Frequently Asked Questions
Which roles do you recruit for? We recruit all white collar roles, in the civil construction and commercial building markets. The term "white collar" is subjective, essentially we'll work on most salaried roles that are directly employed by the head construction contractor or a major subby. This could be anything from a Leading Hand, through to a CEO. We typically do not work on client-side or consultancy based roles, and this includes councils and government organisations. Our expertise lies in the private sector, for head builders and civil companies of all tiers, Australia-wide.
How do you charge? We charge a fee to our client (the construction company) for the successful placement of a candidate within their business. The fee percentage is 16% of the candidate's total salary package in most cases, but that does not come from the candidate's salary or affect the candidate in any way. The entire process is free for the candidate, and the client typically only pays a fee once they've agreed to hire a candidate.
What assistance do you offer to the candidate and the client? We can help in many ways, if the candidate needs help with deciding upon where to target their search efforts we can provide insight into market trends. We can also help with structuring and improving a CV. We know exactly which kind of information to extrapolate and present to a client in order to paint a full understanding of a candidate's background. With regards to the client, we can offer the same type of assistance. Market insight can be helpful, as well as common trends that we're seeing in the candidate pool, such as reasons for declining roles, frustrations, and desires. We're always happy to field a phone call if you just want some assistance or have a question related to construction recruitment in Australia.
Where are you based and which areas do you cover? We're physically based in Richmond, VIC, 3121. We offer a national construction recruitment service and cover all metro and regional areas right across Australia. Once a relationship is established, we can fly interstate to do face to face meetings when required, and also utilise the video meeting technologies such as Google Meet, and Zoom.
Where have you placed candidates in the past? We work with a range of different builders that we've made successful placements with. We've had candidates placed on major government works such as the North East Link project, and also much smaller works such as private Civil Landscaping projects. You can check out our reviews on Google and Sourcr to hear from previous candidates and clients, there are also testimonials posted on the home page.
What happens if you make a placement and it doesn't work out? This is a rare situation, but it does sometimes happen. There are different answers to this question depending upon the scenario, however we do offer a replacement guarantee period and will jump straight back into the search to replace the candidate if that's what needs to happen. We aim to always do right by our clients and candidates. Sometimes clients worry about this scenario, however nobody ever lasted in business by chasing a quick fee and then avoiding their responsibilities. We'd rather keep everybody happy and continue to do business into the future.
Common Client Reservations and Rebuttals
"We have other recruiters working at a lower fee percentage"
Probably not - You may well have other recruiters who have agreed a lower fee percentage in principle, however you're not their top priority. You should understand that when a recruitment agency agrees to "work" on your role for a fee that's lower than the wider market is paying, they most likely sending you the candidates that their other clients don't want to employ. You're seeing candidates after their other clients, and you're seeing the "Hail Mary" candidates. If we're going to work on your role, it needs to serve us AND YOU.
"We need the replacement service period to be longer than 3 months"
We wont do that, here's why - The replacement service covers any unforeseen circumstances or skillset downfalls that weren't picked up during the interview and screening process. It's rare, but sometimes an unsuitable candidate will slip through the cracks, and you should be able to work that out pretty quickly. We find that it's usually apparent within the first couple of weeks, whether or not the candidate is suitable for the role that they've been hired for. We do however, afford you a 3-month period to account for any adjustments that need to be made and thoroughly assess the candidate's suitability. After 3 months, it becomes impossible for the recruiter to have any meaningful effect on the success of the candidate within the business, and employee satisfaction and retention needs to be managed by the employer. Recruitment is a partnership between the agency and the employing business that needs to be synergistic.
"We've had a bad experience with other agencies in the past"
Yep, it happens, here's how you can avoid that moving forwards - Check out the reviews of the agency you plan on engaging, before engaging them. Look at platforms like Google Reviews, Trustpilot, Sourcr, and Yelp. If you have any reservations or questions about the process, make sure you ask the questions up front. Get clear on the expectations from both ends, and have a clearly defined set of steps that you've discussed with your recruiter. Ask the recruiter what you can do to make their life as easy as possible, and therefore help them achieve the best results for your business. You'd be amazed at the difference in success levels between a client who's aware of the recruiters needs and helps with the process, compared to a client who is unaware or unwilling to participate accordingly.
"Recruitment is expensive"
Define expensive - Yes, recruitment services can be a fair sized monetary outlay, however, so can a property and properties are usually an appreciating asset. You're investing in your business, so ask yourself - "what is is costing me to not have somebody in the role?". Furthermore, what would it cost you to hire the wrong person in the role? We're professionals at what we do, so if you have a hiring requirement don't botch it. You wouldn't attempt to be your own lawyer if you were being sued, and you probably wouldn't try to find the cheapest person either. You'd make a considered decision about the professional that you were engaging based upon their past performance, and their reputation in the market on previous assignments.