Hiring is on the upswing again, and many small and mid-sized businesses are evaluating their hiring needs. This means plenty of recruiters are circling, asking for your business and pledging to help you find “the one.”
Here is my advice to help you understand what kind of recruiter you’re signing on with and what this means for your business.
In my business travels, I am frequently asked to explain what it means to be a retained search recruiter (which is how I work) as opposed to a contingent search recruiter.
As a retained search recruiter, I am hired by companies as a business partner and consultant. My compensation is earned in three parts: at the start of a new search, at the midpoint of a search and once a candidate has been successfully placed. I intentionally take on only a few searches at a time, focusing on quality over quantity and drawing upon my extensive network to find the right candidate for the position. My client is assured that I will personally meet with each candidate (on local searches) and there will be a successful conclusion to the search with a great hire,
By comparison, contingent search recruiters are paid only when a candidate is placed. Because some hiring managers give the same search to a few contingent search recruiters, they are often in hot competition to make a placement; as a result, they may tend to focus on quantity over quality and speed is of the essence.
There is no right or wrong method for recruiting—and both methodologies have their place. But I do think it’s essential that you know what you’re getting when choosing a recruiter to conduct a search for your company.
I speak from experience. Early in my career, I worked for many years as a contingent recruiter for a well-respected local staffing agency. In this environment, I was one of many recruiters filling positions to meet monthly and annual quotas. For meeting our sales goals, we were rewarded with vacations, jewelry, cash bonuses—even mink coats!
Meeting sales quotas and earning “spiffs” are standard operating procedures in a commission-based environment. But….do they really incent the right behavior that is in the best interest of the customer? It’s not hard to imagine that some recruiters may be more concerned with meeting quota to earn spiffs (or keep their job, ) rather than actually concentrating and focusing on what you had to say about your company, your hiring needs and the ideal candidate you want them to recruit for you.
Unfortunately, this business model, left unchecked, can lend itself to what I call “the ugly side of recruiting.” I witnessed—and continue hearing about today in similar recruiting firms—how the SALES QUOTA SYSTEM may lead to unethical and questionable business practices. Candidates and hiring managers regularly complain about the high pressure from some recruiters to hire a candidate that isn’t right for the job, or to take a job that isn’t the right career move. That type of behavior can give our industry a bad name. I often wonder: Do you really want to get your business caught up in all of that?
When I hung out my own search firm shingle in 2002, I was relieved to get out from under the sales quota thumb and shift my business model from contingent to retained search. I do not have quotas, and, in fact, I intentionally only take on a few searches at a time because I know that’s in my clients’ best interests.
Gone are the days of being pressured by my sales manager at the end of the month to make the placement, regardless of whether it was in the best interest of the candidate and/or client. I don’t believe that a calendar or a recruiter’s job security should dictate the timing of a placement.
The only right time to make a hire is when all the pieces come together—and not because it’s the end of the month or quarter. Pressuring recruiters to make a placement happen prematurely to make a quota is a business practice that many clients are unaware of. If you are feeling pressure….look at the calendar and ask your recruiter: “Why the rush?”
I’m all for a sales person meeting quota….but not if it adversely affects the life of a human being or the dynamics of a company.
Whether you are a hiring company or a job seeker being wooed for a new opportunity, understand what’s motivating your recruiter. Is your recruiter a partner with you, motivated by finding that “perfect match” for all parties?
Or, is your recruiter instead motivated by quantity over quality, more interested in earning that trip to Hawaii than in finding you that ideal candidate?
My Advice to Companies
When you are considering hiring a recruiter to help you fill important positions, you will probably ask them standard questions about their experience, successes, recruitment processes, etc., as part of your vetting process. But have you thought about asking about quotas? These tips will help you know just what you’re getting.
Carefully scrutinize staffing and recruiting firms, especially those who have sales quotas.
At month-end, recruiters are scrambling to meet or exceed their quota to earn their bonus or other incentives (vacations, jewelry, you name it)-and sometimes even to keep their job. This means some (not all) recruiters may be chiefly motivated to close the deal, even if it means sending unqualified candidates your way. The best advice is to ask around-the best recruiters in the area have a solid reputation and a success track record to match.
If you’ve already hired a staffing firm, be wary if the recruiter exhibits these behaviors:
- Pushing you to make a hiring decision before you’re ready.
- Skimming over the details, which may indicate you’re not getting the full story about a candidate. (This is called “gilding the lily” in some insider recruiter circles.)
- Falsely tells you that the candidate has another offer pending.
- Threatening to take away a top candidate if you don’t make an offer right now.
When interviewing recruiters, ask these core questions:
– Tell me about your business model.
– Do you have a personal sales quota at your company?
– How often do you make your quota?
– What happens if you don’t meet the quota?
– Tell me about a time when you tried to make a placement work just to make your quota, even though you knew that it wasn’t in the best interest of your client and/or candidate. (Then look how uncomfortable the recruiter is when being asked and while answering this question.)
My Advice to Job Seekers
If you’re a job seeker working with a recruiter, be sure this person is working with your best interests in mind. You don’t want to start a new position only to discover that it’s a terrible match.
Fortunately, there are a few warning signs. Be wary if the recruiter:
- Pushes you toward a job opportunity that doesn’t feel like the right fit.
- Warns you that “you’ll never find anything else” if you don’t take this job.
- Knowingly misrepresents any aspects of the job, including salary, culture, why the job is open, and other important details.
- Pushes you to make a decision within an unreasonable time frame after receiving an employment offer.
By being mindful of the various types of recruiters out there, you’ll be positioned to avoid making costly mistakes in that next hiring decision. As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Hockenberg Search 