The Human Touch
My work as a Career Coach has me connecting with several different people over the course of a given calendar year. Some of them come to me through the outplacement firms through which I offer my coaching services. Other clients may come to me through referrals from individuals in both my personal and business networks. Still others learn of or meet me through the various webinars I do through a job search support group which I facilitate on a regular basis, or at additional job search support groups where I am a featured speaker. And, still others may read one of these blogs, connect to what I say, and reach out to have a discussion.
Over the course of the last several months, I have been inundated with solicitations from organizations or professionals that indicate they can provide a flood of clients at my door. Many of them I do not even follow on, since I am frankly one person, and can only devote so many hours of my week to the work I do. To not put some parameters on my time, does not only a disservice to me, but more so to the clients with whom I work and look to focus my efforts.
I did take the opportunity to follow with one such solicitation recently. It connected with me initially, as it indicated that it had a growing number of clients that it was looking to serve that needed career coaching, my specialty. (In fact, many of the solicitations are for coaches, but in different disciplines, and not in line with the type of specific niche services that I offer). Upon having a conversation with this organization, I quickly learned their model involved producing a huge electronic funnel of possible candidates. Of those, 90% would be rejected right off the bat. Of those that “survived the purge,” 10% were matched up with 5 possible coaches that matched their profile. It was the job of each coach to make their profile and offers so appealing the client would select them for a screening conversation. From there, ideally the client would be mine. I would have to charge the client a pre-determined fee, of which some of it came to me, and the rest when to the company that generated the lead.
I know that marketing is an important aspect in having an developing a business. I also know that having a steady client stream helps keeps one business going. And, I continue being presented articles about how “Artificial Intelligence” will replace many of the tasks that are done by people today. Even my monthly coaching magazine ran a range of articles with some coaches indicating Artificial Intelligence would be the wave of the future and replace many of the tasks done by today’s coaches, to others indicating it might help with the research and preparation that goes into a coaching session, and every possible blend in between. And, I know that even in my life that ways of doing things that were done when I was a child or young adult are not done the same way today, or at least are offered in such a way, that one does not have to choose “human touch” if they do not want to in doing the activity. (Think about how you may do your banking today, or even your shopping). Have you eliminated action with humans in doing these tasks or others?
I love the work I do, the people I meet, and the value and assistance I provide to them. Many times, at the end of the day, when I have been active with clients, or have made a presentation, I find myself drained, not from exhaustion or aggravation, but from the passion I have put into sharing the skills and experiences that I have learned over the last 14 years. Even though just about all my client meetings are now done online or by telephone in the post-pandemic world, (especially with just about all my clients living far from my immediate home area in northeastern New Jersey), there is still “a human connection,” in our conversations and work together. And, ultimately, I would like to think that I am passing on that same “human passion” to them, as they conduct their job searches, and need to connect with others to whom they will be offering their services.
Yes, the technological advances have their place in the world. And, there are others who are more focused on developing “a volume business,” than a personal experience business. However, let us hope that those who look to conduct business with a “human touch” approach will always have a place in this world, and that there will be those who will be looking to share their services with their family, friends, and those in their networks.
