Okay, we all know that Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter Al Daum is a rockstar.  (After all, his Trading Partners told us so.)

However, as this week’s split placements clearly show, Daum is also “da bomb” in the Network—not in the literal sense, of course, but in the figurative sense.  That’s the sense where he does everything you’re supposed to do as a Preferred Member, and that’s why he’s made a bunch of placements.

How many placements?  Four so far in 2012, 23 in the past five years, and 49 since he joined Top Echelon Network.  Daum consistently flies below the radar year in and year out, chugging along and churning out split placement after split placement after split placement.

But we’re on to you, Daum!  No more escaping the spotlight and shunning notoriety.  Your cover has been blown.  You’re a model Preferred Member recruiter, and there’s no denying it!  So . . . there.

THIS WEEK’S COMPLETED SPLIT PLACEMENTS!

Job order recruiter: Kristy Fangman of Automationtechies.com

Candidate recruiter: Alan Daum of Alan N. Daum & Associates, Inc.

Job title: ENGINEER

Fee Percentage—Flat

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

— — —

Job order recruiter: Bruce Widnes of The Recruiting Group, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Alan Daum of Alan N. Daum & Associates, Inc.

Job title: CONTROL & INSTRUMENTATION ENGINEER

Fee Percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: Al Daum saw the job order and sent his candidate.  The candidate was local, which thrilled the client.

— — —

Job order recruiter: Larry Barlow of Tax Advantage Personnel, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: James R. Gettys of International Staffing Consultants, Inc.

Job title: SENIOR OF INTERNATIONAL TAX

Fee Percentage—25%

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

— — —

Job order recruiter: Thomas L. Udulutch of Markent Personnel

Candidate recruiter: Don Fredrick of Executech, Inc.

Job title: PROJECT ENGINEER – PLASTIC MOLDING

Fee Percentage—30%

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

— — —

Job order recruiter: Mike Helffrich of Helffrich International

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Job title: SOFTWARE ENGINEERING MANAGER

Fee Percentage—25%

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

— — —

Job order recruiter: Ronald L. Puibello of Ronald L. Puibello Search, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: John Cokinos of J.D. Cotter Search, Inc.

Job title: PRODUCT ENGINEER

Fee Percentage—25%

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

— — —

Job order recruiter: Karen Akbal-Sturgeon of KLA Industries

Candidate recruiter: Jim Grates of Arris Consultants, LLC

Job title: SENIOR MANAGER OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Fee Percentage—20%

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

— — —

Job order recruiter: Robert Inabnet of Management Search International

Candidate recruiter: Ann Boland of The Boland Group

Job title: HOSPITAL LAB DIRECTOR

Fee Percentage—23%

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

— — —

330.455.1433, x125
mdeutsch@topechelon.com<
Connect with Matt on LinkedIn.
Follow Matt on Twitter.

When Preferred Member recruiters in Top Echelon recruiting network compliment one another, they use a variety of words to do so.

In this week’s installment of “‘Comments’ and Compliments,” those words include “amazing” and on the “bullseye.”  Furthermore, when recruiters are complimented by their peers for their efforts during a successful split placement, they’re not only being complimented, but they’re also branding themselves to others as great recruiters and superior Trading Partners.

In other words, doing a great job in a split placement situation gives you credibility within the Network, and that credibility can help you become even more productive as a Preferred Member.  Other recruiters will want to work with you (i.e., send you job orders and candidates).

This week’s installment of “‘Comments’ and Compliments” includes recruiters who have done just that—branded themselves as great Trading Partners and achieved a level of credibility that will allow them to enjoy even more success making split placements in the future.

If you’d like to thank another recruiter for their efforts in a split placement situation, send your information to marketing@topechelon.com.  Your comments might be included in an upcoming issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog!

— — —

“Joe was amazing in assisting with this.  He is very skilled at matching candidates and invests much time in the process.  I also appreciated his perspective to the given situations gained over the years in this industry.  This is our second recent split placement together!”

Submitted by Nick Stoia of ASAP Search & Recruiters regarding his split placement with Joe Miglizzi of Perspective

Position Title—PRODUCT MARKETING DIRECTOR
Fee Percentage—20%

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

— — —

“BULLSEYE searching and lots of candidate consoling by my TE partner Tom Edwards!  Lots of communication in all directions, with Tom in the middle.  This is his second hire with this client.  We’re looking forward to many more in the future.  It was nice to see this candidate coached in the direction of accepting the offer from my client.  Thanks for staying on top of this one, Tom!”

Submitted by Steve Copeland of Albert Energy, LLC regarding his split placement with Thomas Edwards of Front Line Solutions, LLC

Position Title—FIELD SERVICE ENGINEER TECHNICIAN
Fee Percentage—22.5%

(Editor’s note: this is the third split placement that Copeland and Edwards have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

— — —

330.455.1433, x125
mdeutsch@topechelon.com
Connect with Matt on LinkedIn.
Follow Matt on Twitter.

Let’s run down the list of the Top Echelon Network “Recruiter of the Month” award winners for the first seven months of this year, shall we?

January—Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC
February—Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group
March—David Wick, CPC of Career Center of Cincinnati, Inc.
April—Trey Cameron
May—Trey Cameron
June—Juli Smith of The Smith Consulting Group, LLC
July—Trey Cameron

With that evidence submitted, who do you think might be the “Recruiter of the Month” for August?  Jimmy Hoffa?  Diego Montoya?  Me?  Nope.  If you guessed “Trey Cameron,” you’d be correct . . . although I wouldn’t apply for your “Certified Psychic” card just yet.

And while his lead on the rest of the Membership has diminished slightly in recent months, Cameron is still at the forefront in the race for “Recruiter of the Year” honors.  Can he repeat as the Network’s Top Producer in 2012?  Will he reach $1 million cash-in for his Network career?  (Wait, he already did that.)  Will he break the record for Network placements in a single year?  Stay tuned!

As always, we recognize recruiters for both monthly and quarterly performance in four categories—“Recruiter of the Month,” “Recruiter of the Quarter,” “Highest Split Placement Fee of the Month,” and “Highest Split Placement Fee of the
Quarter.”

For more information about the placements and cash-in totals associated with these awards, please login to the Members’ Area and view the profiles and placement details of the recruiters involved.

 — — —

Recruiter of the Month
Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Cameron was the only Preferred Member recruiter in the Network to make five split placements during the month of August.

In second place was Sean Napoles, CPC of Career Brokers, Inc. with four split placements.  In third place were Alan Daum of Alan N. Daum & Associates, Inc. and Michael Stuck of Gables Search Group, Inc. with three split placements apiece.

 — — —

Highest Split Placement Fee of the Month
Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search and Neil Elenzweig of American Career Search, Inc.

The position for this placement was a Research Development and Engineering Manager.  Kohn was the job order recruiter, and Elenzweig was the candidate recruiter.  The action that stimulated this split placement was listed as “Regular phone communication with a Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter in my specialty area.”

 — — —

Our criteria for these awards:

Top Echelon Network is a split placement network.  As such, we place an emphasis on split placements, and that emphasis constitutes a large part of our criteria for these awards.  We determine the monthly and quarterly award winners based upon two things, 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

— — —

330.455.1433, x125
mdeutsch@topechelon.com
Connect with Matt on LinkedIn.
Follow Matt on Twitter.

At the beginning of this year, Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group needed to bill over a quarter of a million dollars to become a $1 Million Producer in Top Echelon Network.

Well, guess what?  A scant eight months into 2012, Cameron has accomplished just that.

With his most recent split placement, Cameron has now joined an elite group within Top Echelon Network—namely that group of recruiters who have achieved $1 million (or more) cash-in as Preferred Members.

Cameron started in the recruiting industry 10 years ago, and he joined Top Echelon Network in January of 2003.  So far in 2012, he’s closed 21 Network deals, and there are still six that are open and will probably close before the end of the year.

Overall, Cameron has made 136 placements in the Network.  If he’s able to sustain such a torrid pace during the next few years, he has a chance to accomplish another rare Top Echelon Network feat: 200 placements.

Everybody at Top Echelon would like to congratulate Trey Cameron on becoming the next $1 Million Producer in the Network!  Here’s to even more placements and more success in the future!

— — —

330.455.1433, x125
mdeutsch@topechelon.com
Connect with Matt on LinkedIn.
Follow Matt on Twitter.

(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.)

The Sacramento Business Journal recently reported that lawsuits under the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) have risen 33% over the past three years.  With that in mind, it seems like a good time to discuss when contractors must be paid for overtime.

First, let’s clarify what we mean by contractors. We’re are not talking about 1099 Independent Contractors.  We’re talking about workers who are placed on a contract basis at a client company and who are W-2 employees of a third party.

The FLSA requires that most W-2 employees be paid at a rate of 1.5 times their regular pay rate for any hours worked over 40 in a work week.  Some states have more stringent requirements.  For instance, workers in California must be paid overtime for any hours worked over eight in a day.

The FLSA does allow certain employees to be classified as exempt from overtime.  To be exempt, employees must also fall into one of the following classifications and be paid at least $455 a week on a salary (not hourly) basis:

• Executive
• Administrative
• Learned Professional

Keep in mind, however, that just calling someone an executive, for example, does not automatically make them exempt.  They must meet certain requirements to be considered exempt under one of these classifications.  Please see the exempt requirements provided on the Department of Labor’s website.

The rules are a little different for professionals working in computer-related and outside sales occupations.  Employees meeting the requirements for the computer-related exemption can be paid at an hourly rate if they are paid at least $27.63 per hour ($38.89 per hour in California).  Additionally, the salary requirements do not apply to those under the outside sales exemption.

If you’re placing contractors and run your own back-office, you are responsible for properly classifying contractors as exempt or non-exempt and paying overtime when required.  But even if you’re utilizing a contract staffing back-office that handles those responsibilities, it’s important that you’re aware of the requirements of the FLSA since your clients often look to you as an employment expert.

(This article is for informational purposes ONLY and should not be considered legal advice.)

— — —

888.627.3678
dfledderjohann@topecheloncontracting.com
Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn.
Follow Debbie on Twitter.