Recruiting is a difficult business.  As a contingent recruiter you have to do the work, take the risk, and invest the hours long before you get the reward.  And in today’s world there are 50 competitors looking to take that reward out from under you at a moment’s notice.

This causes some recruiters to become insulated from the industry.  They circle the wagons and try to fend off the enemy; they do not let others into their circle of trust.  

What is enlightening to me is to consider that many recruiters are heading in the exact other direction for the same reasons.  They are reaching out and growing their peer network.  It is counter-intuitive for most of us but let me tell you why it works.  Most recruiters are good people.  Yeah, I read blogs. Do not get fooled by those with an axe to grind.  RECRUITERS ARE GOOD PEOPLE! 

Members of our network share candidates and jobs with each other.  They are working splits all the time.  I know there are recruiters that just hate splits…”Why share a fee when I can get it all for myself?” The reason, speed!  What you can fill in 30 days by yourself can get filled in less time with the support of a peer group.  If you are working jobs exclusively you may have the luxury of time.  If the job is being worked by in-house recruiters and competitors, speed is what you need to win.  These recruiters I know believe that half a fee is better than no fee at all.  

The best example of this comes from one of our long-term members.  Many years ago, they were still working all the angles.  They had jobs to share but only after they exhausted every internal option.  “Why share when I can get 100% for myself?”  They learned a difficult lesson.  

While they were working it on the “my candidates first method”, another firm was working it on the “best candidates gets put forward first” method.  They put forward all their best candidates and held other in reserve even though some of those provided were a superior match for the opening.  While one held back the other put forward the best regardless of the source.  As time rolled by and our long-term member found that his candidates were not getting the offer, he started putting forward other candidates.  “Now I am ready to split.”  Candidates that had been provided weeks earlier by split fee partners in the process were not getting presented to the client.  The client hired one of the candidates he put forward but not because of his efforts.  They had already met and interviewed the candidate just days earlier through a competitive recruiter.  That recruiter got 100% of the fee.  So greed and process of “split as a last resort” got in the way of a great payday and a satisfied client.  Not only did they lose the job, they also lost the client.    

I hear this story and see the heartache repeated more often as speed becomes a defining characteristic of recruitment success.  Reach out to those that can help you improve your speed of delivery and success.  Splitting fees is a great way to get more done, more quickly and in a teamwork environment.  It might not be for everyone, but there are times when it is the right thing for your clients and even more so for your candidates. 

Our network has been around since 1956 and is built on a spirit of trust and cooperation.  But I think the types of people that belong to the NPAworldwide Recruitment Network are everywhere in this business.  Reach out a find a few!!!