All it took was the official uttering of the ‘R’ word. The nation’s formal move into a recession has put the seal on every recruiter’s nightmare. Add to that bleak reporting in the media and recruitment managers now have to stabilise plummeting employee morale as well as plummeting profit margins. So, when faced with nothing but bad news and client negativity, how can they achieve this?

During the buoyant periods it’s easy to forget about motivation. The business is flowing, recruiters are successful and clients are spending. Yet when clients freeze budgets and every phone call results in a ‘no’, it’s easy for fellow recruiters to catch the doom-andgloom bug.

“The recession has been like dropping a pebble in central London and seeing the ripples move outwards,” says Tom Mason, business head of RPO and talent management at recruiter Hudson. “In London there has been a lockdown since August last year and a huge cut in the jobs available.

“No company has more than 1% of recruitment spend in the UK either. That means there is a lot of competition and when you turn off the market’s taps, it makes an enormous impact.”

The result? Fear. Fear that business is grinding to a halt, fear that this will result in redundancies and fear that mortgage repayments aren’t going to be met. This is even more likely among recruiters who have only ever known the good times. While long-standing recruiters know what recession feels like, the inexperienced think the sky is falling in.

Fiona Lander is managing director of Lander Associates which provides training for the international recruitment sector.

“People are most scared of the unknown,” she says. “Nobody will be motivated if they are scared or suspicious about the current climate. They have to be reassured that you have a ‘Plan B’ ready, that they know what they are doing, that they are being fully informed and that they are clear about their position. It creates confidence which is essential to survive.”

The truth is that it is easy to put two and two together and come up with five. Employees see companies going to the wall, colleagues facing redundancy and phones that don’t ring, and assume that they are next for the chop. That’s why it is essential that managers do not underestimate the impact of all the recession talk upon the performance of each member of their staff. It means that understanding of your employees as individuals is key.

“It is a testing time and if you are not motivated you are not going to make it.” Tough words from Patricia Drain of Patricia Drain & Associates, US-based business information expert. “You need to be able to move on from a problem such as a recession and you need the people who work for the company to help it stay afloat.

“See people as individuals. Ask them what will motivate them. I knew one guy who was making a lot of money yet when I asked him what would motivate him he said that it would be his own parking spot. That day I painted a number one on the curb and paid $20 a month for the space and it was the best money I’d ever spent because he was happy as a result.”

Which is why the extra effort goes a long way. It’s dangerous to assume that everyone is motivated by the same thing. For some it is the money, for others it is the satisfaction of a day’s work, while for others it is about closing the deal.

Even if there are fewer deals to close there are opportunities to develop client relationships, something that will benefit less experienced recruiters. It’s a chance for them to find new openings, engage in dialogue and create partnerships that will reap rewards later on. Motivation also comes from allowing employees to take on the tasks that they’d never usually have time to do. Researching niche markets, genning up on the competition, brainstorming for solutions, creating marketing campaigns, helping candidates develop their CVs… all of these sharpen recruiting skills.

Right4staff recruits for both temporary and permanent positions in the UK and is using the downturn to focus on how it can provide an even better service in the future.

“We’ve continued to invest in sales and marketing,” explains Melissa Carslake, the company’s managing director for the South. “We’ve also launched a number of new product lines. It shows that our staff are responding to the challenges of the marketplace and that we are supporting them in every way that we can. You can’t be seen to be withdrawing from investing in your people. We must continue to celebrate success, coach people on specific challenges and address the difficult issues that they face.”

Creating a strong team spirit is part of this. While it is important to understand that individuals have varying motivations, they also need a working environment that is supportive across the board. There is no room for machismo. It’s all about pulling together to survive. Roland Sheehan is a director at Penta Consulting, a recruitment company that specialises in ICT. For him it’s important that his employees feel safe. “Make them feel as if they can do something to help, that they know the team is behind them, that thanks to achievable targets they can succeed every day,” he says. “They also need to know that they aren’t on their own. There will always be people who have days where they fall behind but that’s when team playing is important.”

Sheehan also stresses the importance of understanding how the recession makes recruiters feel. He has experienced the ups and downs of the sector which means that he can guide others through difficulties. At the heart of this approach lies the art of communication. It’s all well and good for the management to be plotting an assault on a new market but if their recruiters are panicking it’s worth nothing. To succeed they
need the full support of every recruiter and that support will only be forthcoming if those recruiters feel respected and secure.

Roy Ripper is director and co-founder of Recruitment Juice, which is pioneering innovative DVD training programmes for recruiters. “Communication is a key issue for recruitment managers,” he explains. “You have to be honest and open without scaremongering. Don’t be dishonest about the position the company is in but don’t create fear either. For example, if you are tightening your belts say so, but don’t start telling employees to use less staples. I worked in one office where estate agents came in and measured up while we were working. It did nothing for motivation.”

Ripper also believes that focusing on the future is an essential survival technique. He warns: “Don’t change the commission and bonus structure, don’t cut training and don’t stop recruiting recruitment consultants. Rewarding and developing the workforce sends out a positive message and it reminds recruiters that for every bust there has to be a boom.”

It’s a fine balance, though, simply because the needs of the business and the needs of the recruiter don’t always match up. What if the profit margins demand that budgets are cut while the best motivation for your team are increased bonuses and investment in training?

“How you handle this issue comes from experience,” explains Russell Hobby, associate director at management consulting firm Hay Group. “It is easy to shy away from difficult decisions when news is grim but you have to tell people what is going to happen. If you don’t your employees will fill in the blanks themselves and that is bad. In fact, even if you are not clear yourself talk about your own uncertainty. You’ll be surprised at how your staff will respond to you being frank.

“It’s also worth asking the more experienced team members to pass on their knowledge of downturns. What did they do to survive? How did it make them feel? What tactics did they use? This won’t just inspire your employees but it will show them that recession survival is possible.”

And remember that this is a recession, not the end of the world. It’s just another problem to solve. OK, it will take hard work and there may be tough times but survival is within the grasp of any recruiter worth their Christmas bonus. Many believe that this will sort the sector’s wheat from the chaff, leaving an industry that is strong, resilient and ready for upturn. After all, if you can survive a recession you can survive anything.

Jeremy Bogush, director of Xcede Recruitment Solutions, agrees. “You have to have a sink or swim mentality,” he says. “You can come out of this stronger than ever before. You have to lead with knowledge and by example and be positive in your communications whenever you can. We have banned the use of the word ‘recession’ unless it is used in a positive way, where it is creating opportunities for us or allowing us to develop and grow.

“Stay upbeat, believe what you say and you’ll get through.”

WAYS TO MOTIVATE TODAY

• Call a team meeting and tell your recruiters the truth about where the business stands, what the future holds and what this means for their jobs
• Ask each team member about their concerns and what they need you to do toresolve them
• Delegate tasks to your recruiters so that they stay busy and develop at the same time
• Create a system of rewards for even the smallest successes and implement it immediately
• Give your team control over the situation by consulting them on issues and implementing their solutions