Followup: 🎧Podcast - Managing Client Behaviour in Recruitment- Industry Insights and Key Takeaway's
Key Insights from the recent Talking Recruitment PODCAST with R.E.C CEO, Neil Carberry, and Giles Morgan.
The Weekly Walkaway highlights negotiation in its ‘good’, ‘bad’ and sometimes ‘downright ugly’ forms. Issue No. 91 (18th October 2024).
Earlier this week, Kahvay’s founder, Giles Morgan, appeared on the R.E.C Podcast ‘Talking Recruitment’ speaking with the host Neil Carberry CEO of R.E.C - If you, missed it you can listen here:
Whats it about?
The danger of selling during negotiations – understand how overselling can weaken your stance and why shifting into negotiation mode is crucial.
Embracing conflict in negotiation – discover why conflict is central to successful negotiations and how to use differences to drive agreements.
The Kahvay compass framework to confidently navigate deals and maintain control.
Introduction
Giles and Neil explore a number of challenges faced by recruiters in negotiations and provide some great strategies for shifting from a transactional mindset to a value-driven, strategic approach.
The emphasis on power dynamics, trust, and conflict are particularly relevant for those of you looking to enhance your effectiveness in client interactions.
Either way, we know you’re all time poor these days, so we figured, you might appreciate a summary of the key insights from the episode:
Key Takeaways
1. Relationship vs. Transaction:
The primary shift highlighted is that recruiters need to move from "selling" to "negotiating." Many recruiters are stuck in a transactional mindset, continually giving away value in the hopes that a strong relationship will yield fair deals. However, relationships alone don't ensure fairness; recruiters must actively shift their behaviour from relationship-building to value-preserving negotiation when the time comes.
2. Selling Weakens Power:
Excessive selling diminishes a recruiter’s power. As recruiters give away more information or concessions, they often find themselves spiralling into reduced margins and lost leverage. Power dynamics play a crucial role in negotiations, and recruiters need to understand how their actions during selling impact the strength of their negotiating position.
3. The Danger of Transactional Culture:
Recruitment culture, particularly in the UK, tends to be highly transactional and competitive. This culture has fostered an environment where negotiation is seen as an extension of that competition, leading to shallow relationships with clients and internal competition that can hurt long-term value. The emphasis needs to shift towards cooperation and collaboration, internally and externally, to cultivate value-driven negotiations.
4. Perception vs. Perspective:
Negotiation involves moving from perception (staying safe within preconceived ideas) to perspective (getting a deeper understanding of the other party’s true needs and motivations). Building trust in a relationship is key, and it allows recruiters to gather the necessary information to negotiate effectively, instead of relying on assumptions or transactional tactics.
5. The Need for Conflict:
Conflict in negotiation is inevitable and should be embraced rather than avoided. Negotiation is inherently a conflict of interests, and understanding this helps recruiters approach it strategically rather than emotionally. Giles emphasises that discomfort in negotiation signals that it is happening, and without conflict, no meaningful agreement can be reached.
6. The Kahvay Negotiation Compass Framework:
Giles discusses the Kahvay Negotiation Compass framework for navigating negotiations. The compass involves distinguishing between different negotiation personna’s —whether they be cold and transactional (Haggling / Dealing) or warm and collaborative (Engineer / Diplomat) —and choosing the right approach based on the relationship and context.
Using the P.L.A.N.T acronym to help you better understand where you are on the compass. Power, Longevity, Advanced, Need, Trust complexity, are key factors that recruiters should analyse when preparing for negotiations.
7. Walking Away:
Being willing to walk away from a negotiation or client relationship is critical for maintaining power and ensuring fair deals. Without a clear understanding of the minimum acceptable terms (the "walkaway" point), recruiters risk being drawn into deals that erode their value. The idea of walking away is also tied to market segmentation, where clients that devalue a recruiter’s offering should be let go to preserve margin and business health.
8. Win-Win Misconceptions:
The concept of "win-win" in negotiation is often misunderstood. True win-win is not about evenly splitting benefits but ensuring both parties walk away satisfied while protecting the recruiter’s value. Recruiters must be careful not to confuse client satisfaction with fair negotiation outcomes, especially when their focus shifts from emotional concerns to long-term value preservation.
9. Avoiding Free Concessions:
One recurring theme is the importance of not giving away concessions for free. Whenever a client requests something (e.g., longer payment terms), recruiters should ask for something of equal or greater value in return, whether it's more volume, preferred status, or other perks.
10. Broadening the Scope of Negotiation:
Expanding the scope of what’s on the table in negotiation allows for more flexibility and opportunities to find mutually beneficial solutions. By adding complexity, such as additional services or different contract terms, recruiters can negotiate beyond price alone, creating more options for success.
Thats all folks - Good luck out there!
Interested in speaking further with Kahvay about developing your negotiation and communication skills? contact us here:
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Want to dig a bit deeper?
You can followup on some of the topics discussed on the podcast below:
