In our previous blog post, Drea Codispoti invited you to party with us in New Orleans for the upcoming Top Echelon National Convention. Well, there’s another reason that you should party with us. It’s our birthday!

That’s right, Top Echelon is celebrating its 31st birthday on Friday, March 8. (Which, incidentally, also happens to the last day of Regular Registration for the National Convention.)

Fun birthday facts from 1988

March 8, 1988 is considered the official birth date of Nationwide Interchange Service (NIS). What does that have to do with anything? Well, NIS was the first name for Top Echelon.

As many of you know, NIS was the first name for Top Echelon. It was changed from NIS to Top Echelon in 1998, as part of our 10-year anniversary.

March 8, 1988 is the day that Top Echelon founder Mike Kappel sent out the first Pinnacle newsletter. That’s right, The Pinnacle has been published every single week for the past 31 years now, in one form or another.

To put things into a historical perspective, we thought we would provide the following information about the year 1988, courtesy of mybirthdayfacts.com. In 1988, the:

• Number-one pop song was “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley.
• Number-one move was Good Morning, Vietnam.
• Median new home price was $108,900.
• Price of a new car was $13,761.
• Price of a gallon of gas was 96 cents.
• Price of a loaf of bread was 59 cents.

A shameless AND true plug

Obviously, everything costs a LOT more these days. But do you know what hasn’t been increasing a lot during the last couple of decades? Registration for Top Echelon’s recruiter networking events.

Sure, this may seem like a shameless plug, but it’s also absolutely true. (If you’re going to be shameless, you might as well be truthful, right?)

And that’s just one of the reasons that you should consider attending the upcoming National Convention. You can party with us. You can celebrate with us. And you can meet other Network members face-to-face, build relationships, and make more split placements.

The best part: we kept the cost as low as we possibly could. Because we wouldn’t even be able to celebrate our birthday if it wasn’t for you, our loyal customers. So join us in New Orleans for the convention, and perhaps we’ll share a piece of birthday cake. Or an adult beverage. We are 31, after all.

And in the meantime, enjoy THIS:

Seriously, if you want to party with us at the National Convention this month, the end of Regular Registration is this Friday! That’s March 8, if you’re following along on your calendar.

Yes, we’re also going to work at the convention. That’s what our recruiter networking events are all about: building relationships with potential split recruiting partners. That way, when you go back to the office, you can make even more money in the Network.

But who says you can’t have a little fun at the same time? (Not me, that’s for sure.)

Below are some of the details regarding the 2019 Top Echelon National Convention:

• The dates of the National Convention are Thursday, March 28, and Friday, March 29.
• The site will be the Sheraton New Orleans.
• The cost of Early Bird Registration is just $449 per person.
• Our room rate for the Sheraton New Orleans will be $189 per night.
• The main speaker is Jon Bartos of Global Performance Search.

Ain’t no party like a TE party . . .

As mentioned above, time is running out to sign up for the convention before the end of Regular Registration. That’s because Friday, March 8. (That’s close of business for us—Top Echelon—on the East Coast. So that means if you’re on the West Coast, you only have until 2 p.m. Sorry about that.)

The cost of Regular Registration is $549 per person. Once the registration period ends, the cost will rise to $575 per person. So there’s no reason to wait. Register today and save some money!

Our first priority with events like the National Convention is to get our members together. We want them to meet face-to-face, we want them to network with each other, and we want them to build relationships. They could be business relationships, friendships, or both. We don’t care! All we know is that the result will be more split placements, which means more money for you . . . and you . . . and you.

But not for YOU if you’re not joining us in New Orleans.

As of the writing of this blog post, there are nearly 100 Network recruiters who have already registered for the National Convention. They’ve made the commitment. They’re ready to invest time, energy, and effort into their membership. AND they’re ready to party with us, which is nearly as important.

So sign up now. We’ll see you in New Orleans!

(And don’t forget to visit our special National Convention website.)

— — —

To sign up for the convention with a credit card, login to the Members’ Area. Then locate the convention registration links on the left-hand side of the page. Click on the appropriate links and follow the instructions to submit the correct information.

If you have any questions about the National Convention, please contact meat 330.455.1433, x156 or via email at drea@topechelon.com.

All Top Echelon Network members who are also users of the Big Biller recruiting software are now on the new version of the software. That means, more than likely, that you’re becoming acclimated to the new Big Biller. Welcome!

As you probably know, there is a FREE training webinar on the first Tuesday of every month regarding Big Biller. We send an email about this special training webinar to all users of the software.

However, to help combat any adoption problems that Network members may be experiencing, we’d like to draw your attention to a series of training videos. While you have to wait until April 2 for the next Training Tuesday webinar, you can access these videos immediately. Watching these videos can help the adoption process go more smoothly and more quickly.

We are highlighting three such videos. They are as follows:

#1—Initial Integration Between Big Biller and the Network

We’re excited to announce the initial integration between Big Biller and Top Echelon Network. This makes candidate and job order sharing easier than ever! This video includes the following:

• Changes to how Big Biller and the Network communicate with one another
• New features within Big Biller to help share Jobs and Candidates
• How to navigate between Big Biller, the Network’s Split Jobs, and the MEGA Database

Click here to watch this training video.

#2—Big Biller Legacy Conversion Guide (Part 1)

Now that we’ve brought all of your information over to the new version, you can pick up where you left off! Below you’ll find a video providing a quick tour of where to find familiar features and your existing data.

In addition to the video, you’ll also have access to links to the corresponding features guides in the order in which they’re references in the video.

Click here to watch this training video.

#3—Big Biller Legacy Conversion Guide (Part 2)

Now that you’ve got a handle on how to find the features you already know, let us show you what the new version can do! The video below will cover some of the upgrades and new features that we’ve added to the software.

In addition to the video, you’ll also have access to links to the corresponding features guides in the order in which they’re references in the video.

Click here to watch this training video.

We hope that these videos are helpful as you navigate the new version of the Big Biller software. If you have any additional questions, feel free to contact us at support@topechelon.com or 330.455.1433.

Contract staffing is surrounded by a number of myths and misconceptions. These myths often keep recruiters from enjoying the increased sales, steady cash flow, and client loyalty that come from offering contract staffing.

Here is a summary of the top five contract staffing myths . . . and why they are NOT true:

Myth #1: My clients don’t need contractors.

Truth: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, contract staffing is outpacing overall job growth five times over. That means it is quite likely your clients DO need contractors and may already be using them. So why haven’t you heard about it? It may be because you have not previously offered this service, so they went elsewhere. If you start talking to clients about contract staffing, you may be surprised by how many do need contractors and how much extra business you could be getting from existing clients.

Myth #2: Contract staffing is much harder than direct-hire.

Truth: This myth stems from the fact that recruiters often become the W-2 employer of their contractors, which adds a large amount of administrative burden and financial and legal liability to their plates. But when recruiters outsource these tasks to a contract staffing back-office service, their process remains the same as direct hire: they get the job order and they find the candidate. In some ways, contract staffing is even EASIER than direct hire because the placement cycle tends to be a little quicker and clients are less likely to demand the “perfect candidate” for a contract placement.

Myth #3: Candidates don’t want to work on contract.

Truth: A common misconception is that contract assignments are the jobs candidates take when they don’t have any direct-hire options. But more and more, candidates are choosing contract staffing as a lifestyle because of the many advantages it offers: flexibility, the opportunity to expand skills sets, the ability to travel, etc.

Myth #4: Contract staffing will take away from my direct-hire business.

Truth: When you utilize a contract staffing back-office, you will still have time to take on direct-hire job orders. In fact, you may attract new clients who need BOTH contract staffing and direct-hire solutions, so your direct-hire business could actually thrive as a result of your contracting services.

Myth #5: There’s not enough money in contract staffing to justify the effort. 

Truth: Having just one contractor can start a steady stream of income that can help you cover your monthly business and personal expenses. And the more contractors you have, the more it adds up. For example, if you had 10 contractors working and you earned $12 per hour for each one, that would be $120 per hour. That’s an additional $249,600 per year in recruiter income! And again, the effort is very minimal when you utilize a contract staffing back-office service.

Don’t let fear and misconceptions keep you from adding a potentially lucrative line of business to your firm. Know the facts and reap the rewards!

Get started with contracting today!