The Truth About Retained Recruitment That the Big Firms Don't Want You To Know.
Retained Recruitment has often been looked upon as the preserve of large, international recruitment firms.
Many a recruiter has dreamed of making the transition from the fickle, unreliable Contingency Recruitment model, to the dependable, robust Retained Recruitment model.
But it’s just a pipe dream, right?
No more realistic an ambition than the search for the Holy Grail.
That’s LIE NUMBER ONE.
It is ABSOLUTELY possible to make the transition from Contingency to Retained recruitment, even if you’re a small firm, or a sole trader.
And it doesn’t have to cost a fortune or require shifting into a new sector.
I know because I’ve led my firm on this very journey.
And there’s absolutely no reason why you can’t travel along the same path!
The large recruitment firms would like you to believe that only they have the skills and expertise to handle retained assignments.
But as you’re about to discover, the truth is very different.
But the other truth about Retained Recruitment is even bigger and even more important…
The industry has for a very long time been split between firms that work on Contingency and firms that work on Retained.
Yes, there are some that dabble in both, but most firms are firmly in one camp or the other.
LIE NUMBER TWO is that this division will continue indefinitely.
The unsavoury truth, that few are willing to admit, is that Contingency Recruitment isn't going to last.
History is full of examples of once-popular technologies that now look embarrassingly quaint.
• A-Z Road Maps
• Movie Rental Stores
• Fax Machines
• Discmans & MP3 players
At some point, these things were commonplace, even seen as “cutting edge.”
But progress has no conscience.
Times change. Technologies change. Business practices change.
And if you don’t change with it…
How long before you’re the next Kodak?
Or Blackberry?
Or Blockbuster?
Here’s the question that recruiters are too afraid to ask…
How long before CONTINGENCY RECRUITMENT is the next to make the obituaries?
And when this inevitable death takes place…
What happens to your recruitment firm? What happens to your career as a recruiter?
Contingency Recruitment WILL Die - It’s Inevitable
Are you still burying your head in the sand?
Are you still convinced that, as long as you complete contingency assignments just a little bit better than everyone else, you’ll be fine?
Wake up!
Contingency Recruitment, as a business model is doomed. Deep down you know this is true.
History has shown us, time and time again, that when a business model is flawed, it’s eventually replaced by something better.
And there are few business models more flawed than Contingency Recruitment.
Do EMPLOYERS really benefit from half a dozen recruiters racing each other to fill a position, in a contest that prizes speed over accuracy?
Do CANDIDATES really benefit when they’re rushed into a new role only to discover that they’re not a good fit?
Do RECRUITERS really experience job satisfaction when they don’t have time to complete a thorough candidate search and selection process?
Do RECRUITMENT BUSINESS OWNERS really enjoy watching their recruitment consultants working harder and longer for ever decreasing fees, fully aware that much of the effort will not result in any payment?
Contingency Recruitment is a BROKEN business model.
And broken business models ALWAYS die.
It’s not a matter of IF, it’s a matter of WHEN.
The Early Bird…Keeps His Job
Here’s a tip that you probably already know…
When a business model dies, the survivors are those that made adjustments BEFORE its demise.
Not AFTER the crash.
And not right at the last minute when the writing is on the wall and even the most blinkered executive has to accept reality.
The survivors are the ones that act early and act decisively.
And the good news is that there’s still time to act.
A few years ago, my recruitment firm decided to reject the broken Contingency Recruitment philosophy that the industry had been peddling for years…
And replace it with something more effective.
When I told my recruitment consultants that the firm was going to move from 100% contingency-based recruitment to 100% retained recruitment, in just 12 months, some of them thought it was a joke.
Or maybe just wishful thinking.
Was such a quantum shift REALLY possible in such a short period of time?
The answer, as it turned out, was…YES!
Not only did this modest recruitment firm, with just a handful of consultants, move to a 100% retained business model.
In the process we…
- Tripled our fees
- Improved our candidate retention rate to almost 100%.
In fact, by the end of the process, every consultant in our firm had personally increased their fees.
The culmination of their efforts was realised when our firm won an award for “Best Executive Search Firm” against significantly larger and more illustrious competition.
What was the process that enabled us to make this paradigm shift?
It’s simpler than you think.
In fact, it took just six steps.
And I want to share with you exactly what these 6 steps are, because everything we did can be easily replicated by your recruitment firm.
But I can't condense everything in one article.
All you have to do it book a free consultation and I'll share with you this exact method and more.
The consultation is absolutely free and there's no obligation whatsoever. At the end of the call, you'll leave with a personalised plan for growing your recruitment business.