The Perfect Fit

Bishop Partners Celebrates 19 Years of Recruiting and Executive Placement! Thank You!

July 1 was the 19th Anniversary of Bishop Partners and my becoming an Executive Recruiter! This past year was both the best and the worst in some ways. It was the best professionally and personally, but Covid-19 has obviously had unbelievable impact on all of our lives and jobs.

Fortunately, this past year has been professionally excellent. I was worried that people (Clients especially) would think that my move to Florida, meant that I was retiring. Not even close! Fortunately, Barbara’s and my move for personal reasons has had little impact on my business. I’ve survived past recessions, terror attacks and social unrest. My experience and national reputation continues to be a strong foundation for Bishop Partners’ ongoing success. I’m thankful!

I want to thank all of you who have contributed to our success over these past 19 years. I wouldn’t still be here without your support, your positive feedback and your referrals . . . to both colleagues (Candidates) and Employers (Clients). Thank you!

Even though I had two searches cancelled at the offer stage in early April, I’ve been pretty busy. I have new Clients in St. Louis, Austin, Ft. Lauderdale and Las Vegas. That reputation (and maybe my blog?) has been responsible for conversations in the past six weeks about the strategic hiring of a company’s missing talent.

I’ve had conversations with Clients about a Digital Strategy Director, several about New Biz Developers, top grading for a VP level Media Strategist, a Director of Marketing and a Director of Sales and Marketing. A Former Client contacted me and asked me to start thinking about candidates who could be President of a new agency she’s launching. Someone will call and say, I’m interested in the best talent you know of in a particular specialty or vertical . . . recruiters with a specialty know who the most valuable candidates are (and the candidates know who the best recruiters are!). It’s rewarding to be a trusted resource!

I’m proud of how I’ve been able to help candidates with their resumes and a strategy for unexpectedly having to find a new job. It’s very satisfying to help someone take the next step in their career path. We all

Now Hiring: Ecommerce Key National Account Manager in St. Louis or Las Vegas

General Description:

Our Client is looking for a smart and ambitious eCommerce Marketplace Manager to join their team. As their eCommerce Manager, you will be responsible for taking care of day to day operations for select online marketplaces/sales channels, while delivering strong digital marketing strategies, execution, and improving sales.  Our Client is still growing, so you’ll receive personalized hands-on training and development from the Founder & CEO, who’s also the Sales & Marketing Manager. We’re looking for smarts, ambition, attention to detail, dedication, hard work and an entrepreneurial and fun-loving spirit.
The opportunity is to help continue to grow our Clients Brands and organization, while earning increasing responsibility and financial reward, for the long term.

Principal Responsibilities:

Reporting directly to the CEO, Director of Sales & Marketing, this position will be responsible for leading the product catalog on account sites, developing strategies to drive growth, while seeking new accounts to onboard. The opportunity is working in a fast paced, high energy environment working directly with the CEO. Self-direction and making your own decisions will be encouraged.
• Serve as a primary ecommerce account lead and contact, managing the day-to-day relationship with external selling partners to optimize sales and profit performance – site visits, conversion and AOV.
• Evaluate, prioritize, strategize, develop, implement and manage initiatives.
• Monitor and manage online product assortment and content with goal of maximizing online presence and driving sales.
• Create online listing content for new products using templates and copy for new product listings with keywords and SEO (Copywriting).

• Provide analytic reports of online business including ROI on marketing spend and channel analysis, etc., setting and measuring against clear financial performance goals.
• Microsoft Excel fluency (VLook-Up function, Pivot Tables, sorting and filtering data) is a must

Enhance Your Talent Pipeline - Now!

This is the perfect time to enhance your talent pipeline!  The situation caused by Covid-19, is unlike any other economic slowdown in history. It’s not driven by economics, but by biology. Just like SARS, or MERS or H1N1, this pandemic will end. We’re seeing encouraging signs of employment and the stock market rebounding. Even NYC has taken the first steps of “opening up”. There’s a cautious optimism about our economy.

Executive leadership teams are having strategic conversations about what to do as their business picks back up. Every furloughed worker will not be brought back. This is an opportunity to re-position, refine and “topgrade” those critical roles that will help bring your brand or company back and lead it into the future. ‘Bringing back’ is just the start. Creating meaningful strategy and innovations based on what will be a new reality, is essential for brand survival and growth. This is the time to scrutinize, refine and enhance your team for maximum efficiency and productivity.

Candidates have never been more accessible. They thought their employers had a very positive feeling about them. Many believed themselves to be ‘indispensable’. Many were absolutely stunned and angry, after having been furloughed or laid off. Now, they’re home, they’re answering their phones and have the time and willingness to re-consider their career futures. I know that many previously happy and engaged executive and employees are not so happy or engaged right now.

Before Covid, candidates couldn’t be reached, they were too busy or they were travelling to events or in meetings. It was difficult to have a conversation during work, if there didn’t happen to be a conference room or some other place to accept a recruiter’s call. Now is the best time (maybe ever) to contact top candidates. There’s time to find “the best of the best”. I’ve never had such a high percentage of candidates answer my calls and be willing to listen to and consider new opportunities.  The "Covid Side Effect"

Between telephone and Zoom interviews, we’re able to get a really clear picture of a person’s skills, experience and personality. The hiring process can often take 30 or more days . . . It makes sense to start, continue or re-charge the interview process, right now. Candidates want to hear about opportunities! They return calls promptly.

While I understand that this might not the time to bring someone on board, it is the perfect time to start to identify the pool of candidates (or create a pipeline) for other searches. There’s opportunity for more “first interviews” by video and phone.

There’s never been such a confluence of time, opportunity and availability, to get phone conversations started. Now is the best time we’ve seen in years, to build your candidate pipelines! Bishop Partners is trusted, experienced and ready and willing to help. Give us a call!

To Our Clients and Our Candidates, "We're Here to Help"!

I wanted to send a note of support and optimism, as business has stopped, literally overnight . . . we’re here to help you.  I agree with those marketing prognosticators and many of our Clients, who suggest that once this virus is under control and we approach ‘normalcy’, business and demand for marketing will explode with the pent-up demand that will have been simmering for months.  

Jobs will return to support that demand.  Whether laid-off or furloughed employees wait for their former employer to hire them back is an open question.  There will be new, better opportunities.   There are CEOs and Managing Partners all over, who are wondering “What will we do to staff properly for the future”. The most experienced executives are creating contingency plans, in case “their” employees have found a better opportunity.  The most sought after, data driven skillsets have changed and will be in high demand.  Opportunities will abound!  Brands will be hiring!  

I want you to know that I’m not just here for you when times are great!  We’re not going anywhere.  I continue to value our relationship.  I’ve got your back.  If there’s anything we can to do help, now or as business picks up, please let me know.  I don’t want to sound “mercenary”, because that’s not my intent.  I genuinely want to provide help and support in whatever ways I can.  

I’ve been in the recruiting and consulting business for a long time.  We’ve been through the dot com bubble burst, terrorist attacks and “The Great Recession”.  We've learned valuable lessons.

Austin, Texas Client Now Hiring: Digital Media Analyst - Optimization & Innovation

General Overview:
The Digital Media Analyst will execute online marketing campaign strategy and work with a team of digital marketing experts to create strategies. They are results and data oriented and can track and communicate key performance indicators and success metrics to their teams. They will regularly implement opportunities for optimization, including but not limited to advertising creative and landing page optimization, bid management, and budget allocation. They will learn the ways of direct response digital media from experts, so that they too can become an expert over time.

Please note that, at this time and for this position, we cannot accommodate current or future sponsorship needs for US work authorization. Working remotely is not an option for this role. Our Client is providing relocation expense assistance.

Principal Responsibilities
• Successfully manage campaigns on Google, Bing, Yahoo, Facebook, and other ad platforms
• Turn client strategies into outcomes through strong follow through and impeccable communication skills
• Work with teams to improve KPIs through data insights and reporting that needs to be presented for internal and external stakeholders
• Refine the reporting process for client campaigns including managing the universal data pull, creating report templates and partnering with the media team on data insights 
• Track ROI & profitability of marketing campaigns using performance metrics and make strategic decisions as needed
• Leverage statistical & predictive analysis and let data guide campaign decisions
• Ability and desire to tell stories and influence strategy through numbers and research

Let’s Cultivate a Positive "COVID Side Effect"!

American’s (and the World) are discovering we’re all much more vulnerable to the unforeseen, in ways we couldn’t have imagined even one month ago. Our lives have all been flipped, literally overnight. We don’t have control of what’s going to happen, no matter how much we try. At this point in time, we’re all vulnerable, we’re worried and in need of support. Your personal assessments of it all, will determine to what degree you're worried.

I think COVID-19 will be defeated and result in disruptive, but positive innovation and change, in all sorts of areas. Already, the most obvious example is working from home. Too many employers have ignored what could be a part of the solution to their staffing issues and resisted allowing working from home. Necessity is now delivering new ideas of how to interact online and not only with work. Many of these strategies are going to live on and evolve into ubiquitous tools for the future.

Right now, online interaction is actually supporting our being closer to each other. While there’s personal “social distancing”, there’s more positive, personal interaction online. There’s also a trend of more empathy and support and less social discord, like bullying. We’re seeing daily examples of people reaching out to support friends, family and even strangers. I’m a believer in giving back and doing what I can to help my colleagues and fellow professionals. I know others agree and they will find ways to help others also.

To that end, I’ve decided that I have valuable experience and skills that can help professionals on a broader scale than I’ve ever attempted. I have always had a resume, portfolio and career counseling service as part of my Recruiting and Consulting practice. Now, I’m offering it to anyone, everyone (in marketing, advertising or digital media) who might need help or some new ideas.

This “Time of Covid” Demands Empathy, Communication and Respect

This is a time of banding together, understanding others’ circumstances and treating everyone with respect. Looking for a job and applying for a job are anxiety provoking issues . . . especially if someone finds themselves in the position of currently being without work and any source of income. There’s no more insecure feeling . . .

Imagine how that anxiety is being compounded every hour of every day right now, as we hear more and more uncertainty about COVID-19. Social media is amplifying this pandemic and making wildly irresponsible predictions and projections about what could happen. Broadcast news is more measured, but endless . . . More anxiety provoking . . . Job seekers are understandably freaking out!

I currently have candidates in front of several Clients for new career opportunities. All of the candidates have received positive feedback on their initial conversations with those Clients. Now, after two weeks, we’re still waiting to hear what might be next.

I understand that nobody really knows what’s next or how to plan for that uncertainty. Nonetheless, I’d like employers to step up and do a much better job of communicating with their pending candidates. Yes, their candidates, they’re not someone else’s!

In most cases those candidates have spent multiple hours preparing for that initial interview, research everything they could find, on what they hope will be their new Employer. Employers have a nasty track record of communicating with job seekers. In some (most) cases, there’s (still) zero Employer response. With today’s technology, there’s just no excuse for no response!

Why A New Partnership Means New Opportunities

I’m thrilled to announce a new strategic relationship with ROJEK Consulting. ROJEK is a premiere marketing consulting firm that advises Fortune 500 brands and growing companies on their marketing management strategies.

I first learned about ROJEK through industry articles in Ad Age and Adweek over the years. ROJEK and their founder/leader Lorraine Stewart were (and are) clearly one of the leading advertising consulting resources for consumer brands in the US. Their reputation and work has been established from advising companies like GM, Planet Fitness, UPS, travelocity and White Castle, among many others, to best identify and evaluate their advertising industry and digital marketing suppliers. In 2020 their consulting services for CMOs also includes executive talent recruitment and executive coaching programs for in-house creative teams.

Several years ago, I was pleased when Lorraine asked me to help her with a project she was working on at the time. As a result of our successful experience we have expanded our practice and offering leveraging our skills and experiences.  This service includes recruiting services for CMOs, CCOs and other marketing and creative leaders, as well as helping a company plan, structure and recruit its in-house creative capabilities, a fast-growing current trend. I look forward to working with the full ROJEK team of other pros, many of whom have been successfully consulting with ROJEK’s clients for decades.

So why have marketing leaders trusted ROJEK for so many years?

The answer is the same values-based approach in business that I also practice, respect and share. Lorraine pioneered the critical importance of understanding a client company’s culture as the basis for building high performance client-agency teams to build brands. It’s their proprietary and proven approach to advertising agency recruitment. Simply stated ROJEK likes to “Start with Culture, Finish with Fit™"

I agree.

Bishop Partners’ long standing success of our executive placements with our Clients validates this thinking. The reason more that than 70% of our candidates hired for the job and stay for more than three years, is because of our focus on cultural fit. We also make sure that the vision, values and goals of both parties’ are in tight alignment. This approach is far superior to recruitment efforts that just “check the boxes” on the basics, required skills and relevant industry experience.

Austin, Texas Client Hiring: Director of Research & Consumer Insight

The Director of Consumer Insights opportunity in Austin, Texas, will be tasked with leading our Client’s in-house consumer research team and representing the voice of the consumer while driving strategic decision-making based on consumer data and actionable insights. You will refine and enhance an internal research operating model from the ground up and play a center-of-excellence role that supports research efforts across the organization.

The ideal candidate will have extensive knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, experience leading a team, and experience being the strategic advisor for high profile consumer clients. The role offers a strong career path along with a learning environment where you will expand and develop your market research and leadership skills.  This is a working director role. You’ll be guiding the work from your team but will also be responsible for managing your own research projects Our Client is looking for the very best and will support re-location by assisting with expenses.

Responsibilities:

• Designing and facilitating workshops/sessions that creatively engage the audience, cultivate consensus and provide solutions to brand and business challenges
• Translate business questions into research plans, utilize internal platform to design and program the research instruments
• Analyze data and develop insightful results or “stories” that address business objectives in a clear and concise, visually appealing format

Austin, TX Agency Account Supervisor Needed

The Account Supervisor plays a key role in steering the day-to-day direction of account teams, as we help emerging brands and iconic companies bring their stories to life in differentiated and compelling ways. You will be responsible for overseeing the overall success and health of a significant agency account, nurturing client relationships, and managing team budgets. To be successful in this role, you should be an organized, agile and clever communicator effectively leads across a diverse set of teams and industries. If you are passionate about working with interesting brands and providing the best client service at one of the best agencies in the country, come join us! 

We’re looking for exceptional talent, so we’ll happily provide relocation assistance, for those of you who’ve always wanted to move to Austin.

Principal Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute creative, strategic programs, projects, and initiatives that enhance client brands and advance their    overarching communication objectives
• Drive workflow across multiple teams, projects, partner agencies and clients, resulting in more sales.
• Oversee teams and ensure all deadlines, budgets and client expectations are met; provide solutions to maintain client satisfaction
• Maximize the efficiency of accounts by working with account Directors and VP’s to manage resources and work flows provide input and solutions for team staffing
• Provide strategic direction on major media programs, campaigns, and events
• Build the agency’s unique brand of respect, trust, partnership and contribution through your own intrinsic style

The Secret of How The Best Executive Recruiters Sustain Employer Culture

Business owners, principals and leaders want to know how the best executive recruiters sustain employer culture

If you Google “Company Culture”, in 0.67 seconds, you’re overwhelmed by 127,000,000 results. There’s an incredible amount of interest in company culture, because it’s perceived as the foundation for everything from employee stability, to corporate growth, profitability and sustainability. Most will agree that a Company’s culture is fundamental to the success or failure of that company, by any measure.

There are an incredible number of “measures” of a culture. Some say there are four types, some say eight and some say 10! There’s no one right answer.  The question is really, do you know how to add those ingredients (both tools and people) which will support, then improve your culture? Do you know what and who not to add to that culture? The knowledge of both is absolutely critical! Couple that with the skilled talent shortage and you can see why recruiters are in demand. “Post and Pray”, isn’t working any better than ever and certainly fails when viewed through the lens of culture.

The most recent issue of AdAge had the annual “Best Places to Work” issue.  There’s no question that better culture contributes to employee and stakeholder happiness, whether the company’s a start-up or Fortune 25. Happiness for employees isn’t necessarily driven by money, as it is for many other stakeholders. Still employee happiness leads to better fiscal results. “Companies that invest in their employees both at work and beyond the office yield big dividends. Top-ranked companies invest significant time and effort in creating, writing and sharing company culture and visions to foster an atmosphere of support and caring for their employees.

The factors that most relate to high workplace ratings encompass feelings of support, encouragement, empowerment and purpose—areas where top-performing companies exceed expectations.

Leaders of top-ranked companies make a conscious effort to provide support and benefits to empower their employees—both as workers and as human beings who have a life. Investments in employee empowerment and supportive services result in happier, more productive employees.
Employees’ experiences at a top-rated company tend to be better across the board. Employees at top-performing companies feel differently about their relationships with their co-workers and management. They respect and have fun with their colleagues and feel there is opportunity for advancement.”

Now Hiring for Our STL County Client: Marketing Manager

Marketing Manager #19121
Location: St. Louis County

General Description:
For our St. Louis County Client, marketing is about understanding people — and building awareness about how our products/services can satisfy their needs. We’re looking for an experienced and versatile marketing manager who is hungry to do this and more. Our ideal candidate has experience developing and executing marketing campaigns while managing and inspiring a team. He/she will be comfortable with day-to-day marketing activities, as well as long-term strategy, thriving with tight deadlines and changing needs. If you are a people-person who loves the rewarding challenge of building a brand, we want to hear from you.

Objectives of this Role:
• Establish positioning, identify target audiences, and develop marketing plans with specific objectives across different channels and segments 
• Lead the execution of marketing programs from start to finish, leveraging internal support and driving collaboration
• Create, maintain, and conduct analytics reporting across multiple platforms and extract key insights for future campaign development and go-to-market strategies, complete with formal proposals and recommendations on tactics
• Partner with email, performance marketing and web teams to design, test and evolve lead nurturing tactics.

St. Louis Client: Director of Marketing #19103

General Description:

Our St. Louis County Client is on the move, while growing and expanding their marketing department.  As Director, you’ll provide efficient and effective prioritization, planning, delivery support and tracking/analysis of our marketing plan. You’ll be responsible for the annual planning process, marketing performance measurement, capacity analysis across the marketing, lead generation and conversion journey. This is your opportunity to lead the marketing team for a franchise that’s rapidly growing across the Midwest, delivering high value healthcare support in a retail environment. 

We’re looking for someone who wants to “make a difference”, not just “do a job”.  We’re looking for a goal driven individual who understands the need to manage both up and down, to attain goals.  You’ll report to the CEO.

Responsibilities Include:

• Oversee corporate marketing strategy development, execution, monitoring and improvement on an annual and weekly basis.

• Manage, develop and expand the marketing team’s programs, personnel and performance across Direct, Digital, Telemarketing, PR, Broadcast and               community Outreach channels in multiple geographic markets.

• Report to Executive Leadership Team on a monthly basis; results, projections and vision for future sales and marketing strategies.

• Be accountable for the annual budgeting, marketing strategy and resulting lead generation, across all retail outlets.

It’s All About Data!

This role is heavily dependent on data. The director must be comfortable digging into the data to determine the root cause of diminished returns whether it be the creative element, offer, timing, channel, list, etc.
They must be able to act quickly to make needed changes which means they must be looking at the results and constantly analyzing and refining execution.  The director must have worked in an environment that drives appointment conversion.  The goal of the marketing is constant improvement of lead generation and conversion.

How To Future-Proof Your Career In A Fast-Changing, Unforgiving Global Job Market

Last week, I was interviewed by Jack Kelly, for an article in Forbes.  I was impressed with Jack's thinking and some of the subjects of his articles and/or blog.  Here's one of those articles, I thought especially on target and likely of interest to many . . .

We are living in a fast-paced, unstable time period where things change swiftly and dramatically. The corporate world is more dynamic and chaotic than ever. In our parents’ or grandparents’ generations, they would accept a job and hold onto it throughout the entire duration of their careers. However, those days are over and done with. The advancement of technology, globalization and the corporate view that employees are disposable have all changed the game. We can no longer view our careers as safe and sacrosanct. You can be sitting in your office chair this morning, happy and satisfied. Then, two weeks later, there’s a corporate-wide reorganization and you’re shown the door. You can be replaced by technology or a less-experienced, lower-cost employee. Your job could be moved to another country or your role could be deemed no longer relevant or required. The only constant is change.

It's critically important to start a plan to prepare for your future. It's career self-sabotage to believe that things will stay the same and that you’ll confidently climb up the corporate ladder. It's career malpractice to act like an ostrich, stick your head in the ground, hope for the best and ignore the reality of the changes happening around you. You need to be bold, confident and aggressive in managing your career in the face of uncertainty. It's not easy nor is it pleasant to think about, but you must do it. 

Here is how to start:

1. You need to change your mindset on several fronts. We all derive a sense of status from our career, the company we work for and job title. When you sit down at a family dinner or meet new people, you enjoy a little humble brag about what you do for a living. While that’s fine, you’ll need to divorce your ego attachment to your current career.

Most Placeable Candidates or Most Valuable Candidates?

The "Most Placeable Candidate" (MPC) is a term used in the recruiting industry to describe a candidate that the recruiter is willing to represent into a market, because the recruiter believes that (s)he can succeed in placing that candidate with a Company.

I think that term should really be, “Most Valuable Candidate” (MVC). It’s not about the Recruiter succeeding, it’s about the recruiter helping his Client succeed, by delivering value. Clients aren’t stupid. If they believe that a candidate can add enough value to their team, they’ll hire that person. It’s not about making it easy for the recruiter . . . !

Because of my marketing and digital media specialty, I’m in an excellent position to know my Clients and the regional community. I have a good idea of the sorts of candidates that could add substantial value to their company. My specializing also results in being well known nationally, in the industry that I serve.

I’m very proud of the trusted reputation that encourages top performing pros in every marketing or media specialty or discipline, to confidentially be referred or introduce themselves to me and ask for my help in identifying their next career opportunity. They trust me with their resumes. Usually, after a phone call getting to know each other better, they’ll also allow me to discreetly introduce them to my Clients, as I see fit.

Why Hire a Professional Recruiting Firm for Executive Search?

With the span of companies we service ranging from start-ups to publicly traded global corporations, I’ve fielded the Client question, "Why hire a professional recruiter"? from many different persperctives. The answer is not one size fits all. Hiring executives in larger companies partner with me to strategically target talent during a period of growth, change or to confidentially replace leadership. Smaller family owned businesses or startups may need our help to plan for succession, market opportunities, advise on organizational structure or identify a role that will align and deliver business goals.

Here are a few reasons why a partnership with Bishop yields a high return:

1) Time is money. We streamline the process with an in-depth analysis of the client company keeping an eye on short and long term goals to clearly identify the role. Only the top candidates are presented so the hiring authority in evaluating key, qualified and interested people. Interview coordination and close contact during the hiring phase and on-boarding also tightens process time.   

2) Marketing is paramount in attracting top talent for your company. We’re representing your brand, strategic initiatives and big picture goals. Our approach is to communicate clearly the vision, history, and uniqueness of the company before discussing the role within.

3) The human factor is something to consider. Our candidates are making a weighty decision that likely affects family. Career moves are all about timing.  We’re experienced in balancing what is important to each party to bring about a mutually satisfactory, timely outcome.

2019 and The Summer of Change!

The Summer of ’19 . . . Wow, a summer of unexpected surprises, marked by rapid personal and professional changes!

In late February of this year, my 57 year old brother-in-law dropped dead of a heart attack. He had been healthy, happy and always fun to be around. He was a best friend. Several months later, my father-in-law died unexpectedly. He was 92 and in excellent health. He had a very active social life and called us or stopped by every day. He last visited my wife and I on a Sunday, had a heart attack on a Monday, was hospitalized and died that Thursday.

We all know that “tomorrow’s not guaranteed” and “life’s too short”! My wife Barbara and I were having a conversation in mid-May, when we both suddenly looked at each other and wondered, “what are we waiting for”? Why don’t we make a change, get out of the fast-paced, high pressure daily life we live (we both own our own businesses) and start enjoying more of life? We decided to do just that.

When we decided to sell our Condo and move, we weren’t exactly sure where we’d go. We put our condo on the market the first week of June. That first week,  there were three showings and two offers. The buyer with the best offer wanted to close by July 30 . . . so we did. We decided to move to Vero Beach, Florida, because of the proximity of so many friends. A quickly planned, week long visit confirmed the idea. I’d never heard of Vero Beach and had no idea where it was. Barbara and I visited and were hooked. We bought a house, have settled in and are enjoying a completely new life! We’re very happy with our decision.

I’m going to continue working. While we were selling our condo and buying a house in June and July, I’m proud to have completed searches for a Sr. Event Producer, a Vice President of Sales and Marketing and a Sr. Creative Director. I’m currently working on searches for a Vice President of Digital Strategy and an agency President, both in St. Louis. I’m also working on a Sr. Principal, Corporate Growth and Strategy for a Florida Client.

Celebrating 18 Years of Career Fulfillment & Fun!

I'm thrilled to be celebrating my 18th Anniversary of career  fulfillment as an executive recruiter!

This is the most exciting Summer I’ve had since I left home to go to Washington University. There are many similarities with that summer move. Before I write about the move and changes (in the next blog post), I’m over a month overdue in Celebrating the 18th Anniversary of Bishop Partners and my being a Recruiter. That Anniversary was officially July 1.

I want to take the opportunity of this Anniversary to (belatedly) thank everyone who’s helped me or my business over all those years. There's no question that I could not have had the successes without you. As a result of your support or guidance or friendship, I was able to overcome the mistakes, misfires, errors in judgement or maybe just bad luck, that from time to time led to disappointment or outright failure. You helped me learn from those mistakes.

The goal is to be able to grow from those failures and learn from them . . . don’t let them happen again. I appreciate your experience, knowledge and support. It’s been appreciated and valued. I hope it continues. At the same time, I’ve tried to “add value” to every relationship I’ve been involved in, at every level. It’s simple, it’s about that “Golden Rule”, treat everyone with respect and the way you’d like to be treated! It’s also Karma, baby!

I don’t want to try naming all the names over those 18 years, I’ll certainly neglect a name that is important to me. So, let me mention “categories” . . . you know who you are. Without my Clients’ or my Candidates’ trust, there’s no business. The professional support I’ve received from my CPAs, Attorneys, Landlords, other recruiters and related professional organizations helped me learn how to do my business well. Thank you!

Director of Content Marketing Opportunity in St. Louis

General Description:
The successful candidate is accountable for the voice, style, tone, messaging, and thought leadership of our Client’s brand and have overall responsibility for its content output across all mediums. S/he will lead and manage a combination of internal and external content resources to produce all brand related content. S/he will also perform writing and editing work, as needed, including developing brand content guidelines. The Director of Marketing will be accountable for all marketing initiatives to drive traffic, engagement, and leads that deliver revenue. As part of this, s/he will develop and manage the brand editorial calendar and associated organization workflows. They will also perform ongoing measurement and optimization of the program, including oversight of supporting social channels.

Our Client is a high-growth technology company with a demanding work environment, suitable only for self-starters and people who can exercise professional judgment without constant supervision. We strive to create an enthusiastic, close-knit culture that values excellence and over-delivery.

Responsibilities:
• Make sure that company brand copy needs and goals are met in all aspects, including timelines and budget
• Develop editorial governance for all branded content
• Ensure that precise brand content standards are both set and adhered to, consistently producing the highest quality work.
• Make sure that a consistent stream of quality work is created for the brand
• Work with other departments to garner needed resources in order to complete projects

Is There Value in Fractional Talent Acquisition for Marketing and Media?

I had an interesting conversation Friday, with a three year-old digital media start up, that’s been consistently growing, since their founding. Now their growth is starting to accelerate, creating staffing, capacity and velocity issues. They’re having trouble hiring experienced pros with the specific skillsets they require. They understand that some recruiters consistently succeed in hiring support, but it’s an expensive proposition, especially with ongoing multiple hires/year.

During that conversation with the founding partners, we explored new ways of working together, that meet their expense challenges and investor expectations, while still providing the skilled workers they need in a timely way. It was exciting to think about. While attending #MDMC19 last week, it was apparent that there are multiple companies competing for the same employee skillsets. Those who have a dedicated focus on recruiting research, identification and outreach, will win the “War for Talent”. We’ve heard about that War for years, well . . . it’s here Now!

There are fractional CMO, CFOs, CIOs and other senior executives, why not fractional CTOs? (Chief Talent Officers)?

The challenge is finding a recruiter who understands the Client need and has the ability to consistently and quickly identify, recruit and hire those elusive, hyper skilled employees. Beyond recruiting skills and experience, the true fractional CTO should be able to bring an experienced perspective (hopefully, first person) for organizational leadership and management.

This is the sort of relationship that should evolve into a true partnership. I like the opportunity to work with Client principals and help them develop a strategy for growth, Talent Acquisition and Retention . It’s why I named my company Bishop Partners.

I can see how this sort of “fractional CTO” strategy can work for other smaller or medium sized companies, that can’t afford a full time executive focused on Talent Acquisition and Retention. They could have all the benefits of an employee, by developing a trusted relationship with a recruiter/talent acquisition executive/partner. The solution is a fractional Talent Acquisition and Retention employee/leader. The benefits are consistent and plentiful . . . reliable strategy driven staffing solutions, while keeping the expense as low as possible.

Most HR professionals are thanklessly overworked. They have to contend with a myriad of critical issues every day, from questions about benefits and payroll, to being the arbiter in disputes or dealing with complaints of harassment. Their days are frequently and unexpectedly interrupted. They don’t have the time to adequately focus on recruiting additional talent. The former solution of job posting (and praying), is not effective today.

If your marketing or digital media company plans on hiring at least six employees this year, we should talk. There’s every reason to believe that a consultative approach to Talent Acquisition funding will reduce the cost and time to hire, while increasing employee satisfaction and retention at the same time. It’s also likely that the quality of hire metric and retention metric would be much improved, because the new employee was recruited and not a “job applicant”.

The answer to the question posed in this post’s headline is emphatically, Yes! Absolutely!  There could (should) be tremendous value!

I believe that Talent Acquisition, the building of an employee culture that attracts premier talent, is the only way a company will be able to consistently grow into the future. There are simply too few skilled workers with the new media skillsets (including AI and VR) and too much demand. I look forward to the opportunity to help companies with their talent acquisition strategy.

If you have interest in learning more, please get in touch, I’d love to meet or have a conversation.

Thanks for taking the time to read this . . .