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Article: When is right to turn down business? by Melissa Carslake of right4staff Group

With the recruitment sector being increasingly competitive and margins continually being squeezed it can be tempting for an agency to accept new business under any terms. Melissa Carslake, Managing Director (South) of leading recruiter right4staff Group, shares her views on when a recruitment company may consider walking away from a potential new business relationship – or even in extreme cases an existing client.

Would I be happy to work there?

As a recruiter I believe we have a real responsibility to ensure that any company we are working with mirrors our own values. They must have, at the very least, certain standards in areas such as health and safety, legal compliance and a culture that reflects a commitment to the welfare and happiness of their staff. After all we are either assigning temporary candidates (who, in the case of right4staff are actually flexible workers employed by us) or introducing prospective permanent employees to work there and we are responsible for sense checking that the environment they are going to work in is acceptable. This test also helps pre-empt a high number of them leaving the assignments early or permanent candidates declining job offers.

That said I am never quick to judge. Some companies may have a less than positive reputation in the local marketplace, but one which they are trying to change and their decision to work with a professional recruitment company might be part of their plan to achieve that. We will definitely take on this kind of client if I feel that we can work together, that our teams can have a positive effect on this change and, of course, we can successfully place people. At the same time I do believe that a company can easily damage its reputation just by choosing the wrong recruitment partner (one which itself has a poor reputation) – and clients need to be mindful of this.

Are they committed?

It is important to gauge whether a client is really committed to filling their vacancy with candidates introduced by your agency before you commit the time of your staff and present the vacancy opportunity to candidates. Clear signs that they may not be committed include a reticence to share knowledge or provide clear recruitment criteria for the post, a high number of agencies being assigned to support the recruitment process or evidence that they are really planning to hire the staff themselves. Under these circumstances a recruiter is less likely to succeed. I am not saying that we never take a vacancy on under these circumstances, but we do lower our expectation of what the end result could look like!

How many agencies do you need?

Although in this industry it is fairly common for a company to appoint more than one agency partner, in some cases you might find yourself competing (unnecessarily) against a large numbers of agencies for a single placement. This can be confusing for candidates as they may be (unknown to them) presented by a number of agencies they have registered with for the same vacancy. This situation can limit your chances of developing a good relationship with your client as you can’t get close enough to really add value and become a recruitment partner and of course, you can spend a lot of time resourcing for the position only to have no placement, no revenue and worst of all, in some cases, no idea why.

Is there anybody there?

If the client is consistently failing to communicate, respond to emails or phone calls, it is almost impossible to do your job. In order to provide a high level of service for both customers and candidates we need feedback, even if it is negative. If the customer will not talk to you then they are either the wrong person (and we should have worked that out) or they have little or no commitment to working with you as an agency partner.

Is it one rule for one and one rule for another?

The problem I have in mind here is a multi agency situation where you find yourself competing with other agencies that are cutting corners in vital areas in order to win work. This is an untenable position, as tempting as it might be to do the same, that would mean compromising standards. Not an option for us.

Are they sticking to the deal?

It is common practice in many industries to negotiate price based on volume - and recruitment is no exception. Customers often request a pricing proposal based on their projected number of temporary workers. In theory this methodology can be effective, transparent and beneficial to both sides. However the problems arise when the volumes do not materialise but the client still expects the same price. In some cases this decline in volume is unexpected and the client is happy to renegotiate but unfortunately this is not always the case. Agencies in this situation can face losing money or forfeiting candidate care to make the necessary savings to retain the customer and make some profit.

Are you serious?

Agency margins and fees are under increasing pressure from clients, not helped by pricing levels being offered by many agencies that make your eyes water! Simply know your limits and remember that a business deal that generates little or no profit is simply not worth having. And a word of warning to clients – if a pricing proposal looks too good to be true – then almost certainly something is not right in the way in which the agency is planning to fulfill the brief!

Do they have unrealistic expectations?

It is simple - manage your customer’s expectations. If they are being unrealistic then tell them! No one benefits from an agency agreeing to work to a set of unrealistic criteria that ultimately cannot be met. 

Do they treat you with respect and courtesy?

In my view it is never acceptable to treat anyone at anytime rudely and with disrespect –whoever they are. Whilst we all do our best to adopt an attitude of “the customer is always right” there occasionally comes a time when a client has to be told that their behaviour towards staff or candidates is unacceptable. If they either don’t recognise this or continue to behave badly, it’s time to part company from them. 

Conclusion

Luckily the majority of clients that I have come across have been honest and fair and very committed to finding and keeping the right candidates. They understand that working closely with a good recruitment company can have a strong and positive impact on the success of their business moving forward.

However, as with every industry, there are a few exceptions and it is extremely important that recruitment companies give a clear message that we are not prepared to compromise our professional standards in pursuit of profit. We are playing the long game and we will refuse to work with clients where our service and our candidates are not valued.

Melissa Carslake, Managing Director (South) of leading recruiter right4staff Group

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