Okay . . . first, the bad news.

There is NO $100K split placement fee in this week’s issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog, like there was last week.

Booooooooooo! Yes, I know.

So, sorry to be a party-pooper. However, Top Echelon Network recruiters reached double digits in split placements once again. And not only that, the fee associated with one of these splits was $41,250!

Congratulations are in order for Amy Chapman of Key People Staffing and Lauren Bolsinger of Orion Recruiting, LLC. That’s because Amy and Lauren placed a Director of Payroll to generate that split fee of $41,250 at 25%!

In addition, six of the 11 placements listed below brought in recruiting fees of $20K or more. While summer is nearly over and the temperature is starting to cool a bit, there some recruiters in Top Echelon who are still red-hot and churning out the placements!

And last but not least, three Network recruiters made their very first placements in Top Echelon Network. They were Chip Yaggi of Chip YAGGI, Tom Honeywill of Decide Consulting, and Barin Butler Jr. of Pillar Staffing Solutions. Congratulations to all of you!

As a friendly neighborhood reminder, here is the information that we publish with our weekly placements:

• Names of the split recruiting partners involved (with their profile photos, when available)
• Job title
• Overall placement fee (before TE’s 6% brokerage fee, of course)
• Fee percentage

Please note that the placements listed below reflect deals finalized in Top Echelon Network for the period from September 11 through September 17, 2023.

Remember, if you don’t want information related to your Network placements published in The Pinnacle, please send an email to marketing@topechelon.com to that effect.

Congratulations to everybody below for the split placements they made in Top Echelon Network!

This Week’s Top Echelon Split Placements

— — —

Job recruiter: Chip Yaggi of Chip YAGGI

Candidate recruiter: Sara Alexandroff of Sterling St. James, LLC

Job title: MAINTENANCE MANAGER

Overall placement fee: $21,400

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

Job recruiter: Russ Hovendick of Client Staffing Solutions, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Sara Alexandroff of Sterling St. James, LLC

Job title: QUALITY SUPERVISOR

Overall placement fee: $18,750

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Job recruiter: Amy Chapman of Key People Staffing

Candidate recruiter: Lauren Bolsinger of Orion Recruiting, LLC

Job title: DIRECTOR OF PAYROLL

Overall placement fee: $41,250

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Job recruiter: John Peterson of Sun Recruiting, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of Cameron Craig Group

Job title: ELECTRICAL AND INSTRUMENTATION ENGINEER

Overall placement fee: $24,600

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

Job recruiter: John Spindler of The River Group

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of Cameron Craig Group

Job title: ANALYTICAL LAB MANAGER

Overall placement fee: $24,400

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

Job recruiter: Laurie Burden of The Recruiting Pro

Candidate recruiter: Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting

Job title: CLINICAL ACCOUNT EXEC – NURSE SALES FOR HOME INFUSION

Overall placement fee: $14,250

Fee percentage: 15%

— — —

Job recruiter: Robert Airley of Preston Harris Group

Candidate recruiter: Monica Elbot of Agile 4 Solutions

Job title: YARDI IMPLEMENTATION SPECIALIST

Overall placement fee: $21,000

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

Job recruiter: Kim Knoll of Executive Resources Limited

Candidate recruiter: Monica Elbot of Agile 4 Solutions

Job title: SCRUM MASTER

Overall placement fee: $28,750

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Job recruiter: Christina Boudreaux of Connectly Recruiting

Candidate recruiter: Tom Honeywill of Decide Consulting

Job title: BUSINESS ANALYST

Overall placement fee: $13,500

Fee percentage: 15%

— — —

Job recruiter: Barin Butler Jr. of Pillar Staffing Solutions

Candidate recruiter: John Ricciardi of Afton Consulting Group

Job title: CUSTOMER SUPPORT MANAGER

Overall placement fee: $14,550

Fee percentage: 15%

— — —

Job recruiter: Adam Krueger of Sun Recruiting, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Michael Stuck of Gables Search Group

Job title: CHEMICAL PROCESS ENGINEER 

Overall placement fee: $30,000

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

If you’re a newer Network member and you’d like to enjoy more success in our recruiter network, then I encourage you to contact Top Echelon 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.

There is seemingly no end to the challenges and obstacles that exist in the economy and the employment marketplace right now. And that is one of the reasons why I’ve decided to go back to basics and stress the fundamentals of Top Echelon Network.

Because focusing on the basics and the fundamentals is a sure-fire way to enjoy more success.

With that in mind, I have a series of networking tips that I will be publishing in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog during the next several weeks.

These networking tips are specific things that you can do to enjoy more success as a member of our split fee recruiting network. This week, I have the first such tip, and that tip is as follows:

Adopt the philosophy that you are going to try to fill as many job orders as you can, as quickly as you can, with the best candidates you have available to you.

After all, the more assignments you’re able to complete with quality candidates, the happier your clients will be, the more repeat business you’ll receive, and the more money you’ll earn!

Our logic:

Statistics show that the longer a job order remains unfilled, the less your chances are of filling it. This being the case, you want to “strike hard and fast” when presenting candidates.

The longer it takes you to locate that perfect candidate, the more time there is for those “unexpected occurrences” to happen. (And that is especially the case right now, while we’re dealing with a job market that is historically tight for talent.)

What follows are five examples of such “unexpected occurrences”:

1. Your client changes their mind and puts the search assignment on hold.
2. Your client tells you they’re going to promote from within.
3. Your near-perfect candidate changes their mind and must give consideration to a better offer.
4. Your client tells you they’re going to hire a candidate provided by another recruiter.
5. Your client learns to function without the position by doling out the responsibilities to other employees.

Immediate steps you can take:

1. Share your job order with the Network immediately.

When you share your job order with Top Echelon, the automated Network Job Alerts system starts working for you by notifying trading partners of new search assignments in their niche. Also, your trading partners have access to your search assignment immediately! Get it out to trading partners right away because they may have the perfect candidate.

Do not try working the job order first and then sending it to the Network as a last resort. Doing so will only use up whatever “lead time” you have and minimize your chances for filling the order and completing the assignment.

2. Use the Network Candidates sourcing tool!

There are over SEVEN million recruited candidates being shared in the Network Candidates sourcing tool, and this sharing system is gaining greater momentum with each passing day.

3. Search candidates in your files and candidates in Top Echelon’s recruiting software to see if there are potential matches.

Present all qualified candidates to your client, regardless of whether it’s your own candidate or a Network candidate. Don’t let the issue of half of a fee versus the full fee cloud your thinking.

Instead, get the search assignment filled immediately with a good candidate, and your client will shower you with praise and (hopefully) repeat business.

4. Adopt a sense of urgency and get your clients to interview (even if it’s a video interview) as soon as you can.

If your best candidate is slightly less than a 100% fit, then you must evaluate all of the potential risks of not presenting that candidate in favor of going out and recruiting another candidate “from scratch.” Don’t forget, your client may have intentionally given you a “10-point” wish list, which is almost impossible to accommodate, when in fact they really only need seven or eight of those items to be satisfied.

We aren’t saying that you should use a “shotgun approach” when presenting candidates. We’re merely suggesting that you think twice before withholding a good candidate from your client.

If you have any questions, please contact me by calling 330.595.1742 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

People who visit websites have a very short attention span. They expect to find what they’re looking for within seconds, and they want a good experience in the process.

A recruiting website has to accomplish three basic functions within the visitor’s first five seconds. Otherwise, there’s a risk of losing them.

First, the visitor needs to know who you are. Second, they need to know what you do. And third, it needs to be obvious what action you want them to take, all within the first five seconds.

#1—Web visitors need to know WHO YOU ARE.

For most recruitment and staffing agencies, their website is their storefront. There is no “driving up” to a website. It’s more like being teleported and not knowing exactly where you’re going or what it’s going to look like once you arrive.

That’s why it’s important that the name of your company and your company logo (hopefully you have one) are two of the very first pieces of information the visitor sees when they arrive at your site.

Seeing the company name provides a sense of relief, since the visitor now knows they’re in the right place. To help them locate the company name more quickly and because most people scan websites from left to right, it makes the most sense to display your company name and logo in the upper left-hand corner on each page of the site.

#2—Web visitors need to know WHAT YOU DO.

Now that people know who you are, they need to know what you do. More specifically, they’re asking the question, “Am I in the right place to help solve my problems and meet my needs?”

They want to make sure that their time is going to be worth the visit to your site. To accomplish this, there needs to be a short, clear, and concise statement of the service you provide, and in some cases, who you provide that service for. It’s like a branding statement that can be comprehended quickly, without too much thought.

A good example of this is the website for JBK INTERNATIONAL (www.jbk-intl.com). As soon as you land on their site, there is no doubt who they are and what they do. Their concise statement reads, “THE LEADING RETAINED SEARCH FIRM IN CASINO OPERATIONS.” That statement is toward the top of the page so that it stands out from the rest of the site.

Keep in mind that the clear and concise statement becomes less effective the longer it is. Remember, most people browse a website, they don’t park and read. The longer your descriptive statement is, the less likely they’re going to read it.

#3—Web visitors need to know WHAT ACTION to take.

One of the major goals of a recruiting website is to convert visitors into clients, candidates, or referrals. To increase the probability of this happening, the site needs to have an element on the page that grabs the visitor’s attention and elicits some type of action. This attention grabber is known as a Call-To-Action (CTA), and it needs to be obvious to the visitor within the first five seconds.

The main purpose of the CTA is to get the visitor to do something. Popular CTAs on recruitment and staffing websites include “View Hot Jobs”, “Submit Your Resume”, “Contact us”, or “Connect with Us on LinkedIn.”

Most times, the CTAs are clickable buttons that are designed with a contrasting color to the site’s main colors, causing it to stand out.

CTAs lead the visitor down a specific path to either capture their contact information by asking them to fill out a form or prompt them to contact you. Either way, the goal is to lead the visitor down a path that prompts them to take an action.

Take this test: open a browser and type in your agency’s website address. Does your site answer the three basic questions of who you are, what you do, and what action needs to be taken—all within the first five seconds?

If not, then you may be losing visitors.

As we announced recently, we’ve formed a partnership with Recruiters Websites. which offers a full suite of services:

• Website design and development
• Marketing strategy
• Digital and traditional advertising
• Copywriting and editorial content
• Search engine optimization (SEO) and management
• API and application integrations

All of these services, of course, are designed to attract potential clients and candidates and are optimized for search engines to maximize your recruiting agency’s online presence. The new year will be here before you know it, so this is a great time to consider making changes to your agency’s website, whether those are small changes or a complete overhaul.

The good news is that because of our partnership with Recruiters Websites, you can receive a free audit and evaluation of your site and also receive a quote for services! Just click this link to request all three:

I want my free audit, evaluation, and quote!

We’ll be publishing more blog posts regarding best practices for your agency’s website before the end of the year, so keep an eye out for those.

And also check The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog for announcements regarding more partnerships between Top Echelon and other top products and services in the recruiting and staffing industry!

We don’t just want to help recruiters make split placements in Top Echelon Network. We want to help them make placements NOW, if not sooner.

We’ve chronicled scores of case studies down through the years. In fact, we’ve chronicled so many of them that certain patterns have emerged. These patterns, of course, have become our best practices for success in the Network.

One of those best practices is the subject of this post in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog. Because it’s always a good time for members to become more immersed in Network activities.

With that in mind, below is a simple, three-step plan for split network success in Top Echelon:

#1—Join Top Echelon Network.

You’re already a third of the way there! If you’re reading this blog post, then you’re more than likely a member of the Network.

Why include this step? Because it signifies that you’ve made an investment in the Network and a commitment to your agency and your recruiting desk.

#2—Participate in Core Group meetings.

Here’s the key word: participate. Participation is one of The Four Pillars of Top Echelon Network.

You can’t join the Network and simply “wish upon a star.” You have to get in the game and make things happen, and participating in Core Group meetings, including both virtual and regional meetings, is an easy (and effective) way to do that.

#3—Network with other recruiters in the meetings.

Participating in these meetings gives you the opportunity to build split recruiting relationships with other members. And you can’t start reaping the benefits of those relationships until you build them. (“If you build them . . . placements can come.”)

You have the job order. Your split partner has the candidate. (Or vice-versa.) It’s like the old Reese’s debate: chocolate versus peanut butter. They’re perfect together! Placements and candy bars for everybody!

All you have to do is make one split placement each year to more than make up for your investment in Top Echelon Network. And you’ll have plenty of money left over to buy some candy bars. A whole lot of candy bars.

Regardless, if you want to join the Virtual Core Group meetings and/or maximize your Network membership, I encourage you to contact Director of Network Operations Drea Codipsoti, CPC/CERS.

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

Top Echelon Customer Success Manager J.D. Fye recently conducted a special Training Tuesday webinar titled, “Work Smarter, Not Harder, With Automations!”

You may have attended this free webinar on Tuesday, September 5. 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:

— — —

Growing tired of manually sending out the same messages to candidates and clients for the steps in your placement process, time and time again? Not to mention remembering to record the correct Activities each time you move a candidate to a new Pipeline stage?

What if there were a way to have the system handle these repetitive actions for you, freeing up your valuable time? Look no further than Top Echelon’s brand-new Automations feature!

Join Customer Success Manager J.D. Fye as he starts the first of a series of webinar videos covering the features tied to the Top Echelon ATS’s new Professional Tier. During this special Training Tuesday video, J.D. covers:

• The various features that can be used as a Trigger for Automations
• What actions those Automations can handle for you
• Ways to customize the Automations’ messages before they send
• Other options coming down the line for Automations
• And much more!

Summer is nearly over and school is here, so get back into training mode and “Work Smarter, Not Harder, With Automations!”

Watch this Help Center 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.