Communication - or is it?

“Communication” is a much-used word, and a very important one at that, one which we all use frequently and, perhaps, have pride in ourselves for our ability to achieve.

Governments 'communicate' their message to us, people send each other 'communications', we use 'telecommunications' to talk to each other on the telephone, or send emails and texts, we 'communicate' with our inner selves to better understand and project ourselves to others – we do so many things that involve the word 'communicate' (and its derivatives) that we surely all have a pretty good idea of what the process entails.

But perhaps we are kidding ourselves.

Well, firstly, let us look at the word itself. “Communicate” comes from a derivative of the Latin word “communicare” and means to share out or divide, communicate or impart, all sharing the quality of “making common”.

So we already have a problem – you cannot communicate 'to', you can only communicate 'with', because only the latter enables you to share information or opinions with someone else.

So what, you might ask?

Well, almost every aspect of our daily lives involves talking – on the phone, in person, via computer, and so on – or sharing information, such as text, images or video footage, and there is little point in our having all these interactions with other people if what we are trying to convey is different from what these other people are seeing and hearing. We might as well be talking in different languages to each other (actually, we are, in effect) because it is only if A has correctly interpreted what B has said that A can respond in a way that is relevant and actually advances the course of the conversation.

Of course, in day to day life it doesn't really matter if confusions or ambiguities arise out of a chat about the weather, or the film you watched. But it really does matter in a business context, where clarity is essential to (for example) the making of a legal contract, or dealing with a disciplinary issue, or perhaps helping a co-worker in an emotional situation.

Here are some suggestions, in no particular, order, as to what we can all try to do. It's not an exhaustive list, and if you have some different, or better, ideas of your own, that's excellent – at least we'll all be thinking about the subject, and that can only benefit us all:

• Have a clear idea, in your own mind, of what you want to say, and how to say it, before the mouth opens! If the message starts out as garbled, it's not going to get any better on its way to the other person.

• You may feel impassioned about a particular matter but, even if it is your passion about something that you want to convey to someone else, keep it under control and retain the discipline to get across the key points of the message.

• In a formal setting, such as a staff appraisal, or a disciplinary meeting, there are a number of things to consider:

• make an agenda of all the important points you want to raise before the meeting, and stick to that agenda no matter what. Tell the other person what these points are, so that there is no surprise in store for them during the meeting and they have the chance to consider their response.

• during the meeting, these points should be presented in a succinct way, but always in a manner that is seen as open and unthreatening, and which invites thoughtful and positive response.

• don't get side-tracked. If issues are raised which need thought or comment, that's fine but if they are not directly relevant to the matter in hand, they should be deferred until a separate meeting.

• think about the language you are using. If you are senior to the person to whom you're talking, they may feel reluctant to ask for clarification or expansion of any points you are trying to make. Of course they won't tell you, so you'll be having a conversation but without full comprehension taking place. In other words, there will be no communication. A position of authority may not be the only stumbling block to communication. If you and the other person don't have the same language as your first language, or if the educational background of one person is inferior to that of the other person, there are many ways in which problems can arise, so (if necessary) ensure that your words and your concepts are expressed simply, and clearly, and if necessary have a translator with you.

• try not to talk in a monotone! If you can vary your speech patterns (louder and softer, for example, or slower and faster) there is more chance that your listener will stay interested and want to be a part of the conversation.

• listen, listen, listen! Remember, you have two ears and just one mouth, but you will only learn anything through the ears. Your point of view may not be the only one, or even the right one and, especially when dealing with a sensitive issue, you need to hear what the other person has to say – and to make sure that they know that you are hearing them.

• be aware of your body language. This will reveal more than you think, and you don't want to look as if you are bored, or in a hurry to do something else (even if you are)!

• If possible, try to be on the same (physical) level as the person with whom you're talking. Otherwise, the conversation can look or feel like bullying, and is always an obstacle to an open, candid, exchange of views.

• In a disciplinary situation, it can be very tempting to open with conversation with something like “ Mr X tells me that you've made an inappropriate comment to your team” or “Ms Y says that you always try to undermine her authority”.

Make sure you resist the temptation to put the conversation on an accusatory or aggressive footing, as the person you're talking to will just feel got at, and will retaliate in some way, or will just close up into their shell. Neither are helpful responses, and your behaviour could be regarded as hostile should matters proceed toward a formal claim of some sort.

Instead, you could try an approach along the lines of “Look, it's been suggested to me that there may have been a problem with your team meeting yesterday/ your interactions with Ms Y. I don't know anything about this, so why don't you tell me how you see the situation, and if there's anything I can do to help”. This may encourage the person to open up to you, and this will pave the way to a resolution of the problem. After all, just because you get a complaint about someone, it doesn't mean the complaint is valid, and disaffected persons can just as easily turn into aggressors as victims.

It is probably appropriate to say, at this stage, that whatever communications arise in the workplace, and particularly when these arise as the result of meetings of any sort (appraisal, disciplinary, board, planning, etc.) they should always be recorded in writing and, generally, copies should be circulated to each of the participants for them to sign and return as acknowledgement that what is claimed as taking place actually did take place, that all relevant points have been accurately documented, and that a diary is set up for any follow-ups that may be needed. And all this should be in plain English, translated if necessary into the recipient's native tongue.

Finally, perhaps we could all learn a lesson from the service industries, against which the single biggest source of complaint, year after year, is lack of communication. That doesn't just mean a lack of letters or emails (although that is infuriating enough), it also means that the organisation doesn't listen to what is being said to them, ignores or only deals with a part of the question or problem, or responds in a language that the recipient doesn't understand. And the funny thing is that it takes so much less time to deal with the matter correctly in the first place!

Why Internal Recruiters and External Recruiters Clash

Or why can't we all just get along?!?!?!

Firstly I think I need to let you know that I have only ever worked on the external side of this clash. But many of my friends and also our Operations Manager, David Styles, either are or have been internal recruiters in the past.

That out of the way, today I want to talk to you about what I see as an increasing level of hostility and frustration between internal and external recruiters. Why is this the case, and what can we do to make things better? And how do we get to a place where both sides can see each other's worth?

I have been doing this job for over 10 years now, for both big and small companies. And right now the level of hostility between internal and external recruiters appears, to me, to be at an all time high. This is manifesting itself in outcomes that are good for no one: people not getting jobs, jobs staying unfilled, aggressive communications from both sides and dubious behaviour - again from both sides.

There are a couple of reasons why I believe this to be the case. The biggest of these, I feel, surrounds the perception that internal recruiters have of external recruiters. This perception bleeds in to all dealing with externals and sits at the base of many of the issues externals have with internal recruiters. But what is this perception, and where does it come from?

External recruitment is a sales job, and it shares many of the same employment issues that plague other sales jobs. Financial targets, KPIs, and performance bonuses that can lead to a high pressure environment that many (I would even say most) simply cannot stand. Add in to this the often perceived power differential between the client company and the agency and you end up with a high turnover industry which quite often leaves a toxic taste in the mouth of people that don't gel with it.

Now have a look at the background of many, if not the majority, of internal recruiters. Notice the trend there? Many many internal recruiters have come from an external background. This background colours their impression of external recruiters right from the word go. Now I will admit that sometimes it does happen but, really, how often do people change their careers if they enjoy what they do? So now we have a new internal recruiter with an external background that, at best, has left them with an ambivalent attitude and, at worst, an outright hostile attitude towards external recruiters.

Now let's look at why a company hires external recruiters to do their internal work. The first reason is recruitment is expensive, in both time and money and, on paper, bringing in an experienced external recruiter to remove agency fees and to manage the recruitment process makes great sense. Why wouldn't you pay a couple of hundred thousand in salaries for internal recruiters, if last year your agency spend was multiple millions? But talk about massive expectations! To justify your existence you have to find people - just like an external recruiter, but for only one client! Not only that, but every time you do have to use an external recruiter you will be holding your hand up and saying you failed on that one. Ouch!

So that brings us to the basis of where we are today. Internal recruiters with a poor opinion of the recruitment industry are having to deal with the very people they were meant to replace, but are unable to do so. It's no wonder it starts bad and from there it just gets worse.

Given the starting point of the relationship between internal and external recruiters, the interactions between the two rapidly deteriorate. External recruiters quickly develop a poor impression of their internal counterparts which is seen purely from their own vantage point. Where an internal may be doing their job well they can be leaving an external recruiter with the impression that they are blocking for the sake of blocking, are more interested in the process than the result, and many many other complaints. When these frustrations kick in external recruiters start behaving in ways that simply make internal's impressions even worse, such as contacting line managers directly or deliberately trying to cut the internal recruiter out.

So how do we get past this? And, while I know there are bound to be other options, my thoughts follow.

The first step is to acknowledge that both roles have their place in the world and to acknowledge that neither internal nor external recruiters represent a singular solution to a company's recruitment challenges. In the same way that no external recruitment consultant can fill every role a company has, no internal recruiter can either. This means that an internal recruiter needs to be able to utilise external recruiters without it being seen as a failure. This needs to be built in to the understanding a company has of what an internal recruiter can and can not do. Expecting to replace a multi-million dollar spend with a significantly lower salary cost should raise alarm bells straight away.

Once a company has a realistic expectation of what an internal recruiter can do for them, the next stage is to actively work with external recruiters to build a mutual understanding of what each party needs. External recruiters are not there to replace your internal recruiters. They are there to complement them. Build up relationships with external recruiters through open communication and you will have the best of both worlds - someone to minimise your recruitment spend, as well as a backup net to source those people who are just too hard to consistently find directly.

External recruiters, you need to realise that there is a place for internal recruiters and they aren't there just to make your life hard. Build a relationship with your internal counterparts and they can become some of your best clients. Try to put yourself in their shoes and understand how your actions can be impacting on them and, in turn, making their lives difficult. Once you have an internal recruiter on side you will have a powerful advocate in that company.

Finally, life is too short to give ourselves heartburn by setting ourselves up in conflict with either our clients or potential suppliers. Everyone needs to take a deep breath, accept that the other exists, and then look at a way in which to work with the other. In the end, while recruitment is what both sides do, the jobs we do are different and internal and external recruiters should be complementing each other and not trying to destroy the other.

Merry Christmas!

Skye Recruitment would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

We celebrated Christmas in style this year, with a black tie and ballgown event at the beautiful Spicers Clovelly Estate in Montville.

The year has been a busy and exciting one at Skye, with the addition of new team members, and further expansion into our Oil & Gas and contracting sectors.

We're looking forward to all that 2013 brings, and we're looking forward to catching up with you in January to see what plans you have for the coming year.

Our offices close on Friday 21st December until Monday 7th January, but many of our staff will be contactable via mobile or email for urgent business throughout that period.

Skye Recruitment Young Entrepreneur Finalists 2012

Sophie and Kye Macdonald, founders of Skye Recruitment, were delighted to be jointly named as one of 36 finalists in the Brisbane Business News Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2012.

The Awards were held at Cloudland this year, and celebrated Brisbane's most successful entrepreneurs.

Good Price Pharmacy founder, Anthony Yap, took out the title of Entrepreneur of the Year, with a company turnover of $180m last year, employing 700 staff across 30 stores.

It was an honour to be involved in the events, and we hope to come back next year as challengers for the title!

The Café Recession - by Kye Macdonald

I have decided that the problem in Australia today is coffee... In particular, lattes and flat whites. Well, to be fair, it's not so much the coffee that is the problem but the conversation that seems to go with it.

Every day I hear it. The boom is over. Mining is finished. China is crashing. America is stuffed. The EU is going to break up. These comments are coming from everywhere and everyone is an expert! So I ask questions: “What makes you think mining is over?” “Where did you get your information from?” “Why do you think this is the case?”

Invariably the answer can be neatly summed up as “Someone told me, that someone told them, the boom was over.” And that THAT meant all the mines are closing down. Call it silly but I have this vision of the seven dwarves singing “Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's off to work we... oh... um... Where have all the mines gone?”

But is it really over? Personally and professionally the answer for me is an emphatic no.

Now before you write me off as a delusional crank, let me put this out there. There has been a change, for the worse, in the market over the past 6 months. But my argument is that it is nowhere near a recession, downturn, collapse, depression, or any other word for economic woe you can think of and it certainly doesn't require the sacking of five of the seven dwarves.

At Skye Recruitment we service the Mining, Construction, Consulting and Oil & Gas sectors. Our clients are at the coal face (literally) and stoking the furnace (figuratively) of the Australian economy. Other than the Oil & Gas sector though, they are all held up as sectors that are struggling. There have been redundancies in these sectors (Xstrata, BMA), there have been major headline projects put on hold (Olympic Dam) and there have been some major share price movements (Fortescue). And yet companies continue to ask us to hire people. And not just one or two people to cover critical people, they are asking us to find multiple people.

So where is this dichotomy coming from? I believe that since the GFC, which marked such an emphatic full stop to what has been termed the “mining boom mk1”, people have been worried about being caught out by something similar again. In addition to this I think people have become used to a rate of growth that, simply put, is not normal - and if growth moves to anything that could be termed normal people panic. And, like all panics, logic doesn't play much of a part.

On the 20th of October it was revealed that Australia has the highest median wealth in the world at nearly $220,000 per adult and that the wealth of Australians had quadrupled over the last ten years. We are buying more stuff, drinking more booze and taking more punts. Yet at the same time we are telling each other that the sky is falling.

Business is a funny thing - it's all about confidence. People go out there, put their money on the line and gamble that they can turn their idea into a successful business. This happens every day and the small businesses of the world are the drivers of our economy. To get your business going or growing you have to back your dream and put lots of things at risk. To do that you need confidence! Nothing will sap your confidence like people telling you the economy is going to crash.

If we sap the confidence of people, they won't start or grow their business. If that happens then reality will catch up with the talk and we really will be in a recession as the engine room of our country stalls.

So next time the conversation turns towards the economy ask yourself if what is being said really does represent what is happening or if people are talking themselves into a gloom. If you can change just one persons perception this Café Recession can be stopped before it becomes a Real Recession.

My Life as a Recruitment Consultant: Charlie King

Welcome to the next instalment of our series "My Life as a Recruitment Consultant", where we give you the chance to meet our team, and also find out more about the day to day life of Recruitment Consultants.

Charlie King is a Senior Consultant with Skye Recruitment covering white collar technical recruitment for the mining industry in Western Australia. He has six years recruitment experience and is also an accredited member of the RCSA (APRCSA status). In his spare time he is a Boxer who has had over 120 fights at amateur level and represented his country at international level several times. Professionally he has had 21 fights with 18 wins and is the current Scottish lightweight Champion. Other past times include travelling, bush walking and dining out.



How did you get into recruitment?

I actually wanted to try it out, unlike most who "fall" into this profession. I did my research, heard there was good money and rewards involved, and I am a target driven individual so it held interest to me.

How easy or difficult did you find it to pick up the basics of the recruitment role?

You just pick up the phone and ask some questions - that's all there is to it!

What sort of things do you do on a day to day basis?

I plan my day each night before. I have a list of outstanding work that needs to be actioned, people to speak to, adverts to write, references to take, and client and candidate follow ups. In between this I will try to speak to new people and build new relationships with the aim of placing staff in the organisations spoken to.

What are the best parts of the job?

The job is financially rewarding and will give you a good work life balance, I live ten minutes from my house and close to my gym etc, I have all weekend to myself, all public holidays off and annual leave is granted 99% of the time.

Now compare this with other high paying professions where you have to sacrifice long periods of time working away from home, work long hours and weekends etc.

We have it pretty good.

And which are the worst parts?

It is a roller coaster working in recruitment, you will have the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, you will have days where everything falls into place and days when everything will fall apart. You have to look by this though and stay focused on what you need to do to get to where you want to be.

What was the biggest mistake you made as a novice recruiter, and how did you deal with it?

Probably "selling" the wrong person into the wrong job, it was only a week temporary position but the candidate in question did not have the desired skill set by the client and I knew this.. After three hours in the job I got the call from a very unhappy client and lost them for six months.
A sore but valued lesson at the start of my recruitment career.

How do you think the recruitment industry is perceived by our clients and candidates?

Pretty poor to be honest, there are a lot of recruiters out there who are tarnishing the industry by their 'quick fill' approach and forgetting that this job is all about relationship building. If you put the hard yards in for the first year or two and stay in the same sector you will reap the rewards.

How do you differ from your competitors in the same field?

I am transparent as a recruiter - I will never try to fit a square peg in a round hole, as it will come back on you. I tell my clients and candidates 'If there is any doubt, then there is no doubt.'

What advice would you give to someone considering a career in recruitment?

You will not make money overnight in this role, so be prepared to work hard, be in it for the long term, be truthful and be ready for the ups and downs with clients and candidates - it's all part of the job. Stick with it and you will get to where you want to be.

My Life as a Recruitment Consultant: Jane Lowney

Last year we published a series of posts entitled "My Life as a Recruitment Consultant", where we gave you the chance to meet our team, and also find out more about the day to day life of Recruitment Consultants. With some new team members, and some existing team members who have moved into more senior roles, we thought it was good to revive the series and introduce you to some more of our staff.

Jane Lowney specialises in recruitment for the Oil & Gas industry in Australia, with a particular focus on Oilfield Services Companies. Jane has a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil, Structural & Environmental) from CIT in Ireland. Jane has almost 2 years recruitment experience, beginning her career recruiting for the Middle East before relocating to Australia. Jane enjoys travelling, water sports and snow boarding.

How did you get into recruitment?

Recruitment is unusual in that most people “fall” into it. It's not a career that you give much thought to but I had decided that I didn't want to pursue a career as an engineer, as I felt my skills and interests were in client relationship management and sales, so I decided to apply for recruitment roles for the engineering sector to make use of my qualifications.

How easy or difficult did you find it to pick up the basics of the recruitment role?

I found it quite easy to pick up the basics of the recruitment role, however I am still learning and feel this is part of the appeal of a career in recruitment. No two days are the same and every client and candidate is treated as an individual so you have to adapt accordingly.

What sort of things do you do on a day to day basis?

My day usually is a mix of talking to candidates and clients and understanding what their individual needs are. I also receive a high number of queries and applications for roles I am working on and also check references, present offers and negotiate salaries for the candidates I am representing.

What are the best parts of the job?

The best parts of the job are finding someone a role which they are extremely interested in, assisting a client in hiring someone they have been trying to find for a long time and winning new business.

And which are the worst parts?

When someone lets you down; whether it is a candidate who doesn't accept an offer or a client who promises to be in contact and they are not. It can also be a bit difficult to tell people they have not been successful when they are hoping to receive an offer.

What was the biggest mistake you made as a novice recruiter, and how did you deal with it?

In the beginning I didn't listen to people enough, and if a client mentioned a role they potentially wanted to fill I would take it as an immediate requirement whereas it may not have been a huge priority and I would end up wasting my time. Now I listen and ask more questions to understand exactly when they want someone, etc.

As a novice recruiter I also talked too much: I tried to show people I knew what I was talking about and now I realise that recruitment is all about listening and listening for what you don't want to hear, which is key.

How do you think the recruitment industry is perceived by our clients and candidates?

I feel the recruitment industry has a negative connotation overall. I believe individual recruiters have good and bad reputations depending on their performance. Some clients can see the value recruiters can bring to their business. Others have had bad experiences and tar all recruiters with the same brush so it really depends on the experience they have had.

Candidates rely on recruiters to move in the marketplace but often experience poor communication or a lack of feedback from recruiters which does not help recruiters reputations in the marketplace.

How do you differ from your competitors in the same field?

I believe I have 3 key traits which differentiate me from my competitors:

1. I spent 4 years studying Engineering so I feel I have an edge in terms of my technical understanding of roles. I also am more confident to interview senior candidates about their experience as I have an understanding about what they do.
2. I have a very strong work ethic and am extremely honest with my clients and candidates which they respect. If I can't help I will tell them, if I can, I will. It really is as simple as that but this is one of the most frequent complaints against recruiters.
3. I understand people and never push candidates into a role they don't want or clients to take someone they are not sure of. My goal is to have long term relationships with my clients and this is built on trust so that is what I strive for.
   
   What advice would you give to someone considering a career in recruitment?

Try it! It is the only way you will ever know if you like it or not. Someone can explain the role and the highs and lows all they like but until you experience it you will not know if it is for you or not. You have to be a resilient, competitive person who doesn't take set backs personally and you must be comfortable in approaching people you don't know.

If you are considering a role, talk to people in the industry and make connections on Linkedin. Most groups offer answers to questions and a bit of guidance when you're starting out.