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Aquent, the talent agent for marketers and designers, has moved to a new commission model that rewards consultants for exceeding benchmark levels of service delivery to their clients and candidates.

CEO Greg Savage suggested late last year that from January Aquent would make customer satisfaction a critical component in its recruiters’ remuneration.  And now that plan has been implemented.

The initiative is based on his belief that two things will differentiate recruitment companies in the future – specialisation and quality of service delivery. Savage notes that during the boom years of 2005-07, "some aspects of [Aquent's] service were probably dropping", because the company was more focused on growth.

Simon Lewis, editor of UK-based digital recruitment advertising platform, Only Marketing Jobs, commented: “This is a brave move by Aquent.  On the one hand you have the clients who will undoubtedly be drawn towards the value-added campaign, and this should excite marketing jobseekers, too.  But on the flip-side it is likely top-performing fee-incentivised recruiters will become disgruntled by what appears to be a commission scheme driven by company-wide altruism.  And this is not to mention Savage’s decision to cease the traditional contingency model; although I support this decision.  It will be interesting to see how recruiters, in particular, react to this move.”

To bring their services back up to scratch, Aquent has introduced a concept it calls PACE (personalised Aquent customer experience) – essentially a service delivery level agreement. It contains "very clear guidelines on service delivery outcomes", including for example "nitty gritty" things like specific response times to phone calls and web enquiries, zero delays on scheduled interviews, and contact timeframes for quality control checks after candidates have been placed.

Savage notes that while the idea might not sound original, linking consultants’ pay to the customer experience is. Under the new model a survey company will contact every Aquent customer (defined as any client who has registered a job, and any candidate who has been interviewed). The survey, which is online and not anonymous, will simply ask "Would you recommend Aquent to a colleague or friend?" – a question that Savage says "cuts through everything".

It’s now less about the fee revenue

Based on ratings of one to ten, each Aquent office will then receive a customer service score. Scores above a benchmark level will entitle every customer-facing employee in the office to a 25-per-cent "kicker" on their bonus. (The previous commission structure has been re-jigged to reflect this change, with less commission now riding on the fees consultants bring in.)

The bonus is paid by office rather than individually in order to encourage collaboration, Savage says, and he hopes a "peer pressure culture" will help to keep customer service levels high.

There has been some resistance to the change, but Savage says that "just because it’s difficult is not a reason not to do it.  People are very sensitive about what they earn and their bonuses, and quite rightly… but if you think customer service is not part of your job and you’re not prepared to link it to the way you get paid then really, you shouldn’t be [recruiting]."

Non-exclusive work rejected

Aquent will also no longer do any non-exclusive permanent recruitment, Savage says.

He has been talking about the flaws of the contingent recruitment system for some time, and is now putting his money where his mouth is.
Until now, he says, "we’ve never really seen our way clear to being strong enough to say [to clients]: ‘If you can’t give us your commitment we can’t give you ours’".

But the new policy has Aquent asking its perm clients for an agreed window of two weeks’ exclusivity for jobs under $60k annual salary, and four weeks’ exclusivity for roles above that salary level.

For roles above $110k, he says, the company will only take retained work.

Playing the long-game

Savage says the new strategy will likely reduce Aquent’s revenue in the short term, and lose it some clients, but he believes that within six months overall profitability will rise as the number of roles being handled by each consultant falls, and the proportion of successful placements rises.

"We’ll have people working on fewer orders, but they might fill 90 per cent of them rather than 20 per cent of them,” Savage concluded.

 

Recruiters, what would you think if your commission was payable on service delivery, instead of billed revenue? Clients/jobseekers, do you think customer service-based rewards are incentive enough for your recruiters to go that extra mile?

 

Source: Recruiter Daily

Additional: Simon Lewis | Editor | Only Marketing Jobs

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