Each week, a theme emerges for the split placements that we publish in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog, and this week’s theme is not an unfamiliar one.  That’s perhaps because it’s the one that’s most directly tied to Preferred Member recruiters’ success making split placements in the Network.

There are a lot of ways to make a split placement in Top Echelon Network, and we publish those ways each week in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog!

Of course, the most common (and most popular) one is “Regular Communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter.”  But that’s by no means the only one.

In fact, this week we have not one, but two different ones.  One relates to Hiring Hook websites for recruiters and is indicative of a recent trend when it comes to split placements in the Network, and the other is “Searching the Top Echelon Network recruiter database.”

If you’ve made the Network part of your regular recruiting ritual (and you should, if you want to maximize your Membership and make more placements), then searching the split databases should be part of that ritual.  Simply put: recruiters who search the databases on a regular basis make more splits—and make them more quickly—than those who don’t.

Oh, and while you’re at it, get a Hiring Hook website, too.  Those are making recruiters a lot of money, as you can see below.

THIS WEEK’S COMPLETED SPLIT PLACEMENTS!

Job order recruiter: Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Job title: PROCESS ENGINEER

Fee Percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: The job seeker or client was found through my Hiring Hook website.
— — —

Job order recruiter: Debra L. Stitt, CPC of Quality Source Inc. of Ohio

Candidate recruiter: James McMahon of Chicago Search Group, Inc.

Job title: AUDIT & COMPLIANCE ADVISORY SERVICES CONSULTANT

Fee Percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: The job order or candidate was found by searching Top Echelon Network’s split databases.
— — —

Job order recruiter: Ron Magnusson of Norseman Recruiting Services

Candidate recruiter: Bob Wick of Career Center of Cincinnati, Inc.

Job title: INSPECTION ENGINEER

Fee Percentage—20%

Action causing split placement: The job order or candidate was found by searching Top Echelon Network’s split databases.
— — —

Job order recruiter: Terry Rhodes of newcareers

Candidate recruiter: Susan Christian of PRI Business Services, Inc.

Job title: SANITATION SUPERVISOR

Fee Percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: The job order or candidate was found by searching Top Echelon Network’s split databases.
— — —

Job order recruiter: Veronica Snyder of Career Professionals, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Carey Towe, CPC of Southern Recruiters

Job title: PROJECT MANAGER

Fee Percentage—25%

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

Job order recruiter: Jeff Ploeger of Ploeger Recruiting Services

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Job title: QUALITY ENGINEER

Fee Percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: The job seeker or client was found through my Hiring Hook website.
— — —

Job order recruiter: Chris Ramsay of Corporate Resources, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Joanna Spaun of MJ Recruiters, LLC

Job title: MATERIAL MANAGER

Fee Percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter
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If you’d like to see the amount of the fees associated with each of the split placements listed above, login to the Members’ Area and click on the profiles of the recruiters involved. The fee totals will be included along with those split placements.

Remember, you can opt out of having your split placement highlighted. Just send an email to marketing@TopEchelon.com indicating your desire to be left out. Once you do so, you won’t be included in future installments of this feature.

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330.455.1433, x125
mdeutsch@topechelon.com
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We talk all the time about how Preferred Member recruiters should attend events like the Top Echelon Network Fall Conference.  However, this week we’re going to let other recruiters do the talking.

In this case, that recruiter is Karen Akbal-Sturgeon of KLA Industries, who’s bringing ALL of the recruiters in her office to the 2012 Top Echelon Network Fall Conference.  Below are her thoughts about the upcoming conference and why she’s attending:

“The Big Biller training is really helpful for the rookies.  So much slips through the cracks, and I always learn something new from the upgrades that come up.  My senior recruiters also need updated on the changes and the added features.

“The Icebreaker [Reception] is good for team building and networking within the industry and helps recruiters to run ideas past other recruiters and build relationships with future split partners in their area.

“This year’s training by Shally [Steckerl] is huge for developing recruiting search skills that I can never keep up on, and [our recruiters] need to know it!  This type of recruiter training was what tipped the scale in bringing everyone.

“I like the Lightening Rounds, so the rookies can learn from the veterans other than myself about the topics important to the industry.  I want them to build relationships with recruiters in our niche so they can find candidates quicker and make more placements!

“I want [our recruiters] to see and hear how much money certain recruiters are making and see themselves doing that.

“The whole experience: driving up, eating together, and going out with the gang, is great for team building and morale and building loyalty.”

The Fall Conference is scheduled for Thursday, October 11, and Friday, October 12, at the Sheraton Chicago O’Hare.  Early Bird Registration for the conference is currently underway. The price of Early Bird is just $210 per person.

However, this price won’t be around forever.  Sign up now and plan to join us in Chicago for a great training and networking event!

View the preliminary agenda.
See who’s already signed up.
Register for the Fall Conference.

At Top Echelon, we’re advocates of continuous education and training . . . which makes us big fans of the National Association of Personnel Services (NAPS) and its annual conference!

This year’s NAPS Conference is scheduled for Wednesday, September 19, through Saturday, September 22.  The location will be the Westin Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas.

Four tracks anchor this year’s lineup of speakers: (1) Direct-Hire Back to Basics, (2) The Direct-Hire Master’s Program, (3) Temp Staffing, and (4) Best Practices and Technology.  Running concurrently with the event on Friday afternoon wil be the owner and manager’s retreat, as well as an executive leadership track.

Due to the success of the 2011 event, NAPS will hold a Wednesday evening “Kick-Off Event and Keynote” with Danny Cahill.  Jon Bartos, Joanie Ruge, and Jim Bleech will each host the morning keynotes.  Overall, there will be four days of education and networking from 25 speakers presenting over 45 sessions.

In addition, there will be two pre-conference credentialing/educational specials.  These include NAPS’ well-known certification programs (CPC and CTS), as well as its new CERS (Certified Employee Retention Specialist).

Not only that, but during the Thursday evening party, there will be a live band, a mechanical bull riding contest, and a live auction complete with a Texas auctioneer.  (Now, really . . . how can you beat THAT?)

NAPS has been the staffing industry educator since 1961 and enjoys its reputation as the oldest industry association.  It continues to maintain the position as the search and staffing industry educator through its certification program, continuing education initiatives, eLearning, and annual conference.

Both Hiring Hook recruitment website design and Big Biller, the leader in online recruiting software, are pleased to be sponsors of this year’s event.

We’ll be there for the 2012 NAPS Conference—and we hope you will be, too!

I would once again like to remind you about the great deal that we have with Next Level Exchange.  A number of Preferred Member recruiters have already taken advantage of this deal for NLE training, and I encourage you to do so, too.

Next Level Exchange offers high-quality training programs for every recruiter—from the rookie to the grizzled veteran—and you can try Next Level for FREE during their trial period.  You’re not required to buy anything “sight unseen.”  You’ll have a very good idea of what to expect before you purchase a subscription.

However, shifting gears slightly, I also want to address the issue of communication within Top Echelon Network, specifically how we communicate with you, the Preferred Member recruiters.

As you know, we use The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog as our chief form of communication.  There’s also the news section in the Members’ Area.  However, we’ve discovered that these two forms of communication don’t reach everybody in the Network.

We know full well how busy you are on your recruiting desk.  You often don’t have time to check out The Pinnacle or peruse the news section.  Of course, we want you to make more placements almost as much as you do, but we also want to make sure that we’re reaching as many of you as we can.

That’s why in the near future we’re going to start sending targeted emails to the Membership in an effort to raise awareness about important developments within Top Echelon Network.  An example would be the deal that we’ve struck with Next Level Exchange.  We want as many recruiters as possible to know about this great deal, so they can benefit from it.

There won’t be many emails sent to you, an average of only about one per month.  (In special situations, there might be two.)  We don’t want to bombard you; we just want to inform you.

Thanks very much for your commitment as a Preferred Member recruiter and for reading The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog!

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330.455.1433, Ext. 172
mdemaree@topechelon.com
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While we currently have a pricing deal in place with Next Level Exchange for Preferred Member recruiters in Top Echelon Network, I wanted to take a moment to remind you that we also have one with ZoomInfo.

ZoomInfo is one of the industry’s most accurate sources for contact information, providing verified, in-depth profiles on over 50 million professionals throughout five million companies.

The deal that we have with ZoomInfo is good throughout all of 2012, and this special pricing package is specifically for ZoomInfo’s award-winning search tool, “ZoomInfo Pro.”

In addition, our deal with ZoomInfo involves two different tiers and is explained in more detail below:

One (1) User with 1,000 Exports

Anytime in 2012—Top Echelon Network customer price is $850
Regular price—$1,495

Three (3) Users with 3,000 Exports

Anytime in 2012—Top Echelon Network customer price is $2,000
Regular price—$3,695

As you can see, Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiters are eligible to receive a substantial discount on “ZoomInfo Pro.”

Our contact at ZoomInfo is Account Executive Ryan Heitz.  To take advantage of this special pricing package, please contact Heitz at (781) 693-7533.  When you call, be sure to identify yourself as a Top Echelon Network customer.

We’re pleased to be able to offer a discount to our Preferred Member recruiters on a quality product like “ZoomInfo Pro”!

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330.455.1433, Ext. 172
mdemaree@topechelon.com
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In our “‘Comments’ and Compliments” feature in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog, Preferred Member recruiters praise each other for the split placements they make.  In this week’s installment, one of those Members pinpoints the value of Top Echelon Network Membership.

That Member is Georgette Sandifer of Gallman Consulting, who stated that the Network is “great” because it’s filled with quality recruiters who provide quality candidates.

Sandifer’s production in the Network is a testament to the value that she finds in it.  She’s already made five split placements in 2012 after making five splits in 2011.  Those placements represent a significant return on the investment of time, money, and energy she’s made in her Network Membership.

To make this installment of “‘Comments’ and Compliments” even better this week, both pair of recruiters highlighted made their first split placement with one another.  Where lightning has struck once, it can strike again!

If you’d like to thank another recruiter for their efforts in a split placement situation (or tell us how great the Network is, because we kind of like that), send your information to marketing@topechelon.com.  Your comments might be included in an upcoming issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog!

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“Chuck is so amazing to work with.  So happy this worked out.  Happy candidate, happy client, and very happy recruiters.  Top Echelon is just great—nice people like Chuck to work with who provide great candidates.  By the way, got the candidate on Wednesday; reviewed, submitted, and interviewed on Thursday; and accepted on Friday.  Doesn’t get much better!”

Submitted by Georgette Sandifer of Gallman Consulting regarding her split placement with Chuck Szajkovics of Bulldog Recruiters, Inc.

Position Title—SENIOR ELECTRICAL CONTROLS ENGINEER
Fee Percentage—25%

(Editor’s note: this is the second split placement that Sandifer and Szajkovics have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

— — —

“Neil was terrific.  He found my job, recruited the candidate, and persistently and politely did not let him slip through the cracks of my chaotic practices.”

Submitted by Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search regarding his split placement with Neil Elenzweig of American Career Search, Inc.

Position Title—RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT AND ENGINEERING MANAGER
Fee Percentage—Flat

(Editor’s note: this is the first split placement that Kohn and Elenzweig have made together in Top Echelon recruiter network.)

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330.455.1433, x125
mdeutsch@topechelon.com
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(Editor’s Note: This is the next in a series of guest blog posts about contract staffing, courtesy of Top Echelon Contracting, the recruiter’s back-office solution.  Similar posts will appear in future issues of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.)

Like it or not, it looks like the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), otherwise known as “Obamacare,” is here to stay.  Even if the upcoming election is a Republican landslide, experts say it is unlikely that the healthcare reform will be completely repealed.

One of the upcoming provisions worrying employers the most is the employer mandate.  Under this provision, employers with 50 or more full-time employees will be required to provide affordable healthcare insurance or pay a $2,000 annual penalty on each employee, minus the first 30 employees.

Even if they do offer insurance, they could be subject to penalties if the coverage is “unaffordable,” meaning that it costs more than 9.5% of an employee’s income or the employer pays less than 60% of the premiums.  And if they do offer coverage, their plan will be subject to new taxes and requirements under the PPACA that will increase their costs and administrative burden.

Even though the mandate won’t take effect until 2014, employers are already looking for ways to avoid these costs.  Some may shift some of their full-time employees to part-time to get below the mandate’s threshold.  Others may be tempted to classify workers as 1099 Independent Contractors, but since there has been a crackdown on worker misclassification at both the state and federal levels, this isn’t the wisest choice.

Some business owners are even considering breaking up their companies into smaller businesses to get around the employer mandate, according to a recent CNNMoney article.  But since the employer mandate looks at the total number of workers employed under common ownership, that also is not a viable option.

One possible solution is utilizing contractors who are W-2 employees of a recruiter or a contract staffing back-office.  In this scenario, it doesn’t matter how many hours the contractor works because they will be counted as an employee of the recruiter or back-office, not the company.

The demand for these types of positions has already surged since the recession due to economic uncertainty, employers’ desire for a flexible workforce, and increased employment regulations.  In fact, according to the American Staffing Association, temporary/contract positions accounted for 91% of job creation between June of 2009 and June of 2011.

Only time will tell if “Obamacare” really affects the number of contractors in the workplace, but as employers try to contain their costs, contract staffing offers a viable solution.  You’ll want to be sure that you’re able to provide contractors so that you can be a sole-source provider for your clients, able to handle ALL of their staffing needs.

But keep in mind, if you have more than 50 contractors and you run your own back-office, you’ll be subject to the employer mandate and will either need to offer insurance or pay the penalty.

If you outsource to a contract staffing back-office, the contractors will become their W-2 employees, so the back-office, not you, will be responsible for complying with PPACA.

(Editor’s note: this article is for informational purposes only and should NOT be considered legal advice.)

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888.627.3678
dfledderjohann@topecheloncontracting.com
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