For decades, the gold standard within recruitment agencies has been a commission-based system that promotes quantity of placements over quality. The popular commissions-per-head model incentivizes recruiters to fill many positions quickly, as that is where the real money is to be made in a standard recruiter job. However, there is an emerging school of thought that it may be time to end the commission-based recruiting model in favor of focusing on quality.
PKRecruiting (PKR) is leading the charge with this renewed focus on quality recruitment. Founded by Kelly Robinson, PKR began with the foundation of a well-defined recruitment philosophy of delivering top talent. In her estimation, recruiting is broken and has been for some time. The disruptive moves made by the team are poised to upend the entire recruitment industry.
Bad incentives
The main issue that presents itself within a commission-based system is the problem of bad incentives. When a candidate is being sold to a contract with the highest price, the motivation to find the best fit diminishes.
“They’re incentivized by the wrong thing,” says Robinson, PKR’s founder and CEO. “They’re throwing someone out there and hoping it sticks.”
But, where traditional commission-based recruiters are missing the boat is in their quantity approach — the factors that could assure a “stick” are being ignored. “It’s very different from what we do,” explains Robinson. “We don’t get commissions. We’re strictly incentivized by doing the right thing for our clients.”
This “do the right thing” approach Robinson mentions includes performing deep dives into client culture, growth logistics, competition, and overall story. With these nuggets of information in their back pocket, they can better align recruits to a company client’s needs. This assures the best fit and better retention of the recruit in the long run.
Collaboration over commission
The PKR approach emphasizes collaboration with clients over striving for maximum commissions. By forging more of a partnership with the organization seeking a quality candidate, PKR ensures that the candidate chosen will align best with the company’s needs and last long past the hiring and training stage.
A proactive mindset is necessary for this collaborative, quality-minded philosophy to work. While this proactivity may slow down the recruitment process, the results of this more mindful undertaking can make the extra time well worthwhile. With this revolutionary model, open positions can not only be filled but filled with someone who is over the moon to be a part of their new company and is the perfect fit for the role for which they were recruited.
For PKR, everything is customized to their particular client from the beginning of the relationship. “We’re not just looking for all Java developers to send to the highest bidder. We’re building custom pipelines that match what that customer is looking for,” says Robinson.
Where the traditional model may have included recruiters having a database of hundreds — perhaps thousands — of possible candidates for a role, PKR instead chooses a recruit that best aligns with their client’s needs and culture. This pulls a potential employee away from being simply checked boxes on a list, but a living, breathing embodiment of the perfect choice for that particular need and company.
Holding recruiters accountable
The PKR model puts accountability for quality hires back on the recruiters. With the traditional model, recruiters could simply throw quantity at the issue, and if those recruits did not necessarily work out, the recruiter was, by that time, long gone.
With a quality-focused recruitment approach, PKR has developed a path to better outcomes for both company clients and potential employees. There is less time wasted on training the wrong person or wading through hundreds of candidates that do not meet the client’s needs.
“With the ripples of the Great Resignation still being felt by employers, recruiting has become more challenging than ever,” Robinson wrote in California Business Journal. “Professionals know exactly what they want — whether it’s higher compensation, remote options, or flexible hours — and, rightly so, they aren’t willing to settle for less. That’s why recruiting with intention and purpose has never been more important.”
PKR approaches the recruitment process with not only intention and purpose but empathy. In this current job market, which seems to be constantly in flux, their new approach could prove well overdue.
Author Bio:
Kelly Robinson is a recruiting expert, entrepreneur, and the CEO and founder of PKRecruiting. PKRecruiting is a leading professional services firm focused on recruiting with intention through structure, strategy, and support to connect employers with top talent. Robinson is an award-winning talent operations specialist for her expertise in hiring operations, talent acquisition and retention, and organizational leadership. She coaches leaders throughout the recruiting space globally on strategies for success in the digital era of work.
