Are You Really That Valuable To Your Current Role?

6.5 years. Long hours - early mornings and late nights - all of it fitting into two file boxes headed for a dumpster.

I am reflecting this morning about the past as I have finally after 6 months cleared my home office and the international headquarters of Solid Rock Recruiting LLC of all my trophies and awards from my previous employer. In it, there is a message for my team as well as candidates and companies that we work with.

These awards represent millions of dollars in placement fees as well as contributing to the culture of my former company. On one day this past January, I left it all behind (including my sixth consecutive production award and an all inclusive trip to Mexico). There was a myriad of reasons why. Honestly, the culture had done a radical shift in the last months including 2 major changes in our contracts. The first major change said that even seasoned recruiters like myself who had built up relationships were in danger of losing those relationships to new recruiters if the company choose to hand them off. The second, the earned flexibility of a laptop lifestyle was being regulated to the point of having inspections of our 'home' office and having to seek permission to work at a different location. Everyone was feeling the pressure of the management after a fairly terrible production year overall by the company.

When I turned in my notice, it was surprising how fast my name and contributions over the years were completely dismissed and how fast the wagons were circled. I understand protection of company information from a former employee. But these were people - including management - I thought were more than colleagues. Many had become friends- or so I thought. I would have run through a wall for the owners and demonstrated that time and again through uncompensated contributions to building teams as well as individual recruiters. I was appreciative of all that they had done for me and the career they had helped me build. I liked them personally, and this is why I gave back to them and to their company whenever I could. But that collegial feeling was clearly not reciprocated. I realized this when I got the first of three lawyers' letters concerning my responsibility to stay away from the divisions I had helped build. Then, my final check that was owed me was slashed by two-thirds.

For them, it was clear, I was nothing but a producer and when I decided to stop producing for them, they turned their backs on me. Worse than that, they openly attacked me, my character, and my new business, and continue to do so.

What they preached for years was to think of myself like a business owner - while in the end they were like a government spewing regulations that revealed their true nature- it was all about money and control. I was simply no more than a cog in the wheel even though I always was in the top 10% of production year over year. The minute I resigned, I was dead to the company that I poured my life into for the last six and a half years. I walked away with nothing despite building multiple profitable divisions.

Over the years, They taught me to warn candidates that they needed to think of themselves, their well-being, their health, their families when considering a different role. That the company would drop them like a hot potato if it would benefit them. How true- I have experienced it.

I have not (and am not) seeking revenge or retribution for this treatment. I have not bad-mouthed anyone at the company and nor will I. I still am grateful for all that I learned. I am still grateful for most of the years I spent at the company. I have gained a best friend, a brother, and a business partner. But I needed to leave. I had become a shell. Recruiting was not fun anymore. I was burned out.

So this garbage run is a cautionary tale.

To my team at Solid Rock Recruiting LLC - and to others out there- it does not matter what you did yesterday and last year. You always must move forward and strive to do better for you and for your family. In all honesty, and you know this, we have built a system here where you are in fact business owners. You can build a team and benefit from your work in building that team. You get to keep most of what you earn. You are working for yourself, but not by yourself- you have a team of people looking out for your success.

We have built and are building a culture here around our mission statement- "Fueling growth, nurturing talent, and making recruitment a blast - and doing it all for the Glory of God." We honestly want each of our recruiters to be more successful than us. We pour into them and give them all the tools to do so. And when (if) they ever leave us, they will do so with our blessing, not a bunch threatening letters from a lawyer. But we do not believe anyone will want to leave because they get to keep most of what they earn and they have resources and they truly enjoy the environment.

To candidates: When you are presented with a job that is better than what you have right now, it is always right to remember why you started looking and to realize that no matter what you are replaceable. Think about it: if the decision was to let you lose your income or the business owner taking a loss, who do you think would win? Between your family and your bosses' family? You must always make the decision to put your family and your own personal well-being and career ahead of your current company because believe me, the owners of the company and your manager would do the same.

Finally, to companies: Make your company such a great place to work that people will never want to leave. Give your people the freedom to do the job you hired them to do and support and reward them when they do. Culture is not pizza parties and golf outings- it is engendering trust and passion within your people by giving them ownership of the work that they do. It is compensating them well for the things that they do above and beyond the requirements of the job description. Have them in the right role, and allow for them to grow and shine within that role and have a clearly defined career trajectory. And, if after all that they decide to move on, send them off with a blessing. Thank them for their contribution they have made to the team and the years spent there working.

I know, it sounds counterintuitive. But the best way to grow your business and the cheapest method of advertising and hiring is by making your employees happy and fulfilled. Happy employees are the best advertising for your company and the best recruiters for the open roles you may have. And happy former employees tell that same story in an even more powerful way. I wanted to be that kind of storyteller. Up until the last 5 months before I left my former company. I truly believed I would be there for life. However, where they preach mission and culture, they live something different. I have no regrets working there, but I have never been more joyful since deciding to bet on myself and open up my own firm.

We are building a team and a culture and a philosophy that I believe will continue to win. And, I am having fun recruiting again.