As I sit down to write this post, we are in early June, and the UK is starting to ‘open up’.
By the end of this month, if everything goes to plan, non-essential retail including shops selling clothes, shoes, toys, furniture, books, and electronics, will be expected to be able to reopen from June 15th if the government’s five tests are met.
Currently, many industries are continuing to work either remotely or are moving back into their offices, and in July, the first glimmer of light starts for the hospitality sector.
A return to normal life; well maybe, maybe not.
Should I Start-Up Or Should I Just Wait It Out?
Rishi Sunak’s update on the current furlough scheme, which is incredibly generous, means that many companies could in theory delay bringing back their team until November, and it’s no wonder some recruitment business owners are torn about what to do.
Though are you really?
A question: how important is it for you is to grow your business?
Let me explain.
The Financial Times last week shared the latest economic forecast, which is showing early signs of recovery. Though the April data had a huge dive in recruitment, May is so much better. Yes, we are still in a depressed market compared to December last year, and the first shoots of recovery are starting.
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LinkedIn’s latest graph revealed how the hiring of new staff deteriorated at a slower pace in the first week of May compared with the steep fall in April, while the drop in UK job postings on the website Indeed has stabilised.
What does this mean for you and your business?
Respectfully for 95% of the recruiting sector, it is time to get back in the game.
The Four Machines
You will have heard Katy and I talk about the four machines that fuel your business in our Facebook group, which you can join for free here. The one that is incredibly critical now is the machine that generates leads.
Though some leads can be generated overnight, the majority take time. The latest evidence suggests it can take anywhere between 60-120 days to fill your pipeline in a ‘normal’ market.
Considering 2020 has so far been anything but normal how do you plan to generate client leads?
Will it be down to you alone, or will you bring back your team from furlough?
Katy came off the back of 2008 and the recession in one of the best positions ever as she focused both her own and her team efforts on how they developed business.
Katy and her team started calling clients to truly understand what their challenges now were and at a different level to anything they had done before. Forgot the surface level “Have you got any roles this month?”
This was about moving from a transactional to a consultative, ‘how can I help?’ sales conversation.
Why the Difference Is Your Team’s Level of Selling Expertise
Though it is tempting to wait ‘until this passes over’, remember the way the market is now changing potentially means recruiting may never go back to ‘normal’.
You clients and your candidates will expect more. Whether we like it or not, the market is currently in a state of contraction, which means we need to:
- Get better at what we do
- Do more of what we do
It isn’t rocket science, and our market will become more discerning, so we have to stand out to get their attention if we want to continue making placements.
Here is the thing – your team are coming back to a different market.
They might have been chilling or childminding for the last few months, sunbathing, gardening, and watching Netflix! They will be coming back to a different market and will be in for a real shock, so you need to prepare them.
As a team, you need to act now, making those changes and moving with the marketplace and being fluid and nimble while that is happening.
And to do that, you have got to be having the conversations in the first place to put you into that position.
Stop waiting and start acting.
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Though your team are on furlough, they can train, and you must use this time to upskill your team in the new ‘normal’ you want to nail for you and your organisation.
I mentioned earlier about the time it takes to fill a pipeline; it is like the windmill analogy we often use. The windmill, once it gets going, has a life of its own. However, you have to get it moving first!
Many companies who are waiting are putting themselves even further behind the curve.
Currently, there is now a huge opportunity; why?
Because on the back of the furlough extension many recruiters will wait it out until after the summer; sorry to say this is potentially commercial suicide.
Truth: “I’ll start later”, is not a strategy that will work.
I know you or team members have to handle children and childcare or move back to the office and a host of other things too.
Nobody said running a recruitment business would be plain sailing. You cannot wait any longer.
Though the path looks uncertain, we can help. We are working with several recruitment companies now who are winning.
Why? Because we are helping them realign their business for the new norm in our momentum programme. If you would like our help, step one is having a conversation, and you can book yours here.
Warm regards,
Nicky and Katy
P.S. Wondering how our clients achieve the outstanding results they do? Then read their case studies here.
