This man started in the recruiting profession in 1994. His agency joined Top Echelon Network that very same year. (Although at the time, it was called Nationwide Interchange Service.)

This man has made 154 placements during his over 23 years in our recruiting network. He’s billed nearly $1.2 million, as well.

And this man was a force to be reckoned with at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the 2007 Top Echelon National Convention (pictured above). Who is this man?

None other than the legendary Terry Rhodes of NewCareers!

Terry Rhodes: a “recruiter’s recruiter”

Why is Terry Rhodes a legend? Well, if all of the things we just pointed out aren’t enough, there are even MORE reasons:

• During the past three decades, the recruiting profession has changed drastically. First, there was the Internet (hello, job boards). Then, there was social media (hello, LinkedIn). Then, there were smartphones. Oh, and let’s not forget the Great Recession (hello, no job orders). In the midst of it all, Terry has persevered and shifted gears, continually re-inventing himself in the face of challenges and obstacles. Terry made 12 split placements in Top Echelon Network in 2017. Clearly, Terry Rhodes is a “recruiter’s recruiter.”

• Terry has set the bar it terms of the Top Echelon Network Pillar of Quality. He adheres to a high standard of quality. That includes providing quality for his split recruiting partners and also expecting quality from them in return.

• Terry Rhodes is a model Top Echelon Network recruiter. He’s split-minded. He’s exceptionally knowledgeable about recruiting, his niche, and the placement process. He brands himself in a very positive way with his trading partners, starting with the fact that he supplies candidates that are a dead-on fit. In short, Terry Rhodes gets results.

So for all of these reasons, we’re pleased to announce that Terry is the first Recruiter of the Week in the Network for 2018!

— — —

“Thanks, Terry! [The candidate] was a perfect fit for my client. He had worked with two network engineers on the hiring manager’s staff, and they gave [the candidate] extremely positive references. Happy New Year’s!”

Submitted by Chuck Cole of Cole Professional Search regarding his Network split placement with Terry Rhodes of NewCareers

Position Title—NETWORKING ENGINEER

Fee Percentage—25%

(Editor’s note: This is the first Network split placement that Chuck and Terry have made together in Top Echelon.)

— — —

“Thanks, Terry, for working my jobs and supplying me these candidates! Multiple placements in a row with you has been GRAND! Let’s keep it up!”

Submitted by Kristy Staggs of Byrnes & Rupkey, Inc. regarding her Network split placement with Terry Rhodes of NewCareers

Position Title—SANITATION MANAGER

Fee Percentage—25%

(Editor’s note: This is the fourth Network split placement that Kristy and Terry have made together in Top Echelon.)

How can you earn a free month of membership in Top Echelon’s recruiting network? The same way you can earn two free months. Or three. Or four.

By referring other recruiting agencies for Network membership! Last year, we made two important changes to the Top Echelon Network Referral Program:

1. We increased the dollar amount of the referral fee from $100 to $130 (to match the cost of one month of Network membership.)
2. Instead of waiting two months to credit the referring agency’s TE account $130, we now credit the agency’s account immediately.

We’re carrying those changes into the New Year. That means we still want your referrals! Two more Network agencies recently earned referral fees. Listed below are the names of those two agencies and their referrals.

—John Ricciardi of Afton Consulting Group joined Top Echelon Network on November 6, 2017.
—Current member Philip Bartfield of Analytic Search referred John and Afton Consulting Group.
—We credited Analytic Search’s monthly invoice a total of $130!

—Mark Thorne of Interface Staffing joined Top Echelon Network on December 7, 2017.
—Current member Steve Stern of Prism Search Partners referred Mark and Interface Staffing
—We credited Interface Staffing’s monthly invoice a total of $130!

Since that’s out of the way, let’s cover the rest of the ground rules for the Top Echelon Network Referral Program.

Free . . . but there’s still a brokerage fee

Don’t forget to read the small print. Actually, this print is exactly the same size as the print above. So this shouldn’t be a problem, should it?

• There’s no limit to the number of referrals that you can give us. For instance, let’s say you submit 12 referrals that become members. Then essentially your split network membership dues for one year will be paid.

• If you’re the main contact for your firm, we will credit your agency’s account $130. On the other hand, if you’re NOT the main contact for your firm, then we will credit the account of the Network agency for which you work $130.

• When we say a “free month of membership,” that does not include the brokerage fee. If you refer somebody and you make a split placement during the same month that we credit your agency’s account $130, your agency still owes a brokerage fee for that split. (That should go without saying . . . but I’m saying it anyway. Because I’m Drea.)
• The referral fee for the Big Biller recruiting software and Top Echelon Contracting is still $100.

And to make it even easier for you, we have a special page where you can submit your referral information. Below is a link to that special page.

Click HERE to submit your Network referrals!

We’d like to congratulate Afton Consulting Group and Interfact Staffing on becoming members of the Top Echelon recruiter network. We’d also like to congratulate Analytic Search and Prism Search Partners on earning referral fees.

The New Year is almost here. So start sending in those referrals and score yourself a free month of Network membership. Do everything you can to make 2018 the best year it can be!

Recruiters who can satisfy ALL of their clients’ staffing needs as sole-source providers could find themselves in demand as companies look to streamline hiring processes.

Just as employers utilize contractors to run leaner and cheaper, they are also looking to cut costs and improve efficiency in their hiring processes.  They are achieving those goals by adopting a “blended workforce” approach.

In other words, companies are starting to manage hiring for traditional employees and contractors under the same programs.  In the past, direct hiring was typically handled under the human resources function, while contract staffing was driven by Procurement, Purchasing, and the actual hiring manager with the specific need.

The blended workforce approach calls for a collaboration of all of these departments, as well as the overall business division (operations or C-Suite level).  By consolidating these efforts into one program, companies are striving to save money, improve their visibility so they can attract the highest quality talent, and improve productivity.

But this blended workforce approach is about more than just consolidating companies’ in-house efforts.  Previously, it was common for companies to use different recruiting or staffing firms for their direct hire and contract job orders.  Under the blended workforce model, companies are looking to combine these efforts under a single vendor, otherwise known as a sole-source provider.

If you are already a sole-source provider that is able to handle both direct and contract placements, this is very good news for you.  You could end up being the main vendor for some of your clients.

On the other hand, this could be bad news if you don’t offer contract staffing services.  Many companies are already utilizing a blended workforce approach, and that percentage is expected to increase over the next 12 months.  If your clients decide to adopt this approach, they may turn to another firm that can also provide contractors in addition to direct hires.

This is why recruiters should become sole-source providers NOW!

But there is good news for you, as well.  It’s easy to add contract staffing to your business model when you utilize a contract staffing back-office.  The back-office becomes the legal employer for your contractors and handles all of the financial, legal, and administrative details of a contract placement.

In fact, when you outsource the back-office tasks, the process for contract job orders is much the same as direct hire placements.  You get the job order, you locate the candidates, and you negotiate the rates.  After that, the back-office jumps in to handle the rest.

With a contract staffing back-office, you can literally add contract staffing to your business model and become a sole-source provider in a matter of hours.

The start of a New Year is a great time to look back. Specifically, it’s a great time to look back at the year that just ended. For recruiters, they typically look back at how they billed in the previous year.

That kind of retrospection is applicable to us, as well. That’s because we want to know how much recruiters have billed through Top Echelon’s recruiting network in 2017.

Could we look up the answer? Of course we could! But what fun would that be? No, it’s better if we take our question “to the streets.” And when we say “to the streets,” we mean the Members’ Area in the form of a poll question:

How much will you bill through the Network this year?

The choice of answers that we provided is listed below, along with the percentage of split network recruiters that selected each one:

• Less than $5K — 17.9%
• Between $5K and $10K — 9.0%
• Between $10K and $25K — 23.1%
• Between $25K and $50K — 19.2%
• Between $50K and $75 — 9.0%
• Over $75K — 21.8%

The most popular answer in our poll: “between 10K and $25K.” That answer garnered 23.1% of the vote, nearly a quarter. Interestingly enough, “over $75K” was next at 21.8%.

“Between $25K and $50K” was in third place, accounting for 19.2%. Let’s move down to fifth place, shall we? In fifth place was “Between $50K and $75K” at 9.0%.

Put all of those numbers together and what does it mean?

It means that 73.1% of the recruiter who participated in this poll billed at least $10K through the Network in 2017!

Billed to the brim with the fresh taste of cash

Okay, now it’s time for some more math. The monthly membership dues for Top Echelon’s split fee recruiting network is $130 per month. Over the course of a whole year, a recruiting agency would pay $1,560 in dues.

Let’s say that same firm bills $10,000 through the Network during that same year. Then let’s take their part of the brokerage fee away from that total. Since the brokerage fee for a split placement in Top Echelon Network is 6%, that firm’s share of the fee is 3%. So . . .

• $10,000 x 3% brokerage fee = $300
• $10,000 – $300 brokerage fee = $9,700
• $9,700 – $1,560 = $8,140

Theoretically, that agency paid $1,560 in membership dues over the course of a single year. That was the agency’s monetary investment. The return that it received on that investment was $8,140,

Pay $1,560, receive $8,140.

For over 73% of the recruiters who participated in this poll, that was the return that they received on their Network investment. That’s over 500%. And that’s at the low end of the spectrum. Don’t forget: 21.8% billed over $75K in 2017.

Looking to maximize your membership and make more split placements in Top Echelon’s recruiter network?

Then contact Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS. You can do so by calling 330.455.1433, x156 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.