The amazing day our client put the placement fee UP to 60%!

Regular readers of my blog will know that I have predicted for some time that clients will expect more from recruiters as the market recovers. I have said that we can expect pressure on our fees, particularly as employers invest in other ways to access talent.

But it’s also true that market forces will prevail.

In 2009 our fees at Firebrand Talent Search dropped to between 15% and 22% in Singapore, while two years later 25% and beyond was routine, and in many cases we secured retainers too, which makes for a much better business partnership.

Japan too has seen fees rising back to 30% and beyond. In one particular case, a client of Firebrand  offered “bounty” fee levels to ensure they captured the best talent. This gaming software business routinely offered Firebrand 40% and 45% fees for specific roles, for a defined time period – usually three months.

On one memorable and much celebrated occasion (in 2010) this client offered us a 60% fee (on a USD $60,000 job!) and our Tokyo team promptly filled the order, securing a fee in the vicinity of $40,000.

This trend is fascinating to me. I have never really seen a situation where the client is driving fees upwards. We would NEVER suggest a 60% fee. Yet this clients’ rationale is “Top talent is hard to find. We want the best. We are competing with other employers. We want the recruiter to be motivated to find us the best.”

And it worked. The candidate we placed into this role had very rare user interface skills and the Firebrand team found him, a Japanese speaker, in Melbourne!

Once again the true value of our business is laid bare.

Access to talent.

That’s where it’s at.