Sean P. Kelley

Know When to Hold ‘Em

This article was inspired by a conversation I had with a staffing firm.  Let me just say that we were in the process of extending an offer to a submitted candidate only to hear that their salary increased from the time of submission. We made it work, but the situation presented itself again, with the same firm.

All us recruiters know, we’re not working with widgets. We get it, but there’s an art to making all this happen. When it all comes together, it’s awesome.  When it goes south, it can get really bad. It can even tarnish the reputation of the recruiter and the firm if you can’t handle salary correctly.

Know When to Fold ‘Em

A firm knows the budget of their client. Part of determining if the request is a legitimate one, worth the firm’s time, is making sure salary for the role has been determined.  When screening candidates for the role the staffing firm knows what budget they’re dealing with and what candidates are in range and which ones are not. Those outside the range should be discarded and not considered for the role. It doesn’t do much good to submit a person if they are way out of salary range. Keep in mind there may be wiggle room, but use caution and discretion.

Presenting the opportunity to the candidate is simple, but expectations need to be very clear. “When we met, you said you were looking for a salary of ‘x’. I have an opportunity at Company ABC as a ‘Insert Title Here’. I’d like to submit you over to the company with salary expectations of ‘X-ish’. ”  Again, this all comes down to the initial meeting where salary expectations are set. It is very uncool to have this change in the middle or end of a deal. Lock it down up front and you’ll save everyone’s time. “Is this good with you? Is there any other financial considerations we need to let the client know about – stock, options, obligations to your current employer like tuition reimbursement or relocation obligations, etc. We want to le the client to be completely aware of all the details.” This should really ensure there’s no communication issues on this delicate subject. If the candidate replies to your salary inquiry, remember you’ve already met with them once during the initial meeting, with “well it depends on the job”, be sure lock this down again. This may include sending official job description and reiterating that you aren’t sending them to to be a CIO under the guise of the duties equal to a Sr Manager in an Enterprise environment with 3000 staff.

Know When to Walk Away, Know When to Run

Good firms will actually know when to pull the plug if the deal seems to go south. Should a candidate reconsider the salary, maybe they believe the position should really pay more than what is proposed, the candidate should withdraw from the process if the difference is considerably higher. However, the firm should be the party responsible for having this discussion with the candidate and make the ultimate call. What could end up happening is that the firm looks like they’re playing a game with the client.

All the aforementioned details, if they go bad, is what we call “losing candidate control”.  Put your firm above the candidate. Your business depends on it. You can always find a different candidate, but don’t let them tarnish your reputation. Reputation is much harder to develop and it’s the integrity that business ethics relies upon.

Don’t let the candidate play games. You can have honest conversations with candidates you represent IF you have mutual rapport between each other. It takes two to tango. Firms that meet face to face with their candidates and are honest and have candid conversations with each other will provide a level of trust and openness that will prevent catastrophes down the road. This does not mean that it’s kumbaya, unicorns and rainbows, but it will facilitate a healthy, honest, discussion.

I served in the military some time ago. I was definitely fit, motivated, and disciplined. As part of the military, you’re always ‘on-call’. Though it was more 6am to 5pm job, you really are considered to work around the clock. We often figured out our hourly pay based on that 24×7 schedule. It’s not really like that, but you get the picture.

Fast forward a few years when that soldier has worked in the private sector for over a decade. You start to get a feel for the different careers, staff and management level duties and responsibilities. Many roles have their set hours. Sure, people work longer, put in over-time, have to meet deadlines and put in 50+ hour weeks, but the work schedule is typically set. Accountants go to work, adjust the books, make entries, etc. Project managers map out timelines, coordinate with teams, etc. At night they all go home – unplugging from the day. Some may work from home, but again, you disconnect and most people do.

What about the recruiter?

Often times the staffing world butts heads with corporate human resources. Often depicting them (HR) as the mighty gate keepers preventing the firm from working with a hiring manager and ultimately making money.

Before fleshing this out, it’s important to understand the roles and motivations of those involved when dealing with a job vacancy.

The Firm

No, not the Grisham novel, the IT staffing firm. The sole purpose of the firm is to place a candidate at a company and charge the company an hourly rate while paying the candidate for doing the job. The account executive wants to deal with the people that make the final hiring decision and are holding the money.

Human Resources

HR will be typically be responsible for posting the job, gathering the applicants, phone screening the applicants, partaking in the face-to-face interview, construct an offer, extend an offer and on board the hire. Some will say this is a key responsibility of the HR rep and ultimately save the company the expense of hiring a firm. The HR rep will feel it’s their job. If a firm does this, then what’s the value of the HR rep. When I refer to HR rep it’s typically not a corporate recruiter, necessarily, but can be.

The Hiring Manager

The hiring manager is the ultimate decision maker and needs a person for the vacancy in a timely manner. While they collaborate with the HR rep, they know what they’re looking for – experience, skills, industry lingo, and have more weight in the hire or not hire decision. They also have the budget ok to make the hire, hence they hold the purse.

You can make the above relationships work, but there has to be mutual respect among all parties.

Considerations

Is using a firm to staff the vacancy a viable option?