Academies are at the core of many successful Recruitment businesses and how they achieve accelerated Organic Growth. So, what are the 5 essentials to ensure yours’ will be successful and profitable?
Successful Academies enable you to:
– Drive increased revenue from current key talent and reward them by building their team around them.
– Attract experienced talent wanting to develop their career on a structured path.
– Accelerate Organic Growth within specialist vertical markets – new and existing.
– Tailor your business workflows, standards and output specific to your business.
– Increase current staff’s ‘work-rate’ and output, re-energised by enthusiastic new team members outperforming the ‘status quo’ using quality consulting techniques.
1. Timing and Preparation
Is your business ready for an Academy? Have you identified which of your markets or teams justify the investment within your 3-year plan? Who will mentor your new Trainees during the Academy and beyond? What revenue levels are required from those individuals and teams to afford the Academy budget? – including the additional headcount, increased variable and training costs.
Your assessment should be in place as part of your L&D program for those Consultants (future Team Leaders / Managers) focussed on achieving agreed targeted objectives to qualify them to be a mentor and benefit from access to a Resourcer or part thereof when the Academy begins. This is a key part of your preparation in driving consistent revenues to those required and to reward those who’ve earned it.
2. Sourcing
Given your culture (current and desired), markets and strategic objectives, are you clear on the core competencies and profile of your new intake? You have the opportunity to impact dramatically on your established norms through an Academy intake. This includes improving work practices, energy and culture.
Assessment Centres can be a tailored part of the selection process providing a beneficial 2-way flow, communicating your KSP’s and culture to your future talent, whilst assessing their potential.
3. Layer the 3 Cycles
I recommend you initially focus on the Candidate Cycle for month 1, then add Client skills and responsibilities across month 2 and finally add on the Job Cycle across month 3. You can link each Trainee / Associate Consultant to their mentor (future Team Leader / Manager) throughout the Academy on the ‘Buddy’ system or rotate them around the target teams to assess where they’re best suited.
Within month 1, your new talent will develop the required product knowledge for the roles in their target market or markets, learn how to manage the Candidate Cycle within your workflows and also establish the basics of their individual style.
From Week 1, your Trainees can be resourcing candidates for their mentors’ current roles, generating revenue for their and the team’s pipeline, whilst also adding new roles gained from candidate and then also client contact.
They’ll learn client skills through delivering qualified candidates for interviews to their mentors as ‘Internal’ clients and develop their Job Management skills whilst in training. With a clear incentive and reward scheme in place, the more successful the Trainees, the greater benefit to their mentors and to the business.
4. KPI’s & Milestones
To ensure your future talent maximises their potential, from the outset they’ll understand/own the necessity for KPI’s (number of candidate and client calls per day / week etc.) to achieve the recruitment milestones (referrals, leads, CV’s to roles, interviews each week etc.). They can develop their own style based upon their skills in driving the two whilst achieving minimum standards of delivery to candidates and clients.
5. Your L&D Program
Recruitment Academies are the structured and tailored start to your Learning and Development program from which you can springboard new talent at an accelerated rate along an agreed and mutually profitable path. Having laid these strong foundations, you’ll continue to grow a strong, high-calibre and profitable business.
If you’d like to know more and to receive a complimentary copy of the GMA Recruitment Academy Program, please connect with me or email me at greg@gregmcmanus.eu.
