It's been a while since the E-Doc industry as a whole has been concerned about hiring.  Over the past three years we have seen significant downsizing on the technical, production, marketing and management sides as companies adjusted to reduced revenues, mergers and the outsourcing of technical jobs to foreign lands.  From 2001 to the first half of 2004, what little hiring done in these areas has been primarily for replacement positions.

The only bright spot in hiring the past three years has been for the top line revenue generators with companies focused on increasing revenue by attracting top salespeople.

In August of 2004 this all began to change.  Companies started hiring technical and production people due to increased customer orders rather than for replacement positions. 

By October companies started looking for management with missions to grow the technical, production, marketing and sales teams in 2005.  At Xplor Global in Dallas, half a dozen of the big industry players were talking to us about recruiting Product Managers to develop new products, the industry equivalent of R & D, and a leading indicator.  Following this new product development will be the hiring of teams of specialized technical talent responsible for creating and delivering these new products to customers.

Now as we end 2004, most of the companies we have talked to have ambitious strategic plans (and budgets) to grow in 2005 to keep up with customer demand.  That's right -- "customer demand."  Nice to hear those words again, isn't it?

In good times or bad, hiring employees is a tricky business offering both risk and reward. Quite simply, like successful sports teams, it is the companies that are good at recruiting, selecting and hiring top talent that are the most profitable in the marketplace. They have the star position "players" to create, deliver, market and sell the products to customers.

The companies that struggle with hiring -- particularly hiring the wrong or bad hires -- are the companies struggling with profitability. 

The wrong hire might simply not get the job done, forcing you to rehire and delay delivery (revenue). The bad hire on the other hand (for example, one bad executive hire) can cost a company millions of dollars in lost revenue and opportunity by driving away not only your customers, but your top performing employees as well.  After you eventually realize what is going on and fire the executive, it's a price it can take years to recover from. 

The right hires will get you the Championship Ring, and we want you to have that ring. (Profitability!)

Whether you are a small company or large multi-national conglomerate, the CEO setting the strategy or the line manager making the hiring decision, this series will help you reduce the risk and increase the reward of your hires in 2005.  We will show you how to architect a plan to Recruit, Select and Acquire the top talent to generate profits for your team, no matter the position.  

Recruiting: Elements of Successful Recruiting, Cost Per Hire, How to Target Your Market

Selecting: Screening Profiles, Reference and Back-Channel Checks, Verifying Information

Hiring: The Successful Interviewing Process, Negotiating The Offer, Wild Cards
 
Hiring the right people is the single most important decision your company can make.  They will make or break your profitability.  Successfully recruiting top talent turns marginal operations into profitable operations. We will show you how to recruit and hire a winning and profitable team.

Next Issue:

"Elements of Recruiting - The Elements that make winning sports franchises can work for you"

Ken Leslie, EDP is the CEO of Strategic Search Consultants, a boutique executive search firm representing top talent in the E-Doc industry since 1994.  A member of Xplor International's Association Board of Directors, Ken also publishes the monthly TalentNet e-newsletter for companies seeking top talent. 

You can contact Ken at ken@ssc-online.com

Ken Leslie, EDP
President
Strategic Search Consultants

Phone: 419-324-2424

Visit us at www.SSC-Online.com or www.InternetTalentBank.com