Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by 01. Lonnie McRorey on February 10, 2009 at 1:58pm

Hi Allison,

Typically an organization sticks to its guns regarding contingency agreements however my take on the matter would be depending if the client is considered a valued source of steady revenue. I would refill if client offers me couple of openings on a 30 day exclusive. The key would be a gesture of good faith and nurturing current client relationship. In these interesting times we all have to make sacrifices even if its refilling a role to keep client coming back.

Hope this helps

Lonnie McRorey
www.ti-22.com

Permalink Reply by Allison Sherwood on February 10, 2009 at 2:03pm

Thanks Lonnie,

I agree that unique times call for unique solutions but am torn over this one. This was an exclusive agreement and the original fee was 15K. Because of the unique circumstances, I offered to refill for 4K and also credit 2k of that toward a future search. Client thinks that we're not offering enough and the potential for future business is limited. I hate the idea of not reaching a mutual agreement but don't relish the idea of working for free either! Is a "win-win" in this case even possible?

01. Lonnie Ti-22.com said:

Hi Allison,

Typically an organization sticks to its guns regarding contingency agreements however my take on the matter would be depending if the client is considered a valued source of steady revenue. I would refill if client offers me couple of openings on a 30 day exclusive. The key would be a gesture of good faith and nurturing current client relationship. In these interesting times we all have to make sacrifices even if its refilling a role to keep client coming back.

Hope this helps

Lonnie McRorey
www.ti-22.com

Permalink Reply by Matthew Kazmierczak on February 10, 2009 at 2:54pm

Allison,

I agree with Lonnie. If it is a client where you don't expect any more business from then it may not be worth it. If there is potential there it will buy you a lot of good will to replace the candidate. This is a situation where my product would come in handy. We have an insurance product that insures placements for 12 months in this case the policy would reimburse your client the full fee and then they could use the fee to pay you again for replacing the candidate. I know it can't help you now but it might give you some negotiating ability by offering to replace the candidate for a fee while offering the 12 month guarantee on future candidates. Feel free to e-mail me directly at mattk@recruitingassurance.com if you are interested in discussing this further.

Matt

Permalink Reply by Gino Conti on February 10, 2009 at 3:03pm

Allison,

I'm currently in the seat of the customer and I think this is a tragedy! Obviously the candidate is leaving the position due to an unforeseen circumstance. I personally think you are doing the right thing by offering a discount, but are being put into a tough spot by your customer. After all, you are well over your guarantee period and the candidate is not leaving for a reason that can be considered a lack of thorough vetting on your part.

I would remind the customer that you are trying to do what is right for them, but considering how scarce work may be, can't afford to backfill a position you are over the guarantee for without some sort of income. You really don't want to play hardball too much since the customer is apparently disgruntled about paying another fee, but remind them that you can find the right talent, and that this departure is related to an illness, not a performance or fit issue. You will be saving them a lot of money by reducing the fee, and if you don't fill it, somebody else will charge a full fee so they may as well go with you.

It is definitely a tough negotiation, but I think you're doing the right thing here. I would stick to my guns without being too pushy and really try to convince your customer you have their best interest in mind.

Gino

Allison Sherwood said:

Thanks Lonnie,

I agree that unique times call for unique solutions but am torn over this one. This was an exclusive agreement and the original fee was 15K. Because of the unique circumstances, I offered to refill for 4K and also credit 2k of that toward a future search. Client thinks that we're not offering enough and the potential for future business is limited. I hate the idea of not reaching a mutual agreement but don't relish the idea of working for free either! Is a "win-win" in this case even possible?

01. Lonnie Ti-22.com said:

Hi Allison,

Typically an organization sticks to its guns regarding contingency agreements however my take on the matter would be depending if the client is considered a valued source of steady revenue. I would refill if client offers me couple of openings on a 30 day exclusive. The key would be a gesture of good faith and nurturing current client relationship. In these interesting times we all have to make sacrifices even if its refilling a role to keep client coming back.

Hope this helps

Lonnie McRorey
www.ti-22.com

Permalink Reply by Dean Lockett on February 10, 2009 at 5:48pm

I wonder if there is insurance to protect us if the client goes out of business and can't pay us our fees? No, I'm not interested in buying any swampland thank you.

Permalink Reply by Allison Sherwood on February 10, 2009 at 5:59pm

I appreciate those of you who responded to my discussion and it did help bring some clarity to my guarantee issue. Thank being said, I agree that this is not the proper forum for spamming irrelevant products/services but I sort of feel spammed myself in the reactions toward Matt's response. Our time is better spent on productive/profitable activities!

Permalink Reply by Allison Sherwood on February 10, 2009 at 6:46pm

A parting update before I close this discussion. My client company is a design manufacturer of I-beams in the commercial construction industry. I asked them what they would do if one of their customer’s buildings was leveled due to natural disaster and asked them to replace all of their product for less than 10% of the original cost. He said that there would be “no way” because of the value of their product but felt that we weren’t comparing “apples to apples” when I asked how our “product” was different. In the end, they agreed that we delivered an exceptional candidate but still didn’t want to pay any kind of additional fee—also didn’t see any value in a credit because there was no guarantee that they would ever use it. I guess that I had my answer there and stuck to my guns. They’re going to try recruiting on their own and keep us posted. Still a bit disappointed that we didn’t reach a better conclusion but I don’t think that I’m dealing with a client who places a high value on our service. C’est la vie!

Permalink Reply by Matthew Kazmierczak on February 10, 2009 at 7:23pm

I am sorry if anyone thought I was spamming. I felt it was very relevant to Allison’s situation, in fact it is exactly the situation for why the product was created. It is not as if I responded, "I agree with Lonnie by the way if anyone is interested in life insurance I can get you a great rate". I thought I could help even if I would benefit from my suggestion. Isn't that what we all do for a living help others by believing in what we have to offer?

Dean that is actually a great idea and I am going to look into it. My last post on this just thought I needed to defend myself and I apologize to those who were annoyed.

Allison Sherwood said:

I appreciate those of you who responded to my discussion and it did help bring some clarity to my guarantee issue. Thank being said, I agree that this is not the proper forum for spamming irrelevant products/services but I sort of feel spammed myself in the reactions toward Matt's response. Our time is better spent on productive/profitable activities!