By DREA CODISPOTI, CERS, Membership Development Coordinator at Top Echelon

Drea Codispoti, CERS

Our Virtual Core Groups for recruiters are back, and they’re better than ever!

Okay, they’re back.  I’ll let you decide if they’re better than ever.  (I just like saying stuff like that.)

Actually, I’m borderline frightened by the fact that it’s already June.  The first half of 2014 has flown by, and that is hardly an exaggeration.  Since that’s the case, it’s time to shift gears with your Network Membership and maximize it before the year is over.

And a great way to do that is to attend a Virtual Core Group meeting!

During Virtual Core Group (VCG) teleconference calls, Network recruiters share hot job orders and candidates, information about the activity they’re seeing, and ideas for increased production on their desk and within their firms.  These are the activities that lead most directly to making more placements.

If you’re a newer Preferred Member in Top Echelon Network, I especially encourage you to join an existing Virtual Core Group . . . or start a new one.  Participation in these groups for recruiters is one of the best ways to enjoy success in Top Echelon more quickly, so that you can start earning a return on your Network investment.

Below is the full VCG teleconference call schedule for the month of June (all times listed are Eastern Standard Time):

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.

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.

I’m very pleased to announce that the Midwest Regional Core Group has a date and a venue for its next meeting!

While that date isn’t exactly right around the corner, I encourage those recruiters who can attend to take this opportunity to work the date into their appointment books.

The next meeting of the Midwest Regional Core Group is scheduled for Friday, January 31, at the Ramada in Topeka, Kansas.  Not only is there a date, but there’s also a tentative itinerary, which is tentatively listed below:

9:30 to 10 a.m.—Networking

10 to 11 a.m.—“Making Social Media Manageable”

11 to 11:30 a.m.—Break/Networking

11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.—“Lunch and Learn”

12:45 to 1 p.m.—Break/Networking

1 to 1:30 p.m.—Breakout groups for exchanging hot job orders and candidates

1:30 to 2 p.m.—Breakout group for exchanging best practices

2 to 5 p.m.—Open networking time

The tentative cost to attend the event is $50.  That price includes lunch, snacks, beverages, and the training.

Attending a Regional Core Group meeting is a great way to leverage the resources available in the Network and increase the value of your Membership!

If you’d like to attend this upcoming Regional Core Group meeting (or start a new one), please contact me at (330) 455-1433, Ext. 156 or via email at Drea@TopEchelon.com.

At Top Echelon, we encourage Network recruiters to get together on a consistent basis, to meet face-to-face.

While we love it when you attend the National Convention and Fall Conference (and we’d REALLY love it if you attended the 2013 Fall Conference), we also love it when you meet each other outside of those events.

One such event was held a couple of weeks ago: the annual “Networking on the Farm” extravaganza at the Hemminger Farm in Tiffin, Ohio.

Hosting the event, of course, was Maria Hemminger and Joanna Spaun, partners in MJ Recruiters, LLC, a Preferred Member agency in Top Echelon Network.

Hemminger and Spaun have completely embraced networking in Top Echelon, and their productivity is a testament to that.  Since MJ Recruiters joined Top Echelon in 2005, Hemminger and Spaun have combined to make 98 Network placements!

Networking and meeting other recruiters face-to-face works, plain and simple.  The National Convention and the Fall Conference are evidence of that fact, as are events like “Networking on the Farm.”

Check Out the ‘Networking on the Farm’ Photos!

We’re always looking for recruiters to form new Regional Core Groups or to get together on a consistent basis like the recruiters who attended “Networking on the Farm.”  If you’d like to start a new Regional Core Group, please contact me as soon as possible.

Call me at 330.455.1433, x156 or send an email to drea@topchelon.com.

SURVEY QUESTION:

Success in Top Echelon Network is predicated upon a great many things, not the least of which is Active Participation, one of the Four Pillars of the Network.

Among the ways that Network recruiters actively participate are Regional Core Group meetings (such as the Kansas City meeting pictured above) and Virtual Core Group meetings, both of which Top Echelon offers.  But how often do Network recruiters participate in these Core Group meetings?

We recently conducted a survey of our Network recruiters, and that survey was based upon the following question:

Have you ever attended a Top Echelon Network Regional or Virtual Core Group meeting?

SURVEY RESULTS:

The choice of answers that were provided is listed below, along with the percentage of recruiters who selected each answer:

• Yes, I’ve attended both. — 49.4%
• Yes, I’ve attended a Regional Core Group meeting. — 12.7%
• Yes, I’ve attended a Virtual Core Group meeting. — 11.4%
• No, I’ve attended neither. — 26.6%

SURVEY ANALYSIS:

Nearly 75% of the Network recruiters who responded to the survey have attended a Regional Core Group meeting, a Virtual Core Group meeting, or both of them.  That leaves just a quarter of participants having attended neither meeting.

If that was truly representative of the Network overall, it would bode quite well for the state of networking within Top Echelon.  However, since the recruiters most likely to attend a Virtual or Regional Core Group meeting are also the most likely to participate in a Network survey, extrapolating these results might make for a slightly skewed conclusion.

FEEDBACK:

How about YOU?  Have you attended a Regional or Virtual Core Group meeting as a Top Echelon Network recruiter?  If not, do you plan to attend one or the other in the near future?

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