Recruitment agency fee to potential employer

Madjock

Hi

My OH has an interview lined up next week, with a co he is pretty keen to work for. The introduction has been done through a specialist recruitment agency, and he has just been told today that the potential employer has balked at the level of the recruiter's fee, which is 30%.

He is still attending the interview, but is now completely thrown by this potential fly in the ointment. The co have said the most they would normally pay is 10%, and the recruiter has said the most they will drop it by is 15%.

Any experience or suggestions about what could happen? OH got on really well with the co on initial chat but obviously we are both fearful now about what this could mean.

brightonman123

did the firm engage the agency? surely fees etc would have been agree before they start looking for people.

and yes, 30% is way steep.

duckandcover

How come he found out what fee they were charging??

At least they will hopefully come down to 15% though, that's more manageable!

eleanor73

Companies will always say ooooh we've only ever paid 10% to try to get it down. I imagine secretly they will go up to about 15% & secretly the agency will come down to 15%-18%. It's probably a stupid company who hopes they won't have to pay at all and a feeble recruitment consultant who hasn't got the guts to agree fees before and hope the company will just pay up. Don't let your husband worry about it as really it's between them and in my 3 years of working in one of the vilest industries ever never did a candidate lose out on a job due to the agency and company not agreeing on fees. Any company worth it's salt will offer the best candidate and deal with the fees as a seperate matter.

Good luck to him in the interview!

agrinnall

Go on Eleanor, tell us what industry it was, we're dying to know!

Firefox1975

Er? recruitment?

agrinnall

Yes, I suppose it probably is, I didn't read it that way but now I look at it again it's the most likely answer. Shame, I was hoping to find some dirt on a different industry.

InsideInsurance

Is he going in as a perm or a contractor?

Agencies certainly take a pretty penny for their work, for the 3 guys I have working with me at the moment the agency fee alone is almost £300 a day and their pay is on top of that.

That said, I am yet to have a single occasion where an agreement couldnt be reached on the rate. The worst closest I got to it was with one project manager and his agent where the PM wanted more than the job was offering and the high agency fee on top was pushing it well over budget. On that occasion the agency cut its percentage, the PM slightly reduced their day rate and we increased our budget and everyone was happy.

Normally what the agency is paid is totally invisible to the candidates and I think it is fairly unprofessional for it to be discussed with them. The hiring company will have known the rate before seeing any CVs

Madjock

Thanks for the replies everyone! OH knows the level of the fee as the recruitment consultant told him yesterday. I suppose good for her being honest and telling him about a potential problem, but I did think the last thing he needs is stressing about potentially not being offered the job becuase of this steep fee.

It does seem like it will be negotiated with the co's HR and the agency, so fingers crossed for his interview now!

He has just been advised he has another one lined up next week too, plus one on Friday (not keen on him getting that job though, don't think he will be happy there).

Everything is positive but up in the air, but I really hope I'll be back next week saying he's got at least one offer. I feel what you are saying about recruitment, but OH would never be getting the sort of job he's after without them.

Madjock

No apology for bumping an old post.

Job offer received and accepted by very clever hubby today. He's not going for any other interviews, as he's so happy with the company he's going to work for and the offer he's accepted.

Both he and the dog have had big lumps of beef for dinner this evening. :T

hcb42

congrats!....