The Partnership Desk
A recruitment desk for employers who hire all year.
A named consultant and our search systems, run for your business for a monthly fee. No fee per hire. Think of it as a small RPO that brings its own systems, for businesses hiring ten or more people a year.
How a desk runs
- 01BriefThirty minutes on the role, the site, the package and who you would hire tomorrow if they walked in.
- 02MapWithin a week, every business and every person in your market who could do the job, with a note on who is moveable and why.
- 03ApproachShort, true messages to the right people, written for each one and signed off by you before the first goes out.
- 04MorningsEvery morning the desk hands the caller a short list: who replied, who to ring, what to say.
- 05TalkA human makes every call. Your person or ours, but never a machine.
- 06ShortlistThree to five people who want the job, know the package and have been checked against the role.
What the desk does
It maps the market. Not a search of whoever applied this week. Every employer in your patch, the people in the roles you hire for, and what each would need to move. The map is built once and kept current, so the second role starts from the map rather than from zero.
It keeps the record. Every approach, every reply, every call note and every stage, in one place you can open any time. Nobody gets approached twice, nobody gets forgotten, and when someone says not now, the desk remembers when to ask again.
It runs the mornings. The desk does the sourcing, the writing and the admin overnight. The caller starts each day with a list that fits on one screen and spends the day talking to people.
What you see
- The market map, with every person and business in it
- Every approach and every reply, as they happen
- A pipeline by role, from first contact to offer
- A written report every Friday
- Your consultant's mobile, and a Director's
What you can hold us to
Seven things, in writing, before the desk opens.
- A named consultant who knows your market, not a rotating desk
- Everyone who works your desk is employed in Australia
- Every approach is literally true, and you sign off the first one before it goes
- The map and the record are yours, exported on request, kept if you leave
- A written report every Friday: who was approached, who replied, who is at which stage
- One month's notice, either way, and no minimum term
- No fee per hire, ever, on a desk
What it costs
Priced by how many roles are live at once, not by the hire. Two ways to run it: your person on the desk, or ours.
| Desk | Live roles at once | Hires a year it suits | Run by your team | Run by us |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desk 3 | Up to 3 | 10 to 15 | $2,950 a month | $8,495 a month three-day caller |
| Desk 6 | Up to 6 | 15 to 30 | $3,950 a month | $13,495 a month full-time caller |
| Second desk | 7 and up | 30 plus | Add $3,950 | Add $13,495 |
All prices in Australian dollars, excluding GST. A live role is a vacancy the desk is actively working this month.
Run by your team
One of your people sits on the desk. We train them, run the systems, hand them the mornings and stay on the phone when a call needs a Director.
Run by us
A TPG consultant works the desk, three days a week on Desk 3 and full-time on Desk 6. You see the record; we make the calls.
No lock-in
Monthly, with one month's notice either way. No minimum term. A setup fee of $1,500 on Desk 3 and $2,500 on Desk 6 when your team runs it, waived if you stay three months. No setup fee when we run it.
No fee per hire
Hire one person this month or six. The price is the desk, not the placements.
Against paying an agency per hire
The honest comparison. At ten hires a year the desk is already cheaper. From there the agency bill grows with every hire and the desk does not.
| Hires a year | Agency at 15% | Desk, run by your team | Desk, run by us |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | $180,000 $18,000 a hire | $129,400 Desk 3 plus your person, $12,940 a hire | $101,940 Desk 3, $10,194 a hire |
| 20 | $360,000 $18,000 a hire | $141,400 Desk 6 plus your person, $7,070 a hire | $161,940 Desk 6, $8,097 a hire |
| 30 | $540,000 $18,000 a hire | $188,800 Two desks plus your person, $6,293 a hire | $323,880 Two desks, $10,796 a hire |
A year, in Australian dollars, excluding GST. Agency column assumes a $120,000 average package at a 15% placement fee. The "your team" column includes one of your own people on the desk at $94,000 a year loaded. Your package average and your fee rate will differ; put your own numbers in and the shape holds.
Hiring fewer than ten people a year? A desk will not pay for itself. The Partnership Programme is the better fit: placement fees that step down as you hire more.
Questions
Is the Partnership Desk an RPO?
What counts as a live role?
Who does the calling?
We hire fewer than ten people a year. Is a desk for us?
Do we need to buy any software?
Can we cancel?
Why is there a setup fee when our team runs the desk?
Who owns the data?
Where do the candidates come from?
Does it cover contract and labour hire as well as permanent?
Where is the work done?
What we need from you in week one
- The roles you expect to hire in the next twelve months, roughly
- The package for each, including super and any car or allowance
- The businesses whose staff are off limits to us
- Who signs off the first approach, and who takes the shortlist call
- If your team runs the desk, the person who will sit on it
Hiring all year?
Thirty minutes with Chris on what your desk would look like, and whether it is the right fit. No obligation.