Traditionally, Ketchup is red. However, in 2000, Heinz started to produce green ketchup. Green ketchup had a successful novelty run until it was eventually discontinued in 2009.

The concept of green ketchup was blasphemy to some and pure genius to others. Also, some believe it was truly an innovation while others chalk the whole idea up as a gimmick to gain attention and boost sales.

In my opinion, whether ketchup is red, green, or purple, it is still ketchup.

Some Recruitment Process Outsourcing firms are like green ketchup. They have repackaged their services or freshened up their marketing campaigns, in an attempt to show the market that they are innovative and differentiated. However, like ketchup, just changing the look while the product or service is essentially the same doesn’t change the end user’s experience or the results.

Other RPO firms, like Pinstripe, are taking a different approach. Instead of looking to just deliver a new color of RPO ketchup, they are creating new RPO condiments with unique and novel attributes. They recognize that new economic realities, globalization, and the explosion of social media have forever changed the RPO landscape. Customers and prospects are starving for something new and truly revolutionary (and not just some cosmetic additive to create an illusion of improvement).

In the end, RPO companies that take the green ketchup path will share the same fate as green ketchup…discontinued.

Also, a special thanks to Sue Marks for the blog idea.

For my birthday this year, one of my gifts was a Garmin Nuvi.  I am definitely a geek when it comes to new gadgets and the latest technology so I was excited to get on board with this innovation.  Like a lot of GPS systems, it has the standard features like driving directions, maps, points of interest, etc.  which is really all I expected of it.  But I was driving to the office the day after I got it and noticed a lot of extra features that I had no idea about.  The speed limit was posted in the lower left hand corner of the screen and a heavy traffic warning came on as I reached some 7am downtown Milwaukee gridlock.  Then as I got close to my office passing by a Goodyear, an advertisement popped up that said $50 off a set of 4 tires.  Although I am not in the market for a new set of tires, this got me thinking about value-add and improving the deliverables to our RPO customers.

As the RPO “product” has evolved and gotten more acceptance in the marketplace, Pinstripe has had to increase the features to our clients.  Like the Garmin used to be focused on driving directions and maps, RPO used to be focused on sourcing candidates, filling jobs and saving money.  Now the discussion is not just around how do you help fill these open jobs, but how do you create an overall strategy that long-term builds a machine of talent and increases our brand awareness…and saves us money.  In response, we’ve created what we call Talent Accelerators which extend the value chain with services such as Employment Brand Awareness, Candidate Experience and Social Media Solutions.  Social Media recruiting has been a hot topic lately, and Pinstripe has been at the forefront developing strategies that help engage potential candidates via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites using content like blogs, articles, awards, etc.  We’ve incorporated these solutions into a number of our clients to add value to the day to day recruiting activities and have seen a lot of success.

As I was driving with my colleague, Barry Diamond, the other day and telling him about my new Garmin, he said why don’t they add a radar detector feature that can be turned on or off depending on your states legal stance.  I think he may have just found the next Garmin feature, now we just have to figure out what’s next for RPO.  Any suggestions?

Yesterday, while grocery shopping with Samuel, my oldest son, he manipulated me into buying him some Grāpples®. Grāpples® are grape infused apples. They are made by soaking Washington Extra Fancy Gala or Fuji Apples in a bath of concentrated grape flavor and pure water. The end result is a grape flavored apple. Honestly, I don’t get it. This creation has no appeal to me.

Here’s how they advertise the product:

Apples are a fantastic snack. Grapes are a wonderful snack. Try a Grāpple® brand apple today, and enjoy the best of both of them in one!

I agree that apples and grapes are fantastic snacks; however, I don’t understand the reasoning behind combining them. I have never had a simultaneous urge for both fruits. Sometimes I want apples and sometimes I prefer grapes but I’ve never craved them at the same time. There is just something inherently wrong about messing with these celebrated fruits.

More importantly, I’ve witness the Grāpple® effect in Recruitment Process Outsourcing. Sometimes potential clients try to merge two seemingly diverse services into one Request for Proposal (RFP). Like Samuel, my son, I applaud these companies for trying something new; however, can this approach be effective? For example, from time to time, Pinstripe is asked to bid on both RPO and VMS or RPO and components of HRO in a RFP. I think there are really good RPO companies and really good VMS and HRO companies, but few do all things well (and even fewer truly integrate their solutions effectively).

Wouldn’t companies be better served by making separate buying decisions? I would rather have the best grapes and the best apples than compromise by selecting a Grāpple®.

This strategy can be applied to RPO too. If you want outstanding RPO, select the best RPO firm. Conversely, if you want contract labor, hr technology, benefits administration, or contingent search, then choose the best in each of these distinct disciplines.

Just like the Grāpple® is a fruity confusion, mixing RPO, with its complexities and nuances, with other talent related services just muddles things. I believe our goals our best served when we keep RPO as a standalone service offering.

I was reading an article on Slate.com the other day about expirations dates on food being useless.  The premise of the article, Ignore Expiration Dates by Nadia Arumugam, is that regardless of the “Sell By” or “Use By”, or “Best if Purchased By” date, the reality is that the onus lies with consumers to judge and maintain the freshness and edibility of their food—by checking for offensive slime, rank smells, and off colors.

Basically, the piece is about people using common sense. If something smells and looks ok, then eat it or drink it.  If it is putrid and rotting then toss it away. You don’t need a “stamped on date” to tell you what your nose already knows.

Can the same be said of Recruitment Process Outsourcing?  Obviously, if things are going well, you’re going to stick with it. Most of us consume 99% of what we buy. Right?

However, what happens when things slightly sour? What happens if services really curdle? Are we committed to fixing the issues? Unlike food, can RPO “decomposition” be reversed?

Fortunately, most RPO programs are not rotting like old bananas but are doing fairly well. However, if you are the key stakeholder, the onus is on you todecide. You will be held accountable for the success or failure of the talent acquisition function. You are the one who needs to decide what stays and what goes. You are the judge.

So, is RPO analogous to the food in your fridge? I say… YES (but who listens to me)

Being in Recruitment Pricess Outsourcing sales and business development, I use a Customer Relationship Management (CRM ) tool to help me manage the selling process; however, after listening to Atul Gawande discuss his new book, The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, I am considering increasing my reliance on the traditional checklist.

In his compelling book, Atul Gawande, surgeon and writer, expands on the ideas popularized in his 2007 New Yorker essay about the remarkable impact of simple checklists on medical care. Fundamentally, he notes, there are two reasons for failure: ignorance (not yet knowing how to do something) and ineptitude (failing to apply what is already known). The former can be forgiven, but the latter rightly arouses anger and judgment.

While I do not accept failure, I am especially sensitive to falling short because of ineptitude, oversight, or allowing something to simply “slip through the cracks.” This is totally unacceptable. If the straightfoward process of using a checklist can help me avoid missing a step and failing (or in the case of a surgeon killing someone), then why not start using a checklist. It’s just so basic. Who wouldn’t want to “get things right?”

Checklists are essential to so many professionals in so many industries.  For most of my co-works at Pinstripe checklists are indispensable. We couldn’t implement or manage a RPO program without checklists. These tools help our people succeed and exceed customer expectations.

While it is well past New Years, I am going to add to my resolution list: I am going to follow the example of Dr. Gawanda  and my co-workers and be more diligent about using checklists.

The other day as I was watching Aaron, my almost 5 year son, color Star Wars pictures at the kitchen table. He was working out of a huge plastic box of crayons that he inherited from his 2 older brothers.  As he was drawing the Emperor’s red lightsaber (fyi – I just learned that the energy color of your lightsaber is a critical), I started to wonder about just how many different Crayola crayon colors existed in the Universe.

Here is what I learned about Crayola crayon colors:

When first introduced in 1903, there were just eight colors Crayola crayon colors. By 1949 there were 48 colors. In 1958 the number of colors increased to 64 (this is my 1st recollection). Eight fluorescent colors were introduced in 1972, increasing the total number of colors to 72. In 1990 the total increased to 80 colors with the introduction of 16 new colors and the discontinuation of eight colors. The number of available core colors was increased to 96 in 1993 and to 120 in 1998.

I decided to take the investigation one step further and do a RPO experiment based on my crayon query. My RPO experiment was to determine how many RPO service delivery names exist in my limited Universe:

Here was my scientific protocol:

In 15 minutes, I would search and find as many RPO service offering names (colors) as possible. I hypothesized that I could find at least 1 RPO service offering name per minute excluding duplicates.

The first 4 were easy. At Pinstripe, we provide Talent Spectrum, Project Focused Talent Spectrum, Talent Point, and Talent Accelerator.

Others names I discovered during my trial were Hybrid RPO, Enterprise RPO, Selective RPO, On-demand RPO, Lifecycle RPO, un-RPO, Project RPO, Global RPO, Customized RPO, 2nd Generation RPO, Optimized RPO, Complete RPO, Adaptive RPO, and Strategic RPO.

In exactly 15 minutes I was able to aggregate 18 unique RPO “colors” that are synonymous, in some way, with RPO service offerings. I exceed my goal and I had hypothesized correctly. 

I also surmised that RPO service offering names could learn a lot from crayon names. Instead of all the duplicative Enterprise RPO, Selective RPO, and On-demand RPO, maybe Recruitment Processing Outsourcing organizations would be better served with names like Blast Off RPO, Sonic RPO, or Screamin’ RPO.

Recently, Smith Magazine invited writers “famous and obscure” to distill their own life stories into exactly six words. It All Changed in an Instant is a collection of very, very brief life stories from Smith. The six word memoirs are “both a moving peek at the minutia of humanity and the most inspirational toilet reading you’ll ever find.”

While clearly an autobiography in six words is the ultimate challenge, I thought it would be really interesting if, in the spirit of Recruitment Process Outsourcing, our readers and friends could share their RPO story in exactly six words.

Here’s my stab at it:

Pinstripe’s RPO is Uncatchable – Unmatchable – Unbeatable.

It takes a lot to astonish me. I hang out and work with extremely talented people so I’m used to keen observations, witty comments, and insightful assertions. After awhile you just take it for granted. It is as if you build up a tolerance for excellence and each new revelation must exceed the previous. Sometimes I feel desensitized to things that should astound me.

So when my cousin, Debra, sent me a link to her new website I routinely clicked on it. By the way, Debra is an artist and is very talented. However, it was probably a sense of obligation that got me to check out her website. After all she is my cousin.

For the first time in a long time, I paused to appreciate something extraordinary. Her photography, sculpture, and art amazed me. I didn’t realize her incredible gift until I saw her collection of work aggregated in one place. I was able to look at the world as Debra sees it. It was remarkable and I’d like to share it with you.

Next week will be my 1 year RPOlosophy blogging anniversary.  I truly enjoy the opportunity to share my unsolicited thoughts with you and I really appreciate your opinions, comments, and feedback.

Sometimes when work is overwhelming (like this week) blogging is truly difficult. However, it also seems to come together by some sort of divine intervention.

Here is a case in point. Yesterday, I heard a great piece on NPR by Barbara Bradley Hagerty entitled Blog Tips For Pope: Give Us This Day Thy Daily Post .

Clearly this story has nothing to do with Recruitment Process Outsourcing.  It’s all about communication and sharing your message. But wait….isn’t promoting the Pinstripe brand and extending the RPO dialogue my goal? Maybe this article has everthing to do with RPO.

Most importantly, after listening to this story, I now recognize that each of Ten Commandments would be perfect for Twitter’s 140 character limit.  Someone was really thinking ahead!