By: Shari Dalton
How many of you in Healthcare Staffing have weekly or monthly goals you are expected to hit? My guess is every one of you. Part of being a recruiter or client manager in our industry is taking an active role in your company’s growth year over year. There are some agencies with very strict, high level goals and others that may have something more manageable and attainable, but everyone should have a goal. It’s what keeps you motivated and it gives you something to work towards.
Another question-how many of you have been given small steps, daily activities to help you attain those goals. My guess here is not many. Goals are great, but if you don’t have a plan in place to reach then, you can often be left floundering or struggling at the end of the week, month, quarter to reach them.
At Moxie, our goal is always to dissect your goals into baby steps and to create a plan for execution and success. Here are a few tips to help you do this on your own.
- Celebrate the wins-no matter how small. When you’re starting out in this industry, just getting someone to answer the phone or return a call is a huge success. Even if they aren’t a top candidate, it gives you the opportunity to hone your craft and practice your active listening skills. This is a win! Try setting a mini-goal of getting at least 3 people on the phone per week and having a 15-20-minute conversation. If you’re a more senior sales team member-set a goal for referrals per week. Client managers try reaching out to your contacts on LinkedIn and starting a conversation.
- Organize your day. Set aside time every day to complete the tasks that will turn a profit. Stick to your schedule. No matter how “busy” you are, time should always be dedicated to new business. This could be running queries and making calls or reaching out to current customers to get referrals. Time should be set aside for this every day. Several companies have call goals or talk time goals that you are expected to reach. By organizing your day, you can break down these expectations to mini daily goals and make sure you achieve them. You should never hop on a call on a Friday with chatty-Kathy to hit goals. This is a waste of your time and the company’s dime.
- Think outside the box early and often. Don’t wait until the end of the month to try something new. Start today! If you aren’t getting much of a return on voice mails or emails, try something new. We do a prospecting training with our sales teams and I’m blown away every time at how similar everyone is doing things. If you want your travelers or hospitals to do business with you, you must be different and stand out from the competition. 4 out of 5 travelers will be offended that you have sent them a text message, BUT they have a 45% response rate versus a voice message at 4.8%….so how can you change up your texting so that it’s more effective? Think outside the box! (Or call us, we can help with this!)
- Be intentional. I know, I know, beating a dead horse here. But seriously, you should be intentional about everything you do throughout the day. Stop with the “fake it til you make it” mentality. It’s counterproductive and it isn’t going to help you reach your goals.
- Measure results, not numbers. What did you learn today, that you didn’t know yesterday? Try measuring something other than numbers. Focus on getting better at every aspect of your job. Try asking one extra question on every call, or commit to reading an industry related article or blog (shameless plug) to better educate yourself. Meet with a mentor or highly producing coworker and take away something from what they are doing and implement it into your day. Knowledge is always power. How did you feel at the end of this day versus previous?
- Don’t get discouraged. This job may seem flawless and easy to some people in your company, but they have all been where you are. Keep your chin up and stay focused on your mini-goals.
If you stay focused on the smaller goals and intentions throughout your day, the larger weekly and monthly goals will fall into place as a by-product. Goals can be stressful and sometimes seem unachievable. Take a step back and set realistic daily or even hourly mini-goals to help you get these. And have faith in your process. Remember, a goal without a plan is just a wish!
