in the local newspaper? How about staple it up on a board in city square? Would you put a sign in your window or hire the town crier to scream it at everyone downtown? You would get some type of response, but is the elite salesperson going to see it? If elite talent sees it, are they going to make the effort to make a contact when they’re already successful and satisfied in their current role?

\Although the internet has made connecting to more candidates through job portals and job boards, this still isn’t much more than putting a “Help Wanted” sign on your virtual workplace. This system worked great when it was a company-driven employee market, but nowadays it is absolutely outdated. Many, many more people were looking for work in 2008 so firms really were able to easily snatch up some of the pick of the litter through job postings that everyone was looking at.

Look at where we are today. Its 2018 and unemployment is lower than ever (especially in the construction products industry). Firms are fighting harder than ever to retain their top talent. The best players in your market aren’t applying to job ads on CareerBuilder and Monster. Top candidates aren’t posting their resume on Indeed. Heck, they may not even be on LinkedIn! If you’re outsourcing a search, you need to make sure you’re tapping into hyper-specific markets.

Don’t Run an Ad, Make a Friend

Associates in your industry and region need to be contacted directly. Yes, this does take much more time – but if it leads to a better hire, who looks like a hero? Due to the nature of a contingency search, external recruiters are much less apt to dedicate ten to twenty hours per week. They can’t isolate time on planning, searching, sourcing, interviewing and presenting when there is no commitment from the client. Think about it, would you send your taxes out to five different accountants working on a contingency basis, then use whichever one’s work looks the best?

Recruiting to Complete Your Firm’s Justice League

Do you want to look like a team-building aficionado or is it okay for you to hire average employees? Get away from the recruiters who are spraying your job descriptions everywhere and praying that a decent candidate applies. You need a partner who is going to be meticulous and dedicated, not under competitive pressure and rushed. If you’re focused on being seen as the talent mastermind at work – you need the strong recruiters of Legacy Search.


 

 

Categories
Industry News

Cool-Roofing Technology

Cool-Roofing Technology is a Breath of Fresh Air for Big Cities

Written By: Thomas Berry

Email | LinkedIn

In the pursuit of both protecting our environment and ourselves, the construction industry has looked at all aspects of the building process. Green Building is one of the fastest growing technologies to date, and with the rapid expansion of urban areas it is only natural that big cities are where most of the new processes are being implemented first. One such technology is the technique of cool-roofing.

Improving Upon the Past

Cool-roofing is a direct response to the poor design and unforeseen consequences of traditional roofing methods. Today, as many as 90% of US roofs are poorly designed, being built with dark, non-reflective, and heat absorbing materials. Especially noticeable in tightly-packed urban environments, traditional rooftop temperatures can soar far above that of surrounding areas. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), average city air temperatures can be up to 10°F warmer than nearby areas during the day and up to 22°F warmer at night! This phenomenon of large-scale heat attraction is known as the “Heat Island Effect” and poor roofing design is widely believed to be one of the leading contributors. Although the disparity in temperature is not typically so significant, even a few degrees can cause major issues. As temperatures rise, demand for air conditioning and forced cooling leads to larger energy consumption, increasing both costs to consumers and greenhouse gas emissions from a/c units and power plants. And, of course, higher temperatures lead to higher rates of heat stroke and other heat-related deaths. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, heat kills more people each year (on average) than tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and lightning combined.

Assemble the Scientists!

To combat this dangerous trend in the roofing industry, research has been conducted on cool-roofing technology as early as the 1980s. The departments of energy for California and Tennessee found that white-coated and foam-coated rooftops, as well as roofs with vegetation growing on them experienced lower overall temperatures compared to roofs with traditional materials. This in turn led to lowered energy costs overall, although at the time the financial advantages were not significant enough to warrant an overhaul of the current roofing system. It wasn’t until 2001, when California was experiencing rolling blackouts due to energy demands, the issue was again put under investigation and cool roofing began to be utilized to lower energy requirements and consumption.

Understanding the Solar Reflective Index

How energy efficient a roofing system ranks is measured by a roof’s Solar Reflective Index (SRI) which is derived from two factors: Albedo (Solar Reflectivity) and Thermal Emittance (a roof’s ability to release absorbed heat). For label of a “cool roofing system” one must score an Albedo and Thermal Emittance of greater than 65% (most conventional roofing materials score a rating of only 5-15%). The benefits of such an investment as cool-roofing technology are numerous, and only compound the longer they are installed in your roofing system, saving not only the environment, but also your wallet. First, cool-roofing is better for the environment. Everyone benefits from the reduced temperatures from your building, both inside and outside. This is huge when multiplied by the countless buildings in metropolises like LA and New York. A direct outcome of this lowered temperature is lowered emissions from both personal A/C units and power plants around the globe. In addition to the effects on the environment, cool-roofing systems are extremely cost-effective; conveying an energy-use savings anywhere between 7 and 15% annually. Of course this differs based on the size of the building, but most systems have a payback period close to 6 years. This is assisted by government-funded utility rebates aimed directly at cool-roofing strategies (much like solar panel installation) and can help alleviate the initial cost of installation for wary consumers. Finally, cool-roof options require little in the way of maintenance and typically have longer lifespans than traditional roofing materials, thanks to updated designs and less heat-stress from sun exposure.

Consult with Roofing Experts

When deciding what type of roofing system is best for you, it’s best to have a licensed professional come out and survey your current roof so as to best determine option would work best for you. However, the ability to be informed cannot be stressed enough these days, and in the vein, we’ve decided to list a few of the most common types of cool-roofing systems. First, roofs are broken down into two different types: low-sloped or flat roofs and steep-sloped roofs. Low-sloped roofs are generally flat, with a slight incline for drainage purposes and are the best candidates for easy, affordable cool-roofing options. The first of these flat-roof options is coated roofing. These are literally roofs coated with a paint or pain-like finish, typically pure white or aluminum leafing flakes in an asphalt resin (for a more aesthetically pleasing finish), and help to greatly increase a building’s natural solar reflectivity. Foam roofs are topped with a foam insulation material, a type of “air-barrier”, and are time-tested, having been used for over 45 years as a reliable coo-roofing design.

Other Roofing Options

Finally there are single-ply membranes, which are prefabricated sheets that are individually applied to roofs that may need repair or refitting. Steep-sloped roofs require different techniques and materials due to their high-angles, high-visibility, and the types of materials already installed. Asphalt shingles have a relatively low SRI (maximum of 30%) but are often used residentially due to their ease of installation and cost-effective nature. However metal roofing has seen a resurgence in recent years, achieving a reflectivity rating of up to 70%. This method is known for its weather resistance, lightweight nature, and recyclability.

Cool-Roofing for Consumers

Whether it is huge companies in major metros or one home in a suburb, cool-roofing can have major benefits for both the consumer and the environment. With the state of the world today, we all must do our part to assist in the prolonging of this gorgeous planet of ours, and if we can save a little money in the process all the better.

Categories
Company Spotlight

Company Spotlight: Ply Gem Windows and Doors

Ply Gem is based in Cary, NC and is North America’s top manufacturer and supplier of exterior construction materials, including windows, stone, siding, and forty other categories.

The company has more than 65 locations in the US and Canada and employs more than 8500 people. The company mission is to be the building products maker of choice in all markets it serves.

Excellent customer loyalty and relations define the success of the company. Moreover, the factors contribute to the company’s position as a leading employer as well as superior profitability and growth.

Since its humble beginning, Ply Gem has always been a unique and forward-thinking company – focused on innovation and growth. From its start way back in 1943, the company has become an industry leader. The company offers customers throughout North America a comprehensive portfolio of high-quality exterior products from its diverse group of brands. Hence, homeowners can enjoy a comfortable, beautifully customized, and low maintenance home.

Bernard Hewitt founded Ply Gem back in 1943 at the age of 27. Hewitt started this company in New York by buying plywood crates for just twenty-five cents. Next, he resold this wood for a sizable profit margin. Eventually, his determination and hard work allowed him to save sufficient money to make it big into the plywood business.

Through its extensive range of top-notch exterior building products, the company helps its customers in building style via a complete and all-inclusive solution called The Designed Exterior™. It is a combination of materials, textures, and colors — all meant to work well together to create customized curb appeal.

The company’s line of products can enhance your home’s curb appeal. The diverse product range includes:

  • Siding
  • Proofing
  • Doors and windows
  • Trim and accessories
  • Stone
  • Fence and railing
  • Gutter protection systems
  • Door surround systems
  • Shutters
  • Window mantles
  • Mounting blocks
  • Decorative corner posts

Ply Gem believes in building smart by offering eco-friendly solutions while maintaining environmentally-conscious and efficient business practices. The company is also taking other steps to help the environment. Moreover, the company is increasing its operational resourcefulness and identifying new ways to reduce carbon emissions and lower environmental impact.

Throughout its business processes, the company follows socially and ethically responsible practices while minimizing its impact on the environment.

So, whether it is the materials it uses, how it gets them to market, or the precious energy Ply Gem’s products save in the long run– it certainly all adds up to a considerable commitment and dedication to future generations.

Some eco-friendly initiatives of the company include its:

  • Recycling program
  • Energy star windows
  • Energy efficient lighting
  • Insulated siding
  • NAHB Research Center

Ply Gem incorporated Foundation Labs in 2013. Foundation Labs is a separate business division exclusively dedicated to

  • Leveraging industry research and experts
  • Furthering building science
  • Innovating around testing, products, and design aesthetics

The company promotes career advancement and professional growth through:

  • Advanced Leadership Program
  • Training
  • Tuition reimbursement

Ply Gem manufactures its products in North America. Moreover, they back each product with warranties. Hence, customers can have full confidence in their remarkable quality.