Corporate Recruiting: Don’t Hate Me ‘cos Your Company Sucks

I got called out the other day by a sales manager from another company for trying to recruit one of their employees.

So the corporate recruiting story goes like this: I reached out to a junior sales rep who was working at a local software company. That candidate probably got a little too excited and told a close co-worker. Before he knew it, it became office gossip that little Jimmy was interviewing for another job. He never did make it past the first round phone screen and I’m not sure what happened to him after that.

However, his manager did add me on Linkedin. It so happens that I was told to also be on the look-out for a Sales Team Lead so I thought Lady Luck was on my side. Not the case. This manager sent me a heated message about my audacity to reach out to her employees.

Let’s take a step back though.

How can she even be angry with me? The candidate, little Jimmy, told me just about everyone at that company  wants out. Poor benefits, weak product, awful corporate culture and an inside sales position with a frighteningly limited commission structure that de-motivates many. Is it my fault or yours that people are keeping their options open? Your employees are looking for jobs anyway and are probably going to be out the door in a month or two. So whether it’s me or another recruiter who contacts your team member, the end product is the same for you — a super high turnover.

Since I joined OpenView Venture Partners last year, I’ve recruited almost 10 people to Intronis Technologies, an expansion stage technology start-up in which we invested. I pity the fool who tries to poach Intronis employees and lure them to “greener pastures”. Not only is Intronis currently the world’s leader in cloud backup and recovery solutions for the IT channel, but they’re also growing at least 50% year-over-year. Commissions are uncapped for sales employees and you can genuinely see (I pay them regular visits) that teams collaborate effectively and happily day in and day out.

So how about it Ms. Upset Sales Manager? Wouldn’t it make more sense to fix the fixable rather than get worked up over the opportunists of the world? I’ll be on a cruise all of next week, but feel free to share your thoughts!