Respect is Earned

This sounds like a very obvious statement, but to some it’s given and not reciprocated. To others, it’s attempted without success. To many in my industry, respect is undefined.

I have been challenging the recruitment industry for several years now; working to humanize the candidate approach, build real relationships made of trust, respect, and a spoon full of sugar. I have worked very hard to listen to my clients and, not only respect their business, but embody it. It’s been a challenge to change the minds of so many that hold negative connotations about recruiters, but we are starting to make a change. What I never expected was the dire need to change the way that recruiters treat each other, and the way managers in general treat their employees.

“build real relationships made of trust, respect, and a spoon full of sugar”

I will start with the latter, because it’s the most relative to the masses. Statistics show that one of the biggest reasons why people leave their job is due to management. Companies like Glassdoor, Vault, and LinkedIn have made their success out of offering platforms that help prospective employees review their employers. What are employees looking for in a manager? You got it! Respect.

“One of the biggest reasons why people leave their job is due to management”

Treating people with respect is more of a buzzword than an actual thing that we do. It’s going the extra mile simply for someone else. It’s argued in society that Altruism is a fallacy and that true Altruism is impossible. This is a strong word for management. I don’t believe you need to be completely selfless in order to care about others, but I do believe that you need to put your company and your employees before yourself in some ways in order to be a great manager.

“Treating people with respect is more of a buzzword than an actual thing that we do.”

Going the extra mile for someone else is a start, but to be a great manager you also need to look at both verbal and non-verbal communication. What do you say to your employees when they do a great job, or a poor job? Do you treat the poor performers the same as the top performers? How do you motivate? Do you know how each individual employee is motivated? Do you treat everyone the same?

Finally, how recruiters treat each other. Our fight against this industry has everything to do with the old school mentality still prevailing throughout. This mentality is ubiquitous among the industry, and there has been no real change since its inception. This holds true for the way that we treat each other, and as always, it starts from the top. Numerous studies show that punishment inhibits action and reward increases action. If you want someone do close more deals, or perform better in general, you are looking for increased action. To increase action, you must increase reward. So why are we pushing people down thinking that this will bring their performance up?

“It starts from the top … To increase action, you must increase reward.”

So this brings us back to respect. Respect is earned, but how? It’s simple, by treating other people with respect. Reward those who do well, do not punish those who do poorly or they will only perform worse. Ensure respect comes from the top and don’t let it fall to the bottom. Make real change. People are at the center of your business, and if you treat them well your business will do well in return. Finally, treat each other well and push others to do the same. It’s all in our control. Thank you for reading!

For more blogs and information on our company please check out the Sage Recruiting company page on Linkedin and www.sagerecruiting.me

you for reading!