Ok, I've Finally Had It

I've come to the point where I am not sure I can successfully write this blog post without using every four-letter word in the book, but I'll try. I've had it with 3rd party recruiting partners. Flat out had it. I've never made it any secret that I understand why everyone hated me when I was a "headhunter." But the lack of accountability and professional courtesy I have experienced as of late has my head spinning and my mouth spewing profanities. (Sorry office mates.)

Against my better judgment, I decided to give a contract talent firm a try - they seemed to have their stuff together - had some good qualified candidates, etc...But that's where it ended. The candidates were great on paper, but have turned into ghosts before my very eyes. When I say ghosts, I mean, vapor, smoke and mirrors, the epitome of the bait and switch.

Missed deadlines, empty promises, more trouble than it's worth and a complete lack of integrity are what we've gotten for the premium prices we are paying for the contractors. Our own client relationships are suffering because of the incompetence of not only the contractors, but moreover the recruitment firm and the lack of ability to hold their talent accountable.

The flag has been raised - hell, I've sounded an all out CODE RED - and yet, I get nothing. But you can bet your bottom dollar I get an invoice every week like clockwork. Now, we're in a pickle - we're right in the thick of project life-cycles, and our resources are sketchy at best. We're screwed if we pull the resources, but if we keep them, we're playing roulette with our projects - they might get done, but most likely they won't.

And you wonder why the industry has the reputation of being all about fees? Uh, yeah, this is why. I don't care if your firm has been around for 30 years - it's whomever you have in charge of managing the talent, and upholding the firm's integrity that matters. If you don't have that, you're worthless to me. Actually, worse than worthless, you are a liability.

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Comment by Scott Corwin on October 19, 2010 at 1:03pm: Ragan,

My advice to your current situation would be: put one of your in house Project Managers on the engagement to insure its success. You need a babysitter, even if it is just an hour a day to direct the talent. This raises your cost a bit but should give you a better chance for a positive outcome.

Is it possible expectations were set incorrectly in the beginning with the firm you used? I can only imagine they expected to source candidates for you and then payroll them for the length of the project. I am trying to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Firms like TEK Systems, Technisource, CDI, and other big boys rarely if ever manage the day to day activity of consultants. Boutique firms like FTS check in weekly with consultants and candidate alike. If we agreed to manage the project we would have a project manager doing just that. We don't offer deliverables but would never allow you to get into the situation you are currently in. Our process is the key to our client’s success. We do not make it easy or short when qualifying consultants. I don’t want to turn this into a sales pitch. I recommend you check out our website - specifically our process. This might help you create qualifying questions for your next engagement.

It is unbelievable how many companies believe they are recruiting companies. Finding companies that really get it even at a basic level can be as difficult and as frustrating as finding a dentist that knows enough to NOT hurt you.

You will have to use outside agencies again…you just will. Take the time now to qualify and align yourself with a company or two that understands enough to ask the right questions…thus setting the right expectations for all. Please contact me if you would like some help or just want someone else to bounce ideas off.

The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over expecting different results.

Comment by Helen Rosen on October 19, 2010 at 1:14pm: Ragan - I think the whole job search/recruiting world is turned upside down now. Things that worked well, or at least that worked in previous years don't work anymore. You'd think that if there are so many unemployed people out there you'd be able to find a good candidate, or a good recruiter to work with. But that is exactly the problem. Because there is an overbundance of qualified people - it is harder to find the right one. I am trying to change this. I started my company - Direct Approach Solutions - to address the problem of random resume submissions hiring managers have. It is right now for the Accounting/Finance field but I hope to expand to other fields. I hope to make a difference. Someone has to.

Helen

Comment by Eric Buchanan on October 19, 2010 at 2:42pm: Hi Ragan,
Sorry to hear this has been such a hassle. I feel your pain as I have been in similar situations. I am an in-house Recruiter for GSD&M Idea City here in Austin, TX. I have been in recruiting in various forms since 1997 (at contingent and retained firms and in-house). I have worked for a few ad/media agencies out in Los Angeles as well (Saatchi, Initiative, etc.). I totally get it. It's a super competitive business for the "freelancers".
would the talent be an "independent contractor" or "W-2" status employee? It make make it easier to ensure a solid commitment from the temp help if you have them work on-site at your agency. This is not always ideal for all parties but at least you will know where they are and how much they are actually working on your project.
Hopefully this will help.
Good luck and feel free to pick my brain further.
Regards,
Eric
Eric.Buchanan@ideacity.com

Comment by Dave N. on October 20, 2010 at 3:53pm: Hi Ragan,

One of your comments yesterday in particular raised some interesting questions for me. As an established Staffing solutions company in Calgary, we have seen similar migration to project based contract requirements - in fact I would say that the technical landscape between our cities is very similar. Being such a huge O&G market here, when things were booming from 05-08 we suddenly had the competition here increase eightfold. That brought a lot of fly-by-night companies into the market, and of course most are now gone (and then some).

So, based on your experience a couple of things come to mind. You said you met with the agency before engaging them. My questions to you would then would be as follows (general, no answers required):

1. Are they established? Did you ask about their track record in your market, and do they belong to professional recruiting standards groups?

2. Did you inquire about their track record and their client base? Can they provide both client references and consultant references, and do they have clients like yourself?

3. Were the resources independent contractors or were they employees of the Agency? This could contribute to the service (or obviously lack of service) that you received. maybe the resource overbooked themselves and the Agency had no idea (not that ignorance is any defense).

4. Do they provide a warranty? They should provide a replacement warranty if the candidate is not a fit. Also, how is their track record? For example, in 8+ years my company has not had a failed Client/Consultant relationship. This speaks volumes about the company you are considering doing business with.

5. Does the Agency do face to face interviews before putting a candidate forward? This is essential in helping assure the success of a placement. The resource might look great on paper but do they fit into the environment? Often only a face-to-face will provide that information.

6. Does the Agency understand your company's environment? How can they provide the winning resource if they don't comprehend how you do business?

7. Do they conduct reference checks on their consultants? Don't you think a reputable Agency should not only do in-depth reference checks before finalizing the placement, but shouldn't they than also document the results and provide them to you?

These are just a few things that every company should consider before engaging a Staffing Agency, whether for staffing augmentation or managed solutions. They are standard with our company, but many of our competitors do not operate with the same integrity.

Maybe following some of these guidelines will help you be more successful next time around. I hope so.

Comment by Dick Smith on October 25, 2010 at 3:57pm: Dave Normoyle is spot on. IT skill set needed aside, due dilligence in selecting resources is critical and his outline is profound. Sounds to me like you engaged a sketchy temp staffing outfit as opposed to a professional services firm, and did not define clearly the rules of engagement and expectations, and you got burned. There are plenty of reputable temp staffing companies out there such as Ajilon, Disys and others and a ton of pure projects consulting orgs. I don't know you personally, I don't know if you rushed to get this done because/because, and I don't know what kind of pricing scheme you had/have to work with, but like a lot of others are saying, I'd fire the firm you are working with now, share the sad truth versus a happy lie with your client and get competent talent in the door asap.

Comment by Ambrish Kochikar on October 25, 2010 at 4:29pm: Ouch! That does sound like a nightmare. It must be frustrating to have your project's success depend upon a few critical but unprofessional resources.

One of the many things you said about where you draw the line in the sand was unresponsiveness. I think you were absolutely right to be disgruntled about unreturned phone calls. I have zero tolerance for an unreturned phone call before the contract is signed, leave alone after. Having that hard line and sticking to it was not easy because sometimes the candidate is brilliant but is represented by a dud agency. But since the agency was the one whom I would end up dealing with had the deal gone through, I was quite adamant about not going through with a half-interested partner. It seems like that's what you have on your hands.

I agree 100% with the others here who have suggested that you talk with your client about the issue at hand, find a new partner and new talent smart enough to step in where needed, and have that face to face with your current vendor, give them a summary of their disrespectful attitude towards a paying customer, and fire them without a warning. Of course, you need to have all your ducks lined up and ready to step in before going down that route.

Good luck and I wish that you will listen to your instincts about the unresponsive vendor/agency and shut the door on them right away.

Comment by Brian Keith on October 25, 2010 at 11:00pm: Hi Ragan! Good post. There are a lot of recruiters that I'd love to choke out too.

Would you be willing, in general terms, to share the terms of business to which you and the agency agreed? Thx, BK

Comment by Bobby Davis on October 26, 2010 at 4:15pm: Ragan,
I'm not in your niche, but do know how to source some good talent for marketing, website development, and have a wonderful friend who is a multi media type (Art director) with lots of credentials. Don't know what you are looking for, but please look her up on Linkedin under CJ Johnson or Cindy Johnson. She is also in my Linkedin network. She does contract work and is available now. I know another one who does this kind of contract work for some very large and well know companies across the US who I can get in touch with if I knew what you needed. It would be my pleasure to refer them to you for no fee to help you out. Let me know if I can help. Good luck with your current situation.

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