The background to this post is that I was in the middle of a tight negotiation between a client and candidate. The subject was the company car.

The offer letter had the company car entitlement noted in it and an opt out allowance, but no car list.

I spoke with my client and asked for the car list but was told that he'd got 'a nice BMW' set aside for his new starter. "Why?" said I. "Can't he choose from the list?"  It seems that it didn't work like this as there are a few cars parked in the car park (or lot, for our American readers) that are already on lease and this BMW was the star pick. It transpired that all new starters had to take a car that was available and then later move to a new car from the list as the lease on the car expired.

The trouble was that the candidate was 'an estate car man' with a family who liked outdoor life, camping, etc. and therefore this wasn't his best option. The opt out allowance was not generous either and there was no budging the client on this.

It was resolved by skilful negotiation but the discussion brought to mind the comments made by Nikki Dallas about attracting FM talent (in fmx magazine- November 2011) when she said and I quote ‘Ask yourself, what are you doing to make your organisation an employer of choice within the FM industry? Why should candidates want to work for you? How well do you communicate that message? How competitive is your remuneration package against your competitors?’

Well said, Nikki!