Kitchen Designer-candidates have also filled out a profile and have been given a Designer ID number.  You will not see a resume or see a name.  You will only view a profile. 

Simple Identification and Matching System

The matching system connects Retailers and Kitchen Designer-candidates, who have the same passion, skills and abilities.  Develop your own search criteria – one that fits your job requirements, skill-sets, and experience and company culture – with the abilities of K&B Kitchen Designer-candidates in the industry. In a 24/7 format, Keercutter Connection will pull, match and even compare K&B Kitchen Designer-candidates to your search criteria.  Fill in a Kitchen Designer-profile and let the system gather Kitchen Designer-candidates for you.

Education Tools and Resources

Follow Best Practices using our Tools and Resources area that will instruct and guide you in developing your own unique hiring process, from formulating a job description to making an offer.

Hands-On Customer Service Support

A Project Manager from Keercutter Connection, will partner with you to:

• Keep your project on schedule
• Set up your interviews
• Share insight into Kitchen Designer-candidate’s motivation and intentions
• Provide feedback and guidance

Registration Information

Set up your company profile with personal contact information and account login information with password protection.   After this phase is completed, you will receive an email from Keercutter Connection with user name and password for your records.

Terms and Conditions

NOTE:  For questions please call Keercutter & Associates @866-835-4914

In this section, there are 5 required activities:

1. Read the Terms and Conditions document and check the electronic acceptance box
2. Print out fee agreement
3. Contact Keercutter Connection for pricing
4. Sign fee agreement and fax to Keercutter & Associates
5. Check the electronic acceptance box and click on SAVE AND CONTINUE

The Questionnaire

NOTE: This site saves every cell from stage to stage.  If you time out and log back in, the system will start where you left off.

Build a Kitchen Designer profile by identifying specific job requirements, skills, abilities, attributes, interests, design experience, and personal traits that best fit your company culture by checking, ranking, and highlighting the information in the different sections.

Payment Form

NOTE:  Your credit card will not be charged until you decide to hire a candidate. 

Fill out your credit card information.   When you have hired a Kitchen Designer-candidate from Keercutter Connection, you will receive an invoice from Keercutter.  Simply:

• Go to your account
• Go to “Payments”
• Click Payment Due and PAY NOW

The Waiting Period

NOTE: Log into your account regularly. 

Keercutter Connection’s match system makes the matches at 12:00 Midnight CST daily. Log into your company account at www.keercutterconnection.com to view your match.  In your company account you have the ability to:

• Update company profile
• Change password
• Change match percentage (%)
• Change Kitchen Designer-candidate questionnaire
• View and manage your connections
• Compare connections (a maximum of 3 simultaneously)
• Access the Tools and Resources available

Manage Your Connections:

NOTE: Each Kitchen Designer-candidate is identified by a Designer ID number only.  The Kitchen Designer-candidate has not been notified of any activity on their profile.

1. View the K&B Kitchen Designer candidate’s blind profile individually.  Each profile that you view is a mirror image of the Kitchen designer profile that you filled out, with the exception of 3 questions at the bottom of their profile.  These questions ask the kitchen designer:

• Why are you looking?
• What do you see yourself doing in the next 5 years?
• Describe what you like best about kitchen design?

2. Compare the Kitchen Designer-candidate’s simultaneously.  The system will allow a comparison of up to 3 Kitchen Designer-candidate’s simultaneously from your candidate pool in your New Connections list:

• Check the box in front of the Kitchen Designer-candidates you want to compare
• Use pull down menu in upper right to highlight the word COMPARE
• Click the APPLY button

3. To eliminate a Kitchen Designer-candidate from your pool, simply:

• Check the box in front of the Kitchen Designer-candidate
• Use pull down menu in upper right to highlight the word DELETE
• Click the APPLY button

Facilitating the Interview Process

NOTE:  Keercutter will assign a Project Manager to your hiring process.  Your Project Manager will act as an extension of your Human Resources department and facilitate the process with you from start to finish. 

Step One: Start your interview process:

• Check the box in front of the Kitchen Designer-candidate (s) you want to interview
• Use pull down menu in upper right.
• Highlight GET MORE INFO
• Click APPLY
• Keercutter & Associates will automatically receive a message that you want to start the interview process
• Keercutter & Associates will call you directly to discuss the plan

Step Two: Connecting with your Kitchen Designer-candidate:  Your Project Manager will:

• Validate Kitchen Designer-candidate’s profile
• Determine Kitchen Designer-candidate’s seriousness about the job search
• Review updated resume, career progression and salary history (we want to make sure they have not worked for you in the past)
• Describe your company, the culture, and job opportunity
• Determine Kitchen Designer-candidate’s interest and fit in this opportunity
• Get commitment to continue on the process
• Reveal the company name
• Ask them to rate their interest on scale of 1-10 and why
• Identify 3 different times/dates of availability for interview
• Describe the next step in the process – The Homework Assignment

Step Three: Follow-up with feedback:  Your Project Manager will:

• Call you to discuss the details of that conversation
• If Kitchen Designer-candidate declined to move forward, you will given the reason and asked to select another Kitchen Designer-candidate from your candidate pool
• If Kitchen Designer-candidate showed interest, email the updated resume, the career progression and salary history, and the portfolio if available
• Confirm and set up a time and date for interview
• Guide you to back to your account to develop your Homework Assignment from the list of fifteen questions

The Homework Assignment

Select 5 questions from the Manage Your Connections section. Click on ENTER QUESTIONS. After you select your questions, you will automatically forward those questions to the Kitchen Designer-candidate by clicking SUBMIT. The Kitchen Designer-candidate will log into their account, complete and return the answers to your questions to your account.   

The Interview Stage

NOTE:  At first face to face, your Kitchen Designer-candidate should fill out an employment application.  This application should also give you written permission to do reference checking on this candidate farther into the process.

The Project Manager will coordinate all the interviews you require, on both sides of the match. Set up and confirm, times, dates, and locations.  That confirmation will be in the form of a telephone call and an email.  

The Feedback Stage

Every time you talk to the Kitchen Designer-candidate, your Project Manager will follow up to get feedback for you.  Your Project Manager will:

• Find out what they liked and didn't like
• Find out how they see themselves fitting into your showroom and culture
• Ask them to rank their level of interest between 1-10 and why
• Discuss future steps, painting a picture of accepting an offer
• Review compensation again, what their package looks like presently and what they are looking for
• Find out there are any commissions owed that will delay the start date
• Review counter offers – how they feel about them, what their company policy has been with counter offers

           
The Reference Stage: (To be completed by the Retailer)

NOTE:  Confidentiality is HUGE at this stage.  Make sure that you do not contact anyone who is connected to your Kitchen Designer-candidate’s present employer.  The 20 Question Questionnaire in your account will help to streamline your reference stage.  The Kitchen Designer-candidate will be required to present a list of references to you that includes:

• Name of each reference
• Contact information including phone number
• Work relationship (boss, peer, subordinate, customer, factory rep)
•  Require at least one person from each of these categories: a past boss, a peer, and a customer.

The Offer Stage

If both parties are still interested, your Project Manager will assist with offer considerations by:

• Reviewing the “counter offer” possibility
• Preparing the Kitchen Designer-candidate for an acceptable offer

The Offer

The offer will be delivered by you, the Retail employer:

• Presented verbally; should include salary and details of benefits; a start date
• Followed by a written offer, requiring a signature of acceptance
• Acceptance should have no more than 24 hours after offer is extended

Offer Acceptance

NOTE:  This is a critical time.  Hand holding is required by both your Project Manager and the Retailer.  Also comparing notes through this stage is important.  

1. Retailers Hand Holding:

• Find out when (date, time) they plan to give notice
• Request that your Kitchen Designer-candidate call right after given notice
• Ask if Kitchen Designer-candidate will be terminated when they give notice
• If so, assure your Kitchen Designer-candidate that you will bring them on board immediately if they are terminated on the spot. (this is standard protocol)
• Bond with them.  Start talking to them like they are already in the job.  Talk about assignments, their work space, what plans you have already made for them – anything that connects them to you immediately. 
• If other members of your team interviewed them, request that those team members call to congratulate, tell them how excited you are to have them on your team etc.  Maybe even assign a “BUDDY” to meet and greet them on their start date. 

2. Project Manager Hand Holding:

• Review when they plan to give notice
• Ask what do they think their employer is going to do when they give notice
• Make sure they are sill vested
• Help the Kitchen Designer-candidate develop a resignation letter.

Resignation and Giving Notice Stage

NOTE: Again, this is a critical time.  More handholding.

Your Project Manager will help you develop your plan for bringing your Kitchen Designer-candidate into your organization.  This plan should include a written training program/ schedule for your new hires.

Continue to stay in contact with your new recruit after the “giving notice” stage, which is typically two weeks, BUT could be an immediate dismissal. 

Payment Process

NOTE:  There are no hidden costs or annual member fees. 

Once you have established a start date for your Kitchen Designer-candidate, your Project Manager will send an invoice to your account on Keercutter Connection.  Log into your account and process your payment on the first day of employment.