I have been harping on about this for sometime, that if we are going to get through 2009 we really need to step up to the mark and start behaving like real recruitment consultants and be the professional that we can be.
I and certainly many others believe the way forward is to work closer with our clients, so they can see the value we offer. There are of course many ways to become a better recruiter which I have talked about recently. On top of this being innovative or having a USP “Unique Selling Point”, I believe will also give you the edge over the competition.
As a general rule most agencies are the same, it is difficult to stand out from the crowd, when we are all saying “we are different”. Then today via Twitter, I came across Paul Halliwell of The Urquhart Partnership. On another point I am finding Twitter to be an amazing way to connect to people, with like minded interests. Now before I go off in a tangent, which I did, I wanted to bring your attention their way of doing business, which is best described in Paul’s blog post Some Questions to ask a recruiter, where he reiterates what he believes a consultant should be.
Having read through his article I found there were many points in which I agree and I certainly felt the company had an excellent USP, but one point that did catch my eye in regards to fees, is where he says
“compare this against what you are charged by a solicitor, accountant or other professional. The results are generally interesting to say the least.”
Although Paul in this case is comparing recruitment costs to solicitors costs, what I believe he has missed is that being a recruitment consult does have an affinity to the role of a solicitor or an accountant, which is important to bear in mind when doing your job as a recruiter. If you do it will help you focus on giving added value to your clients, especially if say to yourself “What if I was charging my client by the hour?”
There is one area in which I would disagree and that is in regards to his point about recruitment consultants shouldn’t be sales people, because to be a successful solicitor or accountant sales skills are just as important, mind you Solicitors and Accounts wouldn’t admit to that!!
None the less there is no doubt that a client will be able to see why they should use The Urquhart Partnership, so long as they have someone to sell their service 😉
Nicely found!
I think it would shock companies if we billed by the hour – every call, email and consultation etc.
The problem is the perception of our sector is so low that, it would be an upward sell!!
I agree with you disagreeing (??) with the sales bit – how is anyone supposed to get business if they don’t sell? Of course solicitors and accountants sell – the only difference is they do it behind closed doors wearing silly hats and doing silly handshakes 🙂