Company Spotlight: Recruitsoft
Interview with Tom Lavey, Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Business Development, RecruitsoftHow did you come to join Recruitsoft and what is your role within the company?
I have spent my career building successful enterprise software sales organizations from early ERP startups like ASK Computer Systems and Minx Software to larger companies such as Oracle and I2 Technologies. I joined Recruitsoft this fall not only because it provides a number of leading workforce management solutions and opportunities for the marketplace overall, but also because I very impressed with their success in a tough economy, not very common right now. Recruitsoft provides a suite of solutions for effectively managing the staffing challenges for large and global organizations. The company has been GAAP profitable since the fourth quarter of 2002 and is clearly the leader in the industry. I joined as the Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Business Development and am responsible for implementing worldwide strategies that reinforce and expand upon the strong leadership position that Recruitsoft enjoys in the marketplace today.
Tell me a little bit about the company - and a not-so-well-known interesting fact.
Similar to myself, the founders and many of the executives at Recruitsoft have a strong background in and come from the supply chain management world. The notion of effectively managing the right and most efficient processes, consistently, can also be applied to Human Capital assets as we did for physical assets. I believe that this is a natural evolution. Over the last several decades, organizations automated financial processes first, then the production (ERP), followed supply chain (SCM) and then customers (CRM) and, most recently, enterprise staffing management. I believe the 21st century challenge will be to get a better return on people (HCM) and we think there is a significant opportunity in the marketplace today for organizations to drive savings and productivity improvements by further integrating all types of workers on one common platform. By further integrating applications and logistics with all worker types, Recruitsoft is well-positioned to capitalize on this market opportunity.
What are some of your key personal objectives this year?
My personal objectives are to continue to enjoy the balance of challenging work and life. My key professional objectives this year are to ensure that Recruitsoft continues build its team and be a world class sales organization as we grow and expand upon our offerings in the marketplace today.
What are some of the core initiatives right now for Recruitsoft?
From a sales perspective, it is to expand and round out our penetration in specific vertical markets, for example in the retail and government sectors and also to continue to grow internationally to new geographic regions as it makes sense. We've had early success with companies such as Blockbuster, The Limited and Starbuck's as well as government agencies, and several major European and APAC customers such as SUEZ and the Auckland District Health Board, but we are planning on doing much more in each segment. We currently have 150 Fortune 1000 customers and we anticipate doubling and tripling that number fairly quickly.
Why are you aggressively hiring sales professionals right now?
We have been successfully growing at over 50 percent every year since our inception. We need business athletes to maintain that track record as we grow and expand our suite of solutions in the marketplace around the world.
What do you look for when hiring a sales executive?
Business acumen combined with customer empathy, pride in the profession of sales, and work ethic. I believe the most successful sales executive have those three things and these are attributes that contribute the most to a sales team. Sale professionals are on the front lines all the time.
Why, in your opinion, do sales people fail?
Poor listening skills, lack of preparation, inability to transcend adversity. If you do not embrace these things it is difficult to read and interpret what a customer’s or prospects’s needs are and no matter how great your product or solution it will be hard to succeed.
If someone is truly interested in working for Recruitsoft, what is the best way for that person to get noticed?
Recruitsoft is in the business of workforce logistic and works with large organizations to recruit and deploy the right workers, whether permanent or non-permanent and we clearly utilize our technology to find the right people. We encourage all interested candidates to apply for a position, preferably leaving a skills-based resume or profile. Be knowledgeable, be honest and be persistent is the best advice I can give to anyone seeking a position. That will also help to ensure that the candidate is finding the right position for them as well as the company.
What advantages do you think Sales Professionals have at Recruitsoft, as opposed to one of your competitors?
We are the clear leader in delivering measurable results in the tens of million of dollars and in satisfying the complex business needs of our customer base. We offer challenging and rewarding work opportunities and work life balance is important to us. We have an enviable customer base of world-class organization that also care and value their Human Capital; companies such as Honeywell, Hewlett-Packard, Dow Chemical, Blockbuster, Fortis Inc., Washington Mutual, Blockbuster, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Mutual of Omaha, Pitney Bowes Inc., PepsiAmericas, P & G, Thomson, Group Suez, Serono, Toyota, The Gillette Company, Bombardier, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and UnitedHealth Group, among others.
In what ways are employees motivated at Recruitsoft?
We tend to hire motivated people that also value the way we conduct our business, which is guided by a set of core values that we believe serves both our customers and our employees well. Some of these values include quality, professionalism, integrity and innovation. While the quality of our work is paramount, we also value social interaction and activities that encourage people to work together and enjoy being part of a team. We also offer career development opportunities as well as training and a complete, attractive and competitive benefits package.
Click to view current Recruitsoft postings on SoftwareSalesJobs
Director, Sales Federal Government – Washington, D.C.
Director, Sales Retail – Chicago, Dallas, IL
Account Executive – Chicago, Dallas, NY, Boston, D.C.
Tom Lavey, Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Business Development, joined Recruitsoft in September, 2003. Tom oversees Recruitsoft's worldwide sales and business development efforts. He is responsible for implementing global strategies that expand upon the strong leadership position that Recruitsoft enjoys in the marketplace today. You can learn more about Recruitsoft by visiting the website: www.Recruitsoft.com.
