He began paying his recruiters cash incentives for new hires for the first time in the company's history. Now up to one-third of a recruiter's bonus is based on how many candidates he or she signs up. The Web is now Half's number one source of candidates. Internal networking was jazzed up to let a recruiter in Boston share candidate information with a colleague in San Francisco. Messmer also set up Web sites for each of his seven divisions.
Temps can now check their payroll accounts and search for jobs online.
Half also has moved beyond its core business of placing accountants and now hunts for marketing types and Web-design experts through a new division, Creative Group. Today half of total revenue comes from divisions that didn't exist in the early 1990s. In Silicon Valley they warn dot-commers not to let their employees go out to lunch, they may not come back. The fast-track makeover seems to be working. If the economy weakens, as many predict, Robert Half could reap some rewards as the supply of candidates goes up.