Trust is one of the Four Pillars of Top Echelon Network . . . and it’s also the focus of this story about honesty and integrity in the Network.

Janet Miller of Computer Management, Inc. here and Jeff Gilbert of Kingfish Technology, LLC have been Trading Partners for quite some time.  In fact, the two have made a total of 14 split placements together, but it was their most recent split that demonstrates the fact their Trading Partner relationship has evolved to what could almost be called the “Masters Level.”

Miller and Gilbert have made three split placements so far in 2013.  In June, the two placed a SFDC Consultant.  Gilbert was the job order recruiter, and Miller was the candidate recruiter.  After the placement had been completed, the candidate gave Gilbert the name of a Senior Sales Director.

“Jeff happened to comment to me that [the candidate] gave him the name of somebody,” said Miller, who’s made a total of 63 placements in Top Echelon Network.  “I don’t place sales people, so I really didn’t give it that much attention.  I didn’t know that Jeff called the candidate.”

Call the candidate Jeff did, and you guessed it . . . place the candidate Jeff did, as well.

So what did he do after that?

“Jeff called me up a month ago, and he said, “Good news, you just made $17,000,’” said Miller.  “He had placed the candidate as a Senior Sales Executive.  He never told me that the candidate was interviewing, but he called me after the placement was made to tell me he was splitting the fee with me.”

The total fee for this split placement: $34,000.

“The candidate who gave Jeff the name of this other candidate never called me and told me that he did so,” said Miller.  “Jeff set up all of the interviews and did all of the preps, and after it was over, he called me to tell me that I had made all this money.”

Needless to say, Miller thinks very highly of Gilbert and values the Trading Partner relationship that she has with him.

“Jeff is such an honest recruiter,” she said.  “What he did with this placement blew me away.”

— — —

“Janet, you continue to amaze me with the quality of the candidates you present . . . not to mention all of the hard work and dedication you put into each and every search!  You are the best!”

Submitted by Jeff Gilbert of Kingfish Technology, LLC regarding his split placement with Janet Miller of Computer Management, Inc.

Position Title—DIRECTOR OF SALES

Fee Percentage—20%

(Editor’s note: this is the 14th split placement that Gilbert and Miller have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

SPLIT PLACEMENTS THIS WEEK:

Are we “banging the dru”m a little TOO much about the importance of a recruiting website?  Not if you’re a Top Producer in the Network.

Why is that?  Because right now, three of the top seven recruiters in Top Echelon Network use their Hiring Hook recruiting website extensively to make split placements.  Those three recruiters (along with their ranking) are as follows:

#1—Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group
#3—Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search
#7—Debi Apple of Apple & Associates, Inc.

Once again, nearly half of the split placements in this week’s issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog occurred because of a Hiring Hook website.  How long before half of the Network’s Top 10 use Hiring Hook extensively to make splits?  It could be sooner than you think.

SPLIT JOBS FILLED THIS WEEK:

Below are the split jobs that were recently filled by Top Echelon Network recruiters.

• Field Performance Engineer
• Technical Lead – Software Offshore Development
  
• Production Planning Supervisor
  
• PLC Engineer
  
• Senior Software Engineer – Server Side
  
• Sourcing Manager – Logistics
• Senior Director
  
• Engineering Manager
  
• Outside Sales Representative

For more information about how YOU can be more successful in Top Echelon Network and make more split placements, call Membership Development Coordinator Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS at 330.455.1433, x156.

THIS WEEK’S NETWORK SPLIT PLACEMENTS:

Job recruiter: Mark Udulutch of Markent Personnel

Candidate recruiter: Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search

Split job title: FIELD PERFORMANCE ENGINEER

Fee percentage: 25%

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

— — —

Job recruiter: Vito Chesky of ICONSTAFF

Candidate recruiter: Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search

Split job title: TECHNICAL LEAD – SOFTWARE OFFSHORE DEVELOPMENT

Fee percentage: 25%

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

— — —

Ron Sunshine

Job recruiter: Ron Sunshine of Ron Sunshine Associates

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Split job title: PRODUCTION PLANNING SUPERVISOR

Fee percentage: 20%

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

— — —

Maria Hemminger

Job recruiter: Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Jim Strickland of BioSource International

Split job title: PLC ENGINEER

Fee percentage: 20%

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

— — —

Job recruiter: Vito Chesky of ICONSTAFF

Candidate recruiter: Gary Silver of The Shay Group

Split job title: SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER – SERVER SIDE

Fee percentage: 20%

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

— — —

Job recruiter: John Wharton of The Garret Group

Candidate recruiter: Ken Nunley of 7 Solutions USA

Split job title: SOURCING MANAGER – LOGISTICS

Fee percentage: 25%

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

— — —

Job recruiter: Debbi Reiger of Reiger Technical Search

Candidate recruiter: Carol Brinkman of Corporate Resources, LLC

Split job title: SENIOR DIRECTOR

Fee percentage: 25%

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

— — —

Job recruiter: Frank Gregg of Gregg & Associates

Candidate recruiter: Amber Schleinkofer of KB Search Team, LLC

Split job title: ENGINEERING MANAGER

Fee percentage: 20%

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

— — —

Catherine Bateman

Job recruiter: Paul Johnson of Paul Johnson & Associates

Candidate recruiter: Catherine Bateman of Woods & Paolino Recruiting Solutions

Split job title: OUTSIDE SALES REPRESENTATIVE

Fee percentage: 20%

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

THE SPLIT RECRUITERS:

Mark Udulutch has made 80 placements as a Top Echelon Network recruiter.  His agency, Markent Personnel, has been a Preferred Member since 1989

Steve Kohn has made 86 placements as a Top Echelon Network recruiter.  His agency, Affinity Executive Search, has been a Preferred Member since 1994.

Mike Ehlers has made 11 placements as a Top Echelon Network recruiter.  His agency, Ehlers Recruiting Partners, has been a Preferred Member of the recruiting network since 2009.

Maria Hemminger has made 78 placements as a Top Echelon Network recruiter.  Her agency, MJ Recruiters, LLC, has been a Preferred Member since 2005.

Jim Strickland has made 99 placements as one of the Top Echelon Network’s top recruiters.  His agency, BioSource International, has been a Preferred Member since 2003.

THE SPLIT PLACEMENTS:

Although we’ll be making the point more vividly in our next blog post, Top Echelon Network recruiters are using their Hiring Hook website make split placements.  Three of the recruiters listed below use their websites extensively in their efforts to make splits.  Those recruiters and the number of Top Echelon Network splits they’ve made this year are as follows:

1. Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group—36 split placements
2. Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search—23 split placements
3. Jim Strickland of BioSource International—8 split placements

The evidence is stacking up all over in the form of placement checks.  If you’d like more information about what a Hiring Hook website could do for your Top Echelon Network Membership, give us a call at 330.455.1433.

Somebody will probably make another website split in the time it takes to dial the phone.

— — —

“Steve provided me with a great candidate.  Both he and the company very happy with one another!”

Submitted byMark Udulutch of Markent Personnel regarding his Network split placement with Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search

Position Title—FIELD PERFORMANCE ENGINEER

Fee Percentage—25%

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

— — —

“Steve’s candidate came through his Hiring Hook.  He actually wasn’t right for the job he applied for, but was for another search I was working.  It’s all good!”

Submitted by Mike Ehlers of Ehlers Recruiting Partners regarding his Network split placement with Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search

Position Title—SALES

Fee Percentage—20%

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

— — —

“Thanks to Jim and his website . . . another successful placement!”

Submitted by Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC regarding her Network split placement with Jim Strickland of BioSource International

Position Title—PLC ENGINEER

Fee Percentage—20%

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

THE SPLIT RECRUITERS:

Maria Hemminger has made 78 placements as a Top Echelon Network recruiter.  Her agency, MJ Recruiters, LLC, has been a Preferred Member since 2005.

David M. Sgro has made 58 placements as one of the Top Echelon Network top recruiters.  His agency, True North Consultants, Inc., has been a Preferred Member since 2006.

Angela Marasco has made 84 placements as a Top Echelon Network recruiter.  Her agency, A. Marasco Recruiting, LLC, has been a Preferred Member since 2007.

Nick Stoia has made 29 placements as a Top Echelon Network recruiter.  His agency, ASAP Search & Recruiters, has been a Preferred Member since 1999.

Eric V. Stearley, CPC has made 20 placements as a Top Echelon Network recruiter.  His agency, Eric V. Stearley, CPC & Associates, has been a Preferred Member since 2007.

THE SPLIT PLACEMENTS:

While in the midst of recognizing and praising numerous Network recruiters for their success in Top Echelon, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention this recruiter: David M. Sgro, CPC of True North Consultants, Inc.

Sgro is in his second stint as a Preferred Member, and since re-joining the Network in 2006, he’s made 55 placements (he made three during his first Network stint).  That’s an average of nearly eight placements per year.

If every recruiter in Top Echelon Network make an average of nearly eight placements per year, we’d hold a ticker tape parade.  (At the very least, we’d have a “cupcake and jello party” . . . c’mon, those are fun.)

Anyway, there are three main reasons why Sgro is a model Network recruiter:

1. He’s “split minded.”  That means split placements are foremost in his mind.  He looks for opportunities to make split placements.  He doesn’t sit back and wait for splits to “come to him.”

2. He networks relentlessly.  Sgro attends nearly every National Convention and Fall Conference.  He also attends numerous Regional Core Group meetings in Ohio and events such as “Top Echelon Networking on the FARM” (referenced below).  The results speak for themselves.

3. He believes in the pillar of Trust.  There are Four Pillars of Top Echelon Network.  The most important of them is Trust, and Sgro has built iron-clad Trading Partner relationships (Maria Hemminger, Bob Small, Angela Marasco) that are typified by this Pillar.

Are there more than three reasons?  Probably, but we could devote entire Pinnacle newsletters to exploring the reasons why recruiters like Sgro are successful in Top Echelon Network.  Besides, the thought of cupcake and jello has become seriously distracting.

— — —

“What a great team we make with Dave Sgro.  We get the job orders and he finds the candidates.  Thanks, Dave, for being a great Trading Partner.  Even better, we closed the deal and he got the offer accepted form while we were partcipating in the ‘Top Echelon Networking on the FARM’ event.  The day was not all play!”

Submitted by Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC regarding her Network split placement with David M. Sgro, CPC of True North Consultants, Inc.

Position Title—DEVELOPER/DBA (SQL/.NET)

Fee Percentage—20%

(Editor’s note: This is the eighth Network split placement that Hemminger and Sgro have made together in Top Echelon.)

— — —

“Angela rocks!”

Submitted by David M. Sgro, CPC of True North Consultants, Inc. regarding his Network split placement with Angela Marasco of A. Marasco Recruiting, LLC

Position Title—DATABASE ARCHITECT/DEVELOPER

Fee Percentage—25%

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

— — —

“I’ve enjoyed getting to know Eric, and hopefully we can enjoy future success together!”

Submitted by Nick Stoia, CPC of ASAP Search and Recruiters regarding his Network split placement with Eric V. Stearley, CPC of Eric V. Stearley, CPC & Associates

Position Title—SAFETY ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER

Fee Percentage—22.5%

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

Just as there were no Virtual Core Group teleconference call meetings during the second week of September, there will be no VCG meetings during the first week of October.

In September, the National Association of Personnel Services (NAPS) Conference was to blame.  And now?

The 2013 Top Echelon Network Fall Conference, of course!

Mark Demaree, Todd Bossler, Debbie Fledderjohann, Hannah Laps, and I will be at the Sheraton Chicago O’Hare for the conference next week.  (The official dates of the event are Thursday, October 3, and Friday, October 4.)

As a result, there will be NO Virtual Core Group teleconference call meetings during the first week of the month.

Other than that, though, there aren’t any other changes to the Virtual Core Group schedule.  In fact, below is the VCG teleconference call schedule for the month of October (all times listed are Eastern Standard Time):

There is STILL time for you to register for the Fall Conference.  In fact, we’ve had signups this week! As I write this, there are 106 recruiters planning to attend the conference, representing an equal number of opportunities to make split placements.

So register for the 2013 Fall Conference!  And attend a VCG meeting next month!  That’s an order!

To join an existing Virtual Core Group or to start a new one, contact me at 330.455.1433, x156 or via email at drea@topechelon.com.

A major deadline for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the healthcare reform law also known as Obamacare, is coming up quickly.  If a recruiter has even one employee, they will likely have to comply.

The ACA requires employers to provide employees with a notice about coverage options available through the Marketplace, which was created by the ACA to provide an online “one-stop shop” for individuals to compare private health insurance options.

Starting on October 1, employers must provide the notice to new employees.  In addition, it must be distributed to all existing employees by October 1.  The notice must inform employees of the following:

• The Marketplace will be available starting January 1, 2014.
• What services the Marketplace will provide and how to contact it.
• They may be eligible for premium tax credits if their employer doesn’t offer an plan that provides “minimum value” and that is “affordable,” as defined by the ACA.
• They may lose their employer’s healthcare contribution (if applicable) if they choose to purchase insurance through the Marketplace.

You can find more details about the requirements under this provision.

A common misconception about Obamacare is that employers only have to worry about it if they have 50 or more employees.  This stems from the law’s employer mandate, which will require employers with 50 or more employee to provide healthcare starting in 2015.  But even the smallest employers, including recruiting firms that have any in-house employees or contractors on their payroll, have responsibilities under the ACA.

This required notice is perhaps the best example.  The ACA actually created this provision as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  So if you are subject to the FLSA, as almost every employer is, you must comply with this provision regardless of whether you offer insurance to employees.  If you are not sure if the FLSA applies to you, you can find out by visiting this page on the Department of Labor website.

Fortunately, you don’t have to write this notice from scratch.  The Department of Labor provides Model Notices for employers who offer a healthcare plan and employers who do not offer a healthcare plan.

Regardless of your firm’s size, it’s important that you stay on top of the developments surrounding the healthcare reform law.  Not only could there be implications for you as an employer, but your clients could also look to you for answers to their staffing issues that may arise as a result of Obamacare.