There is a clear reason dummy bidders are prohibited at property auctions - this one isn't it. Before dummy bids were outlawed, I went to a friends' auction. The agent had suggested a dummy bidder, so she was set up out the front. The auction started and soon whittled down to two bidders - one was the dummy bidder. Unfortunately, she forgot she was a dummy bidder. She was so caught up that she won the auction! I will never know if the other bidder worked it out or stuck to their budget. Either way, they didn't fall for it. This story is 20 years old, but it always pops into my mind when I ..read more

Are you old enough to remember 'Choose Your Own Adventure' books? The idea is to give the reader control over the main character's actions by making choices regarding how the  plot unfolds. The story goes where you take it. I often reflect on this when it comes to contract negotiations – how do you ensure you're a main character and make decisions that allow you to control the outcome? When you don't choose your own business adventure, you're probably handing over your story and outcomes to someone else. You aren't a main character but a bystander in your own story. Yet, after over a deca ..read more

From the time you woke up this morning, you started negotiating – kids, partners, baristas, fellow commuters. All these interactions involved negotiation, spoken or unspoken. And then you moved on to your emails, meetings and phone calls. You spend your life negotiating. When it comes to our jobs, a business person will spend over 50% of their working time negotiating. If you're a recruiter, I can guarantee you're well above that average – all those emails, phone calls and meetings with clients, candidates, colleagues and bosses will add up pretty quickly to a working day chock full of wheelin ..read more

You may have caught the recent news that businesses like Deliveroo have been given greater certainty to their practice of hiring delivery workers under written contracts as independent contractors where the contracts reflect the nature of the relationship. And if you’re a staffing agency that engages individuals as independent contractors to on-hire to clients, you may be excused for thinking it’s happy days for you as well. Unfortunately, the developments aren’t as clear cut for on-hire agencies and may in fact, prove to be problematic for those that engage individuals as independent contract ..read more

Agencies are being bombarded with client requests. Client contracts/PSAs/tenders are all over the market. RPO, MSP, TaaS and new business models are being evaluated by agencies and clients in increasing numbers. And already in 2022, we’ve seen a significant legal case handed down in the High Court that impacts certain staffing agency models. And yet, when we break it down, the same three fundamental legal gaps pop up for most agencies that come to us. Crappy legal terms Client contract traps Wrongly used contractor engagement agreements Are you letting yourself down with crappy legal t ..read more

Ever feel like you're swimming in a sea of law while dealing with the fast-paced and competitive world of recruitment? If you run a recruitment agency then you’re in the legal game, whether you like it or not. And if you’re feeling overwhelmed, there are 3 common mistakes you could be making… Mistake 1: You avoid dealing with the ‘legals’ underpinning your key relationships or treat them as an afterthought. Mistake 2: You rely on others to provide solutions without taking the time to understand what needs fixing, and why. Mistake 3: You do what you’ve always done. There are more laws than ever ..read more

You made the call. You sold in your gun candidate. The client is impressed and wants you to send the CV and arrange an interview. Another potential sale in the pipeline! YES. You’re so excited that you send the CV over immediately, and go to attach your terms of business. But a feeling of dread washes over you. You know it’s something you have to do but you don’t want it to ruin your chances of winning the sale. Easier just to attach them and not mention a word… A very common scenario in the recruitment world! Many recruiters I’ve spoken to feel awkward about discussing TOBs because it makes t ..read more

I can mention ‘cut and paste’ Terms of Business (TOBs) to a room full of recruiters and guarantee a room full of sly grins and nervous laughter! It goes something like this - set up your business, ‘borrow’ someone else’s TOBs, perhaps even throw 3-4 sets of Terms together, and whack your brand on top! Clients don’t notice, and anyway it’s not really that important. However, when it comes down to it, TOBs are really important because: what you deliver is what you get paid for (introducing a great candidate that the client employs following that introduction). what’s not included in your sc ..read more

The one question I get asked by recruiters more than any other- “My clients won’t sign my Terms of Business, what do I do?” I also get approached a lot about unpaid fees. My magic wand has its limits and it's fair to say that lots of recruiters throw their hands in the air when it comes to pursuing debts due to the time and cost. At the same time, they continue to run the gauntlet on unsigned Terms of Business. Disputes and uncertainty around actually recovering unpaid fees are a massive profit killer in any recruitment business - it isn't just the immediate bottom line impact; it costs money ..read more