How to Find Back Door Hires?

Now that we have talked about how prevalent the problem is, I want to start getting into the meat on how to find them, and what to do once you find a Backdoor Hire.  

  

First, let me give you my definition of a Backdoor Hire so there is no confusion. A Backdoor Hire is when you present a candidate to a company, and they hire that candidate without your knowledge. The presentation is not limited to recruiters. If you provide a contract or temporary staffing, and that person is hired without your knowledge that is also a Missed Recruiting Fees. Over on the staffing and contract side, the fee you are owed is typically referred to as a conversion fee, but for the sake of argument and to not confuse anyone I will just refer to all issues as a Backdoor Hire.  

  

You need a systematic approach to keep track of your biggest assets, and  

  

that is your candidates. Keep in mind that the numbers do not lie, and the  

  

numbers tell me that if you send out on average 100-150 candidates  

  

(regardless of the industry), then you have already been a victim to a Backdoor Hire and are not even aware of it. On average, our clients tell me that roughly 150 candidates are sent out per desk or recruiter; if you have been a recruiter for 10 years with an average payment fee of $20,000, then you should have an extra $250,000 in your bank account. That is a lot of money especially when you consider that is just on average over a 10 year period. I have clients that have been recruiters for forty plus years. By my guess, they are owed one million dollars.  

  

You need to set up a tracking system, whether it is a mechanical system that you personally or your assistant follows up on every 3 months or it is an automated system. You could keep a spreadsheet and simply check LinkedIn or call the company and your candidate to touch base, or you could set up a calendar item in your CRM that is repetitive every 90 days just to make sure the candidate has not been hired by your client. There are low-cost services in the Philippines and India that have cost-effective virtual assistance that helps with that type of stuff as well. In the end, you have a number of choices.  

  

Here is the problem with a mechanical system: it is "People Dependent." I have run my own companies for almost 30 years, and one thing I have learned is do not expect what you do not inspect. I also know that if I am personally responsible for a systematic task, it will not get done as often or as well as it should be. I think it is just human nature. The other thing that working with recruiters has taught me is you are as bad as me when it comes to microtasks.  

  

You can place someone and collect a $50,000 fee for 2 hours of work, but  

  

when you come to the conclusion that something is not going to produce  

  

revenue it is taken off your desk and it is out of sight and out of mind. You simply move on to the most probable revenue generating task. That is not a bad thing, it is a necessary skill in order to become successful. You do not major in minor things and do not micro-manage employees. I get it; I am the same way, and it has been very beneficial to my success. I focus on the most probable revenue generation task and delegate or forget the rest.  

  

What are your options? You can do all other tracking methods that I suggest, but I also believe that it will be like picking the low hanging fruit; you will find most of your Backdoor Hires by accident. At the end of the day, that is ok as well. You have your opportunity cost.  

  

There are other options, but let me say I am always reluctant to mention or promote our company's other services in the education projects that I work on for the staffing and recruiting industry. I feel that this is my way of giving back to an industry that has taken care of me and my family for over 25 years. I also know there is a cost effective solution to the first part of the problem of Backdoor Hires, and I would not do you nor the industry any services if I did not mention the resource to fix it. We have created a free product that you can use to find Backdoor Hires.  

  

It is 100% free to use. The only time it cost you is when we find a Backdoor Hire and you invoice them, and if they pay we will invoice you 10% of what you collected for your fee. If your debtor does not pay, then we simply ask to help you collect the debt at our standard rate; we do not charge you anything extra. The software solution that will find your  

  

Backdoor hires is called “Back Door Hound”. I respect your time so instead of spending a chapter promoting our product, just go to the website and learn more about this FREE service.  

Back Door Hires Primary Excuses and their Biggest Issues

Employers want to make the most of each hiring, and they place high trust in the recruiting agency to search out qualified candidates.  As a recruiting agency, any applicant or candidate who submits their resumes and details to help them find a good job whether it’s a temp or full-time job, you have the right to keep and guide them all the way till they get their desired job.  But, you have to make sure that you both signed a contract, wherein all your rules and agreements are understood and sincerely accepted by your applicant.

Contract signing is important for your client who also seeks help in finding applicants for their business.  An agency worker must know that once they signed a contract with a recruiting agency, they will become your own depending on the days that you both agreed to your agreement.  Once they start working with an employer, they should not assume that their employer can do whatever they want them to do, because as an agency worker, the employer must let the agency know whatever task the candidate will be working.

The employer may tell you how you should do your work, but it should be a transparent process with the agency.  Whose employee is it anyway?

Companies who use staffing agencies to seek workers may be considered joint employers of those workers, even if the agency hires and pays the workers.  But how do we deal those clients who don’t pay the agency’s services and making excuses instead?

For over 27 years, Wilson Cole, the founder of Adams, Evens & Ross, studied much of these issues using their Back Door Hire Solutions technology created search, monitoring all your back door hires.  Following the legality system with their very own in-house attorney - Samantha Cole, the company can track lost recruitment fees, and lost invoices that made their team collected thousands of backdoor hires up to present.

Here are the lists of the first excuses and their most significant issues based on Mr. Wilson Coles reviews with backdoor hires:

The client said they already knew the candidate or says the candidate is an independent applicant.

“The number one top excuse that we hear the client says they already knew the applicant.  Well, I say knowing someone and knowing that they are looking for a job are two very different things.  So, if they tell you that they already knew him unless the applicant can show that he’s already interactive consideration and sent out an email and recruited him recently, or sent out where they’ve set up an interview something on those lines, then it’s not going to be an issue.  If they already knew the applicant, then that’s not an excuse that they owe you the money, especially when you have a signed contract with the candidate.”

They didn’t sign a contract with the company.

“The second excuse is that they never signed an agreement.  You need to understand that’s a character issue and maybe a great defense sometimes, but most of the time it’s not, but that instantly tells me they're not planning on paying you, and they probably weren’t planning to pay you on anything from the very beginning.  So, understand that maybe with others, they can be legitimate disputes, and it’s not a good or a bad thing, but as a recruiting company, you have to make sure to track and safeguard your signed contract or agreement.”

They didn’t last the 30 days or 60 days guarantee, and the candidate was referred internally or came to another source

Recruitment agency should educate their candidates that as an agency worker, even if they’re on a long-term placement with a company, there's no obligation on that company to offer a job directly employed by them.  However, the agency is responsible for their workers to be informed about vacancies with the employer while on assignment with them.  The aim is to give you the same access to new permanent jobs as your directly employed co-workers.  Never assume that you can treat someone less favorably just because he or she is a temporary employee, because based on the legal theory, companies may be held liable for discriminating or reciprocating against the employees of a recruiting agency since these workers are joint employees of both companies.

Mr. Cole also added that “If you would like to receive my book as far as backdoor hire is concerned, we have the nine (9) excuses where we’re going to detail each and even teach a webinar series and have a coaching program.  We also have this backdoor hire software that effectively finds these placements for you.”

Lessons from Backdoor Hiring Experiences

Recruitment challenges a human resource manager's skills. The task, most specifically, tests one's perception of the random people encountered. You need a keen mind to judge a person's character accurately. Before making decisions, you examine the different information and evaluate an applicant's sincerity. You spot real talents from the wannabes. As a high-ranking person in the organization, you calculate every decision's impact. You address the weaknesses you recognize and identify the talents to make up for it. The job's difficulty encourages people to partner with recruitment agencies. These professionals provide the personnel needed for a vacant position. They possess the resources your company currently lacks. They ensure that the persons referred fit the unfilled roles reported to them. They also recommend other agencies that meet the demands they cannot accomplish. Their job focuses on connecting individuals to a collective and vice versa. This enterprise earns extremely well for them.

In the recent years, experts point out instances of backdoor hiring. This practice happens when a client creates a contract with a referred talent behind the staffing agency's back. With that, they no longer pay the fees on the associated services. The staffing company loses the expected revenue from that. Aside from that, they also lose personnel in their listing. People in this business hate this illegal practice because it sabotages their economic growth. They lose the respect of their constituents, who only see the failure and not the factors beyond their control. These incidences, isolated or not, contribute to the industry's volatility. Other workers follow suit and this depletes the resources at hand. Eventually, the agency collapses due to bankruptcy. Such activities must be stopped at all cost.

The staffing business starts with recognizing the changes to counter back hiring. The talent, perhaps, saw the potential client's partnership advantages in salary rates. Depending on your financial situation, find creative ways to secure a steady cash flow for them. Always remember, however, the importance of following the law. If the person needs a stable job, then work on referring him or her to such employment. Never curtail them of their liberties to a sustainable, living. Listen to the worker's suggestions and work carefully to maintain their satisfaction. Meet their demands halfway with considerations on the industry's capability. Explain to them the reasons behind their denied pleas. Do not just say no and leave them to figure out why it happened to them. Stay ahead of the game, and enlist the help of your fellow administrators. You mitigate problems better in this way.

Despite the sheer numbers of personnel under your agency, strive to maintain an open communication with them. In this manner, you develop a working relationship with the people. It demonstrates your care for your subordinates. As an executive, you should understand them better to lead effectively. These people possess different potentials, fulfilling those contributes to their self-actualization. Striking the balance between happy constituents and high profits seem tricky, but it is achievable. Allow dire situations to encourage risk-taking in the industry.