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6 Questions to Ask a Split Placement Network Before You Join

by Veronica Blatt

questions to ask a split placement networkJoining a split placement network can be a smart way to grow your recruitment business without increasing overhead. If you’re considering joining one, here are six critical questions to ask:

Who owns the network? A split placement network can be privately-owned or publicly-owned, or in NPA’s case, a member-owned cooperative. There is no right/wrong, better/worse ownership model, but you should understand it before you join.

What is the average return on investment for members? Ideally, you want to join a split placement network that offers a high value for your investment. The most common way to measure ROI is to consider the average split fee revenue earned by each member, compared to the costs of membership. You can also measure VALUE, whether in terms of cost (or time) savings through member discount programs, or access to a network of peers who share business acumen.

What does it cost to belong? Some common models include dues-only, brokerage-only, or a combination of dues and brokerage. Informal networks, such as LinkedIn groups, are often free. Some networks also sell software or other business tools. Be sure to find out if you’ll be required to use any particular tool and if so, if there is an additional cost for that tool.

How do I work on positions / share candidates? A split placement network can have almost any arrangement for how its members ‘work the network.’ Some offer exclusivity on a particular role or candidate. Others follow a ‘first in, first out’ rule. Some allow recruiters to ‘bid’ for work and may control the number of roles you can work at any one time, or control the length of time during which a candidate referral will be honored. Recruiters may be required to use the network’s software tool, or they may be able to work directly with other recruiters. Pick a system that feels comfortable for you.

How are disputes handled? Even in the best of circumstances, there are bound to be disagreements or disputes from time to time. You’ll want to spend time exploring how these are handled. Does the split placement network provide formal dispute resolution? Are there time-tested rules and policies? What happens to network members who continually break the rules?

Is there any protection in the event of non-payment by a partner? If you’ve ever been burned on a split placement, this question is probably on the top of your list. What does the split placement network you’re considering do in the event one partner fails to pay another? This is an especially important question if you’re the partner with the candidate, since you’ll have to trust your partner to pay you on time. Will the network help you collect the monies you are owed? Does the network offer indemnification?

If you’re looking for even more research assistance, click the button below to download our free split placement network checklist:

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A little competition goes a long way… or, why the best candidates aren’t getting seen anymore

by Veronica Blatt

image of woman representing in-house recruitingToday’s guest blogger is James Seidel with James Seidel & Associates located in Kelowna, BC, Canada. JSA is an owner-operated firm with clients across western Canada. The firm primarily places candidates in I/T, engineering, and sales. James is a former I/T Trading Group Chair and is currently serving on NPA’s Board of Directors .

There we have it. A shiny new job description is drawn up by the department head and handed to the HR manager. This one is pretty straightforward, lots of keywords and technical jargon to make the internet searching a breeze. It is confidently handed to the in-house recruiting staff (all experts on the latest social media search tools), complete with a guarantee of three or four candidates within a couple of weeks. After all, with four recruiters and a manager, we’ve got our own in-house search firm – with no fees to pay any more!! Gosh, this has become easy and cheap… Read the rest of this entry »

10 Low-Cost Marketing Tools

by Veronica Blatt

Mel-Kettle-PhotoMel Kettle is a communications and social media consultant, speaker, blogger, educator, coach, bookworm, obsessive foodie and eatie, and a budding photographer. She blogs on marketing and social media at www.melkettle.com.au. Mel is passionate about working with organisations to show them how to communicate effectively so they can develop communities, share their stories and raise awareness. She particularly enjoys working with people who want to make a difference to other people’s lives. In her spare time Mel writes a food blog, The cook’s notebook.

I speak to many people about marketing and there is often the assumption that it is expensive. Well, yes, it can be. But it really doesn’t need to be, particularly if you are a small business or a sole trader.

My top ten low cost marketing tools are: Read the rest of this entry »

What is Important to Job Seekers?

by Sarah Freiburger

See No EvilAs an independent recruiter, your recruiting firm hopes to get those passive purple squirrel candidates to present to the client. While a high salary can start to persuade those candidates that are not currently seeking a new position to consider working with you, most times that is not enough in this highly competitive world to have anyone commit to a move.

This is a good guide as well for job seekers to consider when looking for a new position.

In addition to salary, some other benefits to advertise and negotiate for your position include healthcare plan, vacation time, pay raise, employee benefit, performance bonus, and retirement plan. Read the rest of this entry »

Facebook Can Be an Effective Recruiting Tool

by Veronica Blatt

I hear a lot of recruiters pooh-poohing the use of Facebook as a recruiting tool. You’ve heard it, too: LinkedIn is for business, Facebook is for personal/pleasure. “No one” puts career stuff on their Facebook page, blah blah blah. Frankly, I think Facebook has a lot of potential, and the Graph Search is an especially interesting feature.

According to the infographic below, here are a few more reasons to consider using Facebook as a recruiting tool: Read the rest of this entry »

Worldwide Recruitment Buzzwords of 2013

by Dave Nerz

Do you like buzzwords like I like buzzwords? There is an interesting presentation on the most overused buzzwords of 2013 and the ones that dropped off the list since 2012.

So those are the overall leaders, but what about for the worldwide recruitment industry? What are the buzzwords that global recruiters overuse?

Here is my list of buzzwords overused by recruiters globally:

  1. Outsourced
  2. Insourced
  3. Social Media
  4. Mobile Recruiting
  5. Free Webinar
  6. Post
  7. Search
  8. Tweet
  9. Millennial
  10. Endorsed

Which words would you like to add to my blog? Oops, there’s another one… “Blog.”

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Get Serious About Making Split Placements

by Sarah Freiburger

getseriousaboutsplitplacementsAs an owner of a recruiting firm, you may have often heard the saying that, “half of something is better than all of nothing.” This statement relates to adding revenue to your firm with incorporating split placements in your business model. Having a whole network of recruiters sharing their talents can only bring about a wealth of strong candidates and dedication that is sometimes missing or hard to find in a small independent recruiting firm. The goal with adding split placement revenue is to increase profit without having to increase overheard; you want the network to work for you. Read the rest of this entry »

3 Reasons to Have a Salary Survey Tool

by Veronica Blatt

image of toolbox to represent salary survey toolToday’s guest post is from Megan Wilkes, the social media & marketing manager at JXT. JXT simplifies marketing opportunities for employers and recruiters in the digital world and has created SalarySpy, a smart survey tool that recruiters can quickly and simply embed into their websites, for tracking salaries in their sector or niche. It provides clients and candidates with a monitor of where the market’s sitting on salary by job type. And it gives the recruiter a position of ‘authority’ in their game. Nice. Learn more at http://www.salaryspy.com.au/

We all know what a salary survey is… but what benefit do those [smart] people get out of running them, and how can producing a salary survey help out your company? Read the rest of this entry »

Work Smarter, Not Harder, and Stop to Smell the Roses

by Veronica Blatt

image of rose bush

Today’s guest blogger is Julie Parsons of Premium Consulting in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Julie is a member of the NPA board of directors. Premium Consulting is a boutique independent recruiting firm that provides professional and practical recruitment consulting advice specializing in retained recruitment, partial services, psychometric assessment and appraisals, outplacement and career counseling.

Work-life balance is being able to balance your personal life with your career. No one should sacrifice one over the other. Read the rest of this entry »

LinkedIn Tricks for Job Seekers

by Dave Nerz

image of LinkedIn, a tool used by agency recruitersAs a recruiter you have know-how and tips job seekers crave.  With the landscape of recruiting changing so fast, have you kept up? For example, LinkedIn tricks. Are any of your candidates not using LinkedIn? Most likely about 95 to 100% are on LinkedIn, but far fewer know the things you should know as a recruiter. Here are my favorites to share:

Did you know you can edit your endorsements? It is simple. Just go to Edit Your Profile, scroll down to the Endorsements Section and hit Edit. Start the clean-up. So if you have goofball friends that have voted up your “accounting skills” when you are a sales professional, get busy making the change. I had lots of one-off floaters from someone that knew me 25 years ago. It helps to keep things clean. Tell your candidates to do this before the client looks them up during a due diligence process. Read the rest of this entry »

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