Industry Spotlight; Commercial & Professional Meets Wolf of Wall Street

Much like love and hate, a fine line exists between good business and good old-fashioned con artistry.

Some businesses within the recruitment industry have a magical way of building something out of nothing. In their enthusiasm to please and win your business (if not given a healthy dose of reflection and introspection), the propensity to over promise and under deliver can be high, to the detriment of your business.

Just look at Leonardo DiCaprio’s portrayal of scam-artist stockbroker Jordan Belfort in “The Wolf of Wall Street.” While he was certainly enthusiastic in building his empire, he crossed many lines that catapulted him into the con category – taking many others down that road with him. To quote from the movie, “OK, first rule of Wall Street – Nobody – and I don’t care if you’re Warren Buffet or Jimmy Buffet – nobody knows if a stock’s going up, down or sideways, least of all stockbrokers. But we have to pretend we know.”

Without self-awareness and reflection, it’s easy to end up engaging in behaviours that may negatively impact business, not to mention the people behind it. So what do recruitment companies need to do to avoid being a wolf in a recruiter’s clothing? What do you need to do to be an ethical recruitment partner? We think it’s pretty simple…

Be Honest

Directly answer questions asked by our clients. Look our clients in the eye when we answer. Don’t over promise and under deliver.

Be empathetic

First, don’t develop tunnel vision and become forgetful about the real reason we are there, to help our client. Don’t go into overdrive and bulldoze our clients into decisions they are not ready for. You do not need a recruitment partner who in the words of Jordan Belfort “ My warriors, who won’t take ‘No’ for an answer. Who won’t hang up the phone till their client either buys. Or dies!”

Take the blame first and the credit last

Projecting blame on others or on external factors like markets or ‘luck’, and claiming most of the credit and the rewards that goes with it is not good. Great Recruitment Companies accept the majority of the blame first, take the credit last, and make sure their team participates in the success and its rewards.

Don’t have arms longer than your pockets are deep

Taking risks and money from clients when you are unsure if you can deliver on a promise is a temptation for some recruiters during early-stage growth. For some recruiters the prospect of cashing in can be tempting, but ultimately to be successful you always need to be able to trade on your reputation.

At Horner Recruitment we support over 100 businesses every day to meet their HR objectives. This may include finding the right people, meeting short term staffing needs, enhancing HR practices, developing team capability or ensuring employee safety and well-being.

Our business ethics are intrinsic to our every action, with our owner and Managing Director Peter Langford being current Vice President of the peak Recruitment Industry body the RCSA.

We are an end to end HR consulting organisation that is small enough to be personalised and well-resourced enough to help our clients achieve business agility and outcomes. We work with major corporate businesses, start-up organisations, not for profits and charities and all levels of government. With years of experience, we are able to provide you a HR service that’s tailor built for your business. No matter your company size or structure, we are experienced and nimble enough to provide you the level of service you need.

Contact our Melbourne team for more information

For more information, or to book a complimentary appointment to discuss your service options, speak to one of our dedicated consultants today. We will be more than happy to work with you to develop your understanding of what we do, and to show you how we can be an effective partner for all your recruiting needs.

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