When an independent recruiter makes the decision to join a split placement organization, or is considering adding splits to their business model, they usually will go through a fantastic plan to make the most of their membership, or make the most money on deals they are going to do with other firms. Over time, as the desk and email fill up, this plan gets buried, and then one day the firm gets frustrated with their lack of return on investment to a network, or of time to building up those partnerships. Here are five quick reminders to get back to the top of your head for making split placements.
- Do those entries; Make the matches. Simply and easily put, no one knows your positions or candidates unless you share them! In a network, log into your profile and see how many jobs or candidates you have listed. If the answer is slim to none, your partners, especially new ones to the organization, have no idea what you do or specialize in! Take the next thirty minutes to add in your job you need help on, or even 5-10 candidates in your primary specialty.
- Do that follow-up; and, do it quickly. Fast, responsive communication is the key to making those placements. If you are seeing your partners email you candidates or ask for assistance on a role and you are telling yourself you will wait to respond at the end of the week when you have more time… the candidate could be gone! More than that, your partner will grow impatient waiting for feedback and move on to a more responsive partner. In 2017, our phones and email are attached to us at all times, so taking the 15 seconds to review a resume and send back a “yes/no” is increasingly important to build relationships.
- Do you expect half a fee but don’t want to do half the work?? Remember when agreeing to a network placement fee percentage on a successful placement or with a partner that the percentage does not only equal the money you will receive, but the effort you should be putting in. On a 50/50 deal, make sure you are pulling equal weight as your partner in terms of either sourcing the appropriate candidate or building up information from the hiring manager. If you prefer to do less work and more business development, maybe giving your partner a larger percentage would keep their happiness when they believe you to be slacking.
- Read placement reports to see who is making the deals! This is relevant to those in an organization, but do you know where to look to see the placements reported for the year? These should be available readily and able to be used as a tool to use as a directory of who is making money, aka, who you want to be connected with. As a generalist firm, also asking for information on the most placed industries and job titles could steer you towards the money if you are feeling your talents are too broad or the amount of search results received too wide.
- Business just does not come to us, we have to make it work, make it happen! Stay visible. This is true for any avenue that is available to you whether it be online posting, picking up the phone, logging onto trading group calls, and most importantly, adding meetings. Check the events calendar in your network to see what ways you could be making yourself visible, and work on learning some new partners, or getting more active in your current trading groups.
If you read through these reminders with a groan because you are doing all you can, fantastic! More likely than not, these have caused you to not necessarily learn any new information, but remind you to get back to the goals you had in regards to placements for the year. The year is quickly approaching the half way point, so it is a great time to check in and revamp!
Want to Recruit Globally? All you have to do is ask!
