I urge you to come back down to reality for a couple of minutes and face the harsh reality of a little thing called CUSTOMER RETENTION & AFTER SALE SERVICE.

Ever hear the saying it costs seven times more to find a new client that it is to retain them?  I can hear a lot of you go – blah, blah, blah – Wake up! This is true.  Dissatisfied clients will tell twice as many people, as satisfied clients about their experience, and do correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t many of us rely on referrals and word-of-mouth?

On a weekly basis I hear of what a war zone it is out there in the recruitment world, how people take swords out of their backs, how the recession has had a devastating impact on their business, this is where I go – blah, blah, blah – no offense, but is it just me, or has poor customer service become increasingly more acceptable to South Africans both from a receiving and handing out point of view.

You would think that all the work we have to put into landing a new client, we would hang onto them for dear life.  Most try and many succeed, but a lot of clients are still lost every day, by Companies who didn’t think too hard and long about what they needed to do to keep them.  One of the biggest challenges facing any business is maintaining a balance.  More often than not, more emphasis is put on getting new business than serving existing clients.

Many of you may think that your clients are loyal and that you have such a great relationship, perhaps even a personal one, again, if you want loyalty, buy a dog.

The only thing that will set you apart from your competitor is good, no, Excellent Customer Service.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Strive for zero defect
• 68% of customers are lost due to the attitude of people, only 9% because of price
• Customers expect a product or service to measure up to their demands, make sure you exceed expectation
• Treat your customer as a person of value every time
• Should anything go wrong, correct it in an open friendly manner – no need to be hostile or shift blame
• Don’t make false promises – behavior breeds behavior –
• Make sure your staff are adequately trained and motivated
• Do unto others, as you would like done unto you
• A customer retention policy, should be driven from the top down with consistency across the board
• Combine high tech with high touch – your customer is NOT a number

Remember this one thing; a commitment to quality and service pays.

You don’t want to find yourself losing your customers quicker than you can say – EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE-!

Written by Cathy Gillmer – Jobs.co.za

Dear Recruiter

I write this letter with the best intent and I sincerely hope that you can understand where this is coming from.  This letter is presented to you to better understand what a person like me (i.e. a Job Seeker is looking for in a job advertisement).

So without further delay let’s kick of the list of 10 things jobseekers look for in a Job advertisement:

1.  Job Title:

Job title is always a good start… it tells me what I will be doing for your company to make the company run like a well oiled machine, and thus be profitable.

2. Company / Client Name:

Please inform be who I will be working for. Come on there is no life threatening reason why your company / client name should be the best kept secret since the Coke a Cola recipe.  This way I can do some research about the company and be more prepared for my interview, which will mean that you’ll be able to hire me on the spot without delay and save time and money by not interviewing endless amount of Job Seekers.

3.  Location of the Position:

Location, location, location… If you just list ‘Gauteng’ as the location that leaves my mind to wonder, and that is a very dangerous thing.  Gauteng is a vast space of real estate and guess work is not by strongest point!  Let me know the location so I can start planning the shortest route to work to prevent always having to blame the traffic for being late for work.

4.  Salary Range & Benefits:

Is this job going to be worth my while?  This is the type of question I ask when I look at the job. The salary – and of course additional benefits – is always a top selling point, even if it just says that there is a coffee stand close to my desk (a major plus for any worker, caffeine keeps us peppy and happy staff are profitable staff).

5.  Job Requirements:

Am I qualified for this job?  I need numbers and minimum qualifications please… Minimum number of years experience to know how well qualified I am for this position.

6.  Job Description:

What are my duties?  How will my performance be measured?  What can I do for you and how can I add value to your business?

7.  Short listing questions:

Challenge me with some good questions regarding the job spec.  Let me prove to you that I’m suitable for this position by asking me a couple of challenging questions when I apply to the position.

8.  More useful information:

Please tell me more about my working conditions.  What kind of company will I be spending most of my day with?  Who will I be reporting to?  Let me get to know the company before I apply so that you and I know that I already appreciate your culture and business environment, hence I don’t waste your time in applying if I am not the right fit.

9.  Etiquette:

Please refrain for using CAPITAL letters and too many exclamation marks throughout the job spec. I know that you are very excited to hire a great Job Seeker like me, but this will seem to me that you are shouting at me before you’ve even hired me. Let’s be honest, the shouting may only start once you’ve actually hired me (and of course if I’ve done something wrong, which won’t happen because I’ll be peppy due to all the coffee you have provided me).

10.  Conclusion:

If you can please follow these guidelines then I’ll have all the information that I need to prepare my application to the best of my ability so as not to dissappoint you either before or after the job interview.

Also please be so kind as to let me know whether I was successful (or not) in my application.  There is nothing worse for us Job Seekers so as not to get feedback on the status of our application.  Please, Please, Please at least do us the courtesy of letting us know.

Thank you for your time to read my plea.

Hope to here for you soon.

Best regards

All Job Seekers Everywhere.

Written by Hane Calitz, Jobs.co.za

hroughout the month of June the network ran two separate surveys – one focused on Recruitment agencies and another on HR and Hiring Managers from Corporate South Africa. There were over 170 participants.  The surveys were both geared around acquiring insight into the impact that the recession is having on hiring within companies as well as the effects that are felt as a result thereof by the recruitment industry. A second part of the survey focused on understanding how both the Companies and Recruitment agencies are adapting their recruitment strategies to meet their current hiring needs under the financial crunch.Over 170 companies participated in the survey.

You can catch up on the most important info on Jobs.co.za by reading the article: The Impact of the Recession on Recruitment in South Africa. Or you can download the full report right here by clicking on the PDF icon below.

SA Recruiters provides a platform where recruiters can network with, and share recruitment best practices and insighs with other industry professionals.

Why join SA Recruiters?
-Publish your own blog posts regularly and be seen as a recruitment expert.
-Get the latest updates on recruitment news from around the world.
-Be notified of recruitment industry events or submit your own events.
-Find jobs or advertise your recruitment and HR positions to be filled.
-Showcase your company to potential clients, candidates – and the world.
-Participate in or create discussions around issues facing the industry.
-Solicit advice from other community members.

Become an industry expert right here on SA Recruiters – South Africa’s Recruiting Community Network. Sign up now!

With so much uncertainty regarding in the employment market, employers are reluctant to hire new employees on a permanent basis and are leaning more towards hiring staff on a casual or temporary basis to fill those roles that previously might have been considered a permanent post. Employers are more comfortable taking short-term risks under the current situation.

Gillian Meier, CEO of Jobs.co.za says: “In recent discussions with a number of recruitment agencies we have discovered that many employment agencies who previously only placed permanent staff are now forced into having to do temporary placements to ensure that they continue to drive revenue in their businesses, while maintaining an existing relationship with their clients by being flexible towards their current needs, whether that be to fill permanent or temporary posts”.

The term ‘flexible staffing’ therefore holds true to recruiters, employers and Job Seekers in that everyone has to become more flexible under the current times.

For those who might be new to the world of Temporary Employment, here are some basic guidelines to Temporary Employment in South Africa:

The Skills Development Act stipulates that temporary employment agencies must be registered with the Department of Labour. Basic Guide to Private Employment Agencies.

Workers whose services are provided to a client by an employment agency are employed by the agency. The agency is the employer of the worker. The employee is then under a Temporary Contract of Employment with the employment agency (who is the temporary employer) and the Client, who is a third party, will typically enter into a ‘Contract of Work’ with the agency.

The employment agency hires out the services of the temporary employee to the client. The client pays the employment agency and the agency is therefore responsible for paying the temporary employee the agreed upon salary. The employment agency charges a far higher rate (salary) to the client than hat it has to pay the temporary employee, this being how the employment agency makes its money.

Upon completion of the assignment the Temporary Contract of Employment is automatically terminated and the Employment agency and Temporary employee then enter into a new Temporary Contract of Employment for each new assignment.

Although there is no direct employment relationship between the employee and the client, except for the ‘implied’ contract of work, both the employment agency and client (Company) are jointly responsible to stick to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.

Occasionally a temporary employee may be employed directly by the Company thereby bypassing an employment agency entirely.

Whether employed through an employment agency (or labour broker) or by the Company directly, under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act a temporary employee must receive annual paid leave, sick leave and so on and is entitled to family responsibility leave, sick leave and overtime as with any other employee.  Furthermore, temporary employees are also entitled to be paid for public holidays that arise during the tenure of employment.

The termination of a Temporary Contract of Employment does not necessarily specify a terminate date, it usually details the termination of the contract being upon the occurrence of a particular event. For instance, the contract will terminate when the employee who is being filled in for returns from maternity leave, or sick leave etc. Or the contract is terminated upon completion of a particular task.

A worker who is an independent contractor is not an employee of a temporary employment service.  Visit the South African Labour Guide for more information on the understanding the differences between a contractor and a temporary employee in regards to the Employee’s Status.

Related Links

The department of labour provides specific Temporary Employment conditions in the following areas:

• Basic Guide to Temporary Employment Services (Wholesale and Retail);
• Basic Guide to Temporary Employment Services (Domestic Workers)
• Basic Guide to Temporary Employment Services (Farm Workers)

I hope you all had a restful weekend and re-fuelled the engines with fast firing, quick burning coal to seam ahead into this new week.

Today I wanted to share with you some awesome news that some of you may already know about regarding a new service upgrade that Jobs.co.za is now offering.

The New Year has brought about an exclusive and elite addition to the Priority Job Ad Upgrade.

When using your Recruiter Credits to upgrade any Standard Job Ad Listing to a Priority Job Advert, aside from the additional exposure and marketing your Priority Job Ad will receive, you will now receive hands on assistance from our in-house Recruitment Professional.

When activating  ”Recruit Assist” with Jobs.co.za you can now expect to receive additional support to aid you in attracting, acquiring and screening top class Job Seeker’s and thereby improving the quantity and quality of your applicants.

Recruiters can now simply upgrade a Standard Job Ad listing by using 250 Recruiter Credits (equivalent to R250) to a Priority Job and receive “Recruit Assist” from our Recruitment Professional. This support equates to assistance with job ad writing effective job advertisements, Job Seeker application screening and filtering along with headhunting as and when it is required.

Priority Job Ads are also differentiated by a yellow priority star which means they are easier to identify and stand out more than other job listing when Job Seekers are running searches. Priority Job Ad listings are also automatically filtered to the top of all Standard Job Ad listings, feature on all key Job Seeker pages in an isolated side bar as well as are further promoted in the Monthly Job Seeker newsletter.

Jobs.co.za will be hosting a launch event for this new upgrade and all subscribing Recruiters are most welcome to attend to find out how they can further benefit from this addition to the services that Jobs.co.za currently offers.

Join us on the 29^th of January ‘09 from 9:30 am to 11:30 am for an update on the latest enhancements to our search, screening and filtering tools, as well as an introduction to “Recruit Assist”. To receive an exclusive invitation or to RSVP please contact Kerry@jobs.co.za by the 22^nd of January ‘09.

Please note that seats are limited and RSVP’s will be accepted on a first come first serve basis.

What’s more left to say?

We would be thrilled if you would like to join us next week and look forward to your response.

I hope that you all have a terrific afternoon and I will catch up with you again in the next couple of days.

All the Best.

Jo Blog

Joblog@jobs.co.za

I hope you have had a great day so far and are revelling at the idea that for most are being set free from your cages, climbing out of your boxes and bursting into the weekend with fervour and fun.

Aren’t weekends the best! Even if you have nothing planned they always seem to wipe a wave of energy through us and bring about a second wind that even to most droopy eyed can’t help but soak up.

I plan on working for most of the weekends as I have some things I need to attend to before the start of the new week and while I’m here in the office with Jobs.co.za top of mind, you too may have an encounter with us whilst out and about during the weekend.

Jobs.co.za has launched into the New Year with Job Seeker centric marketing campaign, which hit the streets this week. This new campaign encourages increased quality CV registrations and has been incentivised by a terrific competition that Job Seekers are going to love.

The Job Seeker Prize CV competition has set out to grow the quality and quantity of Job Seeker CV registrations by means of the Jobs.co.za CV Creator.  The Job Seeker with the most popular Job Seeker CV (by number of Recruiter views), created during January and March ‘09, will win a Professional Image Makeover with a professional image consultant valued at R10 000.

In order to enter the Jobs.co.za Prize CV competition, all that Job Seekers need to do is create a top quality CV using the Jobs.co.za CV Creator and let the viewing begin.

You can expect to see our outdoor marketing campaign in and around the streets of Morningside, Sandton and Randburg in Gauteng as well as Glenwood, Glen Ashley, Durban North, Kloof, Pinetown and Musgrave in Kwazulu Natal

Along with our outdoor marketing efforts you may also hear our latest radio of aired on 94.7 Highveld Stereo

Visit the Prize CV Competition landing page on Jobs.co.za to view the terms and conditions, to register and enter or simply to find out more.

I have also included pictures of our outdoor campaign for your viewing pleasure so that when you do spot it on the streets you can show your keen interest in worldly matters and attention to detail to whoever may be in your company :”)

(These may take a little bit to upload and may only be  viewable by Saturday or Sunday)

Alright, I think that’s my queue to get out of here before I start getting sillier than I already am.

I hope you have a fantastic weekend and I will defiantly catch up with you next week.

All the best and please let me know what you think about our competition as well as the new marketing campaign by leaving me a comment on this post or by dropping me a mail.

Take care and namaste’

Jo Blog

joblog@jobs.co.za

0861 JOBS 101

The Recruiters sphere is empty, not a word in sight…

Why, oh dear, no, why, someone please tell me…Why…

Okay so its Friday and I’m in a playful mood, it’s not the end of the world that the Recruiters sphere of the blog is empty, I just thought maybe I could talk a little bit more about it and explain how it works and how you, the Recruiter can take advantage of writing in the Recruiters Sphere.

Blogging is a terrific way for Recruiters to market their services. By simply contributing to the user generated content on the internet, Recruitment bloggers will effectively market their services to mass groups of Job Seekers. Blogging is essentially an opportunity for corporate identities to reveal a more personalised persona.

A Recruiters blog should communicate opinions and thoughts of the recruiter. Essentially if the blogging Recruiter is viewed as a topic expert or an expert in their field of recruitment, this will strengthen relationships with your clients.

All recruiters subscribing to Jobs.co.za are able to write such blog post in our Recruiters Sphere. We have created this realm specifically for our subscribing Recruiters to share their views, their opinions and tips and tricks to Job Seekers. By simply requesting access details from Jobs.co.za, each Recruiter will be equipped with access to the Recruiters Sphere and may begin their blogging career.

I wanted to share some further blogging information and some tips to help you get started.

These Tips have been compiled by Jobs.co.za, CEO Gillian Meier and given her expertise in this matter these are some blogging tips you should definitely take note of.

As compiled by G Meier.

• Blogs need to come from actual members of staff given enough freedom to write in a credible way.

• Companies wishing to produce their own blog, should provide a blogging policy and guidelines for employee bloggers to abide by when blogging.

• There should ideally be a range of bloggers who possess insight into new developments, happenings, commentary on recruitment industry news, HR information and workplace issues.

• The blog should demonstrate a combination of both corporate authority and independent, non-corporate within the blogging team.

• The corporate blog should provide information and a perspective that the company may have and could be used as a platform to trial and test ideas and new products with the community (instant, free market research).

• The ‘blaggers’ blog should be designed and written from an individual bloggers (blaggers) viewpoint and should demonstrate an honest viewpoint (within boundaries). The best bloggers are those who tweak the funny bone of the online community and stimulate others to exercise their prerogative to express a point of view – almost equivalent to a radio chat show with phone-in hosts.

• The blog should contain content that is relevant to the readers, discussing human issues we can all relate to, combined subtly with the core message of the blog post.

• The blog needs to instil the need to respond (should get a response from readers) as blogs are conversations between the main blogger and the readers. If there is no interaction between the two sides it defeats the whole point of the blog.

And there you have it. There really isn’t anything stopping you now. Making use of these mentioned tips and continually contributing credible content to your blog, market your Recruitment Company in one of the most relevant ways to do so in this day and age.

If you are a subscribing recruiter to Jobs.co.za please do contact Camilla Patten the Online Content Manager at Jobs and she will set you up with access to your very own Recruiters Sphere.

Well that’s it from me this Terrific Friday.

I hope you all have a wonderful day and weekend ahead.

I will be sure to catch up with you on Monday.

Take care,

Jo Blog

Joblog@Jobs.co.za