The partnership between in-house recruiters and headhunters: my experience

Cost center owners tend to be quite cautious when it comes to approving the onboarding of an external recruitment partner, be them an agency or an individual headhunter. And rightfully so, considering that headhunting fees - at least in the Berlin ecosystem - amount typically to 20 to 30% of the hire's yearly gross salary.

However there are situations in which partnering with an external service provider can be highly beneficial for a business and offer significant relief to corporate recruitment teams working at full capacity.

When is a headhunter a good option?

Niche roles. I remember having to hire a corporate tax lawyer with a very specific skillset, which made the search incredibly difficult. Even upon thorough talent mapping and carefully tailored outreach on LinkedIn and other channels, the response rate was low and most of the replies were graceful rejections. At the same time, none of the active applicants was really qualified for the role. Onboarding a specialized agency allowed us to fill the pipeline quickly and find the best fit within approximately one month. Why was that agency successful? They had built an incredibly solid network of corporate tax lawyers they had already successfully placed and loyalized.

Temporarily inflated workload. Increased volume can also represent a good reason to partner with an external service provider. Let's imagine the following scenario:

• You work for a fast-growing company and are leading a team of recruiters whose workload is already pretty challenging;
• you get notified that a certain amount of roles needs to be launched and filled asap, but you don't have budget for an additional FTE;
• additionally, the employee turnover rate is not worrying and doesn't really justify the need of an extra recruiter.

In this case external support can offer some great flexibility, fulfill the business needs quickly and avert team fatigue.

Get-to-know meeting: What to check for in an external partner?

First and foremost, when selecting external recruiter partners, you may want to leave emotions at the door. You pick them because they really convinced you and made you think they are a good investment, not because they are fun and invited your whole team to a rooftop dinner. As a matter of fact, my first recommendation is always to decline such offers and meet your potential partners remotely over a video call or in person over a coffee at your headquarters.

Do they work on retainer or on success fee? A retainer is an upfront payment some headhunters require simply to start a search for you, regardless of the outcome. Those who work on success fee basis charge you only upon successful placement. Usually - but not always - retainer means higher degree of dedication and commitment to that specific search and client. Paying upfront is not bad per se, but you'd better make sure that they have a well-established reputation and the criteria of the vacancy you ask them to work on are likely not to change in time. Why? You usually pay a retainer for an ad hoc search tied to specific job requirements and if your business realizes along the way that a product operations specialist is actually more needed than a product manager, differently than originally thought, you are going to lose your money.

Are they open about potential limitations they may face in the search? A can-do attitude is highly appreciated, a can-do-it-all attitude, conversely, quite suspicious. Do you hear some clueless bragging around or a honest walk-through of what is in their power and what is not, what regions or companies might be a tough target due to any of your criteria, etc.? Observe their presentation style carefully, ask them how they handled similar tasks to the one you are considering assigning them to and hunt for that spark of authenticity in the way they talk.

Defining ways of working

Setting expectations, discussing preferences and establishing ways of interacting upfront is the beginning of every fruitful collaboration.

• Proper briefing and procurement due diligence. Provide your external partner with extensive info on the role, the team, the company, your USPs, benefits and values. Also, make sure that you have all the (written) approvals you need in order for them to start the search and that your accounting colleagues are informed about the payment deadlines.
• Usage of the ATS. Provide your headhunter with the right level of access to your applicant tracking system, in compliance with the GDPR.
• Honesty. Agree on giving each other honest and direct feedback along the way, in case fine-tuning or reassessment of ways of working is required.
• Avoid overlapping work. My personal recommendation is not to source profiles for the vacancy you have appointed an agency for, unless you agree - for example - on focusing on different geographic areas. This will avoid targeting the same profiles, which could lead to undesirable ownership conflicts.
• Frequency of touch points. Discuss cadency and format of your meetings in advance, always taking into account the needs of the other party. Headhunters should consider that corporate recruiters may not always able to share immediate feedback on the candidates they introduce them to. At the same time, corporate recruiters should know that headhunters have an obligation towards the profiles they source. My suggestion is to set up a weekly 30 min sync meeting to discuss the status of the pipeline, what is working well and what needs to be tweaked.

How to assess the performance of external recruitment services?

Monitoring the following indicators will help you evaluate the performance of your external collaborator.

• Accuracy of delivery. Are they sending over relevant profiles? Did they understand your needs? Did they get a sense of your company culture and what it takes to be successful in your organization?
• Pre-qualified profiles. The prospects they introduce should have been rigorously vetted, with a crystal-clear indication of their salary expectations and other admin-relevant details.
• Pre-closing / frequent motivation checks. Do they follow up regularly with candidates on their level of motivation and likelihood of accepting an employment in your company? Do they inquire on obstacles or concerns that may make them incline towards an offer rejection?
• Candidates' feedback. Make sure you ask the candidates presented to you how their experience with the headhunter has been so far and whether they have any specific feedback to share.
• Responsiveness. This is really a minimum requirement, but experience taught me it's always better not to take anything for granted.
• Quality of hire. What is the tenure of the employees you hired through that agency or headhunter? Are they good performers? Do they contribute to a healthy work environment?

To conclude with, my personal recommendation is to prefer a few solid long-term partnerships with trusted agencies or headhunters over onboarding the latest shiny brand on the market. Why? Long-term partners have become familiar with your business and even with the idiosyncrasies of some of your hiring managers. Also, they might be open to negotiate discounts and agree to more favorable payment conditions in exchange for the status of preferred supplier.