By Josh Vasquez
Reprinted with permission from the June issue of The Counselor

There are so many temporary and permanent employment agencies that it’s quite a challenge to maintain your identity. Careers USA’s strategy is to use a wide array of imprinted products to ensure its name and logo get the exposure that keeps the firm top-of-mind among clients.

The products used range from industry staples like mugs, pencils and can coolers to typical desktop items like card and notepad holders, highlighters, etc. to self-grooming products like foldout brushes and mirrors, emery boards and sewing kits .

“We’ve been using items like these for 20 years now and have found they work great,” said Paul Slutsky, national advertising director for Careers USA. “We give them to our salespeople who just keep asking for more and more products as they see them as a great way to open the door to conversation and relationships with clients.”

Over the past 20 years Careers USA has used up to 40 different products to keep its name prevalent in the employment agency market. And the promotion continues with the employment agency faithfully ordering product about 10 times a year.

The products have basically two target audiences with 90% of the products going to clients, mainly to Human Resources directors via sales calls, with the remaining 10% going to the temporary employment associates. And they like to mix it up.

“We try to use as many different products as we can so we can keep our names in front of clients’ faces – like trying to litter their desks with as many different logoed items as possible,” said Slutsky. “That way we can tap into subliminal advertising even more than just a mug on a client’s desk.”

And the products have proven so successful at opening doors to clients that if a salesperson runs out of products to give away, they call the office frantically asking for more, adds Slutsky.

Run-Of-The-Mill Recruiting
Scott provides a perfect example of how the kind of creativity we’re used to dealing with in this industry can provide a much-needed spark to the relatively staid and bureaucratic climes of HR:

“Human Resources people and their approach to advertising are definitely run-of-the-mill,” he says. “And we’ve added creativity to several different kind of promotions, from businesses selling benefits programs to their own employees to recruitment.”

One client wanted to increase the diversity of its managerial workforce, so they decided to target specific colleges and universities in the U.S. that graduate students who fit their criteria “perfectly.” To locate and develop the best candidates, the company decided to put up $1 million in scholarship money.

“And they thought they didn’t need to promote that,” says Scott incredulously. “But once we got to meet with them, we showed them it needed to be promoted.”

Scott had the company identify the department heads of the selected colleges and programs and sent them a $1 million bill encased in acrylic, personalizing it with the department head’s (usually a doctor) name and providing literature requesting information. The idea was original and the result was phenomenal.

“The thing that really made it work was that these people we targeted had never been promoted to before,” says Scott. “No one in the company had been interested in doing anything like that. So I think it’s right on to say HR departments aren’t used to promoting creatively.”

Eliminate Old Ways
“Human Resources people get so stuck in a way of doing things that they don’t think of doing anything new,” says Waibel, echoing Scott’s sentiments. “They just run an ad in the newspaper and think ‘We’ll get the resumes, interview a few people, and we’ll pick one.’ That sort of thinking is a very old and traditional way of doing things; in the future it isn’t going to fly – they’re going to have to open up to more efficient ways of recruiting and being sure they’re getting the right people. What it comes down to, really, is being more creative.”

Waibel notes that no one wants to spend money on recruiting because few firms have it in their budget right now. “They think the best way to save money is not to spend money and do it all alone,” she says, “but they’re not really thinking of the big picture. What’s really costing them is the time and money wasted on ineffective and outdated recruiting methods.”

Some are seeing the light – though stubbornly. “Slowly, I think more people are willing to listen and open up and see what else may be out there,” Waibel continues. “There are a lot of people that are scared to make that leap but the ones that have are happy they did.”

They’re ‘People’ People
Of course, it’s not all the fault of HR. Distributors shoulder some of the blame here too. But this is where you can get a leg up on the competition.

“The biggest failure I see in the premium industry is relevance,” says Schaefer. “It’s critically important that you communicate what’s relevant about the product and how it’s going to solve a problem for them. Far too many distributors just come in with catalogs – the natural default is, ‘I can sell you this pen cheaper than they can.’ So all I can say about that is quit turning this industry into a commodity market – give value added!”

No one wants a visit from a peddler. “What HR departments want from you is to be the source that can help solve their problems and do it most efficiently and effectively,” says Scott. “For the real and deep relationships, you have to give them a reason to have a relationship with you. And unless you’re prepared to sell them a solution, why would they even take the sales meeting?”

One plus is that most human resources professionals are just that – they’re “people” people. That makes it easier to approach them and talk turkey without a lot of “corporate-speak.”

“They’re generally friendly and like people,” says Waibel. “I don’t want to stereo-type but I think HR gets a bad rap sometimes.”

Scott agrees: “I find them to be very easy to deal with because they’re HR people – they tend to be easy to work with.”