Situation: You’ve had an accident in your car. Thankfully, no-one was injured but your car has been taken to the smash repairer to be fixed. You can’t afford to be without a vehicle so whilst it’s being repaired you go to a reputable car hire company and hire a car. You read the terms and conditions and you sign the contract. A few months later you need to hire a car again. You see the same car you hired last time sitting in the yard. Do you:

(A) speak to the firm about hiring it again and make the subsequent payment, or

(B) hotwire it and drive it away – after all, you paid to hire it once before.

Situation: You are an employer in need of short-term assistance to cover a gap in your workforce. You have the option of sourcing a suitable applicant yourself or engaging the services of a third-party specialist to do the sourcing for you. Both come at a cost, time or money. You choose the latter, agree to terms (including the key one relating to applicant ownership) and enjoy the benefits of an appropriately qualified person being provided in a timely manner. Within 12 months, you require some short-term assistance again and are hopeful your previous temporary worker is still available. Do you:

(A) Contact the recruiter you hired the temp through previously, or

(B) Cut out the intermediary and approach the person directly (assuming they’re still in the country)?

In scenario one, most people would choose option (A). In scenario two, honest and ethical clients also choose Option (A) but unfortunately, some do opt for Option (B).

“I paid the margin/fee previously, so why do I have to pay another one?”

Let’s start with the most obvious answer – because you agreed to the terms of business when first engaging the applicant for the original assignment. If you were not happy with these terms of business, the time to negotiate was then. When did breaking contracts become acceptable?

Secondly, the fact that you are even aware of the previous temporary worker, is purely because they were introduced to you by the recruiter. The recruiter’s job, how we earn our living, is to source, screen, interview and maintain contact with a quality talent pool, so that when hiring managers request assistance, we can provide people who can fulfill the role requirements. This takes time and considerable expense.

In the `contingent’ market, fees are only able to be generated when the recruiter is successful in placing the right people in employment with hiring managers. This service needs to be paid for if the recruiter is to remain commercially viable.

Just as you wouldn’t hotwire and help yourself to a car you’ve previously hired, please ensure you work ethically within the contract terms when hiring and re-hiring staff. At people2people we believe in building strong partnerships with our clients and the most important elements of a strong partnership are honesty, trust and good communication.