Over the 20+ years our Managing Director, Rupert, has been working in recruitment, much has changed. The recruitment industry has grown significantly and become more commonplace, meaning more recruitment agencies to choose from. These range from generalists to specialists, and from sole operators to plc’s. This begs the question, how should a client select a recruitment agency?
This is particularly important in a candidate short market, where it is tougher to hire than ever. In Rupert’s view, the old model of getting multiple recruiters to work together on the same role on a no-win, no-fee basis and trying to negotiate as low a rate as possible is broken – it promotes poor service and a lack of commitment. Instead, we pivoted away from this type of offering before the pandemic began.
So… what are we doing now?
We recognise that a recruitment agency has become the only professional service where you could put in hours of work for a client, without any guarantee of being paid. Imagine, for example, having an accountant prepare your tax return and then saying that you wouldn’t pay because you had asked four other accountants to do the same thing and one had completed it faster?!
In a candidate short market, we have recognised that clients need specialist help, not generalist. Specialists can tap into deep talent pools nurtured over years, and to get high quality consultants to prioritise their work and commit time to it. As such, we need to know that if we deliver we will be paid. We have therefore moved to more of a partnership arrangement with our clients – if they commit to us, we will commit to them.
As an example, if we work as one of five recruitment agencies on an assignment, we only have a 1 in 5 chance of getting paid, whereas if we work exclusively on a brief our fill rate goes up from 20% to 100%. This also benefits clients significantly in terms of efficiency – they can cut out the hassle of briefing, receiving CVs and communicating with all the recruiters that will not actually deliver.
After speaking to a variety of clients and partners across the recruitment industry for their advice, we’ve put together three distinct packages that should suit any potential client looking to ramp up their recruitment.
Our Products
MC Source:
- Our basic service, also referred to as Contingent business. There is no upfront commitment by the client. At this level, we allocate resources that aren’t already committed to Exceed/Partner clients. We provide a general recruitment service, and may be one of several recruitment solutions our client is using. We won’t offer this service if all of our resources are allocated to higher level services.
MC Partner:
- Also known as Exclusive business. The clients pays a small portion of the fee upfront, before we start work on a role. This demonstrates the client’s commitment to using us as their sole recruitment partner. We commit to boosted priority, an enhanced service and a high chance of success.
MC Exceed:
- Also referred to as Retained business by some recruitment consultancies. The client pays a significant part of the fee upfront, in return for our highest priority. Client’s at this level have access to our full suite of services and guaranteed success.
Our consultants will be able to answer any questions and help advise on which service might suit your needs best. As a market-leading recruitment agency, we’ll try to help you as best we can.
You can see all the details of our different levels of service here, see which one matches your commitment to working with us to fill the role(s). We look forward to working with you!
