The cost of TIME in business

Are you in a customer service or sales industry where you’re required to provide a service that takes your TIME but doesn’t convert into a financial gain? In the recruitment industry, we have set a standard across our industry that we provide a NO WIN NO FEE service which essentially means we only get paid for successfully placing people into jobs.As an industry we often get a hard time from people outside looking in, saying that “recruiters don’t get back to me” or “why won’t they find me a job?”, when sometimes the job they want either doesn’t exist based on criteria or they find their own job before the recruiter can place them. Finding a role for a candidate can take time, as a Recruitment agency we take thorough steps to make sure candidates and employers are well suited and sometimes the time we take isn’t always appreciated or valued.On the flip side it could be an employer when a recruiter calls and asks, “can I help with any of your current job vacancies?” they give them a job knowing it’s a no win no fee service, then proceed to go to several other agencies with the same arrangement or do their own campaign. If that recruiter doesn’t fill the job, no matter how good they are or how much the employer likes working them, it’s no loss to them as they have not paid a fee for the recruiters. The cost is, however, the recruiters TIME, and the recruiter behind the phone call and meeting has bills to pay and targets to hit in order to keep their job or business running. It doesn’t cost anything to be kind and respectful for others time in business, yet it means the world to the person on the receiving end of it.We have had a few situations lately where this has happened to us as an agency and when I’ve spoken to others in recruitment we all feel the same. It got me thinking if something is FREE does is hold less value? If we were a fee-for-service business like a lawyer, would people value our time differently when you interact with us?Think of it like this, if I held up a $50 note to an audience of people and said, “who wants this? and what is it worth?”, I bet the whole audience would put their hand up and shout, “it’s worth $50”. If I scrunched it up and threw it on the floor, what’s the worth now?? Still $50?? Would you still want it?? What if I rubbed it in mud and dirt? Would it still be worth the $50?? Would you be willing to fish it out of the mud and wash it? You see in life people can treat us bad and not value us or our work, we can have experiences that may make us feel we are a mess and damaged, BUT our VALUE doesn’t change regardless how much work you put in or what you’ve experienced, like the $50 note.Let’s spread kindness and respect for those we deal with in business, regardless of the cost on the service they give you. Time is money at the end of the day so let’s VALUE it for what it is and show gratitude to one another wherever possible.Kate Taylor – Founder – Managing Director of TaylorCare Recruitment