How to Stop Spinning your Wheels on Split Placements

[UMS Healthcare]

Split Placements: Stop Spinning Your Wheels

Published by astock on Feb 25th, 2007 in Hiring Practices, Independent Recruiting, Recruiter Networking with No Comments

In my role at HireAbility, I manage not only the social network itself, but also the split placement exchange at its core. For that reason, I am approached on a regular basis with questions from network members wanting my advice on how to select split placement partners and how to avoid ‘spinning your wheels’ with the wrong partners.

There are two frequent problems encountered in a new ‘split placement partner’ relationship., First is the ‘black hole’ of resume submittals that some split partner relationships can become. And right behind that is the problem of receiving a flood of poorly matched resumes from someone wishing to fill one of your job orders.

I’m a firm believer that both issues can be best avoided by properly establishing your working relationship in advance of doing any recruiting together. And of course, such a conversation must be done on the phone, not by email. Today, I’m going to walk you through the ideal conversation you might have with a potential split placement partner.

Hunting for a Partner

Let’s say a recruiter named “Joe” has a job order that he wants recruiting help with and it’s in my area of specialty. First, I’ll pick up the phone and call Joe. If Joe doesn’t call me back, I may try again the following day. If after 2 voice mails, he still doesn’t call me back; then Joe will have to find someone else to help him with his job order, because it’s not going to be me.

Lets assume that Joe and I do manage to connect by phone. First: I’ll introduce myself and give a quick overview of my recruiting background, then ask Joe to do the same. If I feel like Joe is giving fluff answers or avoiding a question of mine, I’ll delve further. If Joe raises any red flags, it is critical that I tell him so immediately so that he can address my concern right there on the spot.

It should go without saying that this entire conversation (and all subsequent ones) is friendly, professional and void of the condescending attitude; regardless of either person’s recruiting abilities or past successes. Although you might be calling out each other on your various concerns, you can certainly do so with respect and professionalism.

I’m too busy

Have you ever tried to reach out to another recruiter only to be rushed off the phone? If so, then re-establish a better time to talk. Do not settle for partial job orders, partial conversations or poorly laid ground work. If someone is trying to rush you off the phone and just asks you to send him random resumes, then you’re not talking to someone who views you as a valuable asset, and you might want to find another partner. And of course, the opposite is true. Good recruiters usually are quite busy. So, be respectful of each other’s time, but within reason.

Sharing Details

Now assume that Joe and I are beginning to see that we might have potential to work well together. Now it’s time to lay down the ground rules of our relationship. I’ll let him know that I’m only interested in working real job orders that have a real chance of closing. I’ll ask him who is contact person is at the client site, ask if he has he done a placement with this client before, and of course, I’ll ask him questions regarding the placement fee amount, how we’ll split the fee, when money changes hands once a deal is done and how the guarantee period will be handled.

I’ll then ask him what he is expecting from me. Again, if his expectations and my way of working don’t line up, I’m moving on to another partner. But if we’ve gotten this far in the conversation, we’re probably on the right track. I’ll let Joe grill me on anything he wants to know about how I find candidates, how I screen them, what I’ll be submitting to him, etc.

Setting Expectations

Now comes the really important part; I’m going to assure Joe that I’ll return all off his voice mails and emails immediately since making a placement with him is one of my top priorities. It is important that I voice what I am willing to do first. Then, I’ll let him know what I expect from him. Specifically, I expect he’ll return my phone calls and emails with expedience as well. If either of us end up chasing the other for a return phone call for more than a few days, it’s time to move on to another partner. So, if one of us is going out of town or will be unreachable, we must let the other person know. And if the job order goes on hold or is filled otherwise, he must let me know immediately. If I spin my wheels recruiting for a job order that has closed a week prior, there is a good chance I will not be working with Joe again. The important thing is that we openly discuss all of the above on the phone, in advance and in a friendly, professional manner.

And if the preliminary conversation above still leaves you unsure, you might even suggest a two week test period. For example, I’ll tell Joe that we’ll work together for 2 weeks, at the end of which we’ll mutually decide whether our relationship is or is not working. If needed, we lay out the plan for altering expectations or work patterns. And in the end, if either of us is non responsive or not holding up our agreed upon method of working, we agree to move on to different partners. I stress here once again that it is critical that he and I are on the same page with the same expectations.

If you aren’t having this level of frank discussion up front with your potential split partners, you’re potentially setting yourself up to waste a colossal amount of time.

Now, to wrap up the conversation with Joe; I always, and I mean always put a split fee agreement in place with Joe that puts in writing that I won’t go around him after his clients and he’ll never contact my candidates without my permission. Furthermore, our agreement puts in writing the fee agreement, guarantee and payment details we discussed regarding the client for which I’ll be recruiting. I do not want there to be any discrepancy about any of those details once a placement has been made.

Free Resources

A full list of questions to help you screen potential split placement partners as well as a split placement agreement (and other common forms and templates) are available for free download on HireAbility’s recruiting network. Furthermore, if you register for a free account to the network to download these forms, I welcome your questions and input on this topic and others in the Interest Groups (chat rooms). As always, registration to the network is free but your opinions are invaluable!

[Jim - medXcentral]

Great article. Very well done. Splits leave many "ifs" within the relationship. However, there is no denying, in my opinion, that half a loaf is better than none. Applying the good business practices listed above will address many issues and define the relationship...right up front.

Jim - medXcentral
www.medXcentral.com