New Year, New Start?

Now is the time when many of us begin to review what is important to us for the year ahead – we look at what worked well last year, and what things we want to change. Unsurprisingly, job change is one of the most popular objectives that we set for our New Year's resolutions.

So, what things do you need to consider when deciding if a new job is on the cards for you?

What's prompted you to think about this?

Going back to work after the Christmas break is not always the most enticing prospect, but if you're considering a career move then there is usually more to it to that. Sit down and write out all the things you love about your current job, and all the things that are making you want to move on. Now prioritise each of these things. What are the 'must haves' for your next job, and what things are not that big a deal? You might love the fact that your workplace has a gym, but it wouldn't keep you there, and nor would it be essential next time. However, the fact that you won't be promoted until your boss dies, or that you are based in a city a long way from loved ones, may be the kind of thing that simply has to change when you move jobs.

Can you change your current situation?

Some things can be resolved by talking to your current boss. Salary can be increased, departments changed, or contracts renegotiated. If you are generally happy with your job then it may be simpler to fix what you have rather than jump ship. However, make sure you are happy with the reasons why you are not currently receiving the things that you want, as if (for example) you are only offered a pay rise to stay, then you need to question why you weren't being paid more to start with – and also what extra expectations your boss will have of you now that you have become a bit more expensive.

Do you have support in moving jobs?

Moving jobs can be stressful, and it can mean a life upheaval – such as a relocation. Make sure you have discussed this with those who would also be affected by a move, and that they are on board with your decision too. Talk to people you can trust about your aspirations, and check that your expectations are realistic. A recruitment consultancy can be invaluable here, as they will have the inside scoop on what all the companies in your sector are offering, and can provide confidential advice at no cost to you.

Make a plan

Once you start looking for your next job, you may be surprised to find that everything starts moving very quickly. Interviews happen, an offer's on the table, and you only just decided to move on! When you apply for a role make sure you anticipate that an interview could follow swiftly. Get yourself in the right head space and understand that if you want to change jobs then there could be lots of opportunities for you very soon.

If you're thinking of moving on then we are here to help. Call us on 07 3107 2400, and one of our consultants will help guide you through the process, and ease the transition. Amongst all of this, don't lose sight of the fact that this is an exciting time, and an opportunity to make this a year to remember!  

When the competition speaks badly of you

What do you do when someone from another company spreads malicious rumours or tells outright lies about you to your clients?

Unfortunately it is a position that most of us have been in. The first thing to look at is why this is happening. Usually it means that your competitor is threatened by you, and therefore seeks to devalue you in order to get an advantage with your clients.

Some companies and individuals do this routinely, and will seize any opportunity to drop a negative remark about a competitor. "Oh, you're using Company X? I didn't realise they were still going after their managers left..."

Sometimes an individual will have a particular grievance against you or your company. Perhaps you outperformed them, perhaps you fell out, perhaps you fired them. Whatever the reason, sometimes it is personal.

It's horrible to find yourself on the receiving end of such behaviour. It can be hurtful, embarrassing, and it can have a very real impact on your business.

So what do you do when you become aware that a competitor has been saying bad things about you?

Look to the positives

They view you as important, because they are talking about you. This often means that you are currently being successful in what you do, and that you are relevant to them. If clients already thought badly of you then there would be no need for your competitor to bring you down.

It is likely that you found out about this because at least one of your clients confided in you. That means they respect you and trust you enough to tell you what is being said.

Your clients are not stupid. Lies can be insidious and cleverly delivered, but it is usually patently apparent to all when someone is trying to run down the competition. Think about it. If you were buying a car, and the sales person dropped a few clangers about another showroom, would you not know exactly what they were trying to do?

Some lies can be proved to be false. Things such as "John says your company will never work at that margin" or "John says your company is closing" are both things that will make John look pretty silly when you demonstrate that's not the case. John has now done you the double favour of helping your relationship with that client deepen (as you both have a chuckle about the situation) and made the client not trust the next thing that he says.

Get the facts

What is your competitor saying? Is there any truth to it? There is a difference between an opinion and defamation. If the lie is such that it damages your reputation and your credibility then you may well have legal recourse.

Make sure you have all the facts at hand in case you decide to follow this path. Document all information, keep written evidence or phone records, and make dated notes of any correspondence about the issue. You may decide not to bother pursuing legal action now, but that may change later - so act as if you will and keep the evidence at hand for when you decide to take action.

Make sure that you know exactly what has been said. It may not be enough if you have "John said you were a bit shady", but your case would definitely improve if you have "John said that you stole XYZ from Company X".

Decide what to do

If you have only just been made aware of a problem then you may shrug it off. However, if clients are repeatedly telling you of what your competitor is saying, or if the problem is such that it is harmful from the outset, you may need to take legal recourse to stop it.

Consult with a lawyer for further advice about your case if you decide to proceed.

You may, however, decide that - while distasteful - your competitor's gibes are unlikely to harm you or your business and, instead, may be working to discredit them in the industry. That being the case, you may decide that legal action is unnecessary. It may still be worth discussing with a lawyer, to ensure there is nothing you have overlooked.

Dealing with the issue without a lawyer

So, someone tells you that a competitor has said something bad about you or your business. How do you react? If you have never encountered this situation then take a moment to think, as when it happens you are likely to feel shocked, upset, flustered, and defensive.

Take a deep breath. The best recourse you have is to address the issue head on, in a calm and professional manner. It's okay to let the client (or person in question) see that you are shocked and upset. This is a very normal response, and one which helps show your client that the allegations are false.

Ask for clarification. Ask exactly what was said, by whom, when, and in what context. Write it down. If you have a good relationship with the client, and you feel it appropriate, ask them to put that in an email or letter to you. You will keep all records of such things in case you need them in the future.

Address the point at hand. If the rumour is that the company is going under/ no longer operational then, assuming that is false, say that it is untrue. If you suspect why your competitor is saying such a thing (e.g., you made someone - possibly even them - redundant) then explain this to your client, but reiterate that it is not true.

If the claim is outlandish, and bears no relation to truth, then tell your client so. Explain that you have no idea why your competitor would have said that, but there is no foundation for it.

If the client wants to talk about it then be open and honest. To say 'no comment' can look suspicious. However, do not stoop to your competitor's level in engaging in a war of words. Never say anything negative about your competitors, nor infer anything negative. Things like "John only says I stole something because he's been thieving from the company for months" or "Well, I guess business can't be good for him, so he has to come out with this stuff" won't win you any favours.

Don't give your detractors the time of day. Don't talk about them, and don't be seen to be giving them any value at all. They are, quite simply, not worth your time or energy.

The most important thing now is to build on the relationship you have with your client (and others). If one has heard something then others probably have too. Make sure you are talking to them often and that your relationships are good. People are much less likely to believe false accusations about people they know than those they don't.

And keep doing the good job that you must already be doing for everyone to be talking about you!

It's not that hard

I'm not sure when recruiters began to feel as if we had to be perfect. It's a problem endemic to most sales roles, and can leave us feeling as if we have to always say the right thing, and always promise the earth to our clients and our candidates.

That's great when we deliver on those promises, but most of the time we simply can't or don't, and that leaves everyone feeling a bit sour about the whole experience.

There are lots of things that we can do to make others like us and want to do business with us. However, a lot of it boils down to just one thing.

Do what you say you will.

That's it. That's all most people want. Most people want to feel that they can rely on you to deliver what you say you will, and to be honest and transparent in your communication. That may sound like 2 separate points, but it's all wrapped up in the same thing.

If you have promised your client that you will deliver something and then - for whatever reason - you can't, you need to make sure you are continuing to tell them what you will (or now won't) be doing.

Sure, they may not be happy with you, but they will be a lot less happier with you if you fail to deliver and then sidle out of the back door without so much as an explanation.

Unfortunately, this scenario is one we see time and time again in recruitment. Our candidates tell us that their biggest bugbear with recruiters is that we get their hopes up and then we just disappear. We don't return their calls, we don't tell them what happened, and we effectively just sidle out of the door. (And please note here that by 'we' I mean a generic 'we' - the recruitment industry at large - rather than this being my confessional of poor practice.)

We don't do what we have said. If you say you will ring someone at 5pm, then ring them at 5pm. It doesn't matter if you thought you would have news for them and don't, or if someone more interesting and more placeable comes up. If you said you would do it then do it.

If you tell your client that you will find them someone and then discover that you can't, tell them so. Call them up, or meet up in person, and say that you have undertaken the work but not been successful. Don't leave them wondering what happened to you, or why they spent so long giving you all that information for you to just disappear.

Yes, it's a horrible conversation to have, but it's vital. Your client will hold you in higher regard for fronting up and confessing that you can't help them, than they will if you go AWOL and then contact them a month or so later, hoping they've forgotten (they haven't).

It's a simple principle, and it's one most of us apply without needing to think about in our personal lives. Most of us don't arrange to meet a friend and then not turn up, or tell a partner we will pick up the milk and then hide from them for a few days rather than tell them we forgot. Sometimes we cannot do what we said we would do, and if that happens then we need to communicate that to those who are waiting to hear what we've done.

The best option is to avoid raising people's expectations too high in the first place. Don't tell your client that you will have a candidate for them by the end of the hour/ day/ week. Tell them that you will endeavour to have someone for them, that you will be working on their role, that you will prioritise their work - and that you will talk to them again later today/ tomorrow/ by Friday to review where you are up to.

Don't tell your candidate that you will have something for them. Tell them that you will come back to them at a certain point to talk about where you are up to.

And then diarise those calls and make them.

Doing what you say you will do doesn't mean achieving everything that is expected of you. It means managing those expectations to make them something that you are more likely to be able to deliver.

It's not about being perfect. It's about being realistic, open, and honest. People have respect for those things, and can tolerate mistakes or failures to deliver (which, let's face it, are things we all experience sometimes) if they know that  you are doing the things you said you would.

Well, you know what I mean

At this time of year we get to hear a lot of messages, such as the Christmas message, the Chairman’s message, seemingly endless messages from politicians, and so on, and that led us to wonder about messages and what they actually mean.  And whether what they mean, when they start their life with the speaker, actually is the same as when they have penetrated the ears of the listener.  So often that does not seem to be the case and, if we are right, that means an awful lot of miscommunication is going on with, in many cases, some quite important information.

Part of this subject has already been covered in our blog ‘Communication – or is it?’.  In that article we looked at some of the physical steps you can take to facilitate communication, and here we will try to look at some of the psychological aspects arising, and see if there are techniques to help eliminate any distortions or misconceptions arising.

Consider, for example, the Chairman’s message.  Generally delivered annually, this is a personal statement from the very top of the Company stating the vision for the Company and its future over, say, the next 12 months.  It will be grand (sometimes grandiose) in its sweep, it can be defensive (“we want to maximise our share price to fight off a take-over bid”), or positive (“we want to secure 50% of the world’s share of X by this time next year”) but it will (or should be) aspirational and designed to motivate the troops into battle.

Unfortunately, it is so often the case that the message is given by someone who, financially and by experience, has nothing whatsoever in common with the more junior employees of the company, and so there is no way in which they can share in the dream of the Chairman.  These are examples of two different worlds that will never collide.

Nonetheless, the Chairman’s message is vital – the Company must have a purpose to aim at – and so a mechanism has to be found to translate the Chairman’s dream into one which all workers can share.

When creating this mechanism, which will be slightly different for every person because the mechanism needs to adjust for the quirks of every person involved in it, a useful starting point is to assume that people, generally, will find a way to distort the message you are trying to convey.  Not on purpose, necessarily, but because the brain likes to take shortcuts to help it to manipulate and sort data.  Those shortcuts may well not be the same ones that your brain took when you formulated the message, and so the result of the data sorting that takes place might lead to different information retrieval in the brain of the recipient. 

In addition, you cannot assume that your words of wisdom are so riveting as to prevent a listener’s attention from wandering, or being distracted by personal issues, or their immediate environment, or a flippant comment from the person next to them, or a thousand other matters that could take their attention away from you.

Anyway, even supposing that your employee does listen with 100% attention to the message.  What is he or she, personally, going to do to hold up the company’s share price, or attain a 50% stake in X for the company?  The Chairman’s goal simply has no personal relevance to that employee, nor is it within their ability to achieve.

So the way to deal with this is to disseminate the Chairman’s message through descending tiers of the organisation, with each tier hearing the message but also receiving a further ‘message’, aimed just at them, with their group’s goal for the 12-month (or whatever) period – something that is achievable, that can be seen to contribute toward the company goal, and that they can rally behind.

Now, the ‘macro’ problem of the message has become a ‘micro’ problem, in the sense that you are dealing with a much smaller number of people and the members of the group are much more closely aligned with each other – they are likely to work in the same area as each other, have similar or complementary skill sets, etc.  The leader of the group may well be the senior member of the team and if so he or she has to carry a personnel function as well as their day-to-day function.  This will require specific training if the job is to be done properly.  Such a person will need to be able to identify the various personality types present within the group (e.g., a Myers-Briggs Type assessment) and use the resulting data to create productive teams whilst minimising destructive or destabilising influences.  They will also be able to ‘sense the wind’ and identify, and deal with, nascent problems before they develop.

But by careful talking to people on a one-to one basis you can sometimes become aware of cases where a person is preoccupied with internal issues to the extent that they cannot hear an outside voice clearly, or they seem to be reacting inappropriately to a message, which may indicate that they have some emotional problem that is nothing to do with work but which is having a big effect on them.  And then there is the person with their own personal agenda, who can’t or won’t hear anything that doesn’t give them some personal advantage.  Or, even worse, it appears to give some advantage to someone else.  Such a person will not only not hear the message, but may try to sabotage it – they need to be handled carefully, and very firmly.

Some practical steps that can be taken are as follows:

• Whilst giving the message, try to do this in short bursts if possible.  Human attention span tends to be quite short, often only 5 or 10 minutes during speeches, and if you can inject a question or two every so often, or even a joke, this switches brains back on again (well, for a bit, anyway).

• Keep your sentences short.  Longer ones are subject to misinterpretation, especially the longer they are (mis)remembered.  Try asking a group of people to say the sentence “I’m not saying he didn’t hit my cat” a number of times, but stressing a different word in the sentence each time. See what we mean?!

• Always use the language that is appropriate to the group.  Use jargon to the extent that it relates to the job, and try to speak on the same level as your audience.  Simpler is always better, and don’t forget those for whom English is not their main language.

• Once you have given the message to the group, go round the individual members of the group, check that they have understood what you have said, what is expected of them as an individual, and ask if they have any questions or comments arising.  If so, you must deal with these as soon as possible.

• You have to keep reinforcing/checking the message with the group members.  Why?  Because the human brain is always trying to complete its current store of information on the basis of the data it has to date, i,e,  incomplete data.  So there is an innate tendency to half-listen to what is said, and then act as if we had all the information.  We do this, of necessity, when driving, and sometimes we have to in the workplace – which is why you need to ensure that all members are regularly brought back on track.

• Be careful to appear neutral or pleasant when you go to see the group members.  If you don’t, one or more of them will assume that you’re in a bad mood, probably with them, and their ’threat mode’ will be invoked.  You then have a high psychological hill to climb before you can communicate effectively with them.

Finally, it might be a good idea to check that you fully understand what you’re trying to convey.  This will make it much easier for you to get the message across!

Skye Recruitment at APPEA

Skye Recruitment has had its inaugural exhibited at the APPEA conference.  APPEA showcases the best of the Oil & Gas industry and Skye is proud to have contributed to this great event.

Of particular success were our glowing YoYos which saw a large number of people reliving their youth with demonstrations of "Walking the Dog", "Round the World" and "Cradle the Baby".  A particular acknowledgement needs to go to QGC and Origin who fielded the best YoYo Champions of the event.

Recruiters: Why your database matters

Simply put, your database and how you use it will have a direct impact on how much you bill.

A good database will allow you to do your job fast, seamlessly, and with maximum efficiency - eliminating all possible administrative work.

Conversely, an average (or bad) database will hold you back, and will cause your day to be filled up with chunks of admin that stop you from doing your real job - consulting.

A good database that is used badly (by you or your colleagues) will have a similar end effect to that of an average one.

An average database used well is, sadly, still going to hold you back.

Before you dismiss me as a dotcom child of technology, a recruiting newbie, who cannot grasp how 'real' recruiters did their job before fancy computers came about, let me tell you that I started recruiting in the days of Dos systems, and the first company I worked for used filing cards and drawers of paper CVs. "You're interested in my candidate? Great! I'll fax their CV right over!" Or "I posted you a CV the other day - have you received it?" Now I feel old.

Were things better in those days? No! We used to attach sheets of 'skill words' to each CV (and when I say 'attach', I am talking about by means of a stapler), and then highlight (with a pen) which words were relevant to each candidate.

Finding a qualified candidate was a slow process. Of course we made placements, and we were profitable, but how many more placements could we have made if we spent less time stapling and colouring in words, and more time talking to our clients and candidates?

Not all databases are equal

Most commercial recruitment software is pretty awful. A lot of it seems to be based around sales or client relationship management systems, and not around recruitment at all. Great if you just want to keep track of everyone's name and address. Not so great if you want to be able to perform sophisticated searches, and link your different processes together.

Unless you are the boss, then chances are you have no say in what database your company uses. I have worked with great databases (all bespoke), and diabolical ones - some of which have made me contemplate leaving an otherwise promising company.

If you are not the decision maker, at least know what you should be getting. A good piece of recruitment software should be fast, straightforward to use, and should allow you to do your job with ease. As a minimum I would want it to be able to do the following:

1. Perform searches. If I want a Mining Engineer, or a Designer who has used AutoCAD, then I should be able to use the database to bring up a list of these people. I want to be able to search on words used within the text of their CVs, and ALSO on words that I have marked as part of their skillset. If I want to be able to find someone with AutoCAD experience and a degree, who lives within 40km of Brisbane, then I should be able to do so. Then I want to be able to search on which companies use AutoCAD (for example) and are within a 40kmn radius of Brisbane. Now I want to know who the last 50 candidates were that I spoke to who work as Civil Engineers in Brisbane. And so forth.

2. Tag people. I want to tag a number of client contacts, and send them all an email in one go (which will automatically be personalised to them). Same for candidates. Then it needs to automatically record a note of that email on each person. If I have to copy and paste then I'm wasting time.

3. Switch between screens. I'm looking at my list of candidates and a client calls. I need to switch without losing my candidate info. Now I'm looking at my list of candidates that all have AutoCAD experience, and a different candidate calls. I need to access their record without losing my list of AutoCAD people.

4. Attach stuff. I need to attach offer letters to my clients, qualifications to my candidates, signed offers to my candidate record, etc. And the database needs to tell me how to find it quickly too.

5. Link or merge records. My client is also looking for work? My candidate has been attached 33 times by my idiotic colleagues? No problem. I will merge or link their records, and not lose anything.

I would add a lot more to what I want from a database, but for the sake of brevity I'll keep it to a top 5. If your database can't do these things then keep talking to your managers about how much productivity could be enhanced by using a system that can.

Rubbish in = rubbish out

So, you've got a great system, but you're not making the most of it. Why? You're too busy and important. So, instead of using this fantastic resource to build (for yourself) an invaluable tool that your competitors may not have, you are only focusing on the next 5 minutes, during which you don't have time to use it properly. What are you doing wrong? Here are some of the main offences:

1. Your notes suck. You spend a lot of time (I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt) interviewing a great candidate. So why do your notes look as if you only spoke to them for 2 seconds? You tell your clients everything about this person, but all the information is in your head, or scrawled on a notepad somewhere.

Why is this bad? You're busy - you don't have time to write War and Peace every time you talk to someone! It's bad because it makes you look unprofessional. When you go to lunch, and your client phones and asks a colleague a 'quick question' about your candidate, you look stupid when the conversation goes something like this: "Ah, I should be able to find that for you. Let me just bring up the notes. Ah." (long pause) "Yes. I can't see that. I'll have to get Tim to call you back. Sorry about that." 

It's also bad when you go on holiday, and your colleagues have to re-interview your candidate, as they don't know what you did or didn't ask. The same applies to your clients. If you don't put full notes on them then your colleagues won't know what was discussed, you won't remember a few years down the line, and you will have no recourse if there is a discrepancy between what you thought was said and what they think was said.

2. You don't attach stuff. I'm not talking about CVs or qualifications, as I hope your company has a system in place for that. I'm talking about the extra stuff that gets sent to you when dealing with a candidate. The offer letter, the passport photo, the signed acceptance, the contract, etc. If you don't attach it then no one can find it. Attach it now and it's there for the future. And, since most of this goes with an offer, you don't want to lose this stuff.

3. You don't follow your company's protocols. Most of them are there to make life easier (although I know it doesn't always seem that way). Whether it's ticking a box to say that a candidate was placed by your company, or noting whether they will relocate, whatever the process is - learn it and do it. Do it every time and it will become fast and automatic. It will save you from annoying colleagues and managers, and will usually save you from an embarrassing phone call where, for instance, a co-worker tries to tap up a candidate that you have just placed.

4. You don't put skill words on a candidate or company. Most databases have a system where you can do this, so that you know a particular person has a skill, or likes candidates with that skill. The more info you put on each contact, the better your database is for searching. What's the point in a database boasting hundreds of thousands of candidates, if they're all blank and can't be found in a search? Sure, you might be able to search on their CVs, but that's not as accurate as when you've put info on them for yourself. They might have listed a reference who is, for example, a Project Manager - which would make your searching irritating and ineffective, if you were to continually bring up people who weren't Project Managers just because they had that phrase on their CV. (And, let me guess, you would then blame the database for having a useless search facility?)

5. You don't update contact details. So you had someone great, but you can never contact them again, as you failed to put in all their contact details or update them when they changed? Great move.

To sum up...

Push for the best database you can get. And, when you get it, do yourself (and everyone else) a favour and put as much info on it as you can. It may take a couple of minutes more at the time, but it will mean extra placements for you in the long run. 

Quick to Succeed Syndrome, and why it can be a problem

Quick to Succeed Syndrome (let's call it QSS) doesn't sound like such a bad thing. In fact, it's what most recruitment leaders (myself included) regularly say that they want. "If I could just get in some grads, train them up, and have them hit the ground running straight away..." And, of course, many do.

So why would it be a problem if your new hires are really good at their jobs straight away? Surely that's better than them being slow to learn, and terrible at their jobs?

Well, yes. But being quick to succeed can also present its own set of challenges, which managers need to be aware of in order to offset the effects.

Smashing targets straight away can give a new recruiter a false sense of confidence. They should be rightly rewarded for doing well but, as a manager, make sure you are not letting things slip through the cracks in your excitement at how well the new person has 'got it'.

I've made this mistake before and, unfortunately, it's a mistake I've made more than once. A poor performer gets lots of attention and coaching, and you focus on all the little things they are doing (or not doing). A great performer gets left alone, as they 'know what they're doing'. But often they don't. And often it comes back to bite you (and them) when their winning streak takes a nosedive, and you're both baffled as to how that happened. A closer examination often reveals that they were making rookie mistakes that weren't picked up because no one was watching closely enough. When they actually ARE a rookie, rookie mistakes should be expected, and newbies should never be abandoned because they appear to have worked everything out themselves.

It would be nice if people put their hands up for help if they felt they were getting out of their depth, but this doesn't always happen. In particular, a new employee who is getting lots of praise and attention for doing well may feel under pressure to maintain that status, and therefore won't want to draw attention to the fact that they don't know it all by asking for help.

Other than staying quiet and not asking for help when they need it, someone with QSS may actively reject input from managers. Successful recruiters can earn a lot of money very quickly - more than is possible in most graduate careers - and they will probably also be on the receiving end of a lot of attention. A top performer very quickly becomes a star in their company. It can sometimes then be the case that the new star feels that they know it all, and that their managers or colleagues are out of touch, or less talented than themselves.

A manager who handles this poorly may feel reluctant to interfere too much with the 'winning formula' that this star has developed, and will leave them to it. Colleagues may feel reluctant to offer advice if they feel that the new person IS actually better than they are. This helps develop the myth of the 'untouchable', who may be let off doing certain things, or allowed to work in a different way from others within the company, simply because they are being successful and no one wants to tamper with that.

But then what happens when the newly formed bigshot fails to deliver? Do you THEN implement training and adherence to company practice? And is it too late? If the bigshot has got away with it for a while, then they probably won't want to start following procedure properly when they never had to before. And what of the effect on company culture? Other staff will inevitably resent the fact that the newbie doesn't have to do things that they have to do. You may find that you end up losing some of your more longstanding staff in the process.

So far the biggest effects discussed have been on the company, but what of the effect on the individual suffering from QSS?

They've gone from being a superstar who knows it all, to underperforming and lacking the knowledge or support to work out how to turn it around. Their colleagues may already be irritated with them, and their manager has been a bit AWOL. They've also gone from earning a crazy salary to earning not very much at all. It's a big ego blow, and they may feel that recruitment is not the career for them or, at least, that your company is not one that will support them.

And the frustrating part is that they can probably do the job really well! People aren't usually quick to succeed out of a random turn of luck. They usually have some great skills and natural aptitude that will make them fantastic recruiters - given the right support system, leadership, and environment.

I would also note that being quick to succeed is no bad thing. Here, I have termed the quick to succeed syndrome as the situation where management and the new consultant don't work well together to nurture a continuation of that success. A newbie who is quick to succeed and wants to learn, and a management team which supports that newbie and keeps them learning are a great combination!

So, in short, what can you do to make sure your new star doesn't develop QSS? Stay close to them, find out what they're doing, and help them develop their skills further. Make sure they adhere to the same practices that other members of staff have to, but also listen to them and take on board any ideas or advice they may have. (Maybe your old procedures are holding other staff back too, and maybe everyone should drop them?) Don't idolise them. Reward them, and praise them, but remember that they are still new. Don't forget your longer standing staff, or make them feel that you no longer care about them.

In the right environment, your new star could become an integral part of your company. Make sure you nurture talent, rather than spending all your time on more difficult employees.