Sheila Greco - Strategic Discipline - A Candid Conversation with Recruiting Industry... | TotalPicture Radio - Podcast Career Advice and Leadership Development

Sheila Greco - Strategic Discipline

Tuesday, 17 March 2009

A Candid Conversation with Recruiting Industry Veteran, Sheila Greco

Sheila Greco

It's no secret that the recruiting industry is getting hammered in the current recession. In December, Heidrick & Struggles announced plans to cut its workforce by 15 percent. The job boards are getting hit, too. ERE reported CareerBuilder had terminated about 15 percent of its 2,100 person workforce in December. Other job boards (including JobFox), have recently reported staff reductions.

Welcome to a Inside Recruiting podcast on Total Picture Radio, with Peter Clayton reporting. Founded in 1989, this is the third recession that Sheila Greco and Associates has navigated in its 20-year history. With about 30 employees, we wanted to hear what company founder, president and CEO, Sheila Greco was doing to weather the storm of client layoffs and budget cuts. She's been busy. Very busy.

It's no longer just passive candidates

22 Min:

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Based in upstate New York, Greco's firm was recently featured in a local newspaper. Quoting from the Daily Gazette article:

"Sheila Greco and Associates has four main branches: research, recruitment, competitive intelligence and the company's special executive tracker. Greco said she started researching potential employees for clients and generating databases of qualified people. The company now has seven databases. She then got into recruiting people for her clients. From there she began to work with her clients to study their competition. She now has her specialized SGA tracker, which is a database that tracks executives in 1,100 publicly traded companies. Greco currently has 2,100 clients worldwide. Her 30 employees often work nights assisting clients along the Asia-Pacific rim. Her firm specializes in pharmaceutical, health care and retail industries, and her clients include Nike, Sears, Wal-Mart and Deloitte and Touche."

Talking Points

As I mentioned in the introduction, this is the third recession your firm has gone through. What's different this time?
You specialize in the pharmaceutical, health care and retail industries - I would guess retail is dead. Am I right?
Are pharmaceutical, and health care holding up?
What kind of searches are you conducting right now?
I'd like to learn more about your research and competitive intelligence services. Are client's still utilizing these services?
Tell us about your SGA Executive Tracker. What is it and how does it work?
I imagine you've been getting a lot of "career coaching" type calls from friends and industry acquaintances who've been laid off. What advice have you been giving them?
Does your firm accept resume's from job candidates?
Do you work on a contingency or retained basis?
With so many qualified candidates looking for work, what is the value proposition for companies using an executive search firm such as yours?

Sheila Greco Biography
With Sheila's leadership responsibilities as President and Chief Executive Officer of Sheila Greco Associates, LLC and her active role in the overall growth and success of the company, she places her broad-based skills and experience at the disposal of clients, candidates, and colleagues alike. As an entrepreneur, she has gained extensive experience in human resources to include, research, recruiting, and competitive intelligence. As a strategic results oriented leader, Sheila has a proven track record of building long-term and solid relationships with clients and candidates. Prior to launching Sheila Greco Associates in 1989, Sheila spent several years with Goodrich & Sherwood, an executive search company in New York City and Greenwich, Connecticut. She began her career as a research associate and quickly climbed through the ranks and ultimately became a Director of Executive Search specializing in consumer packaged goods marketing and sales.

Resources

Sheila Greco Associates