A world of free

We live in a rapidly evolving world.  We demand and expect so many services for free, or we seek out a package that suits our needs.  The way we receive our services is turning on its head.

We can now get our music for free from the likes of Spotify, the majority of news articles are free, we don’t really pay for calls on our mobiles any longer – data usage appears to be the main consideration, we can rent cars by the hour, TV will become predominantly streamed, you will soon be able to subscribe to your favourite sport or simply follow your own amazing team.

Of course, certain services are provided through subscription, thus avoiding advertising and the potential to opt out of areas we don’t like.  In general, we want to get everything for nothing (or as little as possible).  

Is the placement fee dying?

It took a while, but this leads me to where recruitment maybe heading.  Is the placement fee living on borrowed time?  
We all know this placement fee can be a painful end point, often involving several £000’s while we all sit and pray the candidate gets through probation.  There is obviously much more to the process than this, but what happens if the amazing candidate leaves quickly, the recruiter always seems to get the blame and there is more pain.  There must be a better solution.

Contingency recruitment is becoming a race to the bottom, PSL’s are a bun fight, is retained recruitment the right approach for everyone?  Advice, guidance and support provided at all stages, considerable time spent searching for candidates, preparing them for interviews … all for them to be pipped by a better fitting candidate (what does that even mean).  Put simply, this doesn’t pay the bills or leave a great taste in the mouth for anyone.

Is the future a world without placement fees?  Possibly!  Could we tempt clients to subscribe to a monthly model where services are supplied throughout a contract?

Relationships would improve, planning could be implemented, candidate experience would improve, greater transparency, all without the pressure of finding the perfect candidate in a 100m sprint with 7 other Olympic athletes.

Is there a debate to be had on whether job seekers pay a fee too?  Good luck to whoever tries this first!  We certainly provide lots of guidance and support, we are regularly complimented on our approach, ‘you were by far the best agency we dealt with’ … as they secure a role via a competitor.

Who knows what the future holds, but the current approach appears completely hit and miss and I’m not sure it suits too many clients, job seekers or recruiters.