Consultant Payment Dilemma: Should We Pay for a Candidate Who Joined Us Directly?

Hi all,

One of our consultants is claiming payment for the below-mentioned case: We hired a candidate for a position in Mumbai through the consultant, but the candidate did not join on the scheduled date as he withdrew. However, the candidate later approached us directly for a job in Bangalore, and we hired him as a contractor for a sales position.

Now, the consultant is requesting payment, stating that we hired his candidate. Please advise whether we should proceed with the payment.

I look forward to your response.

The services of the candidate, sent by the consultant, are hired by you, albeit a little later. Therefore, you need to pay the service charges of the consultant. The contention of the consultant is correct, as the candidate belongs to the consultant.

Scenario 1:

Consultants are partners-in-progress. Therefore, ethically, paying the consultant for leading to this HR hire, who has now been employed by your organization but for a different location and position than initially agreed upon, is the right thing to do. The finer details of costs must be negotiated.

I would also suggest finding time to have a chat with the individual now employed in your organization to help them appreciate the support the consultant has provided for both themselves and the organization. Initially, they used the services of the consultant but had to withdraw their application. Later, as mentioned, the candidate continued to keep track of your company's vacancies and approached you directly. In this connection, I would like to say we do not know the reason why the candidate approached you directly (but it may be that they also have to pay the consultant their fee!). This is for them to sort out and has nothing to do with you.

Scenario 2:

You can present this as a cost-saving measure, but the risk of losing a consultant who may or may not be a good headhunter, and the bigger risk of negative word of mouth resulting from this episode, may harm your organization's professional outlook.

I hope these points will help you consider your next steps.