Do recruitment agents/consultants get anything for registering new clients?

LadyMissA

hcb42 wrote: »

so i start work at an agency tomorrow.

to get a better bonus in my paycheck i sign up all my immediate family, all 30 of em, in week one (not all trackable, different surnames due to marriage and whatever)

week 2 - having ran out of immediate relatives with CVs i start to make them up and average 5 a day say to make my "bonus"


.......................................doesnt make any commercial sense to me, and WIDe open to simple abuse.

If an agent needs a better database, they can simply advertise for one, most have way more candidates than they will ever place.

they register people as it is a simple numbers game - the more people IN the database, the more likely they will find the one that fits the bill and can start on due date. It is the same with most sales - drive enough volume and you will convert enough into sales to pay the bills. Plus, if you havent registered them, your competitors will have done - again basic sales management...

We are not talking £100's here at all. They do advertise to get a people on their books and like you say the more people they have the more likely they are going to be able to put people forward but their must be an incentive or there'd be no point continually doing it. Obviously then I miss heard the person when they said they get a bonus if they register so many people in the month.

Re your week 2 - I do not think you can make up CV's to register them as you would have to have passport copies and signatures from the made up people on your registration forms and possible photos too that some agencies take to add to your file.

jungle_jane

LadyMissA wrote: »

they get a bonus for everyone they register

This has never been the case for any of the agencies I have ever known. Here's what happens:

an agency advertises a job and you apply for it. your details are uploaded to their database. they do not get a commission for this - why would they? it is an automated process.

if you are suitable for the job they will ring you and arrange and interview and if you get the job they get a fee. if you are a permanent person they are likely to get a placement fee (a one off lump sum) and if you are a contractor they get a proportion of your daily rate. Usually around 10%.

Your details (whether you got the job or not) however, remain on their database and this means that not only are they able to call you in future for jobs they may think you suit (when they conduct a search on their database for CVs with similar skills) but they also have a clear view of all of your work histroy and references. That means they get leads (ie the name and phone number) of your previous 3 or so bosses so they can call them up and see if any work is available.

the agency needs 1) clients who have jobs they want filled and 2) candidates looking for a job.

LadyMissA

jungle_jane wrote: »

This has never been the case for any of the agencies I have ever known. Here's what happens:

an agency advertises a job and you apply for it. your details are uploaded to their database. they do not get a commission for this - why would they? it is an automated process.

if you are suitable for the job they will ring you and arrange and interview and if you get the job they get a fee. if you are a permanent person they are likely to get a placement fee (a one off lump sum) and if you are a contractor they get a proportion of your daily rate. Usually around 10%.

Your details (whether you got the job or not) however, remain on their database and this means that not only are they able to call you in future for jobs they may think you suit (when they conduct a search on their database for CVs with similar skills) but they also have a clear view of all of your work histroy and references. That means they get leads (ie the name and phone number) of your previous 3 or so bosses so they can call them up and see if any work is available.

the agency needs 1) clients who have jobs they want filled and 2) candidates looking for a job.

so I have never given permission for any agency to add my details to their database and I thought they had to tell you that under the data protection act?

Are you saying then that everyday when I apply to jobs advertised by agencies I am in fact wasting my time cause if like you say they already have all my info on their database they would be calling me?

You do not get the interview at the company untill you have been to see the agency.

inmypocketnottheirs

Recruitment agencies use the through as much sh¡t at the wall and see what sticks methodology. Bunch of parasites.

InsideInsurance

hcb42 wrote: »

so i start work at an agency tomorrow.

to get a better bonus in my paycheck i sign up all my immediate family, all 30 of em, in week one (not all trackable, different surnames due to marriage and whatever)

week 2 - having ran out of immediate relatives with CVs i start to make them up and average 5 a day say to make my "bonus"


.......................................doesnt make any commercial sense to me, and WIDe open to simple abuse.

Most bonus systems and KPIs are open to abuse, that is why companies do audits and keep logs.

Previously had a job doing outbound telesales for a service provider phoning their customers to cross sell you got no commission for sending blank DD forms but received commission for sending completed DDs. As not everyone had their bank details to hand when they got a random call agents could go into the system and pick up the bank details from their existing DD agreement.

Whilst it was fraud, do you think no one ever went in and collected the DD details as to be able to send a completed form and thus get the commission even though they didnt have the customer approval?

Likewise an inbound customer service role for a catalogue company you had to cross sell the "offer of the day" which came up as an onscreen prompt. Your KPIs were based on the number of times the orders were made but the number of returns werent deducted off. KPI was linked to bonus and pay rise. Guess how many people used to "accidently" order the offer for the customer and the customer then just returned it as unwanted (often without calling to query).

Yes, you can defraud the system but eventually it does tend to catch up with you and losing your job over £1 per person you sign up probably really isnt worth it.

PRINCE$$

Quite often it is just to have that initial personal contact so if they call you again in future you may remember them, and also it's helpful to have an initial chat to see what the candidate's communication skills are like and clarify any details on availability etc. I've never known an agency to give a bonus for registrations but it is helpful to have up to date details for when new roles come in.

liney

I used to work for an Employment Agency and have never received, or heard of consultants at other agencies, receiving money merely to register a candidate. As stated, it would be widely open to abuse: I get £X for every CV and i'll give you half of it for just sending an email - pass it on...
Consultants make money from making permanent placements, or recieve £xweekly, for billing Xnumber of temporary hours each week.

The agency call you to see whether, regardless of your skills, you sound like a saleable candidate. They chat about your details in an informal manner to engage you in conversation to see if you are articulate, and if there are holes in your CV to find out why. They may also want to verify references before inviting you for a formal interview, and establish possible leads to other vacancies and/or candidates.

jungle_jane

LadyMissA wrote: »

so I have never given permission for any agency to add my details to their database and I thought they had to tell you that under the data protection act?

Are you saying then that everyday when I apply to jobs advertised by agencies I am in fact wasting my time cause if like you say they already have all my info on their database they would be calling me?

You do not get the interview at the company untill you have been to see the agency.

If you are applying online then it is likely that when you apply for the position you gave them personal details like your name and CV which they can store and contact you with later if suitable roles comes up. You opted in. In my case, I have had some recruiters send me and email saying 'you haven't got this job but we have kept your details and will contact you if something suitable comes up' but equally so, sometimes they don't and I get calls further down the track from some random agency who still has my details.

I find it infuriating - I wish there was an opt out box on all applications that says 'you may only use my details for this one job'. That's because I get calls and emails for things that are not in my area of speciality because some dude did a database search using keywords that are badly matched to my skills. ie they are wasting my time with rubbish and I don't like my details being kept by them.

It may be that in your industry you have to go and meet the recruitment person but that's not the case in mine. I have only every met 2 recruiters face to face and out of about 15 contracts in the past 5 years. I am in IT in an area where there are more jobs than candidates though so this is probably why.

LALON1983

^ Go to the private policy section of the recruitment agent's website. There should a email when you can send a request for removal from a database. Most agent's retain CV automatically which I find annoying also.

This is part of the privacy policy of one agent for example :

'X recruitment agency' believes that managing your career is a life-long process, and even after your information has been entered into the 'X recruitment agency' CV database, we retain indefinitely all the information we gather about you in an effort to make your repeat use with us more efficient, practical, and relevant'

I find this time frame ridiculously excessive, and longer than necessary.

As I'm only looking for immediate temp/contract work in this sector for this year only... I put a statement as the end of my cover letter, that no extended permission is granted to retain any details provided as part of the application for a certain job.

LadyMissA

jungle_jane wrote: »

If you are applying online then it is likely that when you apply for the position you gave them personal details like your name and CV which they can store and contact you with later if suitable roles comes up. You opted in. In my case, I have had some recruiters send me and email saying 'you haven't got this job but we have kept your details and will contact you if something suitable comes up' but equally so, sometimes they don't and I get calls further down the track from some random agency who still has my details.

I find it infuriating - I wish there was an opt out box on all applications that says 'you may only use my details for this one job'. That's because I get calls and emails for things that are not in my area of speciality because some dude did a database search using keywords that are badly matched to my skills. ie they are wasting my time with rubbish and I don't like my details being kept by them.

It may be that in your industry you have to go and meet the recruitment person but that's not the case in mine. I have only every met 2 recruiters face to face and out of about 15 contracts in the past 5 years. I am in IT in an area where there are more jobs than candidates though so this is probably why.

When you apply for any job you have only given that agency or company permission to use the CV for that job and no other unless they tell you & I thought there was a data protection act to safegaurd against this.

If I am on everyones database like you say I am wasting my time applying for all these jobs as some are even with the ones I am registered with and they have told me I have to keep applying online as this is the ONLY way they know I am interested in that role. I am miffed at that one.

ALL agencies that I speak to (accounts) will not condsider my CV or put you forward unless you have gone to see them to register.