It’s that time of year again!  Yes, that’s right—it’s the END of the year.  (Even if it’s not the end of the world.)

As a result, it’s time for us to publish our upcoming holiday hours.  That way, you’ll know when we’re in the office and when we’re not, although we suspect that some of you might be taking time off, as well.

The Top Echelon offices will be closed on Monday, December 24, and Tuesday, December 25, in observance of the Christmas Day holiday.  The offices will re-open for business as usual at 8 a.m., Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Wednesday, December 26.

In addition, the Top Echelon offices will be closed on Tuesday, January 1, in observance of the New Year’s Day holiday.  The offices will re-open for business as usual at 8 a.m., EST on Wednesday, January 2.

Keep in mind that the Top Echelon offices encompass Top Echelon Network, Big Biller, and Hiring Hook.

We hope that 2012 has been a great one for you and your firm.  We look forward to serving your needs in 2013!  (And every year after that . . . in case you were wondering.)

There is money waiting for you at the 2013 Top Echelon Network National Convention.

Let me repeat that: there is money waiting for you.

Am I guaranteeing that you’ll make a split placement if you attend the convention?  No, I can do that.  However, based on the sheer number of recruiters who have done just that down throughout the years, I’m confident you’ll increase your chances of making a split placement dramatically.

In fact, we have another convention success story in this week’s issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog!

And as you might have guessed, this is the first split placement that these two recruiters have made together in the Network.  They’re both long-time Members.  They’ve both been very successful.  But the didn’t make their first split until they met each other at the 2012 Fall Conference in Chicago this past October.

If you attend the 2013 National Convention, you’ll meet recruiters face-to-face that you’ve never met before.  You’ll share hot job orders and candidates.  You’ll share business ideas.  You’ll share “war stories” from the recruiting trenches.  And you might just make a split placement with one of them in the future.

Just like these two recruiters . . .

— — —

“I talked to Suzanne about this job in Chicago.  She said she was interested in helping.  She did a nice job of supplying us with qualified candidates.  Thank you, Suzanne!  It’s GREAT to finally do a split with you!  Glad you made the trip to Chicago this year.”

Submitted by Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC regarding her split placement with Suzanne Griffith, CPC of J S Griffith & Associates

Position Title—RESIDENT ENGINEER
Fee Percentage—20%

(Editor’s note: this is the first split placement that Hemminger and Griffith have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

— — —

The 2013 Top Echelon Network National Convention is scheduled for Thursday, April 25, through Saturday, April 27, at the TradeWinds Resort Hotel in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Remember, the main speaker for the convention is Danny Cahill of AccordingtoDanny.com, one of the most recognized and respected names in the recruiting industry!

So register for the 2013 National Convention!

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330.455.1433, x156
Drea@TopEchelon.com
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At Top Echelon Network, we’re running a poll in the Members’ Area this week asking if Preferred Member recruiters are planning to re-design or update their firm’s website in 2013.

So far, it appears that a little less than half of recruiters participating in the poll plan to update their firm’s website.

Evaluating your own website can be a tricky business, especially when you’re busy working your desk or running your firm—or both.  Not only that, but technology is constantly changing and evolving, and that includes life on the Internet.

What does a good recruiting website look like?  What should it do?  How should it function?  All good questions and all questions that need to be answered before any re-designing or updating is done.

With that in mind, we’re currently offering FREE website evaluations to recruiting firms.  These evaluations will focus on the basics of what a recruiting firm’s website should look like and what it should do.

Specifically, these evaluations will include two aspects of your firm’s site: its form and its function.

FORM:

The look of the site—Is it clean, crisp, and professional?
The layout of the site—Does it have what’s called a “3-2-1 layout”?

FUNCTION:

The architecture of the site—Is it easy for visitors to navigate?
The functionality of the site—Can you post jobs to it and also to social media?
Whether or not the site has “responsive design”—Does it look good on smartphones and tablet devices?

All we need to conduct a website evaluation is your firm’s website address, which you can submit by clicking on the link below:

Click here for your FREE website evaluation!

Please note that you are under NO obligation and you don’t have to do anything to get your free evaluation other than submit your firm’s website address.  You can take any and all information that we provide and do with it as you see fit.

There are a lot of recruiters planning to re-design or update their site next year, and we want to help them make informed decisions so they can put themselves in the best position possible to make more placements in 2013!

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330.455.1433, x125
MDeutsch@TopEchelon.com
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There’s all sorts of good stuff in this week’s installment of “Comments and Compliments“!

One set of recruiters is making their fourth split placement together . . . but the first in a different niche.

Another set of recruiters is making their first split placement together . . . and for one of the recruiters, it’s their first-ever split placement in Top Echelon recruiter network!

But wait, there’s more!

We’re talking about split placements that happened because of the high quality of the candidates submitted by the exporters in each case.  Phrases like “stellar candidates” and adjectives such as “hard-to-find” typify this week’s comments.

What does this mean?  If you have an open job order and you’re having trouble finding the right type of candidates to fill that order, use the resources of Top Echelon’s split fee recruiting network to help you do it.  It worked for these recruiters, and it can work for you.

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!

— — —

“The DB/Digital Marketing space seems to be difficult for the unitiated to get their arms around.  Mark has jumped into this space with determination and is really finding some stellar candidates.  We will have more of these splits soon!”

Submitted by Carolyn Barcus of Barcus Associates regarding her split placement with Mark London of Command Consultants, Inc.

Position Title—NEW BUSINESS SALES EXECUTIVE MID-MARKET
Fee Percentage—20%

(Editor’s note: this is the fourth split placement that Barcus and London have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

— — —

“It was great working with Harry on his first split [in the Network].  He found a solid candidate with hard-to-find ‘mobile developer’ skills and is currently looking for more for me.  Thanks, Harry!  Let’s get another one.”

Submitted by Michael Stuck of Gables Search Group, Inc. regarding his split placement with Harry C. Anderson of Andex Executive Search

Position Title—MOBILE DEVELOPER
Fee Percentage—15%

(Editor’s note: this is the first split placement that Stuck and Anderson have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

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330.455.1433, x125
MDeutsch@TopEchelon.com
Connect with Matt on LinkedIn.
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(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 American economy is teetering on the edge of the “Fiscal Cliff,” but that doesn’t mean your job orders have to go over with it.

If Congress can’t come to an agreement by December 31, across-the-board tax increases and government funding cuts will automatically go into effect.  Many experts are predicting that if something isn’t done by December 31, the United States could go into another recession.  With that threat looming, many employers are taking a wait-and-see-approach to hiring.

According to a recent Staffing Stream article, “Reducing Fear of the Fiscal Cliff,” it’s not that employers don’t want to hire.  In fact, 58% of executives surveyed by Korn/Ferry International say they intend to increase hiring in the next 12 months.  However, they are not going to start that hiring until the future is more certain.

That is obviously bad news for recruiters who depend on direct hiring for their livelihoods.  But there is some good news. The Staffing Stream article suggests that contingent staffing may see a boost as a result of this situation.  The article predicts that temporary/contract staffing in 2013 will be especially strong for information technology, marketing, and engineering.  After all, regardless of their fears of the future, employers need to have enough staff to handle today’s business demands.

Contract staffing allows them to get the help they need now without the commitment of a direct hire.  Rather than having to conduct mass layoffs if the economy does indeed go over the cliff, they will be able to simply end the workers’ contract assignments.  Plus, they won’t have the burden of unemployment, Workers’ Compensation, or benefits.

So if you have clients who need to hire, but are reluctant to do so due to the economic uncertainty, you may want to suggest that they bring in contractors.  And don’t worry if you have never placed contractors.

All you need is a good contract staffing back-office, such as Top Echelon Contracting, to become the legal W-2 Employer of Record for your contractors.  By partnering with a contracting back-office, all you have to worry about is recruiting.  The back-office will handle all of the legal, financial, and administrative details.

What will happen with the economy in 2013 is anyone’s guess.  But by adding contract staffing to your business model, you can be ready for whatever comes along.

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888.627.3678
DFledderjohann@TopEchelonContracting.com
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