Since our inception in late 2019, The Headhunters has always put a premium on client satisfaction. During college, I worked as a waiter at a swanky restaurant and hustled for tips. “Happy paying customers” was what we strove for every single time. If you went the extra mile for a table the probability of receiving a generous tip went up exponentially. Post-college I went into public accounting, and both individually and the firms that I worked for took great pride in delighting our clients with high levels of service. In fact, one of the core principles of the founder of Plante Moran, Frank Moran, was “servant mentality.”
Alleviate risk
Recruiters offer guarantees on the candidates we place. The Headhunters offer a money-back guarantee or we will replace a candidate at no charge, the client can take their pick. If the candidate quits or is terminated by the company because they can’t perform the role then our guarantee kicks in. If we get it wrong we stand behind making it right because at the end of the day, we want happy paying clients.
Are there exceptions?
Of course. When I was a kid my dad would occasionally make breakfast with eggs, sausage, and toast. A favorite of his was the Detroit-based Thorn Apple Valley Sausage. Early in my career in public accounting, this company shocked the audit world with an abrupt bankruptcy filing to a tainted meat recall. How could this company be thriving one day and bankrupt the next? A year or two before this there was a listeria outbreak at Sara Lee in their hot dogs that actually killed consumers. I’m sorry, but if my food client has a listeria outbreak and has to terminate the officer we just placed then that is out of our control.
A force majeure is a common contract clause that allows a party an “out” due to unforeseeable events that prevent a contract from being performed or fulfilled. Similarly, our guarantee is waived if the company restructures, has a change-in-control, or changes candidate compensation, responsibilities, or role scope. It is out of the recruiter’s control, as well as the candidate’s if a company is sold or must undergo a reduction in workforce.
This scene, from one of my favorite movies of my adolescence, came to mind recently. An HR leader at a terrific client of ours called me to let me know a candidate had resigned a week before the expiration of our guarantee period. The conversation went a little like this…
I calmly laid out the following facts:
- The hiring manager quit and gave notice two weeks before the candidate’s starting date. A week prior to the candidate’s start date, I asked the executive running the department to please reach out to the candidate to make him aware that his new boss was departing, to assure him everything was ok, and that the company was still excited to have him begin employment. The executive never called or even sent an email.
- The company intended to open a satellite office that was near the candidate’s home. During the interview process, the candidate expressed that they did not want a fully remote role. The company scrapped its plan to open the satellite office.
- Our invoice was not paid timely, (tisk tisk) which leads to a reduced pro rata guarantee,
- The departed hiring manager wholeheartedly sold the candidate on the opportunity to come work for him. In turn, the candidate was extremely disappointed that this hiring manager was not going to be their supervisor anymore, and that it was a red flag how the company handled the situation.
- The job responsibilities the candidate was told that he would have by the departed hiring manager were materially different from the actual job responsibilities (AND job description).
- The executive was unresponsive. Following the candidate’s start date, after I was finally able to contact the executive, their initial feedback on the candidate was positive. It’s important to note the candidate had been in this position for three weeks at this point. It’s also important to note that I had to request this executive’s cell phone number from another executive to share just to receive candidate feedback. Fact: If there are changes in a role’s scope or working conditions that aren’t shared with me, on top of chasing a hiring manager, then it is going to be near impossible for me to help ensure initial employment and onboarding go smoothly or to help mitigate a company’s issues.
- The company chose this candidate over two other candidates I personally thought were more qualified but were fully remote. I’ll never know this for certain, but I believe a main reason the company chose this candidate was because he lived so close to the satellite office it was planning to open.
Discretion
One of the benefits of working with smaller companies is that you get to deal directly with the owner. We have wide latitude to come up with reasonable solutions. In this instance, I was uncomfortable giving the money back after multiple transgressions by the company. Not sure what else to say to the HR leader asking for a refund other than –
The company blew it. They had many chances to fix the situation, and many solutions simply required common courtesy and politeness. Nonetheless, they declined at every opportunity. I felt bad for the candidate. He was misled and bait and switched. The customer is not always right, refund denied.
But, we’re curious what do you think? Let us know here.
Bill Wednieski is the Managing Director for The Headhunters. Learn more here.