Lee & Pierson Associates went live this week with its new “subscription based recruiting” model, so The Fordyce Letter chatted with Wade Pierson to find out more.
TFL: Why did you move to this model?
We have been in business since 2000, and have been working within an RPO structure as an organization since the beginning. Prior to starting the company, my partner and I worked for a firm that was one of the first to create the Project Recruitment/Staff Augmentation model – which is now what has morphed into what people know as RPO – in the mid 1990s.
With the previous firm, and now with Lee & Pierson, we have always been set up structurally like a large consulting firm in terms of how our resources are aligned on a project team as well as in terms of how we bill clients. We have billed on an hourly rate, or a flat project rate since 2000, and will continue with that structure in certain projects.
We chose to create subscription-based recruiting to provide a fixed-cost model that we think works more efficiently and effectively and provides clients more options within a volume-based hiring initiative.
TFL: What are the fees among the different offerings?
There are 5 subscription options. The options are based on numbers of hires and the fixed fees are based on the salary levels of the positions. Clients can choose from a Copper, Silver, Gold, Platinum, or Diamond subscription plan. The Copper subscription starts at 10 hires, and the Diamond plan is for 100 or more hiring needs.
The service as a whole is structured for positions in the compensation range of $30k – $100k, and the fixed cost per hire ranges from $2k – $5k and is based on a percentage of the position salary. We offer the ability to purchase the subscription for current or future use, and offer clients the ability to pay in full with incentives for doing so, or pay over a period of 6 months.
TFL: What industries are you targeting?
We are targeting all industry verticals and companies that need to hire 10 or more people in the $30k-$100k salary range.
TFL: Who are your biggest competitors?
None that we are aware of, which is what we set out to accomplish with this service. What I mean is that we wanted to create a better option for clients that are or have used and see the vast benefits of an RPO model. We think this service is a market differentiator for us, and a client value proposition that previously did not exist.
TFL: What has been the reaction from your clients, both new and existing?
It has been off-the-charts phenomenal, and even better than we expected. The clients love the fixed price nature of the model and the ability to “use†the subscription as their demand dictates, as well as the volume-based incentives we are offering with the subscription plans that call for 30 or more hires.
TFL: What do you say to clients who decline?
We have not had anyone “decline†the service as of yet, but if we were to have a client decline the service, what I would say to them would be dependent on the reason they are declining. When any organization chooses to “outsource†or utilize an external firm as a piece of their talent strategy, and looks at this kind of service, I can’t imagine them not being interested.