This past week I’ve received several questions about reduced fees and lower margins. When I asked the recruiters why clients should pay full fees and higher margins there was dead silence. If you don’t know why you’re worth what you charge – do you expect your clients to figure it out for themselves?
The greatest challenge that will be faced by employers is retention and the ability to attract top talent. This is just as critical as the legal advice they receive from attorneys and the accounting advice they receive from their accountants. Do you think they hire the cheapest lawyer and accountant available? The answer is NO. They hire the individuals with the expertise they need to protect their company.
That same rule should apply to the Staffing and Recruiting Firms they utilize. Attracting and hiring the top talent they need can make the difference between their success or failure.
Reality #1
You have developed a network that attracts the top talent companies cannot find on their own.
Reality #2
You are recruiting for top talent daily and surface that hidden marketplace of candidates who are not reading job boards, website postings or conducting an active search.
Reality #3
You are a workforce/workplace expert who knows the job market better than in-house recruiters. You deal with multiple hiring authorities on a regular basis, have inside information on hundreds of companies and can use this knowledge to benefit your clients.
Reality #4
You can shorten the time it takes to fill a position because you don’t have to start from scratch. Your marketing efforts are focused on your “best business” so you often write very similar job orders, temp assignments or contracts and can multi-use the candidates you surface.
Reality #5
The cost of training is drastically reduced because you will find candidates who have the exact experience, skills and stability needed to hit the ground running.
Reality #6
It is often you who gets everyone in the hiring process on the same page by sending a copy of the job order or assignment to obtain their sign off. It’s amazing how many times the entire order is rewritten.
Reality #7
Utilizing your services is cost effective when you consider ALL the expenses involved with a new hire. Too often our fees or bill rates are compared to the cost of a job posting. Think of all the costs incurred for a new hire:
Job Postings, Sourcing, Website Updates, Reference & Background Testing, Assessment Tools (if utilized) Support costs to contact the hundreds of candidates who respond to postings, interviewing, database mining, marketing materials, salaries and this does not even include overhead costs. You have to ask yourself…what is it costing this company to have this position open?
Reality #8
You can proactively search for hard to find talent. Once you form a strong rapport with clients you can help them identify the hard to find talent by proactively working on their behalf.
Reality #9
You can improve retention, through your strong follow up process.
The next time someone tries to negotiate your fee or bill rate – remember what you’re worth and don’t sell yourself short!
Barbara J. Bruno, CPC, CTS
Good as Gold Training
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