Suky looks at a scenario presented to her where a client asks all candidates submitted to them to be submitted to them ONLY. Usually this isn’t a great practice, but she discusses some scenarios where it can work.
Transcription
Hi I’m Suky from Professional Selection. Today I’d like to talk about an interesting conversation I had with a recruiter the other day, who rung me up for my advice on a particular situation that she’s got with her client.
The client had asked her for exclusivity on all candidates she submits for their roles and she wanted to know whether I felt this was a good idea and whether she should do this. Well it’s an interesting one because unless you’re in retained search, why would you do that?
I understand why the client wants you to do it, because they’ve got access to the best talent and they’ve taken them off the market so their competitors can’t get a hold of them for X period of time, so I understand that. But you as the recruiter, why do you do that in a contingent search? First of all, your candidate. You have a duty of care to your candidate. Your candidate wants to secure a new opportunity so unless your candidate is 100% bought in to this
exclusivity you can’t do that. It is not fair on your candidate, you have a duty of care.
The other part of it is what about your other clients? Do you not have a duty of care to your other clients to give them access to the best talent? So that’s something that I would definitely bear in mind if you decide you are going to give this particular client the exclusivity on candidates.
What’s in it for you?
I would definitely make sure that you’ve got a win-win here. That could be the client agrees that within a small timeframe they’re going to interview, second interview, hire, so that could be two weeks could be a month. Again, it depends on the type or level of role. Increase the fee, because remember what you’re doing is you’re taking three or four candidates out of the market and only one of them’s going to get that job so it’s a different way of working and explain that to your client. I would look at the fee at the end of the day.
Do I think this is a good idea or not? The answer is I’m not sure. I think it’s a great idea if everybody is happy, you’re being paid the right money, that candidate only wants to work for that company. Then, yeah, then consider it or do it, but again as I said you have a duty of care to your other clients. You are there to provide them the best talent. By doing this type of deal you are not giving them access to the best on the market.
Anyhow that’s just my opinion, and I’m sure there’s loads of other different opinions out there. As always, would love to hear them. Feel free to comment below and thanks for listening.
