Today’s guest blogger is Patti Steen with The Pelsten Group located in Seattle, WA. The Pelsten Group is a recruitment firm that focuses on all levels of positions within Healthcare and Medical Device organizations. The majority of their clients are in the Seattle area but they actively support NPAworldwide across the US. Patti is currently serving on the NPAworldwide Board of Directors.
I am guessing many of you have come across a sentence in a contract that goes something like this… No direct hire fee shall be owed if the candidate was recorded in Company’s database or previously known to Company prior to presentment by Agency. I saw it again last week and was surprised that companies are still trying to take that stance. The crazy part is they generally do not reach out to me with an open role until they have exhausted all their options or do not have enough resources internally to support the recruit. Before they reach out to me, they probably followed a timeline similar to this:
- The Hiring Manager worked with HR to develop a hiring strategy and is committed to filling the role.
- The recruiter worked on the position for 2-4 weeks (or longer in many cases) without finding any viable candidates. Working on it could be a loose term if they are short on resources and long on requisitions.
- The Hiring Manager is frustrated and puts pressure on the recruiting team and eventually decides to find an outside resource to focus on their opening.
- We get an urgent call for help!
So during the time already invested, the internal recruiter would have ample time and opportunity to reach out for referrals, search their database, tap into their network, etc. Yes, they would have/could have found the candidate sitting in their database…but they didn’t. So the candidate is mine.
This is where one of my favorite rules comes into play…the “but for rule.” But for my effort in sourcing, screening and presenting the perfect candidate the recruiter and manager would not be aware of the candidate. It was my time and effort that generated the interest on both sides…candidate and customer. Period!
I never sign an agreement with that verbiage in it. I take the time to share with them why I do not agree to that restriction and strike those words from the contract before I sign it. Sometimes they won’t remove the verbiage and when that happens it is clear we are not a good fit for each other. I work with customers that value my contribution and see the benefit of having a strong partner as an extension to their recruiting team. So don’t shy away from pushing back when you see these dreaded words…I already have this candidate in my database! Sometimes you have to pass on the companies that don’t align.