This email hit my inbox just before Christmas.
It’s that time of year when Christmas is getting closer and as a token gift from ** Consultants we are offering a massive saving on your recruitment needs for the sales team!
During these tough times we have assisted many companies to overcome the pressure of having vacancies in their sales department which directly effects their profits and team morale by filling their vacancies quickly and efficiently with the highest calibre of sales professionals.
** is offering to do the same for you at a one off price of just:
10% fee up to £20k basic salary
12% fee above £20k basic salary
How many other firms are cutting their fees across the board so publicly as a counter to their lack of business? What does it say to clients in the long term? What are the other options?
It really does look like desperate attempts are sweeping the recuitment industry at the moment. I am finding that the more companies I speak to who are recruiting, feel that they are in a very strong position to negotiate hard with recruitment agencies and those who wont agree to fees as low as 5% they simply won’t deal with.
I have experienced this a few times over the last couple of downturns and always found that by not dealing with companies like this and not lowering fees out of desperation – it will ensure that you come out on top throughout and after a down turn. After all – Recruitment Agencies are providing a valuable service and by lower the fees just cheapens the industry and the consultant.
Rather than cut our fees, we’ve offered our clients an ‘added extra’ in the form of a longer/better refund guarantee. The reason we’ve chosen this route is because we feel that clients are not as much concerned about the amount of the fee as they are about whether the money is well spent and will bring returns, i.e. the person stays in place and does the job or alternatively they can afford to replace them if they do leave because they have a better guarantee – it gives them peace of mind and reduces the risk of recruiting.
I agree that lowering fees is unnecessary – from the client’s perspective it devalues the service being provided, and it would take longer for the recruiters to recover financially from such price drops.
A much better solution is to encourage custom through the addition of ‘extras’ to packages, as Olivia mentioned, and offering new flexible solutions to clients. Rather than devaluing the service, this has the opposite effect of increasing the service’s value for money.