Nov 21
23 Ways a Researcher Will Help You Make More Placements in Less Time
Published by Amybeth (@researchgoddess) at 3:28 pm under Research,Talent,Thoughts
Yeah…I’ll bet you got excited just like I did when you read that title! Well, when a friend of mine forwarded this to me today I couldn’t wait to see just how valuable we as researchers appear to those with whom we work. As I began reading, I raised an eyebrow first when I read the words “junior recruiter” (something Shally warned against -see earlier post). Then as I read through the list I noticed that “name gathering, sourcing and pre-qualification of candidates” was listed at number seven – when this should be the single most important function of a RESEARCHER. I kept reading and kept getting more irritated…..invoicing, collections, watering the plants!?!? Oh boy…
No offense to Gary Stauble, the article’s author, but if he is a consultant for recruiters and search firm owners, no wonder people still see researchers the way they do! Listen – I have worked in situations where I was responsible for ALOT of these functions. However, that, in my opinion, does not make a researcher ‘more efficient’. In fact, it stretches them so thin that they will never get good at researching and you’ll be stuck wondering why you can’t get good candidates from your researcher. Let you researcher RESEARCH – 
and hire a college intern or a data entry person (which will cost you ALOT less) to water your plants, answer the phones, and cover for others when they are on vacation. I’m not saying that everyone in the office should not pitch in and help out (like do their own dishes, pick up their own trash, etc….no one is too good to wash the coffee cup they just drank out of) but this mindset that the researcher is your ‘junior recruiter’ that you’re sure wants to grow up to someday be a real recruiter, or that they are your personal assistant is so incredibly wrong. It is a whole SEPARATE FUNCTION in a recruiting office and just as important as any other position.
Now that I am down off my soap box, please feel free to view this article for yourself and post any thoughts/reactions to it!
23 Ways a Researcher Will Help You Make More Placements in Less Time
by Gary Stauble
You have probably heard of the 80/20 rule, which says 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. With a well trained researcher, you can focus on the 20% that produces results and virtually nothing else. A skilled researcher will allow performers to focus on “money activities” and closing deals and will free up a ton of valuable time.
Some researchers are admin oriented whereas others function more as “junior recruiters”. I’ve used researchers for several years and have had them perform a large variety of tasks in my office. Here are 23 things a researcher can do for your firm:
- Send out follow up email marketing information (articles, newsletters, candidate hot lists etc.) to clients and prospects.
- Generate marketing leads using the web and company databases to develop reports.
- Prepare a “hot list” of candidates for email marketing.
- Return low level messages for senior staff.
- Make follow up marketing calls to dormant clients.
- Gather key data from client websites: contact names, systems used by that company, buzzwords. This can be tracked and then later searched.
- Name gathering, sourcing and pre-qualification of candidates.
- Point person for handling split placements with other firms.
- Handle interview travel arrangements.
- Client visits with the senior staff (adds credibility to bring your “Research manager”).
- Invoicing.
- Collections.
- Cover for staff when on vacation.
- Answer the telephone/ screen calls.
- Post all jobs to relevant sites.
- Screen all incoming resumes.
- Schedule interviews.
- Conduct reference checks via a standardized, professional format.
- Web page administration and refinement.
- Web research for industry information: gives you just the best parts. Reading industry news feeds on mergers and acquisitions etc. and feeds it to your team.
- Keep the database contacts fresh and standardize data entry.
- Create PDF’s for your articles or marketing materials.
- Water plants, sort mail, keep supplies stocked.
Amy, you and I concur that #7 is the real ONLY function a names sourcer should be tasked with. “Name gathering, sourcing and pre-qualification of candidates” raises an alarm bell for me though.
Allow me, please, to disabuse this notion ONE STEP FURTHER. If you’re sourcing and name gathering, the “pre-qualification” takes care of itself because you’re already “names sourcing and gathering” per specific qualifications. Let the recruiter “pre-qualify” if what Gary means by this is “see if she’s interested”. That’s a recruiter’s job, in my book.
ASK any dysfunctional corporate recruiting department, unfortunately named something like “Recruiting Support”, if any of these job requirements allow any time for names sourcing and your answer will be a resounding “No!” from unhappy and struggling “Researchers”.
Here’s what I suggest would be a more profitable use of peoples’ time in a research department:
Internet name gather and telephone source. Just that and ONLY that. It will consume all your researchers’ time and will put rocket-fueled candidates into your gas tank.
If I were pressed, and I HAD to add anything more, I’d add the following ONLY BECAUSE these things happen naturally during Internet research:
Web research for industry information: gives you just the best parts. Reading industry news feeds on mergers and acquisitions etc. and feeds it to your team.
Gather key data from client websites: contact names, systems used by that company, buzzwords. This can be tracked and then later searched.
The following should be handled by an AA (Administrative Assistant) to the group:
Water plants, sort mail, keep supplies stocked.
Answer the telephone/ screen calls.
Return low level messages for senior staff.
Cover for staff when on vacation.
Handle interview travel arrangements.
Invoicing.
Collections.
Post all jobs to relevant sites.
The following should be done by the recruiters:
Send out follow up email marketing information (articles, newsletters, candidate hot lists etc.) to clients and prospects.
Generate marketing leads using the web and company databases to develop reports.
Prepare a “hot list” of candidates for email marketing.
Make follow up marketing calls to dormant clients.
Point person for handling split placements with other firms.
Client visits with the senior staff (adds credibility to bring your “Research manager”).
Screen all incoming resumes.
Schedule interviews.
The following should be handled by an IT support person, which every research department needs:
Web page administration and refinement.
Keep the database contacts fresh and standardize data entry.
Create PDF’s for your articles or marketing materials.
The following should probably be outsourced to avoid liability:
Conduct reference checks via a standardized, professional format.
Maureen Sharib
Telephone Names Sourcer and Trainer
513 899 9628
#23 is my personal favorite.
But on a positive note – we won’t have to worry about all of the firms he is coaching – with this attitude they won’t be able to find the great candidates out there that a real researcher can do – they will be too busy watering the plants!!!