It’s another week, which means that we’re announcing the induction of another group of recruiters into the Top Echelon Hall of Fame!

This is, of course, our inaugural class of HOF recruiters. That’s because this is the first year that we’ve recognized recruiters who have been Network members throughout Top Echelon’s 36-year existence. Will there be more recruiters inducted in the coming years? Of course there will!

But let’s not live in the future. Today, let’s live in the present (and in some of the past). That’s because we’d like to announce the induction of three more recruiters into the Top Echelon Hall of Fame:

1. Veronica Snyder of Career Professionals, Inc.
2. Jerry Walter of Walter & Associates, Inc.
3. David Kersey of Kersey & Associates, Inc.

And of course, since the summer isn’t even one month old yet, we have many more inductee announcements to go. So be sure to follow Top Echelon on social media and read The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog every week to see which recruiters are inducted next!

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STEADY AS SHE GOES: Veronica Snyder, President of Career Professionals, Inc. in Morristown, Tennessee has been remarkably consistent during her #recruiting career, including her tenure inside of Top Echelon Network.

Veronica—known affectionately as “Roni” by her Top Echelon trading partners—made her first placement in the Network in 2000, and she’s made placements in TE every year since, with the exception of 2009. (Of course, that was immediately in the aftermath of the Great Recession, and #recruiters weren’t making a ton of placements in those days.)

Career Professionals joined Top Echelon Network in June of 1990, when it was known as Nationwide Interchange Service (NIS). Roni, who has been working in the recruiting profession for 25 years, joined Career Professionals 10 years later.

“Career Professionals joined Top Echelon 34 years ago and our relationship with TE trading partners has been vital to the success of our company,” said Roni. “I started recruiting 25 years ago, and split placements within Top Echelon have always been a core part of my success as a recruiter.”

Roni and her long-time business partner, Steve Taylor, bought Career Professionals in 2004 and were co-owners for many years. When Steve retired in 2015, Roni began working solo. When that happened, she knew that she needed the full resources of Top Echelon to help her meet the needs of her clients and candidates.

Needless to say, Roni’s desire to leverage the resources of the Network has paid off, both literally and figuratively. Roni has made 100 TE placements during her tenure in Top Echelon, joining an exclusive group of recruiters who have hit the century mark in terms of Network placements.

According to Roni, one of the keys to her success is her willingness to build and cultivate relationships, including with other recruiters.

“How we recruit has changed over the years from using only a phone and Rolodex to now utilizing sophisticated social media and video interviews to identify candidates,” she said. “What has not changed is the importance of working closely with recruiting partners who excel in areas where I am weak.”

And Roni is certainly not content to stop at 100 TE placements. Quite the contrary: she’s eager to forge into the future and continue using Top Echelon’s tools and services and building relationships to make placements and grow her business.

“Top Echelon Network is full of great recruiters who have figured out how they can use their talents to help others fill jobs,” she said. “Top Echelon also has a great, forward-thinking staff that continuously develops more sophisticated technology to help us all be successful. I am grateful for the partnership with TE and the many great affiliates over the years.”

We at Top Echelon are pleased to announce the induction of Veronica Snyder into the Top Echelon Hall of Fame as a member of the 2024 class!

“It is truly an honor to be inducted into Top Echelon’s first Hall of Fame class,” said Roni. “Here’s to many more years of success for the Network!”

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ALL-TIME GREAT: The Top Echelon Hall of Fame is filled with old-school recruiters who were succeeding in the profession before the advent of the Internet, social media, and smartphones. Heck, some were succeeding before the invention of the fax machine.

One such old-school recruiter is Jerry Walter of Walter & Associates, Inc.

Jerry started in the #recruitment profession in 1982, back when there were only paper resumes (sorry, LinkedIn), snail mail, and a rolodex on your #recruiting desk. Some of you may be wondering exactly what a rolodex is . . .

Regardless, due to the ups and downs of the profession—and the economy—Jerry joined Top Echelon Network in June of 1991, when it was known as Nationwide Interchange Service (NIS) and it had only been in operation for a little more than three years.

Specializing in the Information Technology industry, Jerry leveraged the value of his Network membership, eventually making 183 TE placements before he retired a few years ago. According to Top Echelon President Mark Demaree, Jerry used the products, tools, and services of the Network to their fullest.

“Jerry is one of the all-time greats in Top Echelon Network,” said Mark. “He joined just a few years after TE was founded, and he helped raise the bar for excellence within the Network. He’s a great example of how a #recruiter can strategically use Top Echelon to operate their recruiting desk and their agency more efficiently.”

We at Top Echelon are pleased to announce the induction of Jerry Walter into the Top Echelon Hall of Fame as a member of the 2024 class!

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STATESMAN: During his 30-year tenure in Top Echelon’s recruiter network, David Kersey of Kersey & Associates, Inc. was a model Network member.

Before retiring from the profession in 2022, David specialized in placing candidates in the Financial and Manufacturing areas, from entry-level programmers to the CIO suite. During his tenure in Top Echelon Network, he made 113 split placements with scores of other members. Kersey enjoyed success in the Network for many reasons, but he stood out from other recruiters because of his willingness to do the following things:

• Attend networking events like conferences and conventions
• Praise trading partners publicly for their help and assistance during deals
• Continuously seek out new trading partners

David was a master of the #recruiting profession and a student of knowledge in general. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering from North Carolina State University before earning his Masters in Business Administration Degree from Harvard. In addition, he was a member of both the North Carolina Association of Staffing Professionals (NCASP) and the South Carolina Association of Personnel Services (SCAPS).

“David Kersey was a consummate Network member,” said Top Echelon President Mark Demaree. “He believed in the value of split placements, he made an effort to network with other recruiters, he provided an excellent trading partner experience, and he was a proven businessman for years. We fully appreciate the commitment that David made to the Network and we also appreciate his high standard of professionalism.”

We at Top Echelon are pleased to announce the induction of David Kersey into the Top Echelon Hall of Fame as a member of the 2024 class!

Be sure to check The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog–as well as Top Echelon’s official LinkedIn account–for future announcements regarding 2024 inductees into Top Echelon’s Hall of Fame!

You probably already know that Top Echelon Connect Fall 2024 will be held in Canton, Ohio this year.

And you might know that the conference will be held at the Pro Football Hall of Fame (a topic which we’ll explore at a later date in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.)

But did you know that Tom Erb of Tallann Resources will be one of the speakers at the event?

We’re going to assume that you did not, and so that’s why we’re making this announcement!

Below is the bio for Tom Erb, who has also presented two webinars as part of Top Echelon’s Expert Recruiter Coaching Series:

With a career spanning nearly 20 years, Tom Erb has established himself as one of the staffing and recruiting industry’s top subject matter experts. As an executive for two of the largest staffing and recruiting companies in the world, Tom worked with some of the most recognizable and well-respected companies in the United States to help optimize their workforce strategy. As a consultant, trainer, and speaker to the staffing and recruiting industry, Tom has helped hundreds of firms create and execute sales and recruiting strategies to grow their business.

Below is the description of Tom’s scheduled session at Top Echelon Connect Fall 2024, which is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. on Tuesday, September 24.

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“Driving Recruiting Success with the 4 Key Sales Mindsets”

Sustained success in sales requires several key components: consistent activity, willingness to learn, likeability and sociability, and persistence just to name a few. But one area that is often overlooked is adopting the right mindset with our sales approach. In this session, we will actually cover not one, but four mindsets that can turbocharge you and your team’s sales results.

1. Performance – Do we want to perform at a high level, do we know what we need to do to get there, and are we willing to do what’s needed over and over again?

2. Value – How do we approach prospects from a value perspective rather than a selling approach?

3. Long Game – Are we approaching sales activity with a transactional method (as almost all do), or do we approach sales with a long game mindset that provides residual benefits that build over our career?

4. Mastery – How do we get better every day, becoming more and more productive with the same amount of time?

Join us for this timely and engaging session as Tom Erb, author of Winning the Staffing Sales Game, discusses how to get your sales organization to effectively adopt each of the four sales mindsets. You’ll walk away from this session with renewed excitement, optimism, and a strategy for consistently driving more sales in a more personally and professionally fulfilling way.

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Keep in mind that Early Bird Registration for Top Echelon Connect 2024 will remain in effect through Saturday, September 7. The price of Early Bird Registration is $325 per person.

So you should sign up today and save some money!

As we’ve done for our past several recruiter networking events, we have a special website dedicated to Top Echelon Connect 2024.

The URL for that website is connect.topechelon.com. In the meantime . . .

Click HERE to register for TE Connect Fall 2024!

If you have any questions about registration (or about any other aspects of the convention), please contact me at 330.595.1742 or via email at drea@topechelon.com.

Top Echelon’s ATS, Big Biller, is getting an upgrade!

We are beginning an initiative to renovate and innovate our visual interface in order to improve your current user experience, as well as prepare Top Echelon for future updates. We are excited to share the current state of this project with you now, but we also understand that you may have questions about the larger initiative and what exactly will be changing.

In order to be as transparent as possible, we are responding to a few of the more common questions we have received after launching our first preview of this new interface.

1. Why are we making these changes?

The decision to update our user interface was based upon a number of important factors, including:

• Frequent user requests for a new and more “updated” appearance
• Research into current design and software trends
• A desire to establish a more stable framework to build future features

Ultimately, we are committed to continuously improving our product in order to keep it looking and working the best it can for present and prospective users. We have a lot of great new features planned, and we wanted a newer, sleeker design to apply them to.

2. How does this impact the timeline for new features?

That’s the best part – it doesn’t!

This initiative is owned by Top Echelon’s design team using their own resources, which is wholly independent from our active feature development. None of the features you are waiting for are being delayed in order to make this happen, so you still get the quality improvements you expect while being able to enjoy the new interface at your discretion.

Remember, you can always stay informed about software updates by visiting the official Top Echelon Product Updates page. You can see current and past updates, as well as which updates and upgrades are next.

3. What types of changes can I expect from the new interface?

Very little of the functionality in the current software is being removed or significantly altered.

The changes we are making will be more focused on the colors, spacing, and general layout. Our biggest changes are for the main dashboard with the inclusion of a new Pipeline summary and candidate source widget to better track your active jobs and candidate sources.

In fact, if you notice something is missing from your workflow while in the new interface, please let us know! This feedback is incredibly valuable for us for fixing “bugs” and planning future iterations of the interface. You can send us your thoughts via the survey here: [https://forms.gle/1ZDKmQWMgmDQwGma7].

4. When am I going to lose access to the old user interface?

This new interface is very much a work-in-progress. We are constantly changing, fixing, and updating based upon your feedback in order to give you the best results possible. We want to take the time we need to make sure that we get this right.

Therefore, you will not lose access to the old interface until the beginning of 2025, at the earliest. 

In the meantime, the new interface can be accessed at any time to allow you to acclimate to the new layout. We strongly recommend that you take the opportunity to do so; your voice will be important in helping us shape the future of the software’s look and design.

5. Where can I keep track of updates to the new interface?

If you want to follow along with the changes we’re making, check out the New User Interface article in our Help Center.

We’ll be posting all about our recent changes and what we plan to work on next.

6. What “bugs” or quick fixes have already been addressed?

Below is a list of the “bugs” and/or quick fixes that have already been addressed in regards to the new user interface:

• The missing Resume card at the bottom of People Datasheets has been restored.
• The ability to drag Activity Modals has been restored.
• Hidden buttons in the Right Panel have been corrected.
• Activity detail display on People records will soon be restored.
• Access to additional Planner views will soon be restored.

7. What ongoing topics will be worked on next?

Below is a list of the topics that we plan to work on next in an effort to further enhance the experience associated with our new user interface:

• Color
• Spacing, size, and scroll
• Layout (more than 2 columns on large resolutions)

Thank you for your patience and understanding during this exciting time for Top Echelon and our ATS users and Network members. We look forward to great things in the future for all of us!

We’re continuously updating both the Top Echelon recruiting software and our split placement network software.

So we’re pleased to announce the following software updates!

1. [NEW – PRO TIER] Smart-TE AI Job Description Generator

Use AI to automatically generate a job description based on the Job Title and other fields, such as current Job Description, Education, Compensation Requirements, Remote Status, and more

2. [BETA] New User Interface Preview

A fresh, modern update is in progress for our user interface. This update will enhance usability and accessibility across all of Top Echelon Software, including a revamped main dashboard.

Look for the announcement banner at the top of any page to toggle seamlessly between our old and new interface.

3. [BETA- PRO TIER] Smart-TE AI Search Generator

Use AI to automatically craft a job-specific candidate search within your database (and Network Candidates database where applicable).

If you’re interested in Beta testing, email us at beta@topechelon.com.

Remember, you can always stay informed about software updates by visiting the official Top Echelon Product Updates page. You can see current and past updates, as well as which updates and upgrades are next.

If you have questions about these updates or about any other aspect of your Top Echelon Network and/or recruiting software account, you can:

→ Send an email to support@topechelon.com.

→ Visit our Help Center for answers to your questions or start a live chat by clicking the “Contact” link in the navigation bar.

Top Echelon Customer Success Manager Todd Bossler recently conducted a special Training Tuesday webinar titled, “A Sneak-Peek of Top Echelon’s NEW User Interface!”

You may have attended this free webinar on Tuesday, July 16. On the other hand, you may not have been in attendance.

Regardless, we have the recorded version of the webinar, which I am presenting to you now. (The recording is also located in the Top Echelon Help Center.)

If you are not a user of our recruiting software, then check out the video, anyway, to see how the software could benefit your recruiting desk and agency.

We at Top Echelon are continually working to make the resources that we provide to our customers better, and this is yet more proof!

Below is the official description of this training video:

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Todd Bossler

Perhaps you’ve read about it . . . maybe you heard somebody mention it . . . and it’s closer than it’s ever been before. What is it? The new user interface (UI) for Top Echelon’s applicant tracking system!

And in the next webinar video in Top Echelon’s Training Tuesday series, Customer Support Manager Todd Bossler gives Top Echelon users a “sneak-peek” of the new UI. In this engaging and informative video, Todd covers:

• What to expect from the new UI
• Changes compared to the existing UI in Top Echelon
• The timeline for the release of the new UI
• A bonus “sneak-peek” of exciting new features slated for release later this year
• And more!

Top Echelon is ready for an epic summer and we want to celebrate it with YOU, so watch this training video and get “A Sneak-Peek of Top Echelon’s NEW User Interface!”

Watch this Top Echelon ATS training video!

Remember to check The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog every week for more updates regarding Top Echelon software improvements and upgrades.

If you have any questions about how you can maximize your Top Echelon split network membership, please contact Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS.

You can do so by calling 330.595.1742 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.