Joint bids are on the increase as agencies team up to take advantage of client contacts. Recruiters with niche specialities are working together to target bigger tenders and increase the range of services they can offer to their clients.

John O’Sullivan, managing director of peer-to-peer learning forum Elite Leaders, told Recruiter the number of joint bid arrangements between members had increased dramatically over the last few months.

“It had been just one or two at the start of the year. Now we have at least 12 which are currently bearing fruit,” he said.

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The practice allows recruiters that specialise in supplying a particular type of personnel to bid for contracts which include a number of different disciplines. O’Sullivan said the first deal among members took place because an engineering recruiter could not fulfil a client’s requirements for IT personnel.

Mark Ions, managing director of Exclusive Human Resources, told Recruiter he has formalised arrangements with four other agencies over the past six months to offer a wider range of services while maintaining the company’s unique sales proposition.

“When decision makers have had a good service, they might want to recruit in another area [to our specialism] — for example, a general manager. If we say yes, instantly we are not working in the niche market we work in.”

Sharing clients with other recruiters can be used to increase a recruiter’s geographical reach.

Sara Duffy, senior agent at marketing and media recruiter Xchangeteam, told Recruiter the company had teamed up with a Bristol-based recruiter working in the same sector, The Green Room, to extend its reach into the South West. “Working with The Green Room will strengthen our resources in the region in terms of candidates and clients. It’s also worth noting agencies in the area haven’t historically tapped into the freelance market and that’s something I want to promote in the area.”

In one example, when a client of The Green Room wanted to set up a branch in London, Duffy helped source permanent personnel. She said the two recruiters often create candidate shortlists together for positions across the country. Ions said in each instance one of the companies in the partnership would take the lead and pitch to clients, making them aware of the other company’s involvement.

“The client will want to have one point of contact to avoid confusion. Either of our brands will be presented and below that the client is aware we are partnering with another organisation to provide some of the niche areas.”

Sharing information through networking events and company contacts has been accompanied by a move online. Users of Twitter, a micro-blogging site where users post 140 words (maximum) status updates, have created a forum to share split-fee offerings online.

The TalentBar group launched www.splits.org, where users are sharing anything from the availability of a human resources professional in Hyderabad, India to a role for a private real estate professional in London.

In certain sectors joint bid arrangements have been in place for some time. Civil recruiters rely on a two-tier method to supply staff to major construction projects where their resources may not be sufficient.

Eugene Meehan, managing director of technical recruiter McGinley Support Services, told Recruiter the practice was favoured in the rail and infrastructure sectors because it cut down the time clients spend on procurement and management.

“It helps with consistency of supply, worker retention and keeps the charge rates constant. If the projects are spread out you can draw second tier suppliers from local agencies, where national companies may not have a presence.”

The first tier acts as the point of contact for the client filling the staffing requirements from its own books and contacting second tier agencies, which have been approved by clients, when necessary. The agency needs to manage the relationships effectively to ensure the project’s key performance indicators are met and they don’t incur financial penalties.

However, Meehan said he thought the practice is unlikely to spread to the construction market in the short term because of the “dog eat dog” environment at the moment.

While placement numbers are taking a hit, recruiters have benefited from pooling their resources. Niche operators can collaborate to offer a specialised service to clients who need a range of skill sets, allowing them to target new locations.