\u00a0<\/p>\n
I can remember when I first got into the recruiting game hearing about special training sessions being run for \u2018experienced perm consultants only\u2019; or perhaps for those consultants considering a move into the Executive Search\u2019 space.<\/p>\n
Every few weeks a group of carefully selected consultants (who had received the exclusive invitation to attend the workshop) would disappear into the boardroom at lunchtime for what appeared to be some kind of \u2018initiation\u2019 or \u2018right of passage\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh Paul, you have to have been recruiting for at least a year<\/em>\u201d, one of the managers said to me once when I asked if I could join a session.<\/p>\n \u201cBesides, you\u2019re just a temp consultant\u201d, <\/em>she continued [I kid you not]. \u201cSo you don\u2019t have to worry about it anyway<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n I glared at her. She started clicking her pen nervously, adjusted her headband and quickly closed the boardroom door eager to run her workshop evidently suitable only for the highest echelons of the recruiting world.<\/p>\n I wondered what went on during \u2018those\u2019 sessions. Was it like some kind of secret society? (Today I guess I might compare it to a clandestine gathering of the Freemasons like in a Dan Brown novel).<\/p>\n Perhaps there were symbols, or rituals?\u00a0Would I ever know?<\/p>\n Of course not. Because I was \u2018just\u2019 a temp consultant.<\/p>\n[Ha! I really wish Lucinda could see how my career has ended up!]\n \u201cWhat was the session actually about?<\/em>\u201d I asked one of my colleagues who had been one of \u2018the chosen few\u2019 when he came back to his desk after that lunchtime training session.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just about how to work with clients on retainer\u201d, <\/em>Ben said. \u201cTo be honest I\u2019m really not sure what all the fuss is about. If you want I can give you the worksheets she handed out. I\u2019m not sure I even like the idea<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n He shared all his notes with me and I couldn\u2019t tell what all the fuss was about either. It all seemed pretty obvious to me. But I did<\/em> like the idea \u2026 yes \u2026 even<\/em> as a temp consultant.<\/p>\n Why has the concept of working on retainer (or even the notion of working exclusively with a client) always been \u2018reserved\u2019 for perm or executive search consultants? Any<\/em> recruiter can work on retainer.<\/p>\n It\u2019s time to bust the myth and expose the ‘secret society’.<\/p>\n I may have been a pure temp consultant\u00a0for the first 5 years of my career. But after reading Ben\u2019s notes from his \u2018elite special forces\u2019 training, I couldn\u2019t see the sense in working like a maniac to fill a temp assignment for a client who had also briefed a handful of other recruiters.<\/p>\n Whenever a client would call me with a tough (read: \u2018nearly impossible\u2019) brief, rather than just being a \u2018yes<\/em>\u2019 person, I would become a \u2018yes \u2026 but only if I can charge a retainer<\/em>\u2019) person.<\/p>\n How?<\/p>\n I would simply quote the client the bill rate and then request an upfront payment equivalent to the first week\u2019s invoice.<\/p>\n I certainly didn\u2019t do this for every role \u2013 just the tough ones where I wanted to make sure I didn\u2019t put in a huge effort for no return.<\/p>\n To be honest those clients hardly every balked. They needed the temp. They knew the brief was tough. And if I found the talent they would have to pay the invoice anyway.<\/p>\n So they just paid a bit of it up front.<\/p>\n Pfft!<\/p>\n So I wasn\u2019t always \u2018just\u2019 a temp consultant. I also spent many years as a perm consultant recruiting for customer service roles \u2013 predominantly in call centers. The average salary of my briefs was around $35,000 at the time.<\/p>\n Not exactly roles worthy of an executive search strategy!<\/p>\n And yet I would often work on many of these\u00a0briefs on retainer.<\/p>\n How?<\/p>\n Simply by running the idea by my client \u2026 which I did if, for example, the location of the role was hard to get to, or perhaps the organisation may not have had the best reputation.<\/p>\n Again why should I bust my gut trying to fill a role that most candidates may not want?<\/p>\n Money up front certainly helped.<\/p>\n When you get into a regular cab, a flagfall is charged before the cab has even pulled away from the sidewalk. You\u2019re then charged the rest of the fare when you reach your destination.<\/p>\n Whenever I book an appointment at my dentist, I am charged $50.00 up front with the remainder charged after the consultation.<\/p>\n I hardly ever charged a retainer based on the 1\/3, 1\/3, 1\/3 concept.\u00a0What I was really after was just some kind of commitment from my client and often an up front engagement fee of around $1,000 – $1,500 would suffice.<\/p>\n If my client was ultimately going to pay me $15,000 for a successful placement, then $1,500 up front with the remainder due when the offer was made seemed very reasonable.<\/p>\n I know of many recruiters who will charge 10% of the estimated total fee up front with the rest due upon placement.<\/p>\n Shock alert: There are clients out there who are happy to pay a non-refundable engagement fee.<\/p>\n What would you say if I told you that there are actually clients out there who prefer<\/em> to work on a retainer?<\/p>\n Why?<\/p>\n Simply because if you have them on a retainer, it means you will probably feel obliged to give them a priority level of service. You\u2019ll dedicate more time to their brief and will keep in touch with them more regularly.<\/p>\n You won\u2019t want to let them down.<\/p>\n But you\u2019ll never know unless you pitch a retainer (or up front engagement fee) as a regular part of your recruitment process.<\/p>\n Too much pressure? For what? To actually fill the job? Isn\u2019t that what we\u2019re here to do anyway?<\/p>\n One of the huge benefits of working with a client on retainer is that you\u2019re pretty much guaranteed that your client will be working with you exclusively<\/em>. While you might feel like there\u2019s more pressure on you to fill the role because the client has already paid you, you can pretty much rest assured that your client will not be briefing any other recruiters.<\/p>\n After all, why would any client agree to pay you<\/em> a retainer (or even just some kind of up front engagement fee) and then still agree to work with another recruiter (even on a contingent basis)?<\/p>\n Think about it. They\u2019ve already paid you a portion of a placement fee. Why then risk potentially still having to pay another full placement fee to somebody else?<\/p>\n How much do we love client exclusivity?<\/p>\n I wanted to share a story of 2 consultants who worked for me many years ago just to reinforce the power of working with clients on a retainer.<\/p>\n Hagan and Ingrid worked side by side on the same \u2018desk\u2019. They simply split their clients up alphabetically. They focused on the same sector; their briefs were for the most part exactly the same in terms of scope and salary level; and I\u2019d hired them both at the same time \u2013 so they\u2019d both had the same amount of recruitment experience.<\/p>\n The only difference was that Hagan operated as a contingent only recruiter while Ingrid worked predominantly on retainer.<\/p>\n These facts should speak for themselves:<\/p>\n Hagan: (contingent only)<\/strong><\/p>\n Apart from going out to see clients, Hagan hardly ever left his desk. He rarely took a lunch break and for him, an \u2018early mark\u2019 meant leaving at 6:00pm on a Friday.<\/p>\n Ingrid: (predominantly retained)<\/strong><\/p>\nMyth #1. Only perm consultants can work on retainer<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Myth #2. Retainers can only be applied to senior roles<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Myth #3. Retainers can only be billed 1\/3, 1\/3, 1\/3<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Myth #4. Clients are scared off by the idea of a retainer<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Myth #5. Retainers put too much pressure on a recruiter<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Case study<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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