What do you think about splits?

Seems there are some people absolutely dead set against splits. Others owe their success to incorporating them as a key part of their business.

I for one am a strong advocate of working with other recruiters. In fact I consider my network of trusted split partners to be quite an advantage over my competitors.

What do you think?

Comment by Bill Ward on January 12, 2011 at 3:35pm: I think if you can develop a solid working relationship with recruiters who know their industry and follow a sound assessment process, why not? The real issue is partnering with people who have a high degree of integrity and will view the working relationship as mutually beneficial rather than an opportunity to poach clients and/or candidates for themselves.

Comment by Sandra McCartt on January 12, 2011 at 3:37pm: Splits are the best way for independent recruiters to bring the same fire power to a client that big firms with a ton of recruiters can bring. My attitude is that half of two big wholes is bigger than all of one small whole.

Plus there are many more opportunities to present to my candidates if i share candidates with other recruiters.

More candidates for my clients to consider and more opportunities for my candidates to consider.

Comment by pam claughton on January 12, 2011 at 4:43pm: I've always done splits.That's one of the key benefits of being with an agency, so you can leverage the assets of your colleagues. When I'd get a job order, I'd instantly have several people who had the perfect candidate and could get them right over, and likewise, if I had a fantastic candidate, I'd have multiple options of places to send that person, some mine, some my colleagues. If you close yourself off to splits you are really limiting your potential pool of great candidates. Now that I have my own firm, I still do plenty of inter-office splits as well as splits with a trusted network of recruiters (most are ex-colleagues from the big agency I once worked at). It works beautifully...case in point, a candidate just reactivated with me, someone I placed a year ago who is now on the market after his start-up changed directions. I put the word out to my network and a day later, a new search came in that is tailor-made for him.

It always amuses me when people take the approach that doing a split is giving away half the placement. That is true, but I'd take half a placement any day vs. nothing at all.

Comment by GG Allin on January 12, 2011 at 5:50pm: Do those of you that do splits have a contract that prohibits either party from poaching clients or candidates? I have never done splits or even entertained the thought of doing one. Even with a contract in place I would never trust a recruiter outside of my own firm.

Comment by Thomas Patrick Chuna on January 12, 2011 at 6:07pm: I love splits!

I only do them with recruiters I have a good relationship with, but I am all about making money now as opposed to later.. if you have a home for my candidates, or vice versa, let's get it done and split the winnings. I'll get more candidates and positions tomorrow, and i'll either split 'em of fill them myself, doesn't matter to me.

Comment by Sandra McCartt on January 12, 2011 at 6:34pm: GG if you have the attitude that you would never trust a recruiter outside of your own firm then you should not do splits. A contract is fine but a contract is not worth the paper it's written on if you don't trust the person who signs it. All contracts really do is spell out the terms and conditions but they don't ensure honesty. they would give you a basis to sue but who wants to.

I would trust Thomas or Jerry and Pam with my checkbook while i was out of town so would not need more than an email with either of them to do a split.

Comment by Jerry Albright on January 12, 2011 at 6:55pm: I'll agree with Sandra. If someone is going to rip you off - paperwork won't stop them. If stealing from you would never cross their mind - the lack of any written agreement wouldn't make them feel inclined to do so.

I've done hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of splits over the years. Most of them though have been with just a handful of partners. It takes time (lots of time) to build a working understanding with other recruiters. We all work a little differently. Luckily I've found people with the same kind of flow I've got.

I even go so far as to make sure my split buddies get in on the "gravy" work too. When something comes in I'll let them know about it right away. It's important for me to see them successful as well. I'd be at a loss if they all went out of business while I sat here cherry picking.

But to each his/her own. If you're not comfortable then you won't put your heart into it. If you are comfortable it's quite comforting knowing you've got a team working with you.

Speaking of going out of town - I have on more than one occasion let my split partner take over the client side of things if I'm going to be indisposed during a critical time in the process. I have no fear in putting them on the phone with a client to get a better feel for the position either.

There is one version of a split agreement for anyone interested at www.recruitinglibrary.com - a place I keep my go-to forms handy in case anyone needs one. P.S. If you have any recruiting forms you'd like to share I'm always grateful!

Comment by pam claughton on January 12, 2011 at 10:09pm: Trust is key to a split relationship working. I don't have written agreements of any sort with anyone I do splits with, and have never felt the need to. Agree totally with Sandra, if someone wants to cheat you, a piece of paper won't necessarily stop them. I've also covered for split partners and vice versa for vacations.

Comment by FREYJA P. on January 13, 2011 at 1:35pm: Thanks for your always a plus blogs Jerry - even as an old dog in the industry your comments strike a chord or are a new awakening - much to reflect on. Re splits - because I work in Canada - I only do splits here. I often get calls cross border but because visa/work permits have tightened up so tremendously it is impossible to complete assignments. But here, yes, splits work in trusted relationships.

Comment by Jerry Albright on January 13, 2011 at 2:29pm: Thank you for the kind words Freyja. Working on my own - it's nice to have a place to talk about placements!

Speaking of splits and placements and Canada - I did a split with a Canadian recruiter when my US client called me and asked if I could help recruit a Manufacturing Manager for their Vancouver plant. The fact that the other recruiter happens to be in Canada may (or may not be) coincidental - but it was nice to have some help on it!

Good luck over there!