Agency recruiters (at least, most of the recruiters I know) are a notoriously competitive bunch. They like to be first, they like to win, and they like to tell stories about it. They do not, as a general rule, appreciate losing placements to a competitor agency. So you might be surprised to hear that some former recruiting rivals have figured out it can be more lucrative to work together than separately.

In our network of independent recruitment agencies, we do not offer ‘exclusivity’ based on territory or occupational niche (one of the things that makes a network different from a franchise). Recruiters who join NPA are often looking for trading partners who work in similar markets. Sometimes agency recruiters will find out that their arch rival is an NPA member, and they may hesitate to join NPA because of that.

One of my favorite NPA stories involves two such recruiting rivals. I’ll call them Bob and Steve. Steve was a longtime, successful NPA member. Bob worked for a firm that was considering NPA membership. Bob and Steve worked the same niche, with a lot of the same clients. Over the years, Bob lost a fair number of deals to Steve, so he wasn’t too thrilled about “joining sides” with his rival. But you know what? Bob learned that even though they had a lot of the same clients, they didn’t have ALL the same clients. More importantly, they weren’t always working on the same jobs from the same clients. Their candidate databases weren’t identical, either. And that meant that Bob actually got to work on MORE placements than he did when he and Steve were competing with each other. Bob and Steve have a great trading relationship in NPA, with each of them ultimately making more money by working together (and sharing fees) than they did when they didn’t pool their resources. Not only that, they’ve become great friends as well.

The point of this story is that split placements can help agency recruiters serve their clients more efficiently, even when it may seem both recruiters are ‘competing’ for the same business. Working cooperatively allows agency recruiters to have more deals in the pipeline and can speed up the hiring process. As the old cliche goes, “When you can’t beat ’em … join ’em!”

What’s stopping you from working with your competitors?

It’s the start of a new year and if you’re like most people, you’ve at least THOUGHT about making a resolution or two. If you’re looking for some ideas on how to improve your recruiting performance, here are 5 resolutions for independent recruiters:

1. Use the phone more. Resolve to spend more time on the phone TALKING to your clients and candidates this year. You’ll be rewarded with deeper, richer connections than you can possibly achieve via email. As the electronic landscape continues to change, real human interaction becomes more and more valuable. With the increase in email, texting, and automated delivery of messages, independent recruiters who rely primarily on the phone may find out they ‘stand out’ from their competitors.
2. Grow your network. Independent recruiters, especially sole proprietors, often find themselves working in a vacuum. It can be lonely, and it can also be difficult when you don’t have a peer group where you can share questions, concerns, and best practices. Cultivate a peer network that you can lean on for advice, benchmarking, or other best practices. Joining a formal network is one way to do that, but there are plenty of other options!
3. Invest in professional development. Everyone, including independent recruiters, needs to sharpen their skills. NPA members can attend our global conference for peer networking and industry training. There are other conferences, professional associations, and a variety of online learning resources. Whether you’re learning about social media, new recruitment technology, or getting ‘back to the basics,’ make sure you devote some time to professional development this year.
4. Mobilize your website. Even if you don’t expect to attract candidates via your website, understand that mobile browsing is expected to surpass desktop browsing THIS YEAR. Visitors who come to your site via a mobile device will run away quickly if they have a poor experience.
5. Consider adding split placements to your business mix. Split placements can help independent recruiters level out revenue fluctuations, offer economical business expansion, and serve clients faster and more effectively. Investing in split placement relationships now will serve you well when business conditions change.

What resolutions have you made this year?