We’ve highlighted these TE split partners before. Heck, we’ve highlighted one of their split placements before.

Specifically, that placement represented the highest split fee for the month of August. But we’re back with more, namely because these split partners celebrated the placement. Not over the telephone. Not through email. Not even through Skype.

Split partners . . . in person!

They celebrated in person and face-to-face! (Yes, those two things mean the same thing. Thanks for pointing that out.)

Mary Anne Buckley, CPC of Interstate Recruiters Corp lives in California. Veronica Snyder of Career Professionals, Inc. lives in Tennessee. But they didn’t let that stop them!

Mary and Anne and Veronica met recently, and they took a photo to commemorate the event. Hey, when split partners make a placement that brings a $56,250 recruiter fee, there’s a lot to celebrate.

Veronica sent the email before to Top Echelon Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS. We want YOU to meet your trading partners face-to-face. And we also want you to take a photo of the meeting. It’s not that we don’t believe you, but . . . you know how it is.

— — —

“Just wanted to share the attached picture with you. Mary Anne Buckley happened to be in [Tennessee] last week. Since she traveled a couple thousand miles from [California], I drove a couple of hundred to meet up with her. What a joy to meet in person!

Plus we recently split a large fee, so it was nice to celebrate together!”

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Two things happen when you meet your trading partners in person. First, you strengthen the relationship, which can lead to more placements. Second, you can earn Frequent Placer Program (FPP) points!

Just send your photo to drea@topechelon.com or to marketing@topechelon.com.

Referrals are heating up within our recruiting network! We have more proof in this week’s issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog. That’s because we’ve handed out more referral money to Top Echelon Network members.

Specifically, we’ve handed out $260. That amount consists of $130 to two members. Listed below are the names of those two agencies (and their referrals).

—Rick Martinez of r2 Technologies, Inc. joined Top Echelon Network on August 24.
—Current member Tom Dixon of Dixon Associates referred Rick and r2 Technologies, Inc.
—We credited Dixon Associates’ monthly invoice a total of $130!

—Gary Vice of Strategic Recruiting Partners joined Top Echelon Network on August 29.
—Current member Ron Sunshine of Ron Sunshine Associates, LLC referred Gary and Strategic Recruiting Partners.
—We credited Ron Sunshine Associates’ monthly invoice a total of $130!

Reminder: we are no longer waiting two months to hand out referral money. (Or in this case referral money in the form of referral credits.) Instead, we’re crediting the referrer’s account immediately.

Referral money in the bank (so to speak)

Because this presents an excellent opportunity to do so, let’s take another look at the ground rules:

• There’s no limit to the number of referrals that you can give us. For instance, let’s say you submit 12 referrals that become members. Then essentially your split network membership dues for one year will be paid.

• If you’re the main contact for your firm, we will credit your agency’s account $130. On the other hand, if you’re NOT the main contact for your firm, then we will credit the account of the Network agency for which you work $130.

• Those recruiters who successfully refer new Network members will receive special mention in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog!

• The referral fee for the Big Biller recruiting software and Top Echelon Contracting is still $100.

• We’re keeping track of how many referrals you give us. At the end of the year, we’ll announce the name of the Network member who has given us the most referrals.

We have created a special page where you can submit your referral information. Below is a link to that special page.

Click HERE to submit your Network referrals!

We’d like to congratulate Rick and Gary on becoming members of the Top Echelon recruiter network. We’d also like to congratulate Tom and Ron on earning referral money. (Or . . . credits.)

Now it’s YOUR turn. Send us referrals, and there could be invoice credits in your future. After all, if you don’t have to give us your money . . . you can use it for something else.

There are many things that are needed to be a successful recruiter. Some of those things are patience, confidence, and persistence. However, in this installment of “The Power of the Network,” we’re going to examine perseverance.

That’s because making a placement is almost never a slam-dunk. It’s rarely a straight line. Instead, it’s often a convoluted and winding path that takes many twists and turns. All it takes is one wrong move. Twist when you should have been turning, and the whole placement burns to the ground. (Metaphorically speaking, of course.)

Perseverance culminates in placements

The case study below illustrates perseverance in a split network. When recruiters are able to tag-team a placement, their chances for success increase. The split partners involved are able to pool their resources, which include:

• Experience in the profession and the skills acquired during that time
• Talent involving human interaction and/or persuasion
• Time and energy to address whatever concerns may arise

Who has more perseverance? One recruiter . . . or two recruiters who are pooling their resources to achieve a common goal? If you guessed two recruiters, you’re correct!

Members of Top Echelon’s recruiting network do more than just split the placement fee. They also split the workload during the recruiting process. As they say (whoever they are), “Many hands make light work.”

If you’re looking to make more split placements in TE, then contact Top Echelon Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS. You can do so by calling 330.455.1433, x156 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

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Keith Cornelison

Reinhold Betsch

“This was a bit of a tough one, but Reinhold and I kept it together after it appeared to be falling off. He was wonderful to work with, and I look forward to many more split placements with him.”

Submitted by Keith Cornelison of Personnel Resources regarding his Network split placement with Reinhold Betsch of Career Development Partners

Position Title—PHARMACIST HOSPITAL

Fee Percentage—25%

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

More than likely, you don’t have to tell many client companies what contractors can do for them. They already get it. They want the flexibility and cost savings that contract staffing offers and are actively pursuing contractors.

But there are still a few employers out there that don’t understand why they should use contractors and often question the cost. With these clients, Top Echelon recruiting network member Mario Fidanzi of MedTeam Staffing says recruiters need to employ an “educational sell.”

Below are a few talking points that have worked for Fidanzi:

1. The cost of missed opportunities

Some opportunities won’t wait for companies to find and train the right direct hire employees. They need people who can come in quickly and hit the ground running. “A contractor can bridge the gap until they find someone to hire permanently,” said Fidanzi. If a contractor can help a client bring in more business, that alone can justify their cost.

2. Employees cost more than contractors

When companies compare the cost of employees to contractors, they have to look beyond an employee’s base pay. According to Fidanzi, there are also costs associated with administration, Workers’ Compensation, onboarding, training, turnover, and more. Contractors do NOT come with these additional expenses.

3. The Affordable Care Act

One of biggest expenses is benefits. Employers who previously decided not to take on that additional expense may be forced to under the employer mandate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The mandate requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide healthcare insurance to those employees. One way around this for small to medium-sized companies is to utilize contractors to keep from reaching the 50-employee threshold.

The contractors become employees of a recruitment back office. Then the back office is responsible for PPACA compliance for those contractors.

According to Fidanzi, this has driven some of his clients toward contract staffing services. They especially like the fact that MedTeam Staffing’s back office, Top Echelon Contracting, offers contractors a PPACA-compliant healthcare plan.

Are YOU in need of contract staffing solutions or contract placement services?

Then download our Quick-Start Guide to Contract Staffing. Or request a demo from one of our contract staffing specialists.

We encourage you to see for yourself how easy it is. And we will be here to help you every step of the way. That’s why you can can also call us at (888) 627-3678.

Summer is almost over . . . but the hiring market is still hot! But how hot is it? Is it the hottest that it’s been since the Great Recession?

That sounds like a question you would ask a bunch of recruiters. (Actually, it sounds like a question that WE would ask a bunch of recruiters.) And it just so happens that we know such a bunch. Psssst . . . it’s YOU.

That explains why we recently posed the following poll question in the Members’ Area:

Is this the hottest that the hiring market has been since the Great Recession?

The choice of answers that we provided is listed below, along with the percentage of Network recruiters that selected each one:

• Yes! — 20.2%
• I’m mostly convinced that it is. — 16.3%
• No, but it’s close. — 29.8%
• No, and it’s not even close. — 23.1%
• I really have no idea. — 10.6%

The hottest of the hot . . . or not

The results of this poll were all over the place. First, about a fifth of recruiters (20.2%) agreed that this IS the hottest hiring market since the Great Recession. Another 16.3% indicated they are “mostly convinced that it is.” Put those two percentages together, and you have 36.3% that would agree this hiring market is the hottest of the past several years.

BUT then there are the others. They start with the nearly one-third of respondents (29.8%) that chose “No, but it’s close” as their answer. Close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades. Don’t worry, though. We won’t be throwing either in this blog post.

Then there are the real naysayers. Let’s start with the 23.1% that selected “No, and it’s not even close” as their answer. That’s nearly a quarter of poll participants, exceeding those that chose “Yes!” Last but not least, we have those that “really have no idea.” At least they’re honest, brothers and sisters.

So once again, this is all a matter of perspective. The industry in which a recruiter works shapes their perspective. In essence, it dictates whether or not this is the hottest hiring market since the Great Recession.

So . . . is it?

If you want to experience more success in Top Echelon’s recruiter network and make more split placements, then contact Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS. You can do so by calling 330.455.1433, x156 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

When you were younger, you might have watched a television show titled The Six Million Dollar Man. Well, we now have a $5 million man in Top Echelon’s recruiting network.

Who is that man? None other than Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group!

Sure, it was inevitable, but it still merits celebration. After all, Trey reached the $4 million plateau just this past December. So that mean he’s billed more than a million dollars through TE in well less than a year’s time.

$1.3 million man . . . in 12 months

In fact, Trey sits atop the Network standings with over $1.3 million cash-in during the past 12 months rolling. To put it further into perspective, Trey leads the #2 recruiter on the list by nearly $1 million. (That’s what you call a comfortable lead . . . unless you’re the Atlanta Falcons.)

Anyway, we can expect Trey to claim another Recruiter of the Year Award in the Network. Not only that, but also holds other records. One of them is for placements in a career. His total currently stands at 648. No wait, make that 649. Hey, wait a minute . . . now it’s 650. Slow down, Trey. I can’t type that fast.

Remember that every time Trey makes a placement in our split network, another recruiter makes one, too. Sure, Trey has billed $1.3 million during the past 12 months. But that also means a bunch of other recruiters also billed that much during the same time period.

Some of those recruiters (and their comments) are listed below. They are more than appreciative of Trey and the candidates that he provides.

So congratulations to $5 million man Trey Cameron and his trading partners on all of their runaway success!

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Ann Wyatt

Trey Cameron

“Trey, I had two offers extended for this position, and both of those candidates declined. [Your candidate] turned out to prove that the third time is the charm! Thanks for your help once again!”

Submitted by Ann Wyatt of Ann Wyatt Recruiting regarding her Network split placement with Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Position Title—SUPPLY CHAIN ANALYST

Fee Percentage—20%

(Editor’s note: This is the fifth Network split placement that Ann and Trey have made together in Top Echelon.)

— — —

Charlie Kowalewski

“Another perfect candidate, Trey! He applied for a different position with this client that would require relocation, and they quickly jumped on him and moved him over to a position that just opened up, right in his backyard. He is thrilled and so is the client. Thanks again!”

Submitted by Charlie Kowalewski of ChemSource Recruiting, Inc. regarding his Network split placement with Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Position Title—TECHNICAL SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE – COATINGS – WOOD – CHEMICALS

Fee Percentage—25%

(Editor’s note: This is the sixth Network split placement that Charlie and Trey have made together in Top Echelon.)