Can you define a ‘good client’?

What are the characteristics of a client worth partnering with?

Where will your best return come from?

What is a ‘good client’ for a recruitment agency?

The answers to these questions are crucial but also nuanced because you have to address the short-term need to fill jobs now – that is our business, after all – but also take a longer view and build trusting client relationships for the future.

The factors defining a ‘good client’ may change depending on the market. Recruiters must be constantly assessing and evaluating because you simply cannot afford to invest time in clients who are not compatible with your goals.

And making this judgement can be a minefield. The market right now is a case in point. Most recruiters need more work. In some cases, desperation has set in. So, ‘any client is a good client’ might be the prevailing attitude. And that is understandable. I have been there myself many times.

But beware of the opportunity cost. While you slave away on this job order with a client who is not sincere about hiring, is jerking you around, and is not appealing to candidates anyway, you could be investing in a better-quality client or even hunting for new customers.

Plenty of recruiters have said to me over the years, ‘Oh, ABC Ltd. They are a really ‘good client’, and then go on to list how difficult they are, how they underpay, how poor morale is there, and how slow their feedback is. They define them as a ‘good client‘ because they offer lots of roles. That is not enough. In fact, it might be exactly why they are a bad client!

Let’s define the type of client that will allow you to maximise the placement potential of the suitable candidates you meet.

Remember, too, there is a difference between a ‘good client’ and a ‘good job order’. See, now it’s getting funky. Even a proven ‘good client’ (see my definition below) can dish up a dodgy ‘job order’. Then things get very nuanced. You need to ‘look after your good client,’ but are you wasting time on a ‘very unlikely to fill job order’?

But generally speaking, a ‘good client’ will have the following nine characteristics. I seriously suggest that you evaluate your clients based on them. Are you working with threes and fours out of nine? Why?

A ‘good client’:

1. Works hard to attract and hire good people – they have a collaborative talent acquisition team and do not let ‘process’ get in the way of outcomes.

2. Treats recruitment as a corporate differentiator, which means they really do believe people are their biggest asset and behave that way. (How often is that corporate mantra just absolute BS in the real world?)

3. Works in partnership with you, as proven by their rapid response times, constant updating on job status and exclusive working agreement.

4. Moves fast – they get back to you on shortlists, interview promptly, give swift, thoughtful feedback and make an offer when a decision needs to be made.

5. Takes your advice – on the job description, salaries, market and process.

6. Can sell their company and vacant roles – not overselling, but understanding that hiring is a two-way process, and the best candidates have a choice.

7. Understands that ‘the power’ in hiring is often with candidates, and so employers who want to hire act accordingly (This varies on market conditions. Right now, maybe not so much. But 18 months ago? And even right now, the best candidates have choice and will act on it)

8. Pays your fees promptly and without debate, seeing your value and agreeing with your terms

9. Is a client candidates want to work for!

All the points are essential, but the last one is the deal-breaker. You get paid for ‘acceptances’, not ‘offers’, so work with clients for whom your candidates want to work. That means understanding both in-depth candidate motivation (MTA) and what each client legitimately offers in compensation, culture, ethos, training, flexibility and much more.

In Agency recruitment, we are not used to this – ‘selecting clients’, that is. We have done it with candidates forever, but clients are somehow sacred. They select us.

Not so much for outstanding recruiters.

I am not advocating burning bridges or cutting ties. I appreciate more than most what it is like when you have little work on the go.

But regardless, I advise you to put your energy where the desired outcome is likely

This article is taken from my best-selling book, ‘Recruit. The Savage Way’. Get your copy here

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