Is 2014 a better year in Top Echelon Network than 2013?  In a word, yes.  We’ve seen Network split placements increase 8.2% over last year.

Keep in mind that’s on a year-to-date (YTD) basis.  On a rolling 12-month basis, Network split placements are up nearly 20%.  That means when the year eventually comes to a close, 2014 will be better by double digits than the year before . . . at least in terms of placements made.

With all that said, how will 2015 stack up to this year?  Will it be at least as good?  Will it be even better than that?

The Network has experienced an accelerated increase in placements during the past three months.  If the activity during all of 2015 is comparable to what we’ve seen since September 1, then next year will be a much better year than this one.

And with good news like that, it could be a very Happy New Year indeed.

Below are the split jobs that were filled recently by Network recruiters:

• Sr. Buyer
• Sanitation Supervisor
• Accountant
• Clinical Director – Spine Unit
• Family Nurse Practitioner
• Regional Key Account Manager
• HR Manager

For more information about how YOU can be more successful in Top Echelon Network and make more split placements both this year AND next year, call Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CERS at 330.455.1433, x156.

THIS WEEK’S NETWORK SPLIT PLACEMENTS:

Holly Weber

Mark Petras

Job recruiter: Mark Petras of Lodestar Executive Search, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Holly Weber of Global Talent Resources Corp.

Split job title: SR. BUYER

Fee percentage: 20%

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

— — —

Joe Cotter

Joe Noto

Job recruiter: Joe Not0 of Regency Search Group

Candidate recruiter: Joe Cotter of J.D. Cotter Search, Inc.

Split job title: SANITATION SUPERVISOR

Fee percentage: 30%

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

— — —

Amy Dunn

Job recruiter: Doris Painter, CPC of Painter & Associates

Candidate recruiter: Amy Dunn of Technology Recruiting Solutions

Split job title: ACCOUNTANT

Fee percentage: Flat

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

— — —

Melissa Truax

Trey Cameron

Job recruiter: Melissa Truax of Premier Health Careers Inc./Premier Paths

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Split job title: CLINICAL DIRECTOR – SPINE UNIT

Fee percentage: 20%

Action causing split placement: Another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter’s Hiring Hook recruitment website

— — —

Melissa Truax

Trey Cameron

Job recruiter: Melissa Truax of Premier Health Careers Inc./Premier Paths

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Split job title: FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONER

Fee percentage: Flat

Action causing split placement: Another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter’s Hiring Hook recruitment website

— — —

Tim Honn

Trey Cameron

Job recruiter: Tim Honn of Fortis Recruiting Solutions, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Split job title: REGIONAL KEY ACCOUNT MANAGER

Fee percentage: 20%

Action causing split placement: Another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter’s Hiring Hook recruitment website

— — —

Stephanie Jakubik

Trey Cameron

Job recruiter: Stephanie Jakubik of Bertram & Associates, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Split job title: HR MANAGER

Fee percentage: 20%

Action causing split placement: Another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter’s Hiring Hook recruitment website

We’ve chosen a location for the 2015 Top Echelon Network National Convention!

It’s Atlanta, Georgia!

But wait!  As you might have already guessed, there’s more!

We’ve also chosen the dates for the event: Tuesday, April 14, and Wednesday, April 15.  (Please, no jokes about these dates being “taxing” in any way.  Leave the bad jokes to ME.)

But wait!  There’s even MORE!

That’s because we’ve also chosen the hotel for the National Convention.  That hotel is the Embassy Suites Centennial Olympic Park Atlanta.  This hotel has a great location, right downtown in the heart of the city, where there is plenty to both see and do.

There were more than a few reasons why we chose Atlanta as the site of the 2015 convention. Below are three of those reasons:

1. We’re never held a National Convention in Atlanta.  We’ve considered it on multiple occasions, but this will be the first time we’ve ever been there.
2. The city is a travel hub.  This is especially the case in terms of the airport, which means that it should be easier to book direct flights at more reasonable prices.
3. It’s more centrally located for Preferred Members on the East Coast, where the vast majority of our Membership resides.  (Don’t worry: returning West is in our plans.)

So be on the lookout for more information regarding the 2015 National Convention, including the keynote speaker and the preliminary agenda.  In addition, Early Bird Registration for the convention will soon be available in the Members’ Area!

To help generate some buzz, below is a link to photos from the 2014 National Convention on the Top Echelon Network Facebook Fan Page.

Click here to see photos from the 2014 National Convention!

We’re excited, and we’re looking forward to the 2015 National Convention . . . and we want to see YOU there.

Make sure you sign up!  (Or you will be hearing from Drea.)

THE RECRUITING AWARDS:

At Top Echelon Network, we recognize top recruiters for both monthly and quarterly performance in four categories—Recruiter of the Month, Recruiter of the Quarter, Largest Split Fee of the Month, and Largest Split Fee of the Quarter.

And sure, Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group usually wins the Recruiter of the Month award, but he doesn’t do it every month.  After all, Pam Copeland claimed top honors just a couple of months ago.  So, it CAN be done . . . but nobody came close to dethroning Trey during the month of October, and you’ll see why that was below.

However, we once again have the Largest Split Fee of the Month Award, and we’ve included the recruiters who made that split placement, as well.

For more information about the recruiting awards listed below, login to the Members’ Area and view the profiles and placement details of the winning Network recruiters involved.

— — —

RECRUITER OF THE MONTH:

Trey Cameron

Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

I could have titled this blog post “16 Placements in a Single Month!”  However, there would not have been much suspense involved, since the majority of Pinnacle readers probably already know the identity of the recruiter who could make that many Network placements in one month.  That, of course, works out to a little more than one placement every OTHER day.  Can Trey make 31 placements in a single month?  I’m not going to say that he can’t.  (I didn’t think 16 was possible.)

Stephanie McGinty of Ives & Associates, Inc.; Sean Napoles, CPC of Career Brokers, Inc.; and Michael Stuck of Gables Search Group all made three Network placements during the month of October.  However, Stephanie had the highest cash-in total for her three placements, so she claimed second place all for herself.

— — —

LARGEST SPLIT FEE OF THE MONTH:

Larry Barlow

John Moskonas

John Moskonas of The ARGroup of Search Companies and Larry Barlow of Tax Advantage Personnel, Inc.

The position for this split placement was a Head of Tax.  Moskonas was the job order recruiter, and Barlow was the candidate recruiter.  The action that stimulated this split placement was listed as, “Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter.”

— — —

OUR CRITERIA FOR THESE RECRUITING AWARDS:

Top Echelon Network determines the monthly and quarterly award winners based upon two criteria, 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

This explains why, when multiple recruiters are tied with the same number of split placements during a given month or quarter, the recruiter with the largest “cash-in” total for their placements is deemed the winner.

You’ve heard industry trainer Danny Cahill say it before: “Speed is the ultimate panacea.”

That’s certainly the case when it comes to making split placements in Top Echelon Network, and it was certainly the case for the recruiters in this week’s installment of “‘Comments’ and Compliments.”  Specifically, this week’s recruiter compliments revolve around the speed with which Trading Partners moved to make things happen.

In fact, one of the placements listed below only took five days, from start to finish, and that was a direct-hire placement, not a contracting placement.  (Contracting placements typically take less time than their direct-hire counterparts.)

Placements happen in Top Echelon Network all the time, every day, and in a lot of cases, they happen quickly.  That’s because the Network is based on a system that’s worked for over a quarter of a century, and that system continues to work and work well.

All it needs are quality, split-minded recruiters who have a desire to network and work collaboratively with one another . . . just like these recruiters!

Congratulations to everybody who made split placements this week!

— — —

Steve Kohn

Bill Kubena

“Great candidate from Steve Kohn.  From start to finish, the placement took five days!  Thanks, Steve!”

Submitted by Bill Kubena of Kubena & Associates regarding his Network split placement with Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search

Position Title—NC PROGRAMMER

Fee Percentage—25%

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

— — —

Michael Georgenson

Trey Cameron

“Michael ran with this candidate, and the rest is history!  Here’s to MANY more splits together!”

Submitted by Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group regarding his Network split placement with Michael Georgenson of PMG Employment Consultants, LLC

Position Title—CLAIMS MANAGER

Fee Percentage—25%

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

— — —

Kerry Boehner

Stephanie McGinty

“Stephanie is an incredible business partner and delivers exceptional talent!“

Submitted by Kerry Boehner of KOB Solutions, Inc. regarding her Network split placement with Stephanie McGinty of Ives & Associates, Inc.

Position Title—CARDIOLOGY CLINICAL SALES SPECIALIST

Fee Percentage—20%

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

For the past two years, we’ve compiled a rather impressive library of training videos for Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiters.

These videos, which are recorded versions of live training webinars, are designed to help Network recruiters enjoy more success.  In other words, they’re designed to help Network recruiters make more split placements.

These videos are located in the Top Echelon Help Center, but I’ll be highlighting one per week in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog for the next several weeks.  Most of these videos are “evergreen,” meaning that they’re filled with information that is timeless in terms of what it takes to be successful in Top Echelon Network.

Below is the Network training video that I’m highlighting this week.

Webinar Video: “Everything You Wanted to Know About Job Advertising”

Live Webinar Date: July 16, 2013

Description: If you’ve ever had questions about exactly which job advertising options are available to you as a Preferred Member recruiter in Top Echelon Network, then this is one training you do NOT want to miss!  Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CERS covers all of the advertising options within the Network software, how to use them, what happens when you use them, and how to get the most out of them.  Drea ‘DE-mystifies’ job advertising, so that you can gain more exposure for your job orders and make more placements!

Video Length: 10 minutes, 35 seconds

Watch ‘Everything You Wanted to Know About Job Advertising’

Remember, if you have questions about this Network training video, your Top Echelon Network membership, or about how you can enjoy more success in the Network, I encourage you to contact me.

You can do so by calling 330.455.1433, x156 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

RECRUITER POLL QUESTION:

We recently conducted a poll of Top Echelon Network recruiters by posting a question in the Members’ Area.

That question was as follows:

Approximately what percentage of the placements you make every year are Top Echelon Network placements?

POLL RESULTS:

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

• Less than 25% — 69.6%
• Between 25% and 50% — 17.7%
• Between 50% and 75% — 8.9%
• More than 75% — 3.8%
• 100% — 0.0%

SUMMARY:

Perhaps not surprisingly, the majority of Top Echelon recruiters (69.6%) responded that “less than 25%” of the placements they make on a yearly basis are Network placements.

Almost another fifth of poll participants (17.7%) indicated that “between 25% and 50%” of their placements are Network placements.  A smaller percentage (8.9%) chose “More than 75%” as their answer, and not one recruiter (again, not surprisingly) makes 100% of their placements through Top Echelon.

ANALYSIS and CONCLUSION:

While Top Echelon Preferred Members are adept at using the resources of the Network, they don’t rely on TE for a substantial portion of their business as a recruiting firm.  However, they DO rely on the Network to fill difficult search assignments, namely placements they would not be able to make on their own.

Therein lies the true value of Top Echelon: the Network provides a way for recruiters to make placements they would NOT be able to make otherwise.  It allows them to accept job orders from their clients (usually out of their niche) that they would decline if they were not a part of the Network.

So be sure to post your job orders and post your candidates to the Network.  There are Trading Partners just waiting to help you fill those orders and place those candidates.

Because as we’ve been saying for close to 27 years, “Half a loaf is better than none!”

To find out more about how YOU can make more placements in Top Echelon Network, contact Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CERS at 330.455.1433, x156.

When it comes to running contract background checks, most recruiters probably think about the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), or maybe the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which provides guidelines for proper background check procedures.

However, recruiters also need to be aware of the growing number of state and local laws regulating criminal background checks.  Even if you outsource background checks to a third party, such as a background screening service or contract staffing back-office, you will want to be sure they are following the applicable laws and that ALL contract background checks are being conducted properly.

State and local laws impose a varying amount of restrictions on contract background checks.  Here are some of the most common:

• Ban the Box laws—These laws are probably the most well-known.  They prohibit companies from asking candidates about their criminal histories on employment applications.  Some of these laws only apply to public employers.  Others include private businesses, as well.  These laws also differ when it comes to when it is okay to inquire about a candidate’s criminal background.  Remember, it’s usually considered a best practice to hold off asking about a candidate’s background until a contingent job is offered, regardless of the law.
• Arrest records—Many areas ban the use of arrest records to make employment decisions.  This is because someone can be arrested and charged, but ultimately not be found guilty.
• Length of time—State and local laws may enforce limits beyond those of the FCRA for how far back into a person’s records you can look.  The FCRA’s limit is seven (7) years for non-conviction records.  Some areas restrict how far back you can look for conviction records, as well.  Some of these laws do, however, waive the restriction if the salary will exceed a certain amount or if the person will be working in specific positions.  In California, credit reporting agencies can’t disclose records that are seven (7) years old or older unless the candidate will be underwriting life insurance involving $250,000 or more.  Colorado’s seven-year restriction on records can be lifted if the person will be making $75,000 or more per year.
• Taking adverse action—You may be required to take certain other factors besides a conviction into consideration before taking adverse action in certain states and localities.  Some of those factors include the relationship of the conviction to the specific position, how long it is has been since the candidate was convicted or released, and whether or not they have been formally rehabilitated.

This is not an exhaustive list.  The take-away here is that, when running background checks on contractors, it is important to be aware of ALL of the applicable laws and make sure they are followed.

Also, please note that the severity of a restriction can vary from state to state, too.  A Ban the Box law in one state may be very different from one in another state in regards to when it’s okay to ask about criminal background, for example.  It can be very difficult to navigate all of these laws if you do business in multiple states.

You can use a background check screening service to make it easier, but be sure that they keep up with the ever-changing laws.  Keep in mind that these restrictions could cause delays in getting your background check results, as well.  It is important to be transparent with clients about how long it could take, especially if they require that contractors clear a background check before they can start.

Finally, always make sure that the FCRA and the EEOC’s guidelines are followed.  One slip-up could turn a process that is intended to protect your firm into a harmful practice.

(Editor’s note: This general summary of law should NOT be used to solve individual problems since changes in each situation may require a material variance as to the applicable law.  This article is intended for informational purposes only and should NOT be construed as legal advice.)