Management Recruiters of Green Bay

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Battling for talent--Two management recruiters say companies ‘have to sell themselves’ 

 

By Jaime Leick 

Published in The Business News March 5, 2007 

  

  

Don your armor.  The talent war is upon us.   

  

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, more than 2.8 million people voluntarily left their jobs this past November, higher than the average 2.6 million who quit in the economic boom prior to  9/11.  Meanwhile job openings are on the rise, and analysts are predicting serious shortfalls as the baby boomers begin retiring.   

  

While this means tough times ahead for many employers, the trend has one area company in growth mode. 

  

“It is a candidate driven marketplace,” said John Lombardi, president of Management Recruiters Inc. of Green Bay.  “That bodes well for the executive search industry.” 

  

Lombardi, along with business partner Cliff Bowers, purchased Management Recruiters Inc. (MRI) in December 2005.  Although the Green Bay franchise had been active for 30-plus years, the business had one recruiter when the new owners took over.   

  

One year later, the company employs eight recruiters and is ranked 199 out of 1100 MRI offices worldwide.  For Lombardi and Bowers, such immediate success was somewhat unexpected. 

  

“We exceeded our first year business plan,” said Lombardi.  “Frankly we didn’t anticipate breaking into to the top 200 in our first year.” 

  

It’s not that their accomplishment should be such a surprise—Lombardi and Bowers know a thing or two about headhunting.  Former executives at American Medical Security, both were lured to the insurer by executive recruiters.   

  

Lombardi, who spent the bulk of his career in Connecticut with a large insurance company, came to Green Bay in 2002, leaving a CFO position with a large regional law firm in Atlanta.  Bowers, a Green Bay native, had worked with companies in Denver and Chicago before recruiters called him home, first to a position with Fort Howard Paper and later with AMS. 

  

“We believe we bring a unique perspective because we come from the corporate world,” said Lombardi.  “We understand their internal processes and we have a better sense of what their needs may be.” 

  

MRI helps businesses fill job openings at middle and senior management positions.  Its recruiters are specialized and dedicated to key industries such as finance, IT, manufacturing, or logistics. 

  

Although Lombardi and Bowers own rights to the Green Bay territory, they aren’t limited to recruiting for companies in northeastern Wisconsin.  And because they are part of a franchise with offices worldwide, their staff can rely on a vast recruitment network.   

  

Market demands have the partners in an aggressive growth mode; they are looking to be ranked in the top 100 MRI offices at year end.  Lombardi points out that management positions in particular will be in demand as the baby boomers retire.   

  

“There are so many openings you just don’t have the same number of people with skill and experience to fill those positions,” he said. 

  

Lombardi and Bowers are positioning their company to serve an extension of their clients’ human resource departments, assisting with specialized, labor-intensive placements.  Bowers said HR staff are under increasing demand to find qualified management staff.  

  

“It’s an enormous time demand to find these people.  They just don’t have the resources and methodologies,” said Bowers.  “So they are increasingly turning to companies like ours.”   

  

Recruiters at MRI go through an intensive four-week training program.  They target what Lombardi refers to as “passive candidates”:   

  

“We look for candidates who are currently employed,” he said, “ . . . the top tier candidate, who can best fill the needs of our clients,” Lombardi said. 

  

When it comes to luring people away, Lombardi and Bowers aren’t seeing huge money plays.   

  

“What we are seeing more of today is companies really have to sell themselves,” said Lombardi.  “They have to sell the value that they can bring to the candidate, the opportunity they bring.”  

  

That message corresponds with regional trends reported by the Nicolet National Bank Business Pulse for quarter three, 2006.  According to the report, northeast Wisconsin CEOs see values and culture as critical to recruiting success.  Vision for the organization’s future was viewed as extremely important by 49 percent of CEOs surveyed, 44 percent cited leadership of the organization, and 36 percent cited mission as extremely important.  Benefits and salary were ranked high by 36 and 26 percent, respectively.  

  

“A lot of companies think anybody should want to work for them,” said Bowers.  “I think they’re increasingly awakening to the need to [sell themselves].” 

  

Capturing the best candidate may require procedural changes as well.  Lombardi said many candidates have multiple offers and some employers miss out simply because their hiring process takes too long.   

  

While Lombardi and Bowers acknowledge reports that boomers are not the retiring type, they don’t think companies should count on that in as part of their staffing strategy. 

  

Based on his own observation of friends and colleagues, Lombardi is seeing boomers take on consulting roles or small businesses, not staying in high-stress corporate jobs. 

  

“They want to find something different,” he said,  “to stay involved, stay balanced.” 

Bowers said it’s a little too early to tell what the impact of this pseudo-retirement will be, but he’s predicting companies will get more creative in developing flexible work arrangements for key employees.

 

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