I hope the New Year so far finds your business doing sound with a plethora of additional positions and/or candidates that have you thinking of making more split placements or adding them to your business model. In a split network, firms work position openings cooperatively in order to speed the job fill. Once complete, they share the fee collected. Over time, the network sees many success stories, and some firms really stand out as stellar trading partners that are constantly making deals. One firm that has exported candidates for over 60 roles in the network caught another firm’s eye as they prepared information for a regional meeting, so they asked their top trading partner what it was that caused this firm to split so well? Here is what they were told:
First and foremost, this trading partner is available and focused. Not only is he always answering his phone or getting back quickly, but each position is an assignment that once agreed to, he takes on fully. Smart and equipped, this trading partner will dig deep for answers as well as working hard to find the best candidates. This is more than just searching through a database and forwarding potential fits both old and new, this is really researching candidates to present only quality options to your trading partners, just as if you were working your own independent search for a top client.
The reason the above is true is because the trading partner with the position is giving their trading partners QUALITY work, and not wasting their time with only the near impossible search, or a vague client relationship. Most, if not all of the searches, have direct access to a hiring manager and human resources. Both trading partners are included on calls to both of these, especially in the beginning of the search. This direct access leaves little room for requirements to be lost in translation, and allows the exporter to be fully invested in finding the best candidates.
Another reason this exporter comes so recommended is his ability to think outside the box. He will produce a variety of candidates, something even a little different from the original job order’s description which challenges the hiring manager’s thought process. While this does not always work out, when it does, additional placements usually result. This is able to happen based on the above, but also because these trading partners try to work on as many exclusive jobs as possible. When the job order is exclusive, there is more room to try a couple of options the recruiter may see as more viable than the one top candidate you try to submit to match the order perfectly. If the job order is less exclusive, then the trading partner is aware of that, and can gage their own activity.
Finally, it is important that the trading partners are in contact daily or close to it. The trading partner with the client relationship works to stay on top of the client activity, and regularly communicates it to the exporter. This way they know the exact temperature of each search, and can prioritize accordingly.
If this was an eye opener for you if you are already in a split network, align yourself with these practices to start seeing a better return and gain more trading partners, so that you may be asked eventually, “How do you split so well?”
