QUESTION: We have a client we’ve worked with for many years. We’ve done many one or two placements a year on average, only because they don’t do a great deal of hiring.
Before COVID, we worked closely with a candidate whom we knew well and who helped us through six rounds of interviews. We also lost out to an internal at the last moment. However, the company kept stressing how much they liked him and actually prepped an offer, but they never presented it. Last week, four years later, the person who got the job offer left, and they reached out directly to our candidate.
Our candidate said very nicely that after all the work our firm has put in, he feels very uncomfortable going directly. Their HR Director assured him he has no exposure because after one year the candidate is theirs. Coincidentally, I spoke with the HR Director last week about a separate position they asked us to work on.
Their contract, which we signed, does give us a one-year exclusive on any candidate, and I know we have no legal ground to stand on, but is there an approach that can be taken to salvage something from all the work? First, the candidate asked us to help prepare him like we did the first time, even though we could not represent him. If we choose to help him, which I’m inclined to do, it’s all more work with no reward. Any suggestions?
Fostering a Spirit of Abundance
That’s a tough one. That is a long period of time. It’s a long period of time. But what I like is that the candidate said it. I’d go back and simply state to the HR person, “You don’t owe me anything, but is that fair? Legally, you don’t owe me a dime, but is that fair?” And I would reiterate, especially since it sounds like it was the same HR Director, all the work that went through. I wouldn’t expect a full fee here, but anything you can get would be something you’re not entitled to.
Maintaining Professionalism and Client Relations
Come from a spirit of abundance and help the heck out of the candidate. When, energetically, we go into a contraction mode of, well, you know what, if I’m not getting paid, I’m not going to help you, that has ripple effects on our current business. I have always found that with the question, “What’s really fair here? What’s really fair?”, with most people, you will get an answer better than you expected.
Learning From Previous Client Experiences
I remember there was a client situation I had. We had an exclusive on several positions, salespeople, pre-sales engineers, and we had a bunch of them in a number of different cities. I remember one of them. I called the candidate and presented the opportunity. Since we had the exclusive, I was even on retainer for it with a deposit-based search, meaning I wouldn’t get paid on the back end if we didn’t fill it. I talked with a candidate.
Managing Candidate Expectations
I remember him telling me, “Oh, is Joe Schmo still the area director over there?” I’m like, “As a matter of fact, he is.” He goes, “Oh, I’m not going anywhere. Tell him I said hi.” We talked about the opportunity. He never sent me his resume. I never forwarded his resume. Four or five months later, I learned he was on payroll from that guy. I called up the Director of HR. I did not expect much. Her name was Susan. I’ll never forget.
Taking Action When a Candidate Goes Around You
I said, “Susan,” basically I told her the same thing I just said here, and I go, “I’m just really frustrated with these candidates.”
She goes, “You are telling me you had this conversation with him; he said tell him I said hi, and he never sent over a resume?”
I said, “Yeah. I never submitted him. I’m not even asking for anything, but I’m just going on our relationship that this was a dirtball move by that candidate. Your hiring manager is innocent, too, because he had no idea.”
She goes, “You know what, Mike, invoice me the balance from the retainer.”
I’m like, “The whole thing?”
She’s like, “Yeah, you reached out, you got a hold of him. He thought it probably made it easier for him to get the job by backdooring you and keeping you out of the process.”
Then she invoice me for the balance. Blown away, blown away. I cannot tell you how many things when occurred outside of the bounds of the contract where I used the line, “What do you think is fair?” Before making a proposal, I usually get better than I want.
Handling 90-Day Replacement Guarantees
On the flip side, when a client comes back to us, and let’s say you have a 90-day replacement guarantee and the person left in four, five, or six months, you technically do not owe them anything. If it is a one-off contingency, I will probably not do much for them. But if it is a client you have made multiple placements with, and the person leaves in four or five months, and you go, look, that’s the agreement, and you do not do anything, it just does not feel right to me.
Managing Client Expectations for Future Placements
I usually go, “Mr. or Ms. Employer, we both know technically I do not owe you anything, but geez, I know it is hard. Number one, is there anything you think I contributed to that I could have, in hindsight, done better as part of the search process that would have prevented this person from leaving in four to four and a half months?”
“No, Mike. We both loved him. We loved this guy. I hate to lose him.”
Or, on the flip side, they had to fire him.
“Is there something that I could have seen, that you did not see, about his or her ability to execute that I can learn from going forward?”
“No. This one, I think, fooled us both.”
That is generally what you are going to hear.
Offering Discounts for Retained Search Services
I go, “Okay. It is outside of the bounds of the agreement. I am going to have to do a whole new search to start. I cannot leverage the resources because it will be a different candidate pool. Mr. Employer or Ms. Employer, what do you think is fair?”
I have had anywhere from 10% to 50% off, rarely 50% off. Usually, the sweet spot was like, can you give us a 25% discount? So, if you’re charging $20,000, you are giving them a $5,000 discount.
Creating Clear Agreements for Future Work
I said, “Okay, what I will do – because I don’t want to have coupon hanging out there – Mr. or Ms. Employer is I am going to work on this like a retained search. I am going to use that 25% discount as the retainer, that $5,000, I am going to use that as the retainer, and if you cancel the position or fill it through alternate means, I have done the work, but I am going to put in effort to fill this.”
I do not want to go out there and work on it, have them cancel it or fill it through alternate means, and then go, “Oh, you owe us again.”
No. I want to get a clear one-time discount. That served me very well.
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