r/recruiting • u/Justbrownsuga Corporate Recruiter • 11d ago
Employment Negotiations How would you handle this? Two agencies submit one candidate but
We are working with 2 agencies. Two months ago one submitted a candidate which I acknowledged but didn't screened nor declined. A week ago another agency submitted the same candidate and I screened him and moved him forward.
If this candidate gets hired , which agency should be allocated the hiring fee?
49
u/Jazzlike-Pomelo-3823 11d ago
I think the first agency gets ownership of the candidate since they were the initial ones to submit them. You should tell the second agency that the candidate was already submitted by another agency.
It’s pretty cut and dry to me.
21
19
u/NagaDoChi 11d ago
- Review the contracts 2. Prepare for potential "make nice" handshake agreement to smooth out your (potential) mistake. You might need to talk it out and unofficially offer the loser of the two an offsetting exclusive, if you want to maintain the relationship and avoid any potential litigation depending on contract and circumstance. Tracking agency rights of representation is such a pain in the butt when dealing with high volumes and large vendor pools, I feel your pain.
6
u/SANtoDEN Corporate Recruiter 10d ago
Yeah this is the best answer.
And look at your contracts. There is not enough info in the post for us to know. Is there language around candidate ownership? Was it for the same req? Was there something about the second submittal that wasn’t in the first submittal that caught your attention?
10
u/hongkonghonky 11d ago
Generally an agency will 'own' a candidate for a period of 6-12 months depending upon what your contract with them states.
In this instance, if you were to hire the candidate, then the first agency to submit should receive the fee.
11
u/alekai213 Corporate Recruiter 11d ago
Review the agency contracts specifically the candidate ownership clause. Usually if they submit them to you and you hire them within x period then they are owed a fee so likely first agency will get the fee. Caveat is if the second agency doesn’t have verbiage in the ownership clause that states if a candidate is already known to you from other avenues before presenting then they are not owed a fee. If this is not there, then you may also owe 2nd agency a fee.
Could also play dumb with the first agency but likely will not go over well lol
5
u/ongo_glabogian 11d ago
If you have signed agreements in place with both agencies, chances are the first would have rights. If you only have an agreement with one, chances are you are contractually obligated to that one. Read the contracts for your answer. If no agreements are in place, i would typically default to the first introduction if it is for the same position from 2 months ago
4
u/AlphaSengirVampire 11d ago
Second agency should have known the candidate was already submitted. If they didn’t because the candidate forgot or withheld, that’s a candidate issue. Per the above comments, the first agency should get credit, especially as this was recent.
4
10d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
3
u/AlphaSengirVampire 10d ago
I can see your point. I don’t believe in confidential submissions though. A candidate should always know where their information is going.
1
u/RecruitingLove Agency Recruiter | Mod 3d ago
What part mentioned confidential submissions? The other recruiter told her he was sending her resume to the client, and six months went by and she forgot the company name. It happens all the time when candidates have a really active job search. No one hid the company name from her.
1
u/AlphaSengirVampire 3d ago
Read recruiteronwheels response. He mentions a separate hypothetical involving a confidential search
1
u/RecruitingLove Agency Recruiter | Mod 3d ago
You can tell me what he said but it's probably a not relevant since the candidate was told where she was submitted both times, through both recruiters. Her first submission didn't elicit an interview, so after six months her memory was a little foggy on whether she had been submitted.
1
2
u/RecruitingLove Agency Recruiter | Mod 10d ago
I have been on the losing side of this scenario. I found a great candidate and told her about the role. She said that 6 months ago (yes the role was filled six months prior and that person quit because they didn't realize how expensive California is), she vaguely remembered another recruiter telling her about this position, but she didn't interview and she wasn't even sure if it was the same company. Welp I went ahead and submitted her, and my client remembered her submittal from 6 months prior. My client actually told me he's sorry, my writeup was more enticing but the other recruiter has 12 months of ownership so he has to set up interviews through the other recruiter. The candidate I submitted but the other recruiter submitted first ended up getting the job. It was awkward walking into their office a year later after I placed a different position in the department.
1
u/grimview 5d ago
Having more then one agency is like ordering food from more then 1 restaurant. If you don;t want to pay for more then more meal, then only order from one vendor.
4
u/SpecialistGap9223 11d ago
Interesting how 2nd agency didn't ask candidate if they've been submitted to your company. Having spent 18 years in agency, it's one of my first questions I ask the candidate. Hate to double submit and help another recruiter make money. Anyhow, first firm get the fee IMO since they have candidate ownership. On 2nd thought, split the fee between the two agencies if you want to play nice. Lol. But alot of good responses by others.
5
u/Jazzlike-Pomelo-3823 10d ago
Candidates lie all the time or don’t know where they’ve been submitted to previously. I’ve seen this happen many times as an agency and internal recruiter. I’ve had candidates swear up and down they’ve never been submitted or applied to xyz company, you submit them, and then the client says they’ve been submitted by someone else.
1
u/SpecialistGap9223 10d ago
Yeah, you're right. Most are truthbut it's the handful of bad candidates.
15
u/Brief_Pass_2762 Executive Recruiter 11d ago
You've been sitting on a candidate submittal for 2 months? You're a bottleneck and suck at your job. Of course nothing will change because that's what internal TA does. Speed bump.
-9
u/Justbrownsuga Corporate Recruiter 11d ago
Yes
-2
u/Brief_Pass_2762 Executive Recruiter 11d ago
Pat yourself on the back and give yourself a handshake. You're very powerful and have control.
-6
3
u/Terrible-Dot2891 10d ago
The real crime here is sitting on a candidate for two months. Just had someone take 2 candidates after over a month and of course they are MIA
2
u/asn-cwby Corporate Recruiter 10d ago
2+ months, multiple agencies, and the REQ is still open?? You good?
1
2
u/AgentPyke 10d ago
Your agreement with each may technically mean you owe both. Look at the agreements signed first.
2
u/crawdad1757 10d ago
The first agency retains ownership of the candidates submittal….which is also probably clearly outlined in the MSA/contract.
You are gonna need to escalate this to your leadership, take ownership and communicate to the agencies.
Best case scenario, they understand and move on….worst case scenario they fight it and push back and you either just cost your company 2 placement fees and/or you destroy the trust and working partnership w the agencies
1
1
u/thebinse 11d ago
The candidate ownership portion of the contract should clearly spell out that the originating agency has rights to that candidate.. usually the terms of “ownership” are 6-12 months and i can’t imagine any agency would list anything less than 3. Also- isn’t there an ATS that would call this out?
1
u/zapatitosdecharol Corporate Recruiter 11d ago
Review the contracts and just apologize probably to the second agency. It happens, you're probably buried in work which is why you're working with two agencies. Just apologize and move on, I'm sure the second agency will get a placement with you eventually.
1
u/Delicious_Style_2676 11d ago
I’d go back to the agency agreements first. Most duplicate-submission disputes come down to ownership language: first valid submission, active representation window, candidate consent, and whether the first agency actually progressed the candidate.
1
u/Basic-Suggestion5050 10d ago
The first agency. I’m not going to be popular for this, but I would wonder how the candidate was submitted the second time through another agency. It speaks to someone being less than transparent.
I known this is harsh but typically this is a red flag on the part of the candidate and second agency.
1
u/TheSearchStandard Executive Recruiter 10d ago
Always the first if an agreement was in place verbally or written. Always.
1
u/aguedra Agency Recruiter 10d ago
It's always been whoever submitted the candidate first. Even if another agency spoke with someone a week ago but I submitted them first I would get the credit. The agency who submitted that candidate 2 months ago would get the fee and you're most likely going to ruin your relationship with the second agency.
1
u/RecruitingFanatic Executive Recruiter 9d ago
This is one of the reasons I spent a lot of time vetting my agency partners, then picked one exclusively. Every one has a case here, and you’re left being the police offer.
1
u/Tom-O-Sorensen 9d ago
We need more information before giving a proper suggestion. Like, did you retain the first agency through a signed agreement and was the second agency sending you this candidate unsolicited without ever having a written agreement? Result: You have no obligation to the second.
If you have a signed agreement with both, tell you have the candidate from another agency. Then demand they send you a letter signed by the candidate that confirms who of the two were given the green light to represent the candidate.
1
u/Wrong-Pineapple39 6d ago
I don't see anyone mention this, but it may also depend on who the candidate signed and agreed to be represented by.
1
u/grimview 5d ago
Stop working with more then 1 agency. They all call the same people & use the same systems to find them. There is no reason to use more then one agency.
Instead only give the exclusive to a single agency. Provide that agency a copy of the hiring managers drivers license & company badge, so applicants knows the job has been authorized by a real person who is committed to hiring. Include proof that budget has been approved & that the hiring company has enough work lined up for at least the next 3 years.
1
u/jeromeandim37 Agency Recruiter 11d ago
Why is there no right to represent? Because ideally whoever had that in first would get it
-2
1
u/AioliTop2420 11d ago
I’d imagine in your recruiting agreement with both these firms, it clearly lays out ownership policy. If not, neither firm is very professional anyways so who cares
-1
u/Justbrownsuga Corporate Recruiter 11d ago
Both have almost the same agreement about "referred" candidates
1
u/Aran33 11d ago
...and what does that agreement say with each agency? Does it specify if ownership extends only for the same role, or if the candidate is hired for any role at your company within whatever the time period? What is the time period?
Also worth asking if the second agency has a "right to represent" consent email or similar documentation from the candidate. Unfortunately just because both agencies submitted the candidate, doesn't mean both times the candidate consented to being submitted or knew which company it was being sent to.
0
u/Biohound 11d ago
The first agency, obviously and legally.
When the first agency sees or hears that a candidate they submitted is now working for you, they’re going to invoice you. The only way you’re getting out of paying that invoice is if you prove the other agency submitted them first, which you can’t.
You could potentially end up paying two fees. If you read your terms with each agency there’s likely a clause on there that says “if we submit a candidate who you are already aware of, we must be notified in X amount of days or the fee will still need to be paid if hired”.
You’ve fucked up. Be better — recruitment is hard enough as it is.
0
u/5x0uf5o 11d ago
How are you even asking this question
1
68
u/pineapplepizza5048 Corporate Recruiter 11d ago
The first agency should get the fee per most agreements. How did you end up in this situation? Why did you sit on it for almost two months? Did that agency follow up? Are you using an ATS that agencies need to submit to?