Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sokol Tushaj on November 26, 2012 at 9:15am

Hi Michael,

I am an independent recruiter based off-shore from UK and have partnered with a few companies in UK to provide Virtual Recruiting Solutions leveraging web-centric sourcing tools with the art of traditional direct recruitment... So far the relationships between me and these companies have been great. The fact that you are based in US does not help but you can email me sokol.tushaj@james-chase.com to give you some tips how to go about it.

Please check my LinkedIn profile for more info uk.linkedin.com/in/sokoltushaj

Regards,
Sokol

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by J. Jeffrey Hallan on November 26, 2012 at 10:49am

In my experience, Michael, you will likely get just what you expected and precisely the value you paid for. 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Sokol Tushaj on November 26, 2012 at 11:21am

Tip: Interview Virtual Recruiters

Tip: Never pay a Virtual Recruiter basic salary, only negotiate % on deal fees.

Tip: If you are a recruitment company you must provide them an infrastructure otherwise they wouldn’t be working  for you.

Trust is the main thing, you have to trust the person will work all the channels and have a formula that they follow. Some account managers are so stuck on their ways of doing things they find it difficult not having the person who is sourcing candidates sitting next to them. Also depends how good your relationship is with the virtual recruiter and infrastructure they/you provide for them to do a good service. The communication channels has to be the priority, both parts has to be flexible and agree on issues and communicate this with clients. I have been doing this for the past two years and all has been a success. Billing a value of £250k on deals for this year only, all this with little expense from the company, they provide the infrastructure "phone, job boards, premium LinkedIn account and their database", I send them a report on each roles every single day + matching CV's.

 

We are Virtual Recruiters because we do a good job, who uses our services has to trust us. That is where the pit fall is “Trust”.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Michael Katz on November 26, 2012 at 2:43pm

Thanks Sokol.

The folks I have been speaking with offer their own access to job / resume boards plus linkedin at a cost of $1300 p/month flat salary, with no placement related comp. So I understand how it makes sense for them to offer this service - they could have multiple users on monster, careerbuilder etc for a fraction of the cost it would take me to sign up as a small business, i'm just wondering if anyone has had success with this model given there is no incentive to make placements?

Thanks

Sokol Tushaj said:

Tip: Interview Virtual Recruiters

Tip: Never pay a Virtual Recruiter basic salary, only negotiate % on deal fees.

Tip: If you are a recruitment company you must provide them an infrastructure otherwise they wouldn’t be working  for you.

Trust is the main thing, you have to trust the person will work all the channels and have a formula that they follow. Some account managers are so stuck on their ways of doing things they find it difficult not having the person who is sourcing candidates sitting next to them. Also depends how good your relationship is with the virtual recruiter and infrastructure they/you provide for them to do a good service. The communication channels has to be the priority, both parts has to be flexible and agree on issues and communicate this with clients. I have been doing this for the past two years and all has been a success. Billing a value of £250k on deals for this year only, all this with little expense from the company, they provide the infrastructure "phone, job boards, premium LinkedIn account and their database", I send them a report on each roles every single day + matching CV's.

 

We are Virtual Recruiters because we do a good job, who uses our services has to trust us. That is where the pit fall is “Trust”.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Sokol Tushaj on November 26, 2012 at 3:11pm

So you have no way of tracking their work apart from sit there and wait for suitable profiles?

Cause for concern:

• Is this recruiter experienced enough in the given industry, for you to trust him/her that they will be getting it right on the first run?
• This dedicated recruiter you are employing, will he be managing your client/candidate relationship?
• Will anyone else screen these resumes before sending them to your client? 

To this day, from my experience, this kind of work is called split fee agreement, asking another recruiter to help while they use their own sourcing tools. I wouldn't pay a off-shore Recruiter a monthly basic salary without knowing their work ethic and their own personal key drivers.

We are driven by incentives! ;-)

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by JP Winker on November 26, 2012 at 4:24pm

Hi Michael - we use offshore recruiters and have found them to be effective, up to a point. Like any other working relationship, you need constant communication and course corrections to ensure they are focused on your needs. If you have trained recruiter in the past, it's a lot like that. 

I also agree with previous comments that having an incentive plan is very helpful. We're in the process of transitioning our staff to such a plan in Q1 of 2012. 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Michael Katz on November 26, 2012 at 4:50pm

Thanks JP - care to share the name of the company you use?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by JP Winker on November 26, 2012 at 5:13pm

Of course - I'm with The A-List - it's our company, so our sourcers are employees. They do both research and call candidates. We provide them with an inexpensive ATS andn access to resume dbases. 

Please understand - my goal in commenting was not to sell you something (although we'd be happy to do so). I feel it's important to understand the dynamic needed to ensure success with this model. 

Daily communication is the key, as there are cultural issues to manage. For example, there is an eagerness to please, creating a tendency to agree or say 'yes' prematurely. It can leave one frustrated when productivity is subpar. If you don't pay attention to this very specific piece, you'll need 2 recruiters to do the work of one. The savings evaporate and your margin never really improves. 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Michael Katz on November 26, 2012 at 5:24pm

OK - thanks a lot - very helpful info.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by David Jansons on November 27, 2012 at 2:28pm

My experiences have been truly hit and miss. Often I would receive emails with up to 12 CV's and I was expected to pick the best! I have now devised my own offering to other agencies who can take advantage of my highly trained team. My clients only pay for results and if, in the unlikely event, we submit a CV that does not match the agreed criterion then our clients are refunded, Full details...http://www.focuspointrecruitment.com/resourcing-services.html

• ▶ Reply

▶ Reply to Discussion