Much to the bookmakers’ delight, I avoided this one last week. Although the story broke just at the moment when I’m typically scratching around for a blog topic, I knew that the magnitude of the story would see it more-than-covered in the mainstream press. Yes, it would have been easy to heap more embarrassment on Robert Walters, but it’s not really necessary. So instead, I opted for something that wouldn’t be covered by Stuff, and was actually much more important to us recruiters. What a pro.
This is the Whiteboard however. You didn’t think I’d let it slide entirely right??
Firstly, the comment itself. For those who haven’t heard it directly, you can click here. There seems to be a new field of journalism, typically employed on slow weeks, in asking middle-aged white men to “define a woman”. Of course, any public figure with half a brain should have a pre-prepared answer for this. Either don’t comment, or say something so vague that even the craftiest of hacks couldn’t craft a story out of it. Failing this, at least lean towards inclusiveness without alienating the transphobic illuminati who really control the New World Order. What you don’t do is voluntarily call up a phone-in to opine on the matter. Especially after a few wines when the term “p*ssy” and “t*ts” roll off the tongue so easily. Especially when you’re a former MP eyeing a return to the industry. Especially when you’re the Commercial Director of a global recruitment firm. Especially when your firm is official sponsor of the All Blacks and Black Ferns. Especially when you’re a leader of a firm WHO RUNS THE NEW ZEALAND LEADERSHIP AWARDS.
Of course Nash has gone, but my question is this: why was he even there in the first place?
Across the New Zealand landscape, we are seeing a shift. A shift that often happens following a booming market. And a shift that is being greatly expediated by technology. Increasingly we see the removal of non-revenue generating roles. From IT recruitment firms binning their candidate management function, to the removal of non-billing managers, and the use of a line of code to replace the admin and payroll team. (Good) Businesses are getting lean. If I look at our best performing recruitment clients, they have more people on the tools, less people fluffing around the edges, and are investing in either technology, or those who can steer, implement, or hone technology to commercial advantage. That is why I question the appointment of a former Labour politician with no recruitment experience into a leadership role with a global recruiter.
Let’s look at the facts: Nash, a former Labour MP, was appointed by RW just as Labour got the boot, placing him on the wrong side of the fence. He may have connections within the senior civil service though, granted. However, National then decided to sack every government worker they could, and place hiring freezes on the rest of them. Meanwhile Nash’s golf handicap plummets and he has a new and improved backhand. Oh, and all the while that Nash familiarises himself with the RW laminating machine, the firm are shutting down Christchurch and making recruiters redundant.
Maybe there’s something I don’t know. Maybe Nash was a BD machine and worth his weight in gold. Anecdotally, this is not what I’ve been told. One former RW recruiter called me after my last blog and told me about a client visit with Nash. Apparently, the “value add” was some wildly inappropriate comments about his sex life. Given his proclivity to focus on both “p*ssy” and “t*ts”, this sounds quite believable now. His reputation was as a fun guy, working part-time to fit in with his other “hobbies”, with zero knowledge of, or relevance in, our industry.
And if there is truth in the above, why was he hired and how did he last two years? Well here’s a theory. Some of us recruiters have a chip on our shoulder about being “only a recruitment consultant”. Our parents, like the lazy “Jewish mom” trope in Hollywood movies, constantly tell us how our schoolfriends are now Doctors, Lawyers, and Accountants. We are driven, often to bill fantastic amounts of money, by a “I’ll show you all!!!” mentality. Once you step away from the tools, how do you maintain that feeling of status and importance? Well, lots of us build increasingly large teams in the hope of exorcising the ghost of being thrown out of law school. Perhaps hiring people like Stuart Nash is more about status, and dare I say…vanity, than actually adding value?
Could be wrong however.
^SW
