Pay-For-Perfomance Job Fairs

Innovation is the fuel that propels organizational success. The exploration and execution of new ideas and ways of approaching business is what sets an organization apart from its peers and allows for expansion into new business ventures. This can be done through such means as vertical integration, acquisition or development. I would describe innovation as being successful when it puts an organization on track to expand the customer base while also putting it in a better position to get deeper into the customer value chain.

Recent innovation here at The Employment Guide has included the introduction of a pay-for-performance (PFP) job fair business model. Some would call this approach to a traditional, established business model as "risky." Is there risk? Of course, there is always risk in being the first to try something new. With rapidly changing marketing strategies, vendors with budgetary confinements who want to augment the job fair process, and attendees who are better informed, computer literate and eager to maximize their time at job fairs, this is not the time for job fair companies to “rest on their laurels.” Just because a business model was successful a year ago, does not mean it will succeed in today’s market. Wisdom dictates innovation, innovation means change, and change can be tough. It only comes through an educational process. For us to undertake such a bold new approach to one of our legacy products, we had to get a good understanding and come to an acceptance of just how great the risk could be. Once we balanced the perceived risk against the upside for our customers, we decided to move forward with testing this new model.

With this said, is the mainstream model of doing business in the job fair arena completely broken? I do not personally think so; in fact many businesses, including The Employment Guide, will continue to hold these types of events and be successful. The testing of a PFP model is a proactive way for our organization to gain valuable knowledge of how this important piece of our business can change. In my opinion (and from the outstanding results we received from our first venture), PFP is going to become an increasingly popular business model. I do not think it makes good business sense to not constantly explore new ways of doing business. Just because previous methods of doing business were successful that does not mean that an improved way of meeting your customers’ needs is not just right around the corner.

We do have plans for additional PFP job fairs. The third quarter will include multiple events of this kind spread out across the United States. This job fair business model put significant pressure on the business to deliver results. As a business leader, I like to take our customers’ well-being into consideration and walk a mile in their shoes before implementing any new way of conducting business. With regards to our PFP job fair that we tested in Houston and the results we delivered to our customers, these shoes fit nicely!

There is a great book on innovation that I recommend titled "A Technique for Producing Ideas", authored by James Webb Young that I like to read to spur new ways of approaching our business. It is a quick read and the kind of book you take to lunch three or four times a year to get the creative juices flowing.

Once again, congratulations and special thanks to our Houston Employment Guide team who did a tremendous job and who had responsibility for the toughest part of this plan, the execution. I would also like to thank all of the job seekers and employers who participated in the event and who all contributed to its success.

Posted by Jeff Littlejohn at Tuesday, July 29, 2008 0 comments
Labels: Employment Guide, Jeff Littlejohn, job fair, pay for performance, recruitment advertising, Recruiting and Hiring