What commission rate to pay Recruitment Consultant?

[5andcounting]

Hi all,
I run a recruitment agency specialising in providing staff for private homes and the education sector (Teachers, Nannies, Butlers, House Managers etc). It's doing well and the next step is employing an experienced Recruitment Consultant to take some of the administrative pressure off and, of course, to bring in more sales.

I've done a lot of research to try and figure out what would be an attractive package for this role but whilst I can find plenty of information on base salaries (£20-£25k roughly), information on commission rates is generally very vague and varies wildly (from 1-2% right up to 80%).

I really want to offer a competitive rate to attract good talent and hopefully the job conditions will also be appealing (work from home, provided with laptop & mobile, bonuses etc) - however I also don't want to paying wildly over the odds.

If anyone has experience working in as a RC, I'd love the opportunity to pick your brains about the role. I came into the industry having worked extensively in the roles we are now placing, so my expertise is on the other side of the business!

 

[Financial-Modeller]

Your first hire is the most difficult one.

RCs seem to work well in a structured environment with progressive benefits over different timeframes, so monthly commission, quarterly bonus, events etc.

Look at it the other way round, what margin do you expect your new RC to bring in?

 

[5andcounting]

Your first hire is the most difficult one.

RCs seem to work well in a structured environment with progressive benefits over different timeframes, so monthly commission, quarterly bonus, events etc.

Look at it the other way round, what margin do you expect your new RC to bring in?

Do you mean what proportion of overall sales am I expecting the RC to bring in? Ie. We have 10 sales, they've acquired one of them therefore 10%?

 

[Mr D]

You want them to make you money. Ideally far more profit than their cost.
So do not get spending all your money on someone who can cost you a fortune.

Pay plus commission? Sounds good. Too low a commission and the desperate and badly trained will go for the job. Too high and get inundated.
Do not forget when interviewing, you can also be interviewed. And sometimes the employer does not measure up to decent applicants.

 

[5andcounting]

You want them to make you money. Ideally far more profit than their cost.
So do not get spending all your money on someone who can cost you a fortune.

Pay plus commission? Sounds good. Too low a commission and the desperate and badly trained will go for the job. Too high and get inundated.
Do not forget when interviewing, you can also be interviewed. And sometimes the employer does not measure up to decent applicants.

Yes, its definitely about finding the sweet spot.

Thankfully, I've got interviewing down to a fine art these days as a huge chunk of running the business is recruiting candidates and gaining their loyalty - so they're less likely to drop out of the process or go around us for their jobs

 

[Financial-Modeller]

Do you mean what proportion of overall sales am I expecting the RC to bring in? Ie. We have 10 sales, they've acquired one of them therefore 10%?

No.

It sounds like the experienced Recruitment Consultant that you're looking to hire, will know much more about the package that you will need to provide to attract and retain them than you do!

If for example, with your GBP25k salary, you expect them to add GBP25k in margin to your business, you can't afford to pay them any commission. If you expect them to add GBP100k in margin, you can pay them 25% of it as commission, and their cost (salary plus commission) will be half of that margin. If they are experienced, they will be thinking along these lines, so you need to, too.