THE AWARDS:

At Top Echelon Network, we recognize recruiters for both monthly and quarterly performance in four categories—Recruiter of the Month, Recruiter of the Quarter, Largest Split Fee of the Month, and Largest Split Fee of the Quarter.

For more information about the recruiter awards listed below, login to the Members’ Area and view the profiles and placement details of the Network recruiters who won them.

— — —

RECRUITER OF THE MONTH:

Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Trey Cameron

Trey Cameron made eight Network placements in May and eight more in June.  So in July, he made . . . eight?  Nope, nine.  And yes, once again, that was good enough for Recruiter of the Month honors.

In second place with five split placements was Steve Copeland of Albert Energy, LLC, while Doris Painter of Painter & Associates and Gary Silver of The Shay Group both registered three split placements.  John Zurek of Zurek Professional Resources, LLC had two splits during the month.

— — —

LARGEST SPLIT FEE OF THE MONTH:

Richard Connors

Mary Anne Buckley, CPC

Mary Anne Buckley, CPC of Interstate Recruiters Corp and Richard Connors of Vista Technology

The position for this split placement was an Associate Medical Director.  Buckley was the job order recruiter, and Connors was the candidate recruiter.  The action that stimulated this split placement was listed as, “Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network recruiter.”

— — —

OUR CRITERIA FOR THESE RECRUITER AWARDS:

Top Echelon Network determines the monthly and quarterly award winners based upon two criteria, which are listed below in order of importance:

1.) The number of split placements made
2.) The amount of “cash-in” dollars earned as a result of those split placements

This explains why, when multiple recruiters are tied with the same number of split placements during a given month or quarter, the recruiter with the largest “cash-in” total for their placements is deemed the winner.

— — —

(Matt Deutsch is the Chief Marketing and Content Officer at Top Echelon.)

SPLIT JOBS FILLED THIS WEEK:

Below are the split jobs that were recently filled by Top Echelon recruiters, representing an increase in the number of split placements made in the Network:

• Product Specialist
• Product Specialist (another one!)
• Tax Semi Senior
• Staff Audit
• Associate Medical Director
• Field Service Trainee
• IT Administrator
• Nurse Practitioner
• Maintenance Superintendent
• Process Tech/Operator

For more information about how YOU can be more successful in Top Echelon Network and make more split placements, call Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CERS at 330.455.1433, x156.

THIS WEEK’S NETWORK SPLIT PLACEMENTS: 

Gary Silver

Job recruiter: Donna Carroll of Systems Personnel (Non-Member)

Candidate recruiter: Gary Silver of The Shay Group

Split job title: PRODUCT SPECIALIST

Fee percentage: 20%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter

— — —

Gary Silver

Job recruiter:  Donna Carroll of Systems Personnel (Non-Member)

Candidate recruiter: Gary Silver of The Shay Group

Split job title: PRODUCT SPECIALIST

Fee percentage: 20%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter

— — —

Steve Brody

Job recruiter: Steve Brody of Executive Resource Systems

Candidate recruiter: Gene McQueen of the Cameron Craig Group

Split job title: TAX SEMI SENIOR

Fee percentage: 20%

Action causing split placement: The job order or candidate was sent to me via the automated email alerts.

— — —

Trey Cameron

David J. Sgro, CPC

Job recruiter: David J. Sgro, CPC of True North Consultants, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Split job title: STAFF AUDIT

Fee percentage: 25%

Action causing split placement: A Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter’s Hiring Hook recruitment website

— — —

Mary Anne Buckley, CPC

Richard Connors

Job recruiter: Mary Anne Buckley, CPC of Interstate Recruiters Corp

Candidate recruiter: Richard Connors of Vista Technology

Split job title: ASSOCIATE MEDICAL DIRECTOR

Fee percentage: 25%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter

— — —

Trey Cameron

Karen Akbal-Sturgeon, CPC

Job recruiter: Karen Akbal-Sturgeon, CPC of KLA Industries

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Split job title: FIELD SERVICE TRAINEE

Fee percentage: Flat

Action causing split placement: A Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter’s Hiring Hook recruitment website

— — —

Trey Cameron

Maria Hemminger

Job recruiter: Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Split job title: IT ADMINISTRATOR

Fee percentage: 25%

Action causing split placement: A Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter’s Hiring Hook recruitment website

— — —

Melissa Truax

Shelli Saunders

Job recruiter: Melissa Truax of Premier Health Careers, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Shelli Saunders of Pharmacistrecruiters.com

Split job title: NURSE PRACTITIONER

Fee percentage: Flat

Action causing split placement: A Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter’s Hiring Hook recruitment website

— — —

George Seipel

Richard Lowe, CPC

Job recruiter: George Seipel of Charter Executive Search

Candidate recruiter: Richard Lowe, CPC of J.D. Cotter Search, Inc.

Split job title: MAINTENANCE SUPERINTENDENT

Fee percentage: 25%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter

— — —

Steve Copeland

Jeff Peters

Job recruiter: Jeff Peters of Peters Search Group, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Steve Copeland of Albert Energy, LLC

Split job title: PROCESS TECH/OPERATOR

Fee percentage: 20%

Action causing split placement: A Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter’s Hiring Hook recruitment website

— — —

(Matt Deutsch is the Chief Marketing and Content Officer at Top Echelon.)

Top Echelon welcomed seven (7) new recruitment firms to the Network during the month of July!

These firms work in different industries, but there’s a heavy concentration in Engineering, Manufacturing, and Information Technology.

The names of these new Network recruitment firms are listed below, along with their location; the specific disciplines, industries, and specialty areas in which the firms work; and the date the firms officially joined the Network.

We encourage you to reach out to the recruiters in these firms and welcome them to the Network, especially if they operate within your specialty area!  (Click on the name of the agency to view its profile in the Members’ Area.  However, please note that you must be logged into the Network software in order to do so.)

Alta Technical Recruiting Services in Mesa, Arizona
—Specialties: EHS, Facilities, Accounting, IT, and Mining
—Join date: July 10

Veterans Employment in Valley Center, California
—Specialties: Engineering, Technical, and Energy Power industry placing veterans
—Join date: July 15

HirePro, LLC in Cleveland, Ohio
—Specialties: We specialize in Manufacturing, Skill Trades, Machinists, Engineers, and Management.  Industries include Plastics, EDM, Machine Tools, Foundry, Laser, Stamping, and Light Industrial.  We also assist with start-up and restructuring companies nationwide.
—Join date: July 16

Acadian Search Group in Lakeview, Texas
—Specialties: General
—Join date: July 21

Corporate Search, Inc. in Waukesha, Wisconsin
—Specialties: Elecrtical Power industry, seeking Power Engineers
—Join date: July 22

Recruiters on Call in Apopka, Florida
—Specialties: General
—Join date: July 25

Premier Careers, Inc. in Fayetteville, Florida
—Specialties: Insurance industry
—Join date: July 29

Remember, if you know somebody who you think would be a good fit for Network Membership, you can receive a $100 credit toward your Top Echelon invoice for referring a firm that eventually becomes a Preferred Member.

You can send your referrals to info@topechelon.com.

— — —

(Drea Codispoti, CERS is the Director of Network Operations for Top Echelon Network.)

Welcome to the next installment of the “Top Echelon Recruiter Spotlight”!

A recruiter making their first split placement in Top Echelon Network is certainly cause for celebration, and that includes with comments such as the ones made below by Ken Nunley of Principal 7 Solutions USA about Jean Imbler-Jansen of Strategic HR Solutions.  Nunley was so impressed with Imbler-Jansen that he suggested she be cloned for future split placements.

While we approve of the thought process behind this suggestion, the cloning of Preferred Member recruiters is not currently in our business plan for 2015.  Or 2016.  Or 2017.  But in 2018 . . . no, forget it.

However, we strongly encourage recruiters to make split placements with the original Jean Imbler-Jansen . . . and with Ken Nunley, for that matter.

For while this was Imbler’s first split placement as a Preferred Member recruiter in the Network, Nunley has made 34 placements since joining Top Echelon a little over 10 years ago.  If anybody knows what it takes to make splits in the Network, he does.

Split placements? Yes. Cloning? No. (Regardless of how feel-good the ending is to the movie Multiplicity.)

— — —

Ken Nunley

Jean Imbler-Jansen

“Jean just came on board TE after my harassment for her to join.  She immediately responded to my job and sent me a candidate.  Jean started the relationship with professional courtesy, teamwork, and a willingness to listen and grow as the search evolved.  You can not ask for more from a TE partner who hits a home run in her first at-bat in TE.  Good job, Jean!  Can we CLONE you?!”

Submitted by Ken Nunley of Principal 7 Solutions USA regarding his Network split placement with Jean Imbler-Jansen of Strategic HR Solutions

Position Title—HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER

Fee Percentage—25%

(Editor’s note: Nunley and Imbler-Jansen have made one split placement together in Top Echelon Network.)

— — —

(Matt Deutsch is the Chief Marketing and Content Officer for Top Echelon.)

Even with years of increased enforcement, 1099 independent contractor (IC) misclassification is a common employment violation.  And the risks associated with contractor misclassification are only increasing as government agencies coordinate their enforcement efforts.  Companies look to recruiters as employment experts, so it is important you know the basics of proper worker classification and stay on top of the latest enforcement efforts.

Why Misclassification Happens

When companies classify workers as ICs, they don’t pay the employer share of FUTA, SUTA, and FICA taxes for ICs.  They also don’t pay Workers’ Compensation or offer ICs benefits.  Companies can save approximately $3,710 annually on each $20/hour worker in FUTA and FICA taxes alone by classifying them as ICs, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).  When you add the employer cost of Workers’ Compensation and benefits for a W-2 EE, the financial impact is dramatic.

Some workers also prefer the IC classification due to tax advantages, including the ability to write off business expenses on their tax returns.

It’s NOT the Client or Candidate’s Decision!

But the proper classification is NOT up to the worker, the client, or the recruiter.  The IRS guidelines dictate how they are to be classified based on a number of factors that fall into three main categories:

1. Behavioral control—If the company provides training and instructions about when, where, and how to do the work, they have maintained the right to control, so the worker is likely a W-2 EE.
2. Financial control—If the company reimburses expenses, provides tools and facilities, pays the worker by the hour, or is the person’s only source of income, they may be found to have financial control, making the worker a W-2 EE.
3. Type of relationship—Facts showing the tie between the parties, including (1) written contracts, (2) whether the worker receives benefits, (3) the duration of the work, and (4) the extent to which the services are an aspect of the company’s regular operations.

For more information, go to http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Independent-Contractor-Self-Employed-or-Employee

Misclassification Enforcement

IRS misclassification audits are widely feared by employers.  But the IRS isn’t the only sheriff in town.  The government has collected more than $9.5 million in back wages for more than 11,400 workers in the past two years.  Through its Misclassification Initiative, the Department of Labor (DOL) has hired 350 investigators and has signed Memorandums of Understanding to share information with the IRS and 14 states.  This significantly trumps up the financial ramifications for misclassifying workers, including:

• Back taxes, failure-to-pay penalties, and late filing penalties
• Back pay, including overtime, and liquidated damages
• Back unemployment taxes and penalties
• Penalties for failing to pay Workers’ Compensation premiums
• Civil penalties (for example, in California, civil penalties can reach $25,000 per violation!)
• Penalties for missing I-9 forms (required for employees)
• Interest on back taxes
• Attorney fees

Don’t assume that you or your clients are too small to be noticed.  These “red flags” can set the government’s sights on even the smallest companies:

• The 1099 IC files a claim for unemployment benefits.  (They are not eligible for unemployment.)
• The 1099 IC files a claim under the company’s Workers’ Comp policy.  (They should carry their own WC coverage.)
• The 1099 IC receives a W-2 AND a 1099 from the same company in one year.
• The 1099 IC feels they are improperly classified and files a complaint with the DOL.
• The IRS is anonymously alerted about the worker or the employer not paying taxes.

As you can see, worker misclassification is risky.  Encourage clients to audit their workforces to ensure their ICs are properly classified.  You can help by offering to convert their 1099 ICs to W-2 EEs and outsourcing the employment of those workers to a contract staffing back-office.  That way, your clients can still receive the value their workers provide without the administrative and financial burdens of employing or the risk involved with making them ICs.

THE SPLIT PLACEMENTS (AND THE RIGHT CANDIDATES):

Recruiters are forever looking for the right candidates.  That’s because they get paid for finding them.

All year long, Top Echelon Network recruiters have been finding the right candidates.  And how have they been finding them?

By working with other Top Echelon Network recruiters.

Once again, all of the comments in this week’s installment of “‘Comments’ and Compliments” involve recruiters who are praising their Trading Partner for supplying them with the candidate that allowed them to fill the position and make a placement.

There is no doubt that:

• Companies want the right candidates.
• The right candidates are difficult to find.
• Because the right candidates difficult to find, companies turn to recruiters in order to find them.
• Those recruiters are ALSO having trouble finding the right candidates.

However, Top Echelon Network provides a solution to this problem.  That solution is helping recruiters fill more job openings more quickly and satisfy their clients’ hiring needs.

Congratulations to everybody who made split placements this week!

— — —

Pat McCombs, CPC

Cynthia Woods

“Thanks so much, Cynthia, for an AWESOME candidate who was right on the mark for a very specific skill set!”

Submitted by Pat McCombs, CPC of KB Search Team, LLC regarding her Network split placement with Cynthia Woods of Woods & Paolino Recruiting Solutions

Position Title—SENIOR PRINCIPAL SYSTEMS ENGINEER – SATCOM

Fee Percentage—25%

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

— — —

Steve Brody

“Another great candidate from the Trey Cameron/Gene McQueen team!  Gene did a great job of checking references and helping to facilitate the process.”

Submitted by Steve Brody of Executive Resource Systems regarding his Network split placement with Gene McQueen of the Cameron Craig Group

Position Title—TAX SEMI SENIOR

Fee Percentage—20%

(Editor’s note: This is the second Network split placement that Brody and McQueen have made together in Top Echelon.)

— — — 

Vanessa Statum

Michael Lesch

“We worked on several job orders with Vanessa and hit a home run for our client.  They had this position open for some time and struggled finding the right candidate.”

Submitted by Michael Lesch of Alliance Technical Services, Inc. regarding his Network split placement with Vanessa Statum of Career Development Partners

Position Title—SALES – AFTER MARKET SPECIALIST

Fee Percentage—20%

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

— — —

(Matt Deutsch is the Chief Marketing and Content Officer for Top Echelon.)