Client Dynamic

It’s that time of the year. While we are yet to enter the penultimate month, the window in which to make placements is slowly closing. My clients like yours prefer candidates that are still gainfully employed and those sought-after folk tend to come with a four-week notice period. Meaning, as of next week any proposed start date will land them at the beginning of December. This gives them a couple of weeks to acclimate before everyone shoots off to the batch. While some clients view this as the perfect time to get the health and safety procedures and evacuation points out of the way, most tend to question the retention of processes over the holiday period. It’s a viewpoint that we can empathize with, how many of us have gone on leave and then struggled to remember log-ins upon return? The start date is up to the client, end of and that’s completely fine. Looking back on the year we’ve had; us recruiters are thankful for every client we have! They are to be cherished and held in high regard. But it got me thinking, has the current market created an unrealistic dynamic for the future?  

Charles Cameron touched on something at the Thrive to 25 Social Drinks last week. He was encouraged by how NZ has managed to hold the line regarding integrity. There wasn’t a predictable race to the bottom which tight markets can often facilitate, and the standard of recruitment has remained at the same high level. The relationship between recruiter and clients is an intriguing one. It’s a little more nuanced than your average ‘seller/buyer’ there’s a lot more expectation given that we are not only providing a service but also a product. It’s not entirely symbiotic either as we cannot operate without them, and they can always attempt to find their own staff. However, most of if not all your client base would’ve walked that path to conclude it’s not an efficient use of their time or resources. There’s no denying it, the ball has been in the client's court for quite some time but as we look to the future there’s a strong possibility we’ll be seeing more of the ball.

If the optimism in the air is to be believed, 2025 should see a welcome return to activity. Frustratingly, there’s been a severe lack of options available for candidates recently. With only a finite number of organizations adding to headcount, the temptation has been to cuddle up close with one or two invoice-paying companies. But with growth comes opportunity, soon enough you’ll be able to present your candidates with a plethora of opportunities. This may serve as a rude awakening to your clients as they’ve gotten used to you being their offsite internal recruiter. The question “Did you represent him/her to them?” comes up. You can choose to lie or front foot it. I’ve always found that honesty is the best policy, it’s not like you have more of a reason to place them elsewhere. Everyone tends to pay the same and besides, it’s up to the candidate. I always remind people, if I could make up candidates' minds for them, I’d be driving a nicer car. Thankfully, my clients understand that the more people the candidate meets, the more informed their decision is. They are from the ‘biz’ though, they get it. Your clients however, may struggle to get their heads around it.

Another thing my lot tends to understand is the nature of internal movement. Every recruiter will have experienced an employee of a client approaching them. If you’re anything like me, you’ll see if anything can be done to rectify their current situation. Partly out of a sense of loyalty but also, it’s in everyone's best interest to cover it off before getting the ball rolling. It doesn’t matter what market you’ve been recruiting in, there would’ve been some significant fat trimming. The ones that are left are going to be in very high demand when the jobs get flowing again. It’s inevitable, if you work with the movers and shakers of your vertical, you’ll be approached about the shade of green on the other side of the fence. It’s a little unrealistic to expect non-recruitment folk to understand this immediately. You’ve not approached them and if they didn’t get a new job through you it would’ve been someone else but, they will feel a type of way about it. I don’t recommend outlining this scenario when you’re taking a job brief but you can always refer to this when it does happen, and it most certainly will.

The relationship between recruiter and client should always be a partnership. While you’re not an employee, you do represent them. With any partnership, it’s built on a foundation of trust. They trust you to operate with integrity and source the best the market has to offer. We trust them to provide the successful candidates with the environment and career we were assured of during our interactions. While there'll hopefully be more activity next year, I’m sure recruiters won’t forget the clients in the trenches with them during the tough times. I always find a wee bottle of something goes down well before down tools for Chrimbo.