Ross Clennett Article

How to communicate like top recruiters

 

by Ross Clennett

This article originally appeared in Recruitment Extra (August 2004 issue)

 

Recruitment Extra is published monthly and is the leading publication for the recruitment and on-hire industry in Australia. This article is reprinted with the kind permission of Loud House Communication Pty Ltd.

 

“Once a human being has arrived on this earth, communication is the largest single factor determining what kinds of relationships he makes with others and what happens to him in the world about him."  - Virginia Satir (world renowned family therapist)

 

A powerful statement and I challenge you to disagree with it. Yet how much structured communication education did you receive at school? In the whole 16 years I spent in the formal education system, between the ages of 6 and 22, I didn’t have one single hour of formal communication training! The closest I got was what I learnt from Speech & Drama at high school and through treading the boards (and bars!) with the university dramatic society.

 

When I talk about communication don’t make the common mistake of assuming that communication equals what you say. In a landmark study of communication undertaken at the University of Pennsylvania in the early 1970’s it was found that words comprised only 7% of total communication effectiveness. Vocal variety, such as volume, tone, pitch and pace comprised 38% of total communication effectiveness and 55% of communication effectiveness comprised body language, such as gestures and facial expressions.  Watch an episode of ER with the sound muted and I guarantee you can accurately work out what’s going on between Carter and Pratt purely on the communication you experience through solely.

 

I have spent 15 years in and around the recruitment industry and almost all of the training I have received both as a recruiter and leader of other recruiters has been concentrated on what (words) I should say, rather than how (vocal variety & body language) I should say it.

 

Just think about all the people you have listened to at various RCSA conferences and breakfasts, who do you remember as somebody memorable and worth listening to? It’s likely to be a very short list but the name of Greg Savage will almost certainly be there.

 

Considering that there are many very capable speakers who would rate at least as qualified as Greg in knowledge, skill and success why would Greg’s name be top of mind? Easy, his ability to communicate his message sets him part from almost all of his peers.

 

What Greg says is worth hearing but more importantly you want to hear it due to his vocal delivery, his gestures and his facial expressions. You may not remember all of Greg’s content but you remember the impact that his presentation had on you. 

 

I challenge you to assess yourself against the same criteria. How many clients or candidates would say you made an impact? Of were you just another run-of-the-mill recruiter who asked the same old questions and faded into obscurity within 48 hours of the meeting?

 

Greg possesses what is at the heart of every top performing recruiter; the ability to communicate in a highly effective manner. I define an effective communicator as one who consistently receives the response they are seeking from whomever they are communicating to.

 

How would I know? Well Greg was my direct boss for the best part of five years at Recruitment Solutions and I saw first hand his ability to communicate in a powerful way both in front of an audience, large or small, and also one-on-one. A way that motivated people into action (either clients, to choose Recruitment Solutions, or consultants, to start improving their activity levels - quick smart!).

 

Granted, Greg has a strong physical presence and a commanding voice but he has also sought training, taken feedback and continuously refined his approach to ensure his communication is as effective as possible. His well documented success at Aquent, predominantly a graphics, marketing & creative recruiter, has been largely as a result of Greg adapting his communication style from his days at Accountancy Placements (now Hays) and subsequently Recruitment Solutions, both predominantly accounting recruiters (for more details on Greg’s transition see Recruitment Extra, August 2003, pp 18-20).

 

Another master communicator I had the very good fortune to learn from at Recruitment Solutions was Graham Whelan. Graham has a far lower profile than Greg in the Australian recruitment industry but most industry leaders know Graham and have enormous respect for his abilities and track record. Graham possesses a much under-rated communication skill; he is a great listener. Sadly, this is a skill that recruitment companies invest little time or money in developing within their consultants.

 

In communication coaching this is referred to as ‘first understand, then be understood’.  What Graham does is to ‘get into the world’ of the other person. This is done by asking questions then shutting up! Far too many consultants talk to fill up silence.

Graham understands that a recruitment relationship works most powerfully when both people have an understanding and respect, not necessarily an agreement, for the other person’s viewpoint and opinions. This only occurs when you spend 90% of the time listening to the other person and 10% of the time talking!

 

"You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you." - Dale Carnegie

 

An effective questioning technique is one of the most simple and powerful ways to understand the issues that confront your client In asking these questions you assist the client see more clearly for themselves that the possible solution may lie with you without you having to ‘sell’ anything!

 

Recruitment companies spend far too much money on brochures and defining ‘value add’ or ‘our unique selling proposition’ when teaching consultants how to ask their clients and candidates better questions would generate a far better result for much less cost.

 

You may not be a Greg Savage or a Graham Whelan but you can learn from them and how they have used their communication skills to enormous commercial advantage.

 

What does this mean for you right now? What steps can you take immediately to make a difference in your communication effectiveness?

 

Firstly, a customer is much more likely to make a decision to use you, or not, based on their experience of you. This experience is made up of your accumulated communications with them right from the first contact. The world’s best client visit or interview technique is of little use to you if you don’t maintain the communication flow between you and the other person subsequent to the meeting.

Research consistently shows that it takes an average of 5 contacts with a prospective customer before they give you an opportunity to sell to them.

 

This experience of you is less to do with a customer’s logical or rational thought process and it is to do with their emotional response; ‘do you care?’ How does the customer know you care? Because you kept communicating! You are tapping into that very basic human need – the need to be wanted.

 

“Men, as well as women, are oftener led by their hearts than by their understanding” – Lord Chesterfield

 

As a very green recruiter working in the dead recruitment market of the very early 1990’s I won business simply by staying in touch. I consistently communicated over the phone, through posting articles of interest and through face-to-face meetings. I kept sending the message to both clients and candidates that I cared.

 

Secondly, a top performer understands that they are responsible for the way in which their communication is received. They immediately seek to change their communication when they are not getting the results they are seeking. A poor performer will blame the other person if they are not achieving their desired result in their communication with that person.

 

"If you want others to agree with you, you must first be agreeable." - Tom Hopkins

 

Recently I worked with a recruiter who, on the face of it, had all the necessary attributes to be a successful recruiter. She was degree qualified, she had extensive work experience in the field in which she was recruiting, she was articulate and she had good presentation skills. Her biggest failing was that she never took responsibility for her communication. If things went wrong with a client, candidate or colleague, her only response was to blame the other person. Unsurprisingly she had a very low referral rate from clients and candidates and her relationship with other team members ranged from forced politeness to outright hostility.

 

Blaming is easy. Blaming keeps you safe. Blaming stops you learning about yourself. Blaming keeps you ‘at effect’ rather than ‘at cause’. Poor communicators quickly adopt a ‘victim’ mentality and wait for others to change and therefore have an excuse for not generating the result they desire.

 

I recently watched a great documentary on the making of the 1977 Fleetwood Mac album ‘Rumours’, the third biggest selling album of all time. All five band members were interviewed about what generated such a level of creative output at that particular time and singer/songwriter/guitarist Lindsey Buckingham put it simply; "If you're any good at all, you know you can be better”.

 

As a successful recruiter, you are undoubtedly already a good communicator but are you challenging yourself to be better?