It’s no secret that the recruiting landscape has changed dramatically with the pandemic — and not in a good way. With fillable jobs in short supply, collaboration between recruiters can help determine which agencies survive and which are forced to shutter. If you’ve been open to splits in the past but have relied on them less frequently in the recent strong market, have shied away from splits altogether or have embraced them in your business, there’s good reason to increase that activity now.
There *are* still pockets of hiring activity. There are organizations with critical needs that cannot delay their most pressing hiring plans. While candidates may be easier to find right now, it can be harder to convince them to travel to interviews. Relocation may not be a viable option for many in the short-term. And just because there are more candidates unemployed right now does not mean your clients are any better equipped to find them or convince them to consider a career change. There is still value in the service a skilled recruiter provides.
There is also more competition. With the pool of recruiters working with a greatly reduced number of job openings, it’s critical that you can get the best candidate in front of your client faster than a competing firm. Collaboration between recruiters allows you to have more balls in the air, puts more resources into finding those great candidates, and increases the likelihood that you’ll be the successful recruiter.
If your specialty is providing candidates (we call these recruiters “exporters” in NPAworldwide), your ability to make money is totally dependent on your partnerships with other recruitment firms. Now is the time to double-down on those relationships and laser-focus on filling the jobs that are available.
One of our members recently told me that the decline in active job openings in their firm means their fill rate has climbed to nearly 100% — and a significant portion of those fills are coming from splits with other recruiters. In an uncertain market like this, half of something is DEFINITELY better than 100% of nothing. Now is the time to consider split placements.